Rob’s journey into the world of radio began with his father in a Renault Dauphine and a Lafayette base station, exploring CB radio. In the 1960s, attending Coffee Breaks with other CB enthusiasts was a significant part of their lives. After months of studying radio theory and CE, Rob and his father took “The Test” with the help of WA2GBS, a friend of the family. They both passed, earning the call signs WB2OMV and WB2OMW, with Rob later becoming W3OMW. A year or two later, he upgraded to General.
Together, they built a 40/80 meter rack-mounted transmitter with mercury vapor tubes in the power supply, which required waiting for the mercury to vaporize before tuning. He added a surplus ARC5 to provide a VFO and used a fluorescent tube as an output power indicator. An old 1920s telephone mouthpiece served as the microphone. His equipment collection included a Hallicrafter receiver, a Hammerlund HQ170VHF receiver with a working clock, and a UHF converter. For 6m and 2m, he used a Swan 250C and a D104 microphone for the early Gonset Communicator IV. His tower, approved by the Valley Stream town clerk with a hand-drawn sketch, featured stacked 2m and 6m beams and a Tribander.
Years later, Rob upgraded to Amateur Extra and, after retiring, moved to West Brandywine, where he resides atop a hill 685 feet above sea level. With minimal noise compared to his previous Long Island location, Rob enjoys excellent DX conditions. Building the Elecraft K3 line has further enhanced his radio experience.
Download Rob’s Nerd Notes in PDF
W3GMS REPEATER in Parkesburg, PA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.