Category Archives: Ham Radio

Kenneth is impressed with the W6LVP Magnetic Loop Antenna

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kenneth Wigger, who writes:

One Friday evening I contacted Larry W6LVP and asked a question about the kind of coax that he would recommend for his Magnetic Loop antenna. I was surprised to get a response with technical information within an hour or so. With this kind of customer service I decided to go ahead and order one of his antennas later that evening. I actually received the antenna on Monday afternoon within a couple days.

I have extreme electrical noise that was S-8 most of the time on my Carolina Windom and made my radio almost unusable. I temporarily installed the Magnetic Loop antenna on a short 5 FT pole in the backyard. With the XYL as the null monitor at the radio I called her on my cell phone and rotated the antenna by hand and was able to get a sharp noise null of about S-1. Very tight null when rotating just a few degrees one way or the other. Went in the house and couldn’t believe the clear signals that were hidden by the previous high noise level. It reminded me of SWLing 50 years ago as a kid back in the good old days before the electrical noise environment turned so bad!

As I mentioned, the antenna arrived within a couple days and was of high quality construction and packed extremely well for shipment. I had read the previous reviews about Larry’s product quality and customer service and my experience was also very good!!

I am planning to mount the antenna on a Channel Master rotator one of these days to get the full effect of the excellent directionally of this Magnetic Loop antenna. I even read where Broadcast Band Listeners use this antenna to pick up and select between multiple stations on the exact same AM frequencies.

I highly recommend Larry W6LVP and his Magnetic Loop antenna to other Hams and SWL listeners. He responds personally to emails within a business day usually just an hour or two. What more could a customer ask for?

Thank you, Kenneth, for sharing your review! It’s nice to have an alternative to the pricier Wellbrook and Pixel Loop antennas. Someday, I’ll get around to reviewing the W6LPV loop antenna as well.

Click here to view W6LVP antennas on eBay.

Click here to view the W6LVP website.

A $25 upgrade for the Elecraft KX2

11 Replies

Many of you know I’m quite a fan of the Elecraft KX2. I take this little transceiver along almost any time I travel. Not only is it a full-featured ham radio transceiver, but it’s also an exceptional shortwave broadcast receiver.

The KX2 is a quality US-built rig (like all of Elecraft’s gear) but I’ve never been a fan of its plastic encoder knob. It lacks a finger dimple and feels cheap compared to the rest of the radio. Don’t get me wrong: the stock encoder knob gets the job done, but it’s not nearly as nice as the one on the slightly larger Elecraft KX3.

Comparing the Elecraft KX3 (top) and KX2 (bottom) at Elecraft’s Dayton Hamvention booth.

Two weeks ago, I ran into another Elecraft KX2 owner and happened to notice that his KX2 had a solid aluminium encoder knob with a finger dimple. Turns out, he purchased the knob from a ham radio operator (W1JH) in Maine who manufactures and sells this knob on eBay.

The price was $24.95 US shipped. I didn’t hesitate to place an order.

You might think $24.95 is a lot to pay for such a small item, but third party Elecraft vendors tend to charge much more for comparable items. I’ve also considered adding a heatsink to my KX3, for example, but those can total upwards of $100!

My new encoder knob arrived in only a couple of days via the USPS–installing it was a breeze.

It took me all of thirty seconds to pull the plastic knob off of the KX2 and replace it with the new aluminium one. The seller even includes an Allen wrench to secure the new knob.

The new knob is slightly larger in outer diameter, but fits the KX2 like a glove. The slightly larger size makes the finger dimple a practical addition for smooth band-scanning.

If you own an Elecraft KX2 (or the Elecraft KX1) I highly recommend this simple encoder/VFO knob upgrade!

Click here to order on eBay.

TX Factor Episode 20

The Ham Station is closing shop

A photo tour of the 2018 Greenwood, SC hamfest

4 Replies

Last week, my buddy Vlado (N3CZ) informed me about a small hamfest in Greenwood, SC–I had never attended, but had heard positive comments about it.

I believe Vlado was somewhat on the fence about going, but once I expressed a strong interest in selling some gear, he did too so it quickly became a plan!

Greenwood, South Carolina, is about a 2.5 hour one-way drive from my home. Vendors were encouraged to arrive around 7:00 to set up (general public admission was at 9:00), so Vlado and I hit the road by 4:30 AM!

Notice the lack of traffic on the interstate at 4:30 AM!

We arrived as the doors opened and purchased a total of three tables to sell our gear. My goods took up most of one table and Vlado packed the other two with his gear!

By general admission time, less than half of the vendor tables were occupied, which did worry me. However, overall foot traffic wasn’t bad at all! This vendor was certainly pleased.

I sold at least 80% of the items I brought with me, no doubt due to my generous and agressive pricing scheme (i.e. nearly giving things away–!). Vlado sold some large items, too.

In the end, I didn’t purchase a single item at the hamfest. I was in selling mode, not buying mode, at this hamfest as I’ve been making an effort to downsize some of my collection and use the money to offset the costs of travel this year. With that said, I would have snagged a classic portable had one appeared.

This BC-317 is just asking to be taken home!

Mind you, I was very tempted by two BC-317 receivers being sold together for an asking price of $60, but I resisted as the whole idea of “thinning the herd” is to make room in my small radio shack.

I find that small hamfests like Greenwood actually have better vintage radio pricing than the larger ‘fests.

Greenwood Photo Gallery

Though the hamfest was modest in size, there were quite a few quality offerings among the vendors. I was very impressed with the number of transceivers–indeed, a new ham would have had a selection of affordable benchmark 90s era rigs to choose from!

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge or comment on the photos. Most of the photos were taken prior to the doors opening but I did my best to capture price tag information if available:

I love the design of this Heathkit Signal Tracer

Though this Delco hadn’t been refinished and didn’t have original knobs, it was still a thing of beauty.

A very clean Heath SB-1400.

This Icom IC-761 was eventually sold for less than asking price–a briallint deal for a superb benchmark transceiver.

Vlado was selling this R-1000 which he recently repaired and restored. No one bought it, so if interested, you might try contacting him!

Greenwood had quite a few Drake transmitters and receiver combos for sale.

A gorgeous Collins.

The IC-7200 is a fantastic rig for $650.

Do I plan to revisit Greenwood next year? You bet!

CommRadio CTX-10 availability update

Ed spots a Heathkit HW-101 in The Royal Tenennbaums

6 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

I was in my corner bar last night in Philadelphia where “The Royal Tenennbaums” (2001) was playing on the projection screen. I wasn’t really watching it, but a scene showing a Heathkit HW-101 HF transceiver suddenly caught my eye. When I told my my drinking buddy, Richard, “That’s a Heathkit HW-101!” He called me a hopeless geek.

I’m not sure what tuner is on the shelf below it, but maybe a SWLing blog reader can identify it.