What does an HF Station look like?

I thought that it would be good to look at what an HF Station actually looks like. They come in all shapes and sizes and also vary by cost. Here is a picture of my main HF setup.

The radio is a Yaesu FT-2000D and it puts out 200 watts of power on all HF bands. On the far left is the power supply for the radio, then the radio itself and then the matching speaker. In front of the radio is the matching MD-100 microphone. I also have a Heil Pro Set Elite headset microphone and that gives excellent results. I have both microphones connected via a switch box so I can select the one that I want quickly. The very small keypad allows me to operate memories in the radio where I can send pre-programmed messages by voice or CW. You can see how I keep the PC keyboard very close so that I can enter contacts into my electronic logbook.

To the right of my HF radio is a Vectronics Vector 500 amplifier and above that a MFJ-989D antenna tuner. The Yaesu FT-2000D has a built in automatic antenna tuner but when running the Vector 500 you need an external tuner to handle the increased power. This is heavy duty kit! Note the PC monitor which shows software to computer control my radio. It provides a highly accurate on screen version of the radio and allows quick and easy adjustment of settings.

Now for my favourite bit, my morse keys. I have a few but the two I have connected to my main HF Station are the Hi-Mound HK-808 straight key and the Bencher Twin Paddle key. Sending CW is one of my favourite activities and it's even better when your talking to someone on the other side of the world.