NK8O

I have been licensed for quite some time (since 1983) but I was dormant on HF after only 3 years. 25 years later I went back on the air. Now with a couple more years behind me, I'm "back in the saddle" and having a lot of fun. After returning to the airwaves, an R4030 has gave way to a KX3. This is a wonderful radio - light, versatile, and very portable. The rig has made many successful trips to the park and the slingshot launches for treetop antennas continue to improve in accuracy. Most of the time I use simply a long wire with a home brewed 9:1 unun, short coax, and a rather random counterpoise. The counterpoise keeps stray RF away from the radio. I've also added a home brewed transformer for a 1/2 wave end fed antenna. It seems to have much lower loss than the 9:1 unun, but the band usage is not as flexible due to the need for a proper fixed length for any given band. I have had the pleasure of two mini-expeditions to Tanzania (5H9CP & 5H3DX), South Africa (ZS1/VE3ISD), and also Bonaire (PJ4/NK8O). As always, it is nice to be on the receiving end of a pile-up. Bonaire was quite fun; QRP with a simple vertical clipped on a bush in the front of the house. Managed just shy of 500 QSOs, recorded 66 DXCC entities and 36 states. For future Tanzanian operations, I have added the KXPA100 and PX3. I had a bit more signal than I had last time. I am a little more prepared for pileups, although I admit that I am not a mega-DX hound. During September, 2015, I ran 60 watts as 5H3DX because I had only battery power available. I managed just over 1300 QSOs with just under 1200 distinct stations. 81 DXCC countries were logged and so far, 65 have QSLed via LOTW. The hexbeam was not in the cards so I ended up with a random wire antenna that worked acceptably on 30-20-17-15 meters. 10 and 12 meters were dead, dead, dead. I plan another trip to Tanzania late next year (2016).