On the left, top narrow shelf is the MFJ-941E tuner used with the loop cut for 80m and up about 55 feet. It is fed with 450 ohm ladder line. I have two methods of tuning, controlled by a relay outside. In one method the ladder line goes to a ferrite bead balun outside and a short piece of coax comes directly to the tuner. In the second method, the ladder line comes directly into the tuner and uses a homebrew 4:1 current balun placed inside the tuner. To the left is a speaker for the TS-850.

Below the tuner is my first radio, a Kenwood TS-850s.

On the right shelf is the homebrew z-match tuner which is used now with the loop and ladder line feed. (Details are further down the page.) On the far right are the qrp rigs: bottom rig is a Tentec 1330, middle rig is the SW+ 20m, and the top is the Norcal 40A from Wilderness Radio.

On the bottom right shelf is the Astron RS-35M power supply which powers various radios. To its right is an Icom 2720H VHF/UHF rig.

The bottom left shelf holds the newest rig, an Elecraft K3.

On the desk stands the Shure 545SD Unidyne III dynamic microphone used with both the Kenwood and the Elecraft. Also, is a green can, a real Wilson's tea container brought to me from England full of tea. It now serves, with its leaf toggle switch, as a PTT switch for two radios. You can also see the Begali Spark straight key and the Begali Simplex paddle.

 

In the above, to the left is the Wilson's tea can/switch. In the middle is a Palm Mini Paddle, which slides back into its box for easy carrying and serves as a great portable paddle. Hinges mounted on the wooden base provide weight and serve as metal for the magnets in the base of the paddle. When portable, the paddle will adhere to the steel cabinet of the FT-857. The straight key is used mostly with the Drake TR-4. To the right is my favorite paddle, a Begali Simplex.

On the next row is one of the newest additions, a Begali Spark straight key, a delight to use. To the right is a keyer built from plans in the May 2004 QST, the Smart Keyer Lite. It will provide positive or negative keying and I use it with the Drake TR-4 since no keyer in that rig. It is also used with the qrp rigs needing a keyer.

  

Above are closer views of the NorCal 40A qrp rig for 40 meters. On the rear panel is a second jack for a paddle, while the lower jack is for straight key.

 

The latest edition to the qrp menagerie is Dave Benson's fine kit, the SW+ for 20 mtrs, from Small Wonder Labs.

 

This is a homebrew z-match used on bands 80 through 10 meters. The right control is a vernier to enable precise tuning. A toroid bridge (in back left part of the cabinet) allows monitoring of forward or reflected power via a switch above the meter. The meter is switchable from low power (10w) to high power (100w). The antenna posts allows balanced line, but the tuner will accomodate unblanced line (coax), although no separate input at this time, but could use the antenna posts.

 

This small tuner will tune end-fed half-wave antennas for 40m, 30m, and 20m. In addition there is a switch to bypass the L-match (toroid and trimmer cap) and output to another BNC. An SWR bridge with LED may be used in all four of the above modes.