WW2PT Info 15-Jan-2010: WW2PT is now WW2PT/5. The short story is, New Jersey sucks (as does the entire Northeast). The XYL and I grew tired of sacrificing quality of life for... well, actually nothing in return but higher prices, higher taxes, and higher stress levels. So now we live in a rented duplex outside of Waco, TX until we get settled and find the perfect QTH where I can build a nice observatory and plant some antennas.
My station consists of an Elecraft K3 transceiver as primary rig with my old workhorse. I've kept the K3 up-to-date with the frequent firmware upgrades and have had no problems at all with the rig. I had to postpone the purchase of the KRX3 second receiver module until finances recover from the cost of moving halfway across the country, but that will be added soon along with the digital voice recorder as it becomes available. Much more to say about the K3 on my radio blog.
My current housing situation prevents me from erecting a large antenna so I make the most of it by using a Tarheel 200A-HP mobile screwdriver antenna installed on a tripod with a ground radial system; this gets me on the air and has rewarded me with some nice DX contacts.
I use HB9DRV's awesome Ham Radio Deluxe (v5) software suite for loging, control of the K3, and working HF digital modes (PSK31, RTTY, etc.).
A pair of JRC NRD-515 receivers are set up for mediumwave DX with a Kiwa Air Core Loop. Not that I do much MW listening other than WBAP in Dallas...
As for the rest of the JRC gear, it's all pretty much gone. The JST-245 was sold in November 2009; since getting the K3 I just wasn't using the '245. Sad for me to part with but I'd rather see it find a good home than gather dust on a shelf. My NRD-505, the prize of my JRC receiver collection, was also sold in October 2009, as was my NRD-535D.
In 2007 I built an Elecraft KX1 QRP CW transceiver; this has rekindled my interest in QRP operation and CW. My first rig was a Heathkit HW-9 that I built in 1985 a couple of years before I earned my first ham ticket. With the HW-9 I learned the code and made my first QSOs at 5 watts, tapping out CW with a straight key and a shaky fist.
The future WW2PT, age 14, with
my first receiver, a Realistic DX-160.
Circa. 1977 • QTH: Closter NJ
Brief History: I started playing with shortwave radios during the summer of 1976. My first radio was a Realistic DX-160 which was purchased with paper route money. I lost interest after a while, but "rediscovered" shortwave DXing while studying at Berklee College of Music when I purchased a Sony ICF-6500 portable to combat boredom during the cold Boston winters. This renewed interest in radio led to a job at Gilfer Shortwave in Park Ridge, NJ in 1987.
I earned my first amateur general class license (N2HIE) in 1987 and quickly upgraded to Advanced Class; when vanity calls became available I changed my call to WW2PT in 1998. After 3 or so years at Gilfer, I worked for Japan Radio Company, Ltd. (JRC) as sales manager for amateur radio and land mobile communications products, and returned to Gilfer in 1994 until the company's demise a few years later.
Over the years I've dabbled in many different aspects of the hobby - RTTY, satellites, QRP, 6m and 2m SSB - but have always enjoyed HF phone the most. I'm now exploring the newest HF digital modes like PSK31, QPSK, Olivia, and Feld-Hell. Old dogs really can learn new tricks.
Notes On The Japan Radio
Co. NRD-535 HF Receiver 13-Nov-2005: My role in JRC's development of the NRD-535 receiver was akin to that of a midwife during childbirth - while others did all of the work (JRC's First Engineering Dept., led by T. Shiono-san), I was simply there to tell them when to push. The '535 was a marked improvement over the NRD-525, one which addressed nearly all of the criticisms of it's predecessor functionality and performance. I feel fortunate to have been able to play a small part in bringing it to market.
My time at JRC's New York office coincided with the design and release of the NRD-535 receiver, JRL-2000F linear amplifier, and JST-245 HF transceiver (the latter was actually released in the USA shortly after I left JRC, but I was present during the design process). I will post more info to this page as I uncover more of my old JRC notes and continue to wax nostalgic about my JRC days. For now, there's some artist concept drawings of 4 proposed designs that I brought home with me from the NRD-535 design review meetings at JRC's Mitaka factory in June 1990. It's interesting to contemplate what might have been - for example, was the civilized world ready for a shortwave receiver with an ASS button? ;-)
Receiver Overview: The Japan Radio
Co. NRD-505 10-Mar-2003:A tribute to my favorite communications receiver.
The first draft of the text was done around 1992 when I was working
for JRC. Gerry Dexter asked if I would be interested in authoring a book
for Tiare
Publications about the NRD-series of shortwave radios. NRD-505:
An Historical and Technical Overview would have been the
first chapter, but as fate would have it the project never
materialized: I left JRC later that year and the book was put
on hold – permanently, as it turned out. When I rediscovered the Word documents a few years ago on an old drive I formatted them for the web, filled in a few blanks, added some neat links and PDF files related to JRC, and here it is.
15-Jan-2010: 
