DXDUSB Development Status I have had some requests to provide DXDUSB prototypes to couple people. The latest prototype (Protot3) is still very rough. I have a couple in ongoing testing and they seem to be working well. However, these are very rough - assembly is hand soldered wires attached to the Arduino board. While I... Continue Reading →
A USB Interface for the DX Doubler – The Last DXDUSB Prototypes
I have been working on a USB-only interface for the Top Ten Devices DX Doubler for some time. I recently completed the 3rd generation prototype. This is still a prototype - it uses a very small Arduino board with attached wires, but it is shoved into a nice small Ethernet drop-box enclosue. This version has... Continue Reading →
VA QSO Party 2016 – Two for the Road
I went mobile again for the 2016 Virginia QSO Party, using the callsign KT4KA. I use that callsign so as not to confuse everyone when calling CQ (with my normal "3"call). The goal this year was to beat last year, and hopefully win the Mobile all-Band category. No matter what happens, this is always enjoyable.... Continue Reading →
K2 Survives (apparently) the “Alpha Brick-on-the-Key” Test
You have probably seen that advertisement in the Ham magazines, where the Alpha Amp's toughness is shown by a brick on a hand key. Well I did something close to that this weekend with my K2, by accident of course. I was getting a RTTY setup ready for the upcoming VAQP Contest. Everything was setup... Continue Reading →
Don’t Ever Do this – Flaming Someone that asks a question to an email reflector
Here is a response I got when I asked a question on a Ham Radio Forum about people's experience using RF Sensing External Antenna Tuners with a particular radio: ************************************************************************************ Let's play a game: It is called... "Find the Provision." Here is how it works: 1 Start a stopwatch. 2 Do a Web search to... Continue Reading →
Comparing the ICOM IC-7600 and the Yeasu FTDX-3000 – UPDATED 1/21/2018
No more updates to this Post. Interesting developments in the marketplace. The prices on used IC-7600 radios are crashing, apparently as a result of the introduction of the IC-7300 and the IC-7610. I still love both radios, but at these prices, it would be hard to turn down a 7600. Whichever way you go, enjoy... Continue Reading →
FTDX3000 USB Interface with N1MM+
This note is to help you setup your FTDX3000 with N1MM+ using WINDOWS (I am using WINDOWS 7). I am using only the USB interface. So the Radio has one cable to the PC, the USB cable. BEFORE YOU CONNECT THE USB CABLE, install the FTDX3000 USB Driver from Yaesu using the instructions that come... Continue Reading →
2014 ARRL Sweepsatakes – Much Fun but no Sweeps
I enjoyed working the ARRL Sweepstakes again this year. I operated in both CW and Phone this year. My major effort was in CW, where I managed a personal high score, finally breaking the 100K point barrier. For several years I have been wishing I was involved with a Club that could use my scores... Continue Reading →
ARRL Sweepstakes CW (SSCW) 2014
Here we go again. Time for ARRL Sweepstakes CW (SSCW) 2014. Same plan as always - main objective is to get a personal high score. Secondary objective is to get that elusive "clean sweep" - all US and Canada Sections in one weekend. I have been within 1 or 2 sections the last several years,... Continue Reading →
Mobile Antenna Testing
I was doing some testing of mobile antennas on my F-150 this weekend. I had a mag mount on the roof, and a door-edge mount on the rear door. Both had NMO mounts, so I could easily move antennas between the mounts. Here is what I found: I had an HT (Kenwood TH-F6A) connected to... Continue Reading →
