The Elecraft K4 will continue to anchor the shack moving into 2026, along with the matching KPA1500 amplifier which will see considerable use. I bought the amp about mid-2025 but only fired it up to test it out before pulling its plug. I had already spent a considerable chunk of the year operating without a flame-thrower and didn’t want to adjust my entries in several events for higher power use. But in this New Year, the full legal-limit amplifier will see use on a daily basis.

With the goal being HF DX work on a single-band, 20 meters, CW/SSB only, the added power will be a welcome addition. I’ve removed the other antennas from service at this point and will rely on a rotatable 20m dipole. No traps or anything else between the amplifier and the dipole element except the feed line. Far too many stories of amps being fried due to water in antenna traps, etc. has me gun-shy to go that route.

The antenna is a Diex DXFS20 Full Size Rigid Rotatable Dipole installed at about 40-feet. Despite it’s 33-foot length it’s easily turned with a Yaesu G-450 rotor.

Everything else will remain the same, and basic. Logging program, along with Begali keys and paddles. I use an external speaker with the K4 along with a K-POD. Additional configuration could make the work a little easier in the shack, but I don’t want to clutter things up with software, unnecessary accessories, and assorted creature comforts.

Just a high-power CW station on a single band with delusions of grandeur…