About
Howdy, KE0TCF here
I am an Extra class amateur radio operator near Funk, Nebraska.
Originally licensed in 2018, I wasn't particularly active in radio until I moved to Kearney about a year later. I got my General and Extra upgrades about a year after that, in late 2020. In spring of 2025 I moved out to the country near Funk. My primary HF setup is an ICOM IC-7300 paired with a 102 foot doublet, fed with 450 ohm window line. I enjoy phone, digital modes, and I'm working on learning morse code! My goal with this hobby is to try to sample as much of it as I can, trying as many things as possible before settling so that I know what all is out there!
You can learn more about me and what I get up to outside of amateur radio, and see my other projects at my personal website!
QTH
I live in the country near Funk, Nebraska, a village of less than 200 people, located along the Platte River in Phelps County. I moved to Kearney after getting married in 2019, and then in spring of 2025 we moved out to the country. Originally, I grew up about an hour away in Aurora, just east of Grand Island.
I am an active member of the Midway Amateur Radio Club (W0KY) in Kearney as well as the South-Central Nebraska Amateur Radio Club based out of Holdrege. I manage both club's web presence and also help manage the local D-STAR repeater and gateway (KD0PBW). I am also an ARRL accredited VE, ARES member and certified Skywarn Spotter.
| Grid | EN00in |
|---|---|
| ITU | 7 |
| CQ | 4 |
| City | Funk |
| County | Phelps |
| State | Nebraska (NE) |
| Country | United States (271) |
| Continent | North America (NA) |
QSL
Online QSL
I use the following online logging/QSL services:- Logbook of the World
- QRZ
- ClubLog
- eQSL
Paper QSL
I also send and receive paper QSLs via the following:- Direct (please SASE if at all possible)
- Bureau
- ClubLog OQRS
Shack
I am currently a ham with a very limited budget. This makes things tricky a lot of the time, but it also results in me having to be thrifty and find affordable ways to get new equipment, often making it myself! My shack lives in a detached garage, which is my workshop for all my hobbies. It houses my 3D printer, and my general electronics/computer workbench. My ham shack lives in the back along one wall where all my gear is set up. The garage is insulated and drywalled, and has a heater and window AC unit, so I can keep the temperature fairly comfortable year round!
Rigs
Most of my HF operations from the shack occur on an ICOM IC-7300. I also have a Yaesu FT-101ZD that I enjoy tuning up on occasion to change things up! The IC-7300 is connected to an Ameritron AL-1200 amplifier, but I rarely use it, usually preferring to stick to the 100 watts from the radio. The amplifier feeds into a Drake WH7 wattmeter/SWR meter. After that, I have an Ameritron ATR-30 manual tuner which can handle the AL-1200 power if needed. All of the radio equipment on the desk is powered very handily by an Astron RS-35M linear power supply.
Computer
My station computer is a Dell Optiplex 9020 small form-factor PC connected to two relatively small monitors. I would someday like to get some larger monitors out here though! The IC-7300 connects to this computer via USB and gets used a lot for operating various digital modes. I enjoy FT8, Winlink, and Hellschreiber, as well as many other modes on occasion! I use Win4ICOM Suite for rig control, and Log4OM 2 as my primary logging program, as well as for a few other handy functions. I also have a slew of other ham radio software installed on it for various digital modes, radio programming, antenna design/analysis, etc.
Antennas
My VHF/UHF antenna consists of a home-built quarter-wave ground plane trimmed for 2m, and it also works well on 70cm! This is the third one I have made, the first two eventually succumbing to the weather. This time around, I home-brewed a sort of "weather-boot" to help with this, and so far it has worked well! For HF operations, I run a 102 foot doublet antenna, fed with 450 ohm window line. The feedpoint is at about 30 feet, and the ends slope down to closer to 20. This antenna is a recent change for me, coming from my home-built OCFD, and so far it is working well for me! The doublet is configured with a large DPDT knife switch outside the shack that allows me to
Mobile/Portable
For mobile operations, I have a modest setup in my 2015 Ford Escape. I have a 38.5" Nagoya whip on an articulated NMO mount, attached to the left side of the rear hatch. This runs to the front of the vehicle to an ICOM ID-800H dual-band transceiver. The main unit is under the drivers seat, the head unit is mounted for easy viewing on the dash, and the handmike comes up next to the drivers seat for easy reach. For portable operations, I have an ICOM IC-7100 which I built a custom go-box for in a PA-108 "fat 50" ammo can. I designed and built the entire interior myself, using a combination of 3D printed and off-the-shelf parts. It also includes an ATU-100 auto-tuner, and I have future plans to add a battery pack as well! When portable, I primarily use a Wolf River Coils SB-1000 TIA, with some modifications I made. For portable power I have a Dakota Lithium 10Ah LiFPo4 battery which serves me well, though a bigger one wouldn't hurt!
Workbench
When I'm not on the air, I enjoy working on restoring antique electronics, building kits, and building my own electronic designs. My workbench, pictured here, is where I do that! I have intentionally set it up to feel a bit "old school" with some of my restored vintage test/measurement equipment on display and within easy reach for use. My variac/isolation transformer/dim-bulb power supply and variable DC power supply is just left of the work area, and on the shelves are my oscilloscope, multimeter(s), signal generator, frequency counter, resistance/capacitance bridge, and more. The wooden cases on the top left shelf contain my tube tester and capacitor tester. The top middle shelf contains a mixture of future restoration projects and just display pieces. The library card catalog drawers on the right are probably close to 100 years old and are filled with tools, vacuum tubes, and other vintage parts.
