QSO Today interview with Ken Oelke, VE6AFO

VE6AFO

10/13/2018

Episode 219 - Ken Oelke - VE6AFO

Ken Oelke, VE6AFO, stepped up to the plate for his local amateur radio club and ended up making leadership in local and national Canadian amateur radio organizations the major focus of his ham radio activity. Ken is now the president of the QCWA, the Quarter Century Wireless Association, when not operating both CW and SSB, or fixing one of his broken rigs. VE6AFO is my QSO Today.

Show Notes

Listen to Podcast

QRP Labs 10 Watt Linear Power Amplifier Kit

QRZ Page
QCWA Biography Page

First Mentor: Bill Nolan, VE6BT
Other mentor: Dick Krogman VE6MM
Fascinating gear in VE6BT's shack:
RF Current Meter
Heathkit DX-100 transmitter
Drake 2B Receiver
Penhold Air Force Base

Ken’s advice: Learn CW the right way - whole words at a time.

Hometown: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, 90 miles south of Edmonton, Canada
First License: Age 15, VE6AFO

First Rig:
Harvey Wells TBS 50 Transmitter
National HRO 5 Receiver, 1941

National NC 109 Receiver

Current Rig:
Kenwood TS530SP

Favorite operating mode: CW and SSB

Vibroplex paddles

Glass arm or telegrapher’s paralysis

K2 Ski Snow Ski Company

Canadian Radio Relay League a division of ARRL

J Worth Hurley, W7WG - 100 years old, Tacoma
QCWA - Quarter Century Wireless Organization

QCWA Scholarship Program

Challenging repair: Hallicrafters HT 37 Transmitter

Ken’s Test Equipment:
BK Precision 1570A oscilloscope
Function Generator, GW Instek - GFG-8215A
Frequency counter, Yaesu YC-500J
Wattmeter dummy load, Yaesu YP-150
Starkit RFG-2 signal generator
General Radio 1021-A signal generator to 920 Mhz

Most excited by:
QCWA Scholarships
Hamcation in Orlando, Florida
Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio

Carol Perry WB2MGP - QSO Today guest in Episode 51

Advice to new or returning hams:  Lots of hams have equipment to give away. Look to them as a source for cheap or free rigs.

DMR - Digital Mobile Radio

Echolink

TYT MD-380

IRLP - Internet Radio Linking Project. Also see Allstar Net

The RSS Feed for all audio content from QSO today is available from here.

Please join our QSO Today community by pressing the button below. It is the best way to suggest guests and topics, and provide feedback to Eric, 4Z1UG.

VE6AFO working the Harvey Wells, 1961

VE6AFO First Rig, 1961

Kenwood TS-530S HF Transceiver

RF Drake 2B Receiver

6 Comments

Shlomo 4X4LF

10/14/2018 02:23:00 am

Hi Eric,
I enjoyed your QSO with Ken - another great interview. I met Ken at the QCWA booth at the Dayton Hamvention a couple of years ago.
There is an Israeli chapter of QCWA - number 124, but most of us are gone now so it's no longer active. Here's the link:
http://www.qcwa.org/chapter124.htm
73,
Shlomo 4X4LF

Eric 4Z1UG

10/14/2018 04:44:46 am

Shlomo - thanks for the link. There are a number of us in Jerusalem who have also been licensed for over 25 years. I will see if we can re-activate this group. Do you want to be active again?

Shlomo 4X4LF

10/14/2018 05:21:34 am

I would like to be part of a reactivated QCWA chapter, but I live in Kibbutz Kissufim on the border with the Gaza Strip and would have difficulties coming to meetings in Jerusalem (I no longer drive into cities here).
I'm a life member, so the dues are no problem for me. Please keep me informed.

Ken Oelke, VE6AFO link

10/14/2018 09:30:32 am

Greetings Shlomo!! - Indeed, there is/was an active chapter (124) in Israel. Thank you for pointing that out. Eric - Shlomo is a Life Member of QCWA, There you go with your first member to reactivate Chatper 124!
73.
Ken Oelke, VE6AFO

Eric 4Z1UG

10/14/2018 09:18:43 pm

Shlomo- Israel QCWA will have to have an event in Kisufim every once in a while then. Field day? By the way, can you hear the Rosh Tzurim repeater on 439.025?

Bill Meara link

10/14/2018 08:44:29 am

Good one Eric -- thanks to you and to Ken for an enjoyable show. I especially liked the references to DX-100s, Drake 2-Bs and Halli HT-37s. I have all of those rigs in my shack.
Regarding the right way to learn CW, I think Ken's main point was that the right way to do it is NOT to visualize dots and dashes on a page, but instead to associate the letters with sound. Don't think A is . - on a page. Think of it as the sound dit dah. As for learning whole words... I dunno about that. Kind of reminds me of the debate about how best to teach people to read. There too I am a sound (phonics) advocate. Thanks again to both of you. 73 Bill N2CQR.

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VE6AFO

Episode 219 - Ken Oelke - VE6AFO

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