Bevin Alexander - K4ALE - NAQCC # 2130
I took up ham as a hobby set aside a long time ago, and got my General license in April, 2006. CW was the primary motivation. QRP was one of my first fascinations. I completed an Elecraft KX-1 kit I found on EBay, and built several QRP kits, including a Tuna Tin 2, with which I made a 1000 mile/watt contact in the Spring of 2007. I also work QRP with an SG-2020 that I have set up as a portable station in an old Samsonite suitcase. My keys are two Soviet Army models: a Junker copy and a small portable used in armored vehicles. I use keyers only when the xmtr requires it.
My other ham interest is old tube equipment. I regularly use several Drake and Collins rigs. A T-4XC and R-4B are my standard CW rig; a TR-4 and KWM-2A are my AM/SSB rigs. A Collins-built R-388 is my AM and QRP receiver. Other old equipment is in various stages of restoration, serving as a learning platform for my almost limitless ignorance.
Age 53 and still working.
Here is my shack at home. You can see my collection of boatanchors: Drake TR-4, T-4XC and R-4B on one shelf, and Collins R-388 and KWM-2A on the next. The Collins 30L-1 is on the floor at my feet. Some ARC-5s "in process" above that. A couple of QRP rigs are on the table: my Elecraft KX1 and a 40m Two Tinned Tuna, which also has an XTAL network I use [so I don't fumble with xtals all the time] and my "straight key" made with a computer tactile switch. I use the R-388 with the TTT rig, which is fun and has a good dose of irony. The antenna is a W5GI dipole up about 45 feet, and matched with a LDG Z-11 Pro [for modern rigs] and a Drake MN-2000.
