Bob DeVarney's Web Page

This is my ham station in Milton, Vermont.... Rohn HDBX-48 48 foot self supporting tower, Cushcraft A3S, and M2 Satellite antennas on a Yaesu Az-El rotor.

I am a habitual volunteer. Here are several things I have been involved in:

                     This is me hard at work (?) in North Carolina in the Red Cross Hummer. Enough radio gear in here to make the BBC envious!

As you might have guessed, I am an Amateur Radio Operator. I have been licensed since 1980, when I held the call of KA1FBJ. I upgraded gradually until I reached Extra class (highest class available) in 1990. I changed my callsign to WE1U then.

Here's a picture of both Elecraft kits, K1 on top, K2 on the bottom

For the past several years, I have gotten hooked up with a really neat bunch of crazy people who do Field Day. Field Day is a non-contest contest. It is a yearly operating event, held the last weekend in June, and it was originally an Emergency Preparedness exercise. The whole idea is to set up a station (or stations) in a field, and operate from emergency power. There are different categories, depending what type of power you are using, and how many stations you are running.
I have humbly served as head chef for this bunch of nuts for the past 2 years, and really enjoy their company. The Udder Club
 
 
 

Chef Bob at the 1999 W1MOO Field Day. That's roast prime rib of beef, garlic mashed potatoes, smoked boneless BBQ pork ribs, and corn on the cob, all in a field.Photo by WJ1Z

I am a shameless history buff, particularly cold-war history in Vermont. I have documented an abandoned Air Force Radar Station in the Lyndonville, Vermont area. Here's the link to that: Air Force Radar Museum

These are some pictures from the 911th Air Force Radar Squadron, as seen today. Unfortunately, vandals have taken their toll. The base was built in 1955, and closed in 1963.

I am a bit of an amateur astronomer. I have a highly modified Celestron C-8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, set up for astrophotography. A very tough hobby in Vermont when most nights are overcast and those that aren't  usually coincide with the full moon. This makes it tough for photographing anything, as the light from a full moon "washes out" most anything else. Here are two of my photos of several craters on the moon:

I love to combine hiking with a little of the high-tech. I have been Geocaching, and have found twenty caches so far.
What is Geocaching? Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache. Lots more caches to find, and I have a few ideas of where to hide one of my own. Here I am minutes after finding my first cache at Shelburne Pond, Shelburne, VT.

Check it out at:   Geocaching

Here's My Geocaching Page!