The KN4T SuperStation (big wink!)

KN4T (ex-AC1O/4) is located in Port. St. Lucie, Florida, on a half-acre lot directly on the North Fork of the St. Lucie River. (The next time you see the old James Bond "Moonraker" movie, keep an eye out, towards the end, for some spectacular speedboat chase scenes on the "Amazon River". Many of them were filmed from my back yard.)

Port St. Lucie, a haven for retirees from the Northeast (which I am not!) is located on a (still-relatively) unspoiled part of Florida's east coast. It's 100 miles north of Miami, 80 miles south of the Kennedy Space Center, and 100 miles southeast of the Disney Complex.


The Station

The primary rig at KN4T is an FT-1000. I have an L4B amp but haven't turned it on in more than three years now. I can (eventually) work every DX station I can hear, and much prefer to run barefoot in contests (see below). My second "radio" is a FT-890.

The KN4T "antenna farm" (the picture is looking at it from a boat on the river) is principally a Mosely PRO-96 on a U. S. Tower HDX-72, 79 feet off the ground. Rotor is an Orion 2300. An 80 meter dipole hangs from the tower; both antennas play very well. (This part of Florida is very flat.) 160 meters has been my nemisis for years, but a N4RN-modified Inverted L antenna hung from the tower seems to be doing MUCH better than my previous top-band radiation efforts.


The Operator

At the age of 56 I am unable to push (and incapable of pushing) the envelope. This is my main attraction to low power operation in contests: there's one less thing to blow up, instant RFI reduction, no need to strain to hear the third layer of Europeans in a DX contest -- and no gnashing of teeth when K1AR et al beat me. Low power operating also brings out some really neat skills; you have to be MUCH more of an opportunist than the "push F1 and open the band" crowd -- and cracking a mid-sized pile-up brings a REAL high.

Previous calls: W3GYP, WT1AAF, WB1AGF and W1HZU. Previous QTH's: Ardsley, PA and Plymouth, MA. Previous claims to fame: Finishing third in the April 1960 CD Party (to W4DQS and W1TYQ) and helping operate at W3BES when multi-operator operating in DX contests meant just bringing in an extra person or two to keep a big station on the air for 48 hours straight. (Gerry, later known as W3GM, was my contesting Elmer back in the late 50's -- which gave me a truly priceless education. His recent passing took one of contesting's real legends away from us.)


Why Contesting?

Why do I contest -- when I don't have the skills, station nor stamina to win? 1) It's a way to find out just what my station and I can do -- and I still get a genuine thrill when a far-away station, or a station coming through on an unusual propagation path, sends my call back to me. Contests let you find out just what you -- and your station -- are capable of doing. Fast! 2) More importantly, radio contesting may be the only activity where the Big Guns have to work other competitors in order to win. You thus not only compete against the masters but, for one fleeting moment, actually swap an exchange with them. (I worked W4KFC in my first SS and KH6IJ in my first DX contest -- and will never forget either contact. Want to see the QSL cards from those contacts? They're at W4KFC and KH6IJ .) I enjoy having a chance to rub elbows with those who are better operators than I, and enjoy the challenge of trying to bring my skills up to their level. They have been patient with me (and others like me) through the years -- and I appreciate it.


Back To KN4T's Favorite Amateur Radio Links

Back To Our Home Page


[ Sign Guest Book ] [ Send E-mail to Walter ] [ Main Menu ]


©1997 DTR Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Web Pages created by Scott Neader, Internet Solutions
neader@centuryinter.net