This picture web site acts somewhat as a before and after record of my restoration efforts to get my Ham Shack up and running again after it was wacked by a falling tree during hurricane Katrina. Originally this structure was a two story play house built by the previous owner for his kids. The upper and lower rooms were originally plain unenclosed stud walls. Now, since Katrina, the big kid here has added the little window a/c, then, with the help of a local handyman, insulated the walls and ceiling and paneled them in 1/4 cedar boards (to keep bugs away).

Much of the equipment and gadgets shown in the photos was in storage for years, and some of it went under water as a result of flooding from Hurricane Isadore. This happened when we lived in a camp style structure on a barrier Island separating Lake Catherine from Lake Borgne in South Louisiana. That structure was also totally destroyed by hurricane Katrina five months after we moved. This island was 25 miles SE of the city of New Orleans. I am now slowly repairing and rebuilding much of what can still be salvaged or giving it away to newer local Hams.

To quickly get on the air, I purchased an inexpensive 2 meter IC-2200 transceiver and fashioned a quick simple dipole from an old telescoping pair of TV rabbit ears. That was easy and it worked ok, however I wanted something with a bit more gain. Following Terry Bajuk, KS5Z, instructions, I build my first real antenna in years, a J-Poll. The total cost of material for the J- Pole was an amazingly low $12.77. The angle of the J- Pole photo makes it look a lot longer than it actually is. The J-Pole is held up on two 10 foot length of 4 inch PVC which was slipped over a 3 foot length of standard 3 inch PVC buried 2 feet into the ground, essentially resulting in a self supporting vertical.

My current antenna project is building a 2M 4EL Yagi style beam. This beam caught my attention because of the unique way the driven or active element is connected to the coaxial feed line. Its basically a direct connection, thus eliminating touchy Gamma or T matches. Whats really neat is utilizing a PVC frame to house and contain the various elements. This lends itself to easy construction and minimal weight. You can find more details on building this beam at HamUniverse. My hats off to the guys who dream up these clever ideas.

Cheap plastic cabinets with drawers ($9@) from WalMart made storing and organizing my junk a bit easier. The wall shelving (recently installed) was from one of my early businesses and always moved with me from place to place as we relocated. It was very easy to put up and take down.

A photo of interest is my original Novice Amateur Radio License issued in 1956 when I was 13+ years old. I recall taking the code test for my Novice ticket at a U.S. Navy Radio station (W5USN) on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. My how time flys when you are having fun!

I plan to add to this site as things progress! Stay tuned :) Meanwhile, until I can get back on HF, you can find me from time to time on various Internet Chat services including my own.

Another of my various hobbies is programming where I authored an IM Chat program called PopNote . I originally created PopNote to keep up with some of my family and friends who were dispersed all over the world. Many Hams friends took an interest so I eventually released it as freeware.

Here you can find out more details about my programming projects.

Here are photos of other damage Hurricane Katrina caused at my QTH.

For a great "how to" site on building Antennas visit Don (N4UJW) Butler's HamUniverse Web Portal.

You are also invited to read my reviews of other poplar VOIP and Video chat software which includes "Hints and Tips" using EchoLink.

Since the advent of Google+ (a unique free multi conference Voice and Video service) I can be found most days there. Google+ only requires you have a Web Browsers, (i.e. no special software needed). My Gmail ID is mike.k5hum@gmail.com If you havent requested a free Gmail account yet, you are missing out on some great new services.