K4LE Richard L. 'Dick' Kesler Vero Beaach, FL QCWA # 14577

2010 was my 55th year in amateur radio. I was first licensed in Olney, Illinois as K9BTU in 1955. My first rig was a converted WWII vintage transmitter with a pair of 1625s and a Hallicrafters SX-25 receiver. I worked a lot of 40 CW before getting an Elmac A54H.

Later, I discovered 20 meters and finally got up a 5 element 20 meter Wilson monobander at 100 feet. A Collins KWM-2 and Henry 2K-3 were a joy to operate.

Currently, I own a round emblem KWM-2A & 30L-1, and I am the second owner of a Collins 75A-4 purchased new by W9JEM (SK). DXing and contesting took up my operating time until I discovered SSTV in the early 70. The Robot line of SSTV gear has been in my shack since 1971. We are now using PC's and software for SSTV Digital File Transfer.

After 32 years of teaching high school math and physics, Lucy and I retired to Vero Beach ,Florida in 1995. We built a house near A1-A on Orchid Island in Vero Beach about 1500 feet from the ocean. Lucy is K4BTU.

I am presently running a pair of Icom IC-7700s. One is always on 20 meters and drives the ACOM 2000A automatic self-tune amplifier running a pair of grid-driven 4CX800A ceramic tetrodes. The second IC-7700 drives an Alpha 8410 running a pair of 4CX1000A tubes.

My main antenna is homebrew. It is a 17m-20m dual-bander designed by Dave Jordan, K1NQ. The antenna was built using two Hy-Gain 204BA's. The 26 foot Hy-Gain boom holds 7 elements - 4 on 17 meters and 3 on 20 meters with approx. 8db gain and 20-25db f/b on each band. It is mounted on a 75 foot Aluma crank-up tower made right here in Vero Beach, Florida. A Cushcraft D-40 does a good job on 40 meters.

I am active on the Digital Slowscan TV (DSSTV) frequencies 14.233 MHz and 7.173 MHz.

1956

1965

1971

1990

2005

2010

October 17, 2011