Amateur Radio Station AH6TD is located at Kekaha, Hawaii (on the island of Kauai) and is owned and operated by David Herring. With licensing by the Federal Communications Commission, the station is operated on the US Amateur bands between 3.5 MHz and 29 MHz.
The station is presently capable of transmitting up to 100 watts, which is enough under some conditions to reach around the world. Transmission modes include AM, FM, SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK31, Olivia and others.
The station’s main transceiver is an Elecraft K3 and the backup transceiver is a Kenwood TS-440s. The main antenna is a balanced feed dipole at 40 feet, erected in an inverted-v configuration.
About the operator…
AH6TD
Originally licensed to operate WA6ZAH around 1977 in Anza California (THANKS John, Garland, Ray and the Anza Valley Radio Club!), I got on the air originally with a Heathkit DX-60, a borrowed Hammarlund, and some wire.
Later, I passed the General class exam, complete with the 13-words-per-minute morse code test (ah those were the days), and became licensed to operate N6CBC. (My physician at the time (W6CCP – Seymour) got a real kick out of that call sign…called me November Six Complete Blood Count!)
I made worldwide contacts using a Kenwood TS-520SE (beautiful rig!) and a 4 band trap vertical with at least 8 radials about 30 feet up. Looked like a massive spider on our property!
Once vanity call signs came out, I couldn’t resist…I petitioned the FCC to change the call sign of my station to K6DCH (my initials) and thus “Delta Charlie Hotel” was born.
Finally, I got around to upgrading my license to the highest level available in the Amateur realm: Amateur Extra Class. Along with that, I decided that I wanted a new call sign that reflected both my location (Hawaii) and my level of licensing. So I petitioned the FCC for a new call sign and was issued AH6TD.
Today, I work what contacts I can from my QTH in Hawaii (the Pacific Ocean is heavenly for propagation!). I use SSB mainly, but digital modes such as Olivia have recently captured my attention.
About the Previous Call Sign…
I discovered on the Internet that K6DCH was once allocated to Douglas P. Dragon of Malibu, California. At least this was, according to the file I found, true in the 1964 Radio Amateur Call Book.
(Anyone have a 1964 Radio Amateur Call Book laying around that can confirm this?)
Now, what’s so big about Douglas P. Dragon you ask? Plenty. He and his brothers Daryl and Dennis, for a time, played with the Beach Boys. His brother Daryl is married to Toni Tennille and makes up the captain half of a very popular pop duo “The Captain and Tennille.”
Last I could find, Douglas was living in Maui (a relative neighbor to me) whereas Daryl and Toni are in Prescott, Arizona.
