Biography

Hello, I am YASU, living in KYOTO (JCC#2201, AJA#220103, ZA#1112)​. My present rig is Yaesu FTDX1200 100W and antennas are MLA (for 40 to 160m), DP (for 20 and 30m) and LW (for other bands) all at about 8mH in the attic as shown in the photo below. I have got back in ham radio in early 2014 after a 43-year QRT since 1971 (active period: 1969 - 1971 and 2014 - present) and is active only by CW with a straight key mainly on 40-meter band. Remember that this callsign was assigned to another man in Nara for a while during my QRT.

I was born in the year when ham radio was restarted in Japan around the middle of the last century. My ham life began with an experience of SWL. I was first licensed as JA3WHO at this place in 1969. First, I used a home-brew super-heterodyne receiver, a home-brew 807-tube transmitter and an IV antenna. It was a stirring event that my 40-m CW reached OH. Soon I got a HF 50W transceiver (Yaesu FT-400S), and had some CW/AM/SSB QSOs with JAs and a few more DX stations. My first practical use of English was in the SSB QSO with some US station on the 15-m band. I am sorry that I have lost my logs of this period. It would be much appreciated if you could inform me about our QSO between 1969 and 1971.

But this exciting period ended quite shortly. I had to close down the station because of rapid changes of my situation. I educated my ownself and became a radio operator of a merchant ship (mainly to small ports, Everett, Port Angeles, and so on in the west coast of NA and some Asian ports) . The SF night view seen from our ship was unforgettably beautiful one which I had never experienced before. In those days, Morse code was the only way to communicate for ships in the ocean. It seemed to be a tempting job for me. But two years later, something in my mind strongly motivated me to learn electrical engneering again at a college in Hokkaido. Finally, I have spent my lifetime as an electrical engineer for law-enforcement agency for 30+ years until my age-limit retirement in Tokyo area, while I have been completely away from ham radio.

Now I am back in ham radio with the same call sign at quite the same location as I was licensed in my youth. My favorite band/mode at present is 40-meter/CW with a straight key only which I can use. To my surprise, I still remember and can read Morse code in spite of a long QRT. But I need some extra time to get back Morse's skills to enjoy it because of my age. Using a straight key causes slight but chronic pain at the tip of my right-hand middle finger. So, my keys have rubber sopnge coverings on their knobs.

In a small rack beside my desk, there are a transceiver (FTDX1200), three straight keys and a computer. Antennas are a magnetic loop antenna (entire loop length of which is 12 m) for 40-meter, 80-meter and 160-meter bands, two (irregularly bended) dipole antennas for 20-meter and 30-meter bands and rarely a 6-meter-length wire connected to a resistive matching box (Diamond BB6W) for other higher bands. All these are set up in the small attic just above my room at about 8 meters high from the ground as shown in the photo below (which is not the latest one). My house is a two-storied narrow wooden house smaller than 4 meters in width and has steel exterior walls both on east and west sides and only about 1-meter spacing to the neighboring houses beyond the walls in those sides. Noise level is usually 7 to 9 probably because of their insufficient height and nearby power lines.

Nearly a decade has passed since my retirement. As I am still busy as I was before, I do not have much time to enjoy this hobby. But I watch CW on the 40-m band at least once a day. If you are a DX operator who manage to copy my weak signal calling you, I do thank you for your sharp ears. I am looking forward to meet you and say you hello on the bands someday. Thank you for reading through. It is my pleasure if you could visit my QRZ.com page at https://www.qrz.com/db/JA3WHO/. Good DX and 73 SAYONARA.

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Rigs:
Yaesu FTdx-1200 (100 W), Yaesu FT-817 (5 W), Yaesu VX-7R (5 W)

Antennas:
1) One magnetic loop antenna (home-built, loop length 10 m) for 160/80/40 m band
2) Two zig-zag deformed dipole antennas, one for 30 and another for 20 m band
3) One 6 m length wire (Diamond BB6W, 8mH) for 80-10 m bands
all in the attic below the roof at about 8 meters high from the ground

My favorite keys:
One Swedish key and two Japanese keys, Hi Mound HK-802, in the photo above