Welcome to n0xmz.com! My main persuits in amateur radio are home-brewing and working DX. Ever since I was a kid, I've been facinated with electronics. My dad worked for Dale Electronics and would sometimes bring home parts which got me very curious. I'll never forget this enormous resistor he used as a paperweight. I built my first AM transmitter when I was about 8. I wanted to know what all those parts actually did and eventually, I learned.
My main haunts are 40m and up, whatever bands are open. I work SSB, PSK-31, and occasionally SSTV and other digital modes. As for repeaters, I'm usully found on 900 MHz and occasionally 2m or 440. I also enjoy working SSB on 6m, 2m, and 70cm as well as satellites.
I was first licensed some time around 1992 or 93. I passed the written exams for the Technician and General class licenses, but I didn't know Morse code. About three years ago, I finally learned it after a few weeks of daily practice with an excellent program called "CW Player" by Gabriel, F6DQM (available free of charge athttp://perso.club-internet.fr/f1orl/index.html ). I was then able to upgrade to Extra Class at Hamcom in 2006.
There isn't much room for antennas when you live in an apartment so I make due with what I have and it works pretty well. I'm able to work all bands from 7 to 927 Mhz. I'm currently experimenting with a magnet wire antenna that's working very well for 40m and up. Strung about 30 ft. up and using trees as supports, It's practically invisible.
I have an APRS beacon in my car. Click here to see where I'm at.
My main haunts are 40m and up, whatever bands are open. I work SSB, PSK-31, and occasionally SSTV and other digital modes. As for repeaters, I'm usully found on 900 MHz and occasionally 2m or 440. I also enjoy working SSB on 6m, 2m, and 70cm as well as satellites.
I was first licensed some time around 1992 or 93. I passed the written exams for the Technician and General class licenses, but I didn't know Morse code. About three years ago, I finally learned it after a few weeks of daily practice with an excellent program called "CW Player" by Gabriel, F6DQM (available free of charge athttp://perso.club-internet.fr/f1orl/index.html ). I was then able to upgrade to Extra Class at Hamcom in 2006.
There isn't much room for antennas when you live in an apartment so I make due with what I have and it works pretty well. I'm able to work all bands from 7 to 927 Mhz. I'm currently experimenting with a magnet wire antenna that's working very well for 40m and up. Strung about 30 ft. up and using trees as supports, It's practically invisible.
I have an APRS beacon in my car. Click here to see where I'm at.
Above: The current setup. Electronics testing/building gear and junk boxes are on the left side of the desk. There are 4 computers here (the laptop has been moved to the bedroom). The main machine is home-brew: 1.74 GHz AMD Sempron on an Abit mobo, with 30 GB & 300 GB hard drives, CD-RW, 512 MB RAM, & ATI TV tuner card. It connects to the IC-725 through my home-brew CI-V/digital comm. interface. QSL cards are made here as well. To the right is a 386 and 486, both running DOS and Windows 3.1. The latest addition is the Commodore 64.
Below: Radio closeup. Icom IC-725, Motorola Spectra for 900 MHz, and Uniden 386T scanner next to my favorite too, a Tektronix 475A scope w/ DM44.
Below: Radio closeup. Icom IC-725, Motorola Spectra for 900 MHz, and Uniden 386T scanner next to my favorite too, a Tektronix 475A scope w/ DM44.
Below: Icom 207 dual-band FM radio for 2m and 70cm. The SWR/power meter covers 120-500 MHz. The MFJ-259B antenna analyzer in the top left corner comes in very handy when loading up the wire antenna outside. No ham should be without one. The jars contain various resistors, capacitors, semiconductors, and other parts for my home-brewing endeavors. There's a Radio Shack TRC-465 AM/SSB CB as well. It was CB radio back in the early 90's that got me interested in ham radio.
The Commodore 64 is complete with Model 1702 monitor and (2) 1541 disk drives (the other one is connected to the 386 DOS box.) Lots of software and blank 5.25" disks made about 15-20 years ago, all in working order. The joystick slightly hidden behind the computer is from the Atari 2600. It's the best-selling computer ever and it still works great today. I had one when I was a kid and it was a blast putting together a system today.
The Commodore 64 is complete with Model 1702 monitor and (2) 1541 disk drives (the other one is connected to the 386 DOS box.) Lots of software and blank 5.25" disks made about 15-20 years ago, all in working order. The joystick slightly hidden behind the computer is from the Atari 2600. It's the best-selling computer ever and it still works great today. I had one when I was a kid and it was a blast putting together a system today.
Below: The mobile antenna farm. The antenna on the left is a Larsen 2/70 dual-band for 2m & 70cm. In the middle is a Larsen 900 MHz 5dbi antenna for the Spectra. The antenna on the right is a 40 meter Workman (Hamstick clone). I keep Workman antennas for 10, 15, and 20 meters in the trunk. Between the 900 MHz and HF antennas is a GPS receiver for the APRS setup. All antenna mounts (except the ball-mount, of course) are through-hole NMOs. The small black object is the GPS receiver.
Click here for an Excel spreadsheet of Dallas area repeaters, police frequencies, and more. You're welcome to visit the rest of my website (which purposely does not link to this page) at: www.scottbomb.com
Below: The APRS setup is in the box with the handle. It's a TinyTrak3+, Byonics GPS2 (on the trunk lid, pictured above), Radio Shack HTX-202, & a 35 watt amp feeding a 1/4-wave on the hood. The IC-706 is protected under the clear plastic container. On the rear of the container is a fan under a black plastic hood which comes on whenever the radio is turned on.
Below: The 2 meter 1/4 wave antenna on the hood is for the APRS transmitter. I tried using an L bracket but it won't mount flush with the car's body. I'm considering drilling a hole for this antenna.
Below: The 386 and 486. Both run MS DOS and the 486 has Windows 3.1. I still use these machines as there is some hardware and software I use that will not run on modern machines. The 1541 is connected to the 386, which allows me to transfer software downloaded online to 5.25" floppies for the Commodore 64.
Below: Part of the antenna farm. I live in an apartment, so stealth operation is the key. This is also why I live on the top (3rd) floor :o)
This is a 28 ga. wire dipole that runs between two large trees and so far it works great from about 40m on up. The choke balun keeps the RF off the feedline and out of the equipment. In the attic is a 10 meter dipole and a 2 meter j-pole that also works well on 70cm.
On the apartment balcony hangs a cellular mobile antenna with a ground plane that reaches out to three of the Dallas area 900 MHz repeaters. It's joined by a 2 meter yagi currently being used for the scanner.
This is a 28 ga. wire dipole that runs between two large trees and so far it works great from about 40m on up. The choke balun keeps the RF off the feedline and out of the equipment. In the attic is a 10 meter dipole and a 2 meter j-pole that also works well on 70cm.
On the apartment balcony hangs a cellular mobile antenna with a ground plane that reaches out to three of the Dallas area 900 MHz repeaters. It's joined by a 2 meter yagi currently being used for the scanner.
Below: The Motorola Spectra 900 MHz radio. 30 watts.
Below: My mobile station. '04 Honda Civic EX. The Icom 706-MK2G and Motorola Spectra 900 MHz. The radios are in the trunk. The control head for the Icom fits perfectly in the cup holder with the aid of the Icom mounts and a foam accessory I got at Wal-Mart. This makes for easy removal for when the car is parked overnight. The Motorola head is permanently mounted. The DTMF mic for the Icom actually goes all the way to the radio via CAT5 ethernet cable. The microphones are hidden at night.
