AB4BJ

DXCC – WAS – WAC 

AB4BJ

I am an Amateur Extra Class Amateur Radio operator in Calhoun, Georgia (Gordon County), and have been licensed since 1989.  My first call was KC4MWH followed by N4XOG.   Calhoun is in northwest Georgia approximately 50 miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and approximately 70 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia.  Northwest Georgia is known as the Carpet Capital of the World, and much of the U.S. carpet production takes place in and around this area.  I formerly lived in Dalton (Whitfield County), Georgia (20 miles north of Calhoun), home to the Dalton Amateur Radio Club (W4DRC) which presents one of the southeast’s premier hamfests, every year on the fourth Saturday in February.  The DARC is a non-profit organization, and an American Radio Relay League Special Services Club.  The DARC has a long tradition of serving northwest Georgia in many capacities.  For more information about the DARC, please visit the club website.  Calhoun is home to the Cherokee Capital Amateur Radio Society.  In addition to a weekly net on local repeaters, the CCARS has a Hamfest in April of each year. Click here to go the CCARS web site.

Although in recent years I have been less involved in local amateur radio activities, I am the past President of the DARC, and have served as the Emergency Coordinator (Whitfield and Murray Counties) and the District Emergency Coordinator (Northwest Georgia) for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.  I have also served as a Volunteer Counsel for the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).  In 1992, I traveled to south Florida to provide amateur radio assistance in the wake of the Hurricane Andrew disaster.  An article about this trip was published in the December, 1992 issue of QST, the official publication of the ARRL.  I have also served in a number of capacities in the Dalton Chapter of the American Red Cross, including Disaster Committee Chair and local Chair of the Board.  The Red Cross, both locally, regionally and nationally,  has always partnered with amateur radio in times of need.

I am a member of the Southeastern DX Club and have completed mixed and phone DXCC.    For QSL, I use LOTW, Bureau, eQSL and direct.

The Ham Shack

AB4BJ Station

For HF in the ham shack, I currently operate a Flex Radio Systems Flex-3000 with a Yaesu FL-7000 amplifier.   I am using the Heil PR-781,  Heil Goldline and Heil Pro Set Plus microphones with the Flex-3000.  I use the internal TX settings of the Flex-3000 to tailor my audio.  Because the Flex-3000 does not have an internal speaker, I run the AF into a Pyle-Pro PTA2 Power Amplifier and a set of Realistic Optimus-77 bookshelf speakers.  Even though these speakers are very old, they still sound great and I love the way the audio sounds from the Flex through the amplifier and speakers. 

The Future - PowerSDR Pretty Betty GUI (PB-PAL)

A big part of the Flex-3000 is the computer that runs the radio.  I recently put together a new system for the Flex consisting of an Intel i7 920 processor with a Gigabyte EX58-UD3R motherboard with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM.  The video card is a Nvidia based GT 9800 with 1 GB VRAM with support for two HDMI monitors.  I run the system in dual monitor mode with an extended desktop.  I chose the Gigabyte motherboard as it has a free serial port for the SteppIR controller and the TI Firewire chipset which is important for the Flex.   This system is very fast (and has very low latency with the Flex) and runs the Windows 7 64 bit OS.

For transmit audio, I formerly used a Yaesu FT-2000 with the EQ Plus and 8 Band from W2IHY.   You can read about my adventures into setting up the audio on my blog.

For VHF and UHF in the shack I use the Kenwood TM-D710A.   I also use the TM-D710 for APRS operation.  For portable operation, I use a Yaesu VX-8R APRS tri-band HT (2 meters, 220, 440).   In the past I have used a Kenwood TH-F6A tri-band HT.

I can always be reached by email at ab4bj (@) ab4bj (dot) com.

Thanks for stopping by.

73,

DE Bill, AB4BJ