QSO Today with Al Rovner K7AR

K7AR

8/23/2026

Episode 540 - Al Rovner - K7AR

Al Rovner, K7AR, discovered amateur radio in high school through his electronics shop teacher, an active ham who helped him earn his first license in 1971. After college and a break from the hobby, Al returned to the air in 1980 and soon found that working DX was far more interesting than working all states. That interest grew into decades of serious DXing, eventually taking him to the upper levels of the DXCC Honor Roll and sending him on DXpeditions around the world. Along the way, Al became an experienced contester and CW operator, while also embracing newer modes including FT8. K7AR is my QSO Today.

Show Notes

Transcript

Listen to Podcast

People

Al Rovner, K7AR — Veteran DXer, DXpeditioner, contester, and ARRL DXCC card checker — ARRL Northwestern Division profile
Eric Guth, 4Z1UG — QSO Today host and licensed Israeli and U.S. amateur radio operator — ARRL QSO Today reference
Bob Norin, W7YAQ — DXer, contester, DXpeditioner, and Willamette Valley DX Club member — Willamette Valley DX Club QSL Bureau
Bernie McClenny, W3UR — DXer and publisher of The Daily DX newsletter — The Daily DX

Organizations & Clubs

ARRL — U.S. national association supporting amateur radio licensing, operating, technology, and awards — ARRL
Willamette Valley DX Club — Pacific Northwest club devoted to DXing and contesting — ARRL club listing
Tektronix — Electronics test-equipment company where K7AR performed engineering and firmware work — Oregon Encyclopedia Tektronix history

Equipment

Homebrew ARRL Handbook transmitter — Crystal-controlled amateur transmitter K7AR built as his first transmitting station — 1969 Radio Amateur's Handbook
Hallicrafters HT-32A — Tube amateur transmitter purchased used by K7AR after his homebrew transmitter — Radiomuseum HT-32A
Realistic DX-150 — General-coverage shortwave receiver used by K7AR before acquiring dedicated amateur equipment — Radiomuseum DX-150
Elecraft KPA500 — Compact 500-watt solid-state HF and 6-meter linear amplifier used for travel — Elecraft KPA500
FlexRadio Aurora AU-510 — Integrated 500-watt SDR transceiver selected for K7AR's newer flyaway station — FlexRadio Aurora AU-510

Antennas & Towers

Hustler vertical — Vertical antenna K7AR installed beside his Santa Ana apartment — Hustler antennas
ROHN 45G tower — Heavy-duty communications tower supporting K7AR's home antenna system — ROHN 45G specification
SteppIR DB36 — Large remotely tunable Yagi installed on K7AR's 75-foot tower — SteppIR DB36
DX Commander vertical — Portable multiband vertical used by K7AR during Pacific DXpeditions — DX Commander Classic
Spiderbeam telescopic pole — Portable fiberglass support carried for DXpedition wire antennas — Spiderbeam 12-meter pole
Inverted-L antenna — Wire antenna configuration K7AR installed at his Washington QTH — ARRL antenna resources
Quarter-wave sloper — Sloping wire antenna K7AR used for low-band DX operation — ARRL antenna resources
Inverted-V antenna — Wire dipole configuration discussed for evaluating propagation using FT8 — ARRL antenna resources

Modes & Operating Technology

CW — Morse-code operating mode preferred by K7AR for DXpedition pileups — ARRL band plan
SSB — Single-sideband voice mode used by K7AR for DX and contest operation — ARRL About SSB
RTTY — Radioteletype digital mode used by K7AR particularly during contests — ARRL RTTY Roundup
FT8 — Weak-signal digital mode extensively used by K7AR for DXpeditions — Official WSJT-X site
Fox/Hound mode — FT8 DXpedition protocol permitting a Fox to work multiple callers simultaneously — Official WSJT-X site
SuperFox mode — High-rate FT8 DXpedition mode designed for exceptionally large pileups — NCDXF SuperFox information
WSPR — Very-low-power digital mode discussed for studying worldwide propagation — Official WSJT-X site
Split operation — DX technique where transmitting and receiving occur on different frequencies — ARRL Operating Manual

Amateur Bands

160 meters — Low-frequency amateur band K7AR attempted during difficult DXpedition contacts — ARRL frequency allocations
80 meters — Low HF band K7AR actively pursued for DXCC contacts — ARRL band plan
75 meters — Phone portion of 80 meters discussed regarding K7AR's sunrise and sunset DXing — ARRL frequency allocations
20 meters — Major worldwide DX band repeatedly used during K7AR's expeditions — ARRL band plan
10 meters — HF band on which K7AR worked North Korea using SSB — ARRL frequency allocations
6 meters — “Magic Band” monitored by K7AR for international FT8 openings — ARRL frequency allocations

Awards & Achievements

DXCC — ARRL award for confirming contacts with at least 100 DXCC entities — ARRL DXCC
DXCC Honor Roll — DXCC recognition for operators approaching confirmation of every current entity — ARRL DXCC
DXCC Number One — Achievement discussed regarding K7AR reaching the top current DXCC entity total — ARRL DXCC rules

Contests

CQ World Wide DX Contest — Major international contest in which K7AR has operated from DX locations — CQ World Wide DX Contest
CQ World Wide RTTY Contest — International RTTY contest K7AR planned to operate from Bermuda — CQ WW RTTY information

Publications & Information Sources

QST — ARRL monthly membership journal containing amateur-radio technical and operating articles — ARRL QST
1969 Radio Amateur's Handbook — ARRL technical handbook K7AR used for his first transmitter project — Radiomuseum 1969 Handbook
The Daily DX — Daily DX-information newsletter K7AR used to track upcoming operations — The Daily DX

Logging, Spotting & Propagation Services

DX Cluster — Real-time amateur spotting network used to announce and locate DX stations — DX Summit
Club Log — Online amateur-radio log analysis and DXpedition confirmation service — Club Log
PSK Reporter — Global reception-reporting network for FT8 and other digital amateur signals — PSK Reporter
Logbook of The World — ARRL electronic QSO confirmation and award-credit system — ARRL Logbook of The World
QSL cards — Paper confirmations exchanged to document completed amateur-radio contacts — ARRL QSL service information

DXpedition Locations

Syria — K7AR participated in amateur-radio DXpeditions there in 1994 and 2001 — Encyclopaedia Britannica Syria
Bouvet Island — Extremely isolated Norwegian DXCC entity discussed as difficult to activate — Norwegian Polar Institute Bouvet Island
Kerguelen Islands — Remote French Southern Ocean islands cited among difficult DX destinations — French Polar Institute Kerguelen information
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands — Remote South Atlantic DX locations requiring major expedition logistics — Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Saipan — Pacific island destination of K7AR's first DXpedition experience — Marianas Visitors Authority
Guernsey — Island where K7AR operated amateur radio while working for Tektronix — Visit Guernsey
Bermuda — Atlantic island destination selected for K7AR's CQ RTTY operation — Government of Bermuda Tourism
Vanuatu — Pacific DXpedition destination where K7AR's radio equipment was temporarily confiscated — Vanuatu Tourism Office
Samoa — Pacific island where K7AR first operated FT8 during a DXpedition — Samoa Tourism Authority
Palau — Pacific DXpedition destination visited by K7AR shortly before the interview — Palau Visitors Authority
French Polynesia — Pacific territory cited for straightforward amateur-radio DXpedition licensing — Tahiti Tourisme
Puerto Rico — Suggested by K7AR as an accessible destination for a first DX operating trip — Discover Puerto Rico

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