One of the goals of this project has been accomplished, I'm now a licensed radio amateur! I got my license over a year ago and have a lot of fun on the HF bands. My current DX record is a contact to Suriname from Finland, ~9000 km on the 15m band with an 13.5 m end fed antenna a 9:1 unun and only 10 watts. My rig is an 'old' Kenwood TS-50, but it works like a charm. Timing is key on the air and so is chasing your dreams!