The AA8V Station
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Click on any section of the station in the photo for information on that section of the station, or look in the list below.



Click on any section of the station in the photo for information on that section of the station, or look in the list below.

Introduction and General Description:
The AA8V station can look complicated and perhaps intimidating, but when it is viewed as a collection of receivers, transmitters, transceivers, and amplifiers that can be selected and placed on the air one at a time, it is much less complicated. The station is designed so that the various receivers, transmitters, amplifiers, and transceivers can be selected simply by throwing a switch, without the need to plug or unplug cables. The equipment shown in the photo is summarized in the table below::

Though any receiver can be used with any transmitter and/or amplifier, certain combinations go together better than others, and I tend to use those combinations. My preferred combinations are listed in the table below. When an amplifier is listed it can be bypassed by simply turning it off. Below are some general comments:

1. My favorite combination is the TenTec Jupiter with the Wingfoot VFO/Wingfoot 813 Amplifier system. The Wingfoot 813 amplifier is normally only used with the Wingfoot VFO exciter, and it is normally turned on. When band conditions are above average, I will run the Wingfoot VFO barefoot at 27W output.
2. My second most favorite combination is the 6x2 receiver and the digital VFO/6AG7/6146B system. This is a 100% homebrew station. Under very good/excellent conditions I will operate barefoot QRP with only 3W output from the 6AG7 amplifier.
3. The Drake Twins are normally used together. They are a real pleasure to use.
4. The Hallicrafters SX-96 is normally used with the Johnson Viking Ranger on AM. I usually operate AM on the 40m band. I also use the SX-96 for broadcast band DXing and short wave listening.
5. The 6x2 receiver is normally used only with the digital VFO/Johnson Viking Ranger or the digital VFO/6AG7/6146B system. The digital VFO makes up for the lack of precise frequency readout on the 6x2 receiver.
6. The TenTec Jupiter is usually used as a receiver, rather than a transceiver. I normally use it as a transceiver only on 160m.
7. The Ameritron AL-572 amplifier is normally used only with the Tentec Jupiter. I eventually hope to use it on AM with the Johnson Viking Ranger, but that combination is somewhere in the future.

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If you have any questions or comments, you can send E-Mail to Dr. Greg Latta at glatta@frostburg.edu