Omni VII HF+6m Transceiver

OMNI-VII is the first truly Net-Ready ham transceiver. No PC required at the rig to operate remote! Locate your OMNI-VII anywhere you have wideband Internet access. Simply connect its built-in Ethernet port to your router with our exclusive One Plug connection. Delivers live receive AND transmit operation from anywhere else in the world from another wideband Internet access!

Click on the picture for a hi-res image.

K4ZGB -- Tom Hardison

I spent a couple of hours at Tom's QTH this afternoon. What an amazing place! The antenna farm is fantastic and he has built a magnificent shack in his basement. There is no way my pictures can do this QTH justice, but I had to try. Click on any image to see a larger hi-res version. Let's start in the shack.



I hope Tom will forgive me but I didn't tell him I was coming and wouldn't let him "clean up" the shack. We all like a working shack anyway Tom! What you see is what we all want...an open horse shoe with easy access to every piece of equipment including the back! No, I'm not jealous! Right!

Take a close look at this one. You know it's not feed line...you guessed it...some serious antenna control. Don't get in a hurry. We'll get there! Look at the attention to detail. You can tell Tom knows how to do it right.


Count the feed lines on this next one. Now you begin to get a better understanding of what is to come!


Ok...so there is something BIG outside. For a hint on just how big, let's take a look at one of the anchors!



So, where does it begin?



Wow, the rotor is on the wrong end!! Well, you've seen it in the magazines, here it is on the ground...and in the air! This great tower will NOT fit on one computer screen so...click on the image and scroll up and down, count the stacks and the number of bands you think this tower can work!


One more for today. How would you like to have an 80m vertical that does not need to be electrically lengthened and has an SWR of 1.3 across the band! Well...this is what the base would like.



And from a distance!



Thanks for a great visit Tom! All the pictures can seen on PicasaWeb.

Intermodulation Distortion and IP3

John Krupsky, John Drum and I recently prepared a Power Point presentation on Intermodulation Distortion and the third order intercept point (IMD-IP3). This link includes sound. The file is rather large at 11MB. We invite you comments.

Station Back Together

UHF/VHF rig and rotor control are now in place. TRX-Manager, shown on the right-hand screen, provides rig control for the FT-1000MP Mark V, an Internet web cluster pane, logbook, and rotor control. The VL-1000 linear, above the Mark V, provides antenna switch between a 80/40 meter dipole and a 3-element yagi. The Palstar tuner is used primarily for 60 meters when the dipole is used with a Marconi adapter.