This is the web site of amateur radio station N2MCS.

Transcievers

The current station is running an Icom IC-7300. I purchased this after having a lot of trouble with QRP using my Elecraft KX2; refer to the Antennas section.

I’m very happy with this radio. It’s a nice hybrid of software-defined radio (SDR) and a more traditional transceiver controlled from the front panel. I chose Icom because in the past I used an IC-718 and it is still a great basic HF rig; if I needed to deploy an HF rig in the field for emergency communications work, I’d probably still choose an IC-718 today.

Previously I was using a Yaesu FT-857D. At the time, I was looking for a radio I could carry in a suitcase for hotel-portable operations. It fits that use case suitably if you require 100W for your portable work. Back then, I was only doing SSB. Unfortunately, that radio, while small, is heavy—it has an appropriate heat sink for a 100W rig.

Antennas

My home antenna as of February 2021 is a Wolf River Coils 102 inch collapsible whip mounted on the SB1000 coil. This is all mounted using a CB mirror mount on a garden plant hook. I have six radials draped around the yard.

For portable use, I have the Wolf River Coils tripod base. I also have a SOTAbeams Bandhopper with a collapsible fiberglass pole.

Key

I had been considering joining the CWops CW Academy Basic course, so I got myself a Vibroplex Vibrokeyer, which is a single lever paddle. I wound up not having the time to commit to that course, so lately I’ve been practicing straight-keying using the Vibrokeyer shorted across the dit/dah wires. I could also use this as a sideswiper, but that’s a bit confusing for me right now. N1EA modded a Vibrokeyer for sideswiper use.

I have a regular straight key on order, somewhere in the postal system at the moment.