Featured Shack: K-Zed-5-Sugar! (Ken)

Ken's "Sugar-Sweet" Shack

This month, Ken, better known as "K-Zed-Five-Sugar," opens his shack to reveal the mysteries inside. Along the way, he tells how he got started in ham radio and became KZ5S, although didn't start with such a "sweet" callsign.

In fact, he took a break from it all and pursued a long career in the telephone industry where he was president of a contracting company with more than 500 people pulling telephone cable across the state of Florida.

Ken picks up the story...

"I got Interested In Radio Back in 1955 Living In Orlando Fl when some one gave me a CB HT, I heard some one on that radio and after many days of playing with it I talked to him and from there I went into CB big time. In 1976 I took my first ham test as Novice (WD4DDP) one month later I took my Technician test, and one month later In Tampa Fl at the FCC office I took my General test at 13 words a minute code (N4ALP )."

"My first Ham radio was a Yeasu FT 101 EE, down the road I got a Kenwood TS 130 S." "I enjoyed the radio but in 1984 my work took me away from my hobby. In 2005 I took my extra class, I got my Call (KZ5S) have been hooked on ham since. I joined the Amateur Club in Jacksonville TX and served as president for one term, and when I heard about the ham's in Henderson setting up a Club I jumped in where there is a great bunch of people."

 Here's a look at Ken's station...

Ken, KZ5S

"On the top shelf is a jetstream 75 amp power supply with a purple onion for good luck. On the next shelf down is my computer windows 7, an MFJ 962 D Versa Tuner 111, a Swan wm-3000 watt meter and an MFJ 4726 antenna switch. On the lower shelf left to right is a FT 2800 FM 2 meter set up, a Kenwood 25 amp power supply and an MFJ 993 Automatic Antenna Tuner."

"Under that is the IC 718 Transceiver. Next to it is an IC 125 power supply. On top is my Signalink USB and an IC 746 Pro Transceiver. On top is ten-tec code keyer and last is the lamp made from a D104 MIC. And just out of site is my AL-811 H amp. 73 De KZ5S"