WB3GCK Amateur Radio Homepage

I've been in ham radio since 1974 and served as a U.S. Navy Radioman in the early 70s. I operate 100% QRP on the HF bands. Most of my HF operating is from portable locations, using CW and digital modes. I'm member of the QRP ARCI, NAQCC, Polar Bear QRP Ops, FISTS, MI-QRP, NEQRP, NorCal QRP, Flying Pigs QRP and a few others. I'm also a long-time subscriber to the Internet QRP Mailing List (QRP-L).

I'm a member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and an Assistant Emergency Coordinator with Chester County ARES/RACES (CCAR), which provides emergency communications for the county. I'm also a SKYWARN weather spotter.

NEW!! The WB3GCK QRP Blog is now online! Check out the blog for my latest content.

New Year's Day 2015 Portable Operation QRP portable on New Year's Day 2015 from Charlestown Park near Phoenixville, PA.
NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, August 2014 QRP portable near the Hopewell Fire Tower in French Creek State Park, Elverson, PA.
Flight of the Bumblebees, July 2014 A short bicycle trip to Lower Perkiomen Valley Park for this annual QRP contest.
Duck, North Carolina - 2013 QRP portable from the Outer Banks, September 2013.
NJQRP Skeeter Hunt, August 2013 QRP portable by the Schuylkill Canal.
Flight of the Bumblebees, July 2013 A brief outing to a nearby park for this annual QRP contest.
PBMME - November 2009 Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event - "Stationary mobile" from Charlestown Park near Phoenixville, PA
QRP Afield - 2007 "Stationary mobile" from Valley Forge National Park
Corolla, North Carolina - 2007 QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - July/August 2005 - using the "Up and Outer" antenna
Corolla, North Carolina - 2005 QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - August 2005
QRP to the Field - Ridin' the Rails QRP-portable from two different train stations in Valley Forge Park, April 2005
QRP to the Field - Battlefields QRP-portable from Valley Forge National Park, April 2004.
Lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) - 2003 Operating aboard a museum ship in Baltimore, Maryland - August 2003
Corolla, North Carolina - 2002 QRP Portable from the Outer Banks (Again!) - July 2002
QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party QRP portable in Delaware - April 2002
Corolla, North Carolina - 2001 QRP Portable from the Outer Banks - July 2001
Appalachian Trail - Mason/Dixon Line QRP portable operation on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border - September 2000
BUBBA QRP Sprint 2000 A report of my outing for this contest. Contains a drawing of the "Inverted Y" antenna I used.
Pocomoke River State Forest and Park QRP Portable from the Eastern Shore of Maryland - 2000
WB3GCK/QRP/MM QRP/Marine Mobile operation during QRP to the Field 2000
Operating a QRP Classic - The Tuna Tin 2 I had the honor of operating the original Tuna Tin 2 transmitter built by Doug DeMaw, W1FB, in the 70s.
Wellesley Island, New York QRP Portable from the Thousand Islands - 1999
QRP to the Field - 1997 Tales from the Home of the Blob.

Tilt Stand for the YouKits HB-1B A very simple tilt stand I built using two items from my junkbox.
Bike Rack Vertical Here's a quick-to-deploy antenna support using a hitch-mounted bike rack.
Clipboard Keyer A small clipboard and a couple of steel washers can make portable operating a little more convenient.
Jackite Pole Hacks Here are a couple of minor enhancements to an already great product.
Jackite Pole Guy Ring Here's neat method for attaching guy lines to your Jackite pole.
Junkbox Paddles Here is a set of iambic paddles I built from junk parts years ago.
Field Day Inverted L A simple, easy-to-deploy portable antenna.
The 4:1 Un-Un A homebrew 4:1 transformer for unbalanced antennas.
Pop-up Vertical 2.0 The antenna I currently use with my pop-up camper.
The "Up and Outer" Antenna An obscure classic antenna that is great for limited-space applications.
WB3GCK's APRS Tracker Here's an APRS tracker I put together using a boater's box from a marine supply house.
Powerpole Polarity Tester A small handful of parts and a few minutes buys you peace of mind.
Dollar Store Special An inexpensive and simple back-up wire antenna using a roll of dollar store speaker wire.
Portable Mast Support - Cheap! Here's an inexpensive way to support a telescopic fiberglas mast for portable operation.
HTX-202 Internal Battery Replacement Here's how to replace the internal memory ackup battery in the classic Radio Shack HTX-202 2 meter HT.
RockMite Transceiver Here are a few pictures of the RockMite transceiver I built from a kit.
Poqet PC Plus Serial Port Adapter Here's an easy way to deal with that whacky serial port connector on the Poqet PC Plus computer.
Homebrew Z-Match Tuner Here's some info on a Z-Match tuner with an LED SWR bridge that I built.
YATT2 - Yet Another Tuna Tin 2! Here'a couple of pictures of a TT2 transmitter I built from a NJ-QRP Club kit.
Homebrew Regen Shortwave Receiver Here's my version of NA5N's Pipsqueak regen receiver.
The Second Story Antenna An incredibly simple antenna for portable or low-profile operation.
The Pop-up Vertical The homebrew vertical antenna I originally used with my pop-up camper.
The "Duck" Vertical What I did on my summer vacation - 1997.
The WB3GCK Downspout Antenna A simple, low-profile antenna which has served me quite well for several years now.
A Simple and Flexible Tuner for QRP A simple QRP accessory.
Twinlead J-Pole Antenna An old favorite of many hams. Makes a great emergency or portable antenna for the 2 meter band.

Amateur Radio: The Cockroach of Communications A short article on Ham Radio and survivable communications. (PDF)
The Care and Feeding of Gel Cell Batteries A brief article on how to properly charge gel cell batteries.
International Morse Code A chapter taken from a 1967 U.S. Navy Radioman training manual. (Linked to WB3GCK.COM)
Generic Log and Dupe Sheet for QRP Contests Feel free to make a copy.
Crossband Repeater Operation Some information on setting up crossband repeat capabilities for emergency communications.
Individual Preparedness A presentation on setting up a "Go Kit" prepared for Chester County ARES/RACES. (240KB PDF File)