NEWS UPDATE by Tom, KH0/KC0W:

After 60,000+ CW, SSB and FT8 QSOs from my house as KH0/KC0W & KH0W I decided to go QRT on January 1st, 2022. I needed a new challenge so I decided to construct the KH0W/m station and operate CW only. As a ham radio purest it’s absolutely imperative that all QSOs take place when the car is actually in motion & NOT sitting stationary. There are numerous large grassy areas on Saipan where I can drive in large circles while contesting/DXing from the mobile. I use a small laptop strapped to the center of my steering wheel which runs N1MM to send CW and log contacts. The telescoping antenna is a full 1/4 wave on 20 meters as well as 17, 15, 12, 10 & 6 meters. Yes, I’m aware a mag-mount is not optimal & I hope to upgrade the setup in the mobile near future with the purchase of new car and not the little jellybean I now drive.

The first real test of the KH0W/m station was in the CW WPX contest. Luckily I had the weekend off from work so I was able to devote my entire weekend to the contest. Propagation was mediocre from KH0 land for much of the contest so I decided to only operate 20/15 meters. It didn’t take me long to realize mobile operating presents challenges in terms of signal strength. My great equalizer though is by operating very close to the ocean. My country total in the WPX contest was 49 and the total number of QSOs was 607. Not too bad for my first effort. I used a whole tank of gas during the contest. Gas on Saipan is over $7 a gallon.

Hope to work many of you in upcoming CW contests while driving around in a large circle with a laptop strapped to my steering wheel. After all, my license plate frame DOES say “Morse Code Enthusiast”, hihi.