I got my first license in January 1959. I was thirteen and ham radio was magical. I didn't have any equipment, but I had my license! Over the years, this hobby has provided untold hours of pleasure. It also influenced my career, leading ultimately to being an owner/operator of a pair of small market radio stations.

At present my station is built around the Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver and its companion VL-1000 Quadra linear amplifier. W1KOK can transmit with 1250 watts of power in the 40, 20, 17, and 15 meter bands using SSB and CW. Each of these bands is connected to a vertical antenna or a vertical array. The station is located in Randolph Center, Vermont, but it can be operated via the internet from any location using client/server software of my own design.

The server runs on a Macintosh computer in the shack which has a serial connection to the FT-2000 and another to an old KAM. The server is a fairly simple piece of software written in RealBasic. Whatever it hears on one of the serial ports (FT-2000 or KAM) it passes on to the client. Whatever it hears from the client, it passes on to the FT-2000 or the KAM. Virtually no processing is done by the server.

The client, a RealBasic application running on my Macintosh, reflects the current state of the radio on the user's screen and, in response to user input sends commands to the radio (or the KAM) via the server.

The audio circuit is provided by a Skype connection. When I connect to the server it calls me via Skype. All audio from the FT-2000 is channeled via the Mac Mini audio input to Skype. All audio from the Mac Mini audio output goes thru an optoisolator into the FT-2000.

Testing of the client/server during winter 2008 - 2009 has been very satisfying. I have had quite a few excellent QSOs. Using a Macintosh computer and my client software from Montana and from California operating the station was all pretty much the same as if I were at home in the shack. I even bagged a few nice DX contacts,

If you have Skype, you can listen to the receiver. This will work even if Im on the air with you, so you can monitor your signal from my receiver if you choose. At present the server only supports one audio circuit. But, as long as nobody else is connected, the skype client at the server will accept your call to "W1KOK_Server", and you will be able to hear the receiver.

Use the link at the top of the page to e-mail me.