Robert "Bob" Ansell, K1WGM joined the ranks of the Silent Keys.
My dear friend Bob Ansell, K1WGM passed away today. He was one of my longest amateur radio friends. A great CW operator.
He was a member of the K4IX, KZ3O, YV1NX, WG4T, bunch on 7020 kHz during the 1970s to 1990s. Dave WG4T and I are all that remain of that rag chewing group.
Born June 4 1949 in Boston MA. Grew up in Ft Worth Texas till the age of 8. My dad was a flight instructor with S.A.C command. In 1958 moved to Lexington MA
My elmer and uncle " Norry " W1KSF (SK) introduced me to ham radio at age 9. With a bit of effort I received my ticket before turning 12 and have never looked back.
My niche for the moment involves experimenting with unusual phased arrays. Using my drones to test and install antennas has also been a fun project.
PRESENT EQUIPMENT
K3s going to a two port stack match ( Dx Engineering) feeding two Ten Tec amps. The Centurion amp through a Palstar BT 1500a balanced tuner feeds an open wire fed doublet up 50 feet. The other amp a Hercules ll through a Palstar AT2K tuner feeds a vertical. The array can be either in or out of phase. I've learned a lot by watching my large pan adapter ,signals that were low become stronger at the same time some are getting weaker. This happens when changing the phase. The factors that causes this are not well understood by me. Antenna set up at the receiving station may be but one of many influences affecting the outcome. The array seems to favor Europe.
My only mode is cw. I enjoy all QSO's from the sweet sound of a good bug to the exhilarating sound of a good keyboard at break neck speeds. Please feel free to ask me to QRS as I tend to be long in the tooth.
73 Bob K1WGM