About George

I am George, a 17 year-old ham radio operator presently living in Brookings, SD. I was born at a very young age, and since then, I have been interested in electricity. As I grew up, I developed interest and knowledge in electrical wiring, electronics, computers, and later ham radio. In 2019, I created the Romeo Cat Computers channel because I wanted to document my hobbies and projects as well as make informational videos about things that have little web coverage. Since then, RCC has grown to many hundred subscribers. This website isn't necessarily a website for my YouTube channel; it's more of just a personal website. It mostly contains stuff about the KF0CCI station and releated radio projects. It also has info about and links to other things I do.

Contact: [email protected]

KF0CCI Home Station

KF0CCI license

• 13 Oct 2020 - Took technician test in Sioux Falls, SD and passed with a 31/35
• 21 Oct 2020 - Entered into FCC database as KF0CCI
• 09 Mar 2021 - Took general test in Sioux Falls, SD and passed with a 30/35
• 04 Jun 2022 - Took amateur extra test in Huron, SD and passed

Desk Equipment

• Icom 706 - Main HF transceiver. 100 watts on all HF bands with some 2m cabalility.
• Kenwood TM-742A - 2m / 1.25m / 70cm for local FM repeaters
• Kenwood PS-30 - 30 amp PSU for all 12 volt equipment
• Motorola Radius - Two channels: RCP&E railroad and local NOAA WX station
• MFJ Versa Tuner II - Tunes and acts as a coax switch for the antennas. Model MFJ-941E.
• Computer - Computes

Antennas

• Cushcraft A3S - 3-element beam placed atop my 45ft tower. Gives good 10m / 15m / 20m.
• eBay End Fed - Does 40m / 20m / 15m / 10m. Poor recieve. Facing east-west.
• 2m Jpole - Mounted on a temporary wooden arm. Currently waiting for it to fall off.

Capabilities

• 40m / 20m / 15m / 10m Phone & CW
• 12m Phone & CW using the tuner on the end fed
• Local 2m / 70cm FM

KF0CCI/3 Maryland Station

About once a year, I go to visit my grandma in Ijamsville, MD. I usually take my HF radio with me and I operate using the call sign KF0CCI/3. Because of this, I log my contacts in the /3 QRZ logbook rather than my main one. Operating times and dates can be found on the QRZ page.

My radio setup there is not standardized, as it's usually whatever I can fit on the plane with me. I typically bring my Icom 706 and 40-10m end-fed. Because I can't lug my massive Kenwood PSU, I use an old ATX computer power supply that I leave in Maryland. This whole setup usually isn't very good, but I have made good DX on it many times.

QSL Cards

I am an avid QSL card collector. My card box likely has near 300 cards from around the globe. I, of course, have my own KF0CCI card that has been sent out in the hundreds. Below are the two generations of the KF0CCI card. During the KF0CCI/3 opeations this year, I just wrote a /3 onto the regular card, but I may design a special card for my Maryland operations. Likewise, I plan to create some amateur radio beacons in the coming months, and I will make available an SWL card that can be requested.

This article will have more added to in the future

WV6QFM / WA6QFM Station

My grandpa was a ham radio operator during the 1960's. He got his license around the same age I did when he was in highschool. At the time, he lived in Calexico, CA, a small town up against the U.S.-Mexican border. In 1961, he took his test by mail to obtain a conditional license, which gave him the call sign WV6QFM. He later upgraded to Novice and got WA6QFM. He operated using a Heathkit radio and some sort of bamboo antenna. By 1966, he had gone to Berkeley to become an electrical engineer. He renewed his license for another 5-year period, but by then, he didn't have time to be on the radio, which was back at his parent's house. He later met my grandma and his government job brought him to the D.C. area. WA6QFM expired in 1971.

Unfortunately, he passed away in 2016 when I was only about eight years old. He did get me interested in electronics at a very young age, although he wasn't the reason I found ham radio. If he were alive today, I would definitely have made him get a new license and put a big tower in my grandma's yard.

CCI50 AM Radio

Current Status: Shut Down

In May of 2021, I created a part 15 compliant 1950's music station. The transmitter was a "Talking House" that output 100mW onto a 10ft long piece of wire. It transmitted on 1610 kHz. Usable range was 2-3 city blocks, but the signal could be heard up to 0.5 miles away. Audio was provided by an old laptop.

I ran CCI50 for a few days straight, then on short occasion throughout the summer. After that, I stopped using the transmitter, but it remained installed until I rearranged my radio desk mid 2023. This article is here not only for historical purposes, but also in case I decide to bring it back. After all, I still have the equipment.

In this old radio desk photo, the transmitter is the widest box on the bottom of the center pyramid.

Announcement played every five songs:

George's Computer Download

George's Computer is a game I created in 2022 using x86 assembly. I made a video about the game shortly after I finished coding it, and I offer the download here. The game is designed to run on nearly all IBM-compatable x86-based systems.

There are three files in the ZIP archive. kernel.BIN is the main game. If you want to run it in MS-DOS, just rename this file to a .EXE file. However, the game was originally intended to be bootable, so the bootloader has been included. Further instruction can be found in instructions.TXT.

KF0CCI Fox Hunt 2022

Instructions

Object
Radio Amateurs of Brooking find a fox in town and report the listed code to KF0CCI. Certificates will be given to the first and second people to find it.

Equipment
A Baofeng UV5R will be placed in an ammo can. A simplex repeater controller will be connected to the radio to provide a Morse code signal transmitting KF0CCI/FOX every two minutes. The can will be locked with a pad lock and the codes will be printed on the outside.

Frequencies
The fox will be transmitting a Morse signal (FM) on 146.565 MHz. Upon discovery of the fox, the radio amateur will report the code to KF0CCI on the Brookings 94 repeater (146.94 MHz, offset -0.6, PL 110.9 Hz). KF0CCI will be connected via EchoLink. If for some reason KF0CCI does not reply on the repeater, he will always have a handheld listening on 146.45 MHz simplex. This method may not be reliable because of his Baofeng's poor receive.

Time and Date
The projected date for this event is Saturday July 16th, 2022. The fox will be placed in its location on early Saturday morning. The fox hunt officially starts at 10:00am CST and will end at 5:00pm CST.

Special Codes
Each radio amateur who finds the fox will report a different code to KF0CCI. The first person to find it will use the first code, second will use the second code, and so on. This method is used to provide an extra layer of verification.

Rewards
The first and second radio amateurs to locate the fox will receive a certificate. The hunt will continue after this and all others who find it will be written down in order. The full list of call signs will be posted on the Brookings Fox Hunt website.

Website
http://fox.kf0cci.net or can be found in the navigation bar on kf0cci.net

The website will contain these instructions and other information. Winners and results from other fox hunts will be preserved here. A list of all who found the fox will be put on the site. Pictures are encouraged and can be sent to [email protected] to be put on the website.

Results

Tony, KD0DSH, was the first and only person to find the fox only about an hour after the event started. Participation is expected to increase in the future, due to this being the first one. A 2023 fox hunt will occur in the summer.