Somehow growing up in Eugene, Oregon I never knew anyone that did amateur radio. Not an uncle, not a geeky friend in high school. It was not until I was 52 years old that my position with Lincoln County brought me to this wonderful hobby and essential emergency response tool.
My road to Ham radio began when I met with Jim Hawley (V7VTW), Emergency Manager to discuss with him the development of the first comprehensive Lincoln County Emergency Management Plan. I assisted him with all aspects of the plan, but was primarily responsible for the debris management aspects. Jim retired just after that plan was completed. During revisions to the plan a few years later it occurred to me that amateur radio could be an essential tool for communicating during an emergency.
I found Mike Eastman (N7ONP) as my Elmer, took his Technicians class and earned my Technician ticket in June 2013. At that time I only owned a Yaseu FT-60R. In July of 2013 I passed my exam for my General License. I celebrated by purchasing a Yaseu FT-2900R, Kenwood TS-590S, Astron RS-35M power supply and West Mountain RR/4008C for power distribution. I also purchased a Diamond X300A, VHF antenna for my car and supplies to build a dipole HF antenna.
My “shack” at that time was a card table set up in a corner of the spare bedroom. It consisted of power supply and distribution, HF transceiver, mobile VHF radio and antenna and an HF antenna that I still needed to build and install. My mobile rig was my FT-60R with externally mounted antenna.
In December of 2014 I began a new chapter of my life as I became a Newport City Councilor and started a mobile wood milling business. I did not have time to get back to amateur radio until February 2020 – a few months before I retired at the end of June 2020.
I wanted to see if Ham radio would be a great fit for retirement. What a crazy thought right? I quickly decided it was, so I built my own custom desk/shelves with local lumber that I milled. By early August 2020 I now had my first respectable HAM shack. As we were designing and having a new garage built, I had a new heated space added to the back of a new garage as a 2nd shack/storage room. With the garage finally finished, I started installing some gear in late August 2022 and have focused on laying out all the radio gear. I am currently moving some radios around, which has been a lot of hard work, but the effort has been worth it. I am fortunate that my yard and design of my new garage allow for many antenna installation. There are 6 antennas currently installed and I have plans 4-6 more this spring/summer.
Mark’s Gear:
Original Ham Shack (corner of spare bedroom)
Kenwood TS-590S, Yaesu FT-991A, Icom IC-7100, Xiegu G90 (also for QRP), Yaesu FTM-500DR (VHF/UHF), Yaesu FT-2900R (75 watt VHF), Btech GMRS-50X1 (50 watt), various HTs, PC computer, OpenSpot3, ZUMSpot, SignaLink USB (WinLink) SDRplay DX, WSPR Transmitter, various HTs. Antennas – 66′ OCD (HF), Diamond X300A and Arrow J-pole (VHF/UHF). Power – Astron RS-35M power supply with Rigrunner 4008 for power distribution.
New Ham Shack (heated room/new garage)
Yaesu FTDX-10, Yaesu FT-891, FT-818ND (also for QRP), President George FCC (11m/CB), FTM-300, FTM-7250, Wouxun KG-XS20G (GMRS, 20 watts), various HTs, Inovato Quadra4K HamClock. Power – Astron SS-50M with Intellitron PDC-3408D 40A for power distribution. Antennas – Chameleon Base Camp III 132′ EFHV (HF), G5RV Jr 92′ (pending approval from the city), 11m/CB vertical, Diamond X510HDM (VHF/UHF, 17.2′), GMRS Base antenna. (Nagoya NMO-200C w/GPK-01 NMO mount ground plane kit, Diamond A144S5 (VHF beam, I need to install it with a rotor on a mast).