W1RC

Mike Crestohl, W1RC, is the benevolent dictator and founder of Near Fest, the twice yearly New England Amateur Radio Festival, a collector of WW2 spy radios, a journalist, by profession, with contributions to amateur magazines, and a lover of Collins boat anchor gear.  Mike likes to operate his Icom IC-705  remote station while on the road. W1RC is my QSO Today.

Hometown: Montreal, Canada
Elmer: Don Dashney, V3RM V2SH  

First License: Age 15, 
First Car:  1952 MG-TD
Current Rig:
Elecraft K3 HF Transceiver
Icom IC-705 All Band Portable Transceiver
Elecraft KPA-100 Amplifier
IP Controlled Antenna Switch
KIWI SDR 
Icom IC-7000 All Band Transceiver
Icom IC-735 HF Transceiver
Collins KWM2A HF Transceiver
Collins 30L1 Amplifier
Johnson Viking Ranger
R-390A Resources

Terms: 
New England Boys Boarding School
Shortwave Radio
Radio Moscow
Sputnik Satellite
Paper Boy
Canadian Marconi CSR5A
Montreal Amateur Radio Club
Quebec Car Auction
Morgan 4/4
Jaguar E Type
Royal Canadian Air Cadets
Journalism
QST Magazine
Human Interest Story
Collins Mechanical Filters
Collins R390 – no mechanical filters
Collins R390A Receiver
Collins R-725 Receiver
Radio Teletype
R390A Mailing List QTH.net
Floyd Su, W8RO
Hammarlund Company
George, K1ANX – R390 Restoration
Collins R388 Transmitter
BC610 Transmitter
Collins T368 Transmitter
“Timtronization” – modifications to Collins gear by Tim Smith, WA1HLR
WA1HLR Converts A Gates BC1T To 160 And 80 At The ARRL
Ted Robinson K1QAR – R390 Re-Builder and QSO Today Guest Ep 427
“Desert Storm” R390A Receiver
AM Rally
Navships R390 Manual
New England Amateur Radio Festival – Near Fest
501C3 Non-Profit Organization
Deerfield New Hampshire Fairgrounds
“Hoss Traders Net”
Norm WA1ITT, Joe K1RQG (SK), Bob W1GWU – 33 Hoss Traders
Shriners Hospitals Burn Unit
Mitch Stern W1SJ
Tom Perera W1TP QSO Today Interview
German Enigma Cryptography
ARRL Foundation
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center KA1SKY
QST November 2022, IC705 Review
Icom IC-705 remote control software
Magnetic Loop Antenna K1QAR
PRC5 Spy Set
GRC109 (RS1) Spy Set
RS6 Spy Set
Delco 5300 Spy Set
PRC64 Spy Set
Hand Crank Generator Spy Set
Enemy Radios – spy radios made by Germany, Japan
TCS12 Navy Radio
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
LAPD Series 6 Police Shield
Dragnet
Adam 12 Television Show
Chief Parker, LAPD
Police Badge Collectors
Near Fest
Toyota Prius hose backup power
Allstar W3GMS Repeater

Greatest challenge facing amateur radio now: Getting new people into the hobby, especially younger people into the hobby. 

Advice to new or returning hams: Don’t try to do it all in one day – go to something familiar and find out what changed. New hams should not get involved with UHF and VHF repeaters.