Contributions of the group Amateur Radio

Crowds at Ham Radio Event

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:54:58 +0000

Its hard to describe, so I grabbed a photo at the HamVention event that we recently attended. This took place at a fairgrounds near Dayton Ohio, so there were interior exhibit halls, as well as a massive "flea market" outside.

The crowds in the exhibit halls were nearly impassible. This is just a hint as to the folks there, and their numbers.

Image processed with GIMP.

Collins KWM-2 Radio

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:55:00 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

This is an "antique" radio that was being displayed at the HamVention event. It is a product of Collins, a major manufacturer of radios in times past.

Quite a collectible item, if you are into such equipment. Many antique radios like this are in current use.

And yes, it was for sale.

Image processed with GIMP.

Ham Antennas (HFF)

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Sat, 23 May 2026 19:30:48 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

Taken at Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio. This is a big amateur radio get-together. I noticed that this truck certainly has a LOT of antennas.

Image taken with phone and processed with Snapseed.

Tubes (HTT)

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Sat, 23 May 2026 19:30:54 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

Taken at Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio. This is a big amateur radio get-together. They have a "flea" market in the open field near the exhibit halls. This fellow was selling TUBES! Yes, there are still tube radios being maintained and used for amateur radio.

(And they were also selling tube testers, not shown.)

For the Sunday Challenge the issue was context. So, the viewer might ask: where is this? why all these items? these seem for sale, but who buys them?

When I first posted this, I tried to provide some context using words, but we get a little bit of visual context with the grass and vehicle in the background (flea market?). So, where do we go from here?

Image taken with phone and processed with Snapseed.

NARUG QSL stamp (1972)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:52:58 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

NARUG QSL stamp

A relatively rare QSL stamp issued by the defunct NARUG (the National Amateur Radio Union of Greece) circa 1970. NARUG, founded by Din Psilogoannis SV1DB (SK), operated between 1968 and 1979, with the peak of their activity around 1969-1974.

G8PF 1937

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Thu, 07 May 2015 12:14:25 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

LAC H E Bennett operates G8PF at RAF Cranwell in 1937.

QSL EF6

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 09:56:40 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

Special call EF6 for the accession to the throne of King Philip VI of Spain.

QSL CR6PV (1972) front

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:13:00 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL CR6PV (1972)

QSL CR6PV (1972) back

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:13:31 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL CR6PV (1972)

VRAS QSL stamp (1987)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:11:38 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL stamp of Vereniging van Radio Amateurs in Suriname (VRAS), circa 1985.

IARC QSL stamp (1951)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 07:15:00 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL stamp of the Israel Amateur Radio Club (IARC), early 1950s

QSL W1AW

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 08:07:56 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

Vintage QSL card from the ARRL club station W1AW, 1986.

Now publc domain, as it was published without a © notice.

QSL W1AW

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 20:17:00 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL card from ARRL HQ station W1AW.

Angola QSL stamp

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 07:20:10 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL stamp of the Angolan QSL Bureau operated by LARA under Portuguese administation (circa 1970).

QSL SV1YY (1965)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:54:49 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL SV1YY (1965)

Amateur radio QSL card send by SV1YY to VE3BLU in Ontario, Canada, confirming a 7 MHz CW QSO in May 1965.

This is an unlicensed operation under a self-assigned call sign, quite common in Greece before 1967. Dimitrios Psimorifos (now a silent key) was eventually licensed around 1980 as SV1NY. The reference to SV1AY is also spurious, the actual owner of SV1AY was named Dimitrios Kokkinis.

QSL card mailed directly to Canada, franked with a pair of "Traité de Sèvres" stamps of 2 drachmae, cancelled with an "ATHINAI- AVION" postmark on 31 VIII 65.

QSL SV1YY (1965)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:54:51 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL SV1IS (1978)

nobody@ipernity.com (SV1XV) — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 05:31:57 +0000

SV1XV has posted:

QSL card sent by SV1IS to W9QWM, confirming a 15 MHz CW QSO in June 1978. A stock Olympic Airways postcard was used with rubber stamps for callsign and data. The sender affixed a RAAG QSL stamp for sending via the bureau.

It appears that SV1IS held also an experimental radio station license of unknown type/purpose using callsign SZ2AAA.

6 Meter Buddipole in Living Room

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:11:24 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

It was in the winter, and we could not set up our Buddipole in the back yard. Some local amateur radio peopole (HAMS) wanted to test the 6 meter band, something we had never tried.

We had not unpacked the Buddipole since 2012, but decided to unpack it. This is the waiting setup, before we moved the dipole closer to our living room window.

We DID receive from the other hams on 6 meter, but could not transmit.

Some progress made!

(If you look carefully at our living room, you will see some of the images that I've shared on Ipernity: solar eclipse photos, Arches National Park photos, very large teddy bears (on right), etc.)

Image taken with phone and processed with GIMP.

Antenna Tower Complete

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:46:22 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

In this photo, the tower is now up.

In addition to the horizontal elements, the tower was constructed with a pulley system. An additional horizontal wire dipole is being raised using that pulley.

This antenna system was used during the Field Day (28 June 2025) for many contacts.

Our amateur radio (HAM) club is closely involved with the city Public Safety organization. Events like this are practice for handling potential natural disasters. WØZWY, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Image taken with the phone and processed with GIMP.

Antenna Tower Work

nobody@ipernity.com (Robert Swanson) — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:21:43 +0000

Robert Swanson has posted:

Our amateur radio club (HAMS) took part in the official Field Day 28 June 2025. One of the members has built a tower that can be towed behind a vehicle.

WØZWY, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Erecting the tower is specialized work, so we just stood aside, unless asked for help. The team here has done this several times over the years.

You can see the antenna arms pre-positioned on the ground, before being mounted on the rotator at the top.

Image taken with phone and processed with GIMP.