Goes to show the old maxim: GET ON THE AIR is still true. There is always
someone listening and hoping for a contact. Dead bands? NOT! Just weaker
signals. It always amazes me that when the bands seem dead there are always
signals on the digital frequencies. I am not knocking the digital m
Whenever one of our radio club seniors has to enter a nursing home to recover
from some issue or permanently moves into an assisted living home we try to
set up a ham station in that hams room. The homes in our area are very
understanding. I already have chosen the place I want to go to if an
she is a nurse !
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Dec 17, 2019, at 5:25 AM, David Wilcox via Elecraft
>> wrote:
>>
>> Whenever one of our radio club seniors has to enter a nursing home to
>> recover from some issue or permanently moves into an assisted livin
I agree. Freds manuals are a God Send and wakes one up to really what the
Elecraft rigs can do. He also put out a great book on the skills of ham radio,
“The Successful Ham Radio Operators Handbook” or something like that. See
http://www.ke7x.com/
I found it invaluable.
Dave K8WPE
David J
Has anyone used or still using a version 2 of the first iPad for ham radio? I
have two of them no longer being used because they are so slow compared to my
newer Pro version. They still must be good for something. Please advise. And
thank you.
Dave djwilco...@gmail.com
K8WPE
Radio nut since
Guys,
This is very interesting. Is there a Wiki site where all your explanations are
collected together. I am Interested in the magnetization of the iron in the
transformers and the effect of the turn on current phase causing an over
magnetization of the iron core and drawing too much current
Here in St Augustine, FL it will be in the 70’s and windy. The SAARS club will
be putting on winter FD at the EOC. Anyone close please drop in and join us.
Dave K8WPE
David J. Wilcox K8WPE’s iPad
> On Jan 24, 2020, at 12:56 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
>
> On 1/23/2020 6:38 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote
Who lets their knobs get dirty? Wash you hands first! Some of mine are from
the early days of NorCal and Elecraft. Maybe I don’t have much oil on my skin!
Ha! I have bought some used gear from the 1950’s and 60’s and sprayed them
with WD40. Rub til clean. Then dish soap and toothbrush if n
Check out the various kits for polishing automobile headlamp lenses. They are
all made for this type of work. The more expensive kits have more grades of
grit. I would start with tooth paste though as I have used it in the last on
watch faces with good results, glass and plastic.
David J. Wi
I have both rigs and mostly use just the basic stuff for home and camping
CW/SSB QRP contacts so the KX2 works, BUT The KX2 isn’t much of a cost savings
over the KX3 and the KX3 has a lot more features. The only reason I would
choose the KX2 again is if I was backpacking and size/weight were im
I have also used an electric solder sucker like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/362348659918
You plug the end with the bulb and remove the nozzle. Prop it with the opening
for the nozzle pointing up and fill with fresh solder. There you have a mini
solder pot. I bought mine for $10 or $15
I have a K2 built by another ham and am getting used to it. I I recently
discovered that when I plug my headphones into the headphone jack on the front
the speaker still is active as before. The only way I can disable the speaker
is to insert another plug into the speaker jack on the back. Is
I would very heartily agree. I have the Cady manual for all my Elecraft (all
the radios that he wrote a manual for) radios and they are a joy to use, not
only for info on the specific radio but also the extra info that is helpful to
any ham. His trouble shooting lists for "when you can't make
Try 1000 watts for one month. Then 500 watts for the next month. Don’t tell
anyone.
Unless you are trying to get that last country for your stats you won’t see any
difference in your enjoyment and contact ratio. How often do we turn our
receivers, stereos, ovens, microwaves, irons, or even
Doesn’t it feel good! I was very happy over the years to snag a KX1, K1, and
then a K2. What beautiful rigs. Then I was able to buy back my first TenTec
Argo 515. nothing sounded so sweet to my ears. Then stumbled on a second
515.. couldn’t turn it down as they are so rare anymore (h
Don,
I have a blind ham friend and all his touch screens talk back to him when he
touches something. he can use his iPad, iPod and iPhone faster than I can.
It’s in the programming as it is a special program he has for each. Another
miracle for our blind brothers. And, that is why he bou
I second the motion about hearing aids and cost. Get a couple of opinions from
different vendors and don’t be afraid to ask your friends look closely and
many of your friends may have hearing aids that you were not aware of.
My audiologist has been in the business since a kid as his father
I still have the first product MFJ ever put out, a CW audio filter that rang a
little at the narrowest setting, but made my HW7 much easier to use.
Yes, some MFJ products are put together with less skill than some of us more
exacting hams and a few of the MFJ products I have did require a touch
I could never get in. They never sent me the “ticket” they promised to send on
the 12 th. Tried to sign in with the id letters (not numbers) they sent on my
PayPal receipt but no luck.
Sent a question the the help desk but no response.
Dave K8WPE
David J. Wilcox’s iPad
> On Mar 13, 2021, at
I took the classes but was never considered “COOL”... mostly a “NERD”.
Print shop too, but I knew I was going to college so they didn’t send me to the
manual arts school down by the river. Still a “NERD” but happily so since 1960
and before really. I still break things so I can fix them.
W
Why is it that these memories start coming back as we age? My two other high
school nerd buddies correspond with email and each time they bring back very
clear memories of our radio exploits. I just found my QSL card from my teens
and also the stamped certificate from my Advanced License test I
In my elementary school and high school (Saginaw, MI) all male teachers had a
paddle of some sort. They never used it but appointed a student to administer
the “whacks” in front of the class. Very effective. I graduated in 1963.
Dave K8WPE since 1960
David J. Wilcox’s iPad
> On Apr 27, 2021, a
One of the hams running our CW tent used his old favorite logging program and
brought along an old DOS computer to run it……. I can’t remember the name of the
program but it worked well and he racked up a good score. Everyone was shocked
to see the old big DOS computer sitting on the table. I g
Just an interesting aside.
Last night at the radio club meeting the guys were checking out a Yaesu
controller box that will operate the az/el rotor for an ARISS contact this June
from our local library. No one could get it to work until someone brought in
another connecting cable (I think it w
This is really funny I think:
Saturday we were sitting in a McDonalds waiting for a ham swap to open. Up
drove a large SUV pulling a 24’ trailer and then pulled in two very new Jeeps
all outfitted of off roading. I estimated that guys hobby (they were all alike
and traveling as a group) proba
Eric,
You might let this one through.
Ed Eklin, K8ZZ, is 300 counties shy of transmitting from all counties in the 50
states. He drives Hondas. He is available on QRZ and enjoys questions. He has
learned how to transmit with his K3, KX3 with 100 amp, etc., over the years
without having any a
I recently purchased a used K3 and am building a short power cord (after the
discussion of voltage drop from longer cables). I noticed that the power cable
that came with my IC7000 has fuses in both leads. Since the K3 has a built in
fuse it is still a good idea to put fuses in both sides of t
Thank you everyone who responded. My “new” K3 is now sitting in the place of
honor next to my old favorite K2. Now to read all the volumes of K3 manuals
(for all the included upgrades) by Elecraft and the late Fred Cady to find out
what all the knobs and buttons do.
Yes, Hi Bill. Was great t
Guys,
This is a great opportunity. I have two of RC’s earlier builds (K2 and I think
KX1) and he is obsessive with his records and detail. He sent my K2 out for
professional tune up before sending it to me. It is pristine and still sits in
a place of honor on my desk.
You are getting a gem
I also have one of these power supplies and am very happy with it. Can someone
please explain how it knows what voltage is input (120 v versus 240 v) to get
the same 12 volts output. Is there a different power cord? Am sure it needs
the correct wall plug adapter. Or is there just a 12 volt re
y, no transformer or linear regulators are required.
>
> This is greatly oversimplifying the circuits and operation of a switching
> supply, much additional design must go into it to control the switching
> circuit, component rise and fall times and output filtering.
>
> 73,
> Do
If someone needs a PSK 20 or 80 Jon, n...@charter.net told me last night he has
both unbuilt kits. He may be willing to part with them. We were discussing
the unbuilt kits we have stuck away in drawers and cupboards.
Dave K8WPE
David J. Wilcox K8WPE’s iPad
> On Aug 12, 2019, at 4:07 AM, Ma
I second the mag loop antenna or hidden antenna idea like they use in The
Villages
https://www.k4vrc.com/uploads/1/0/1/5/10156032/present-tvarc_antenna_guide.pdf
and portable operation when the wife has other activities with her lady
friends. if Ham Radio is the hobby that puts a smile on y
Remember guys, that is why Doug painted the PFR3 the bright yellow. many
years ago... so it could be seen in the grass or in the field.
David J. Wilcox K8WPE’s iPad
> On Sep 4, 2019, at 6:40 AM, Carter Craigie wrote:
>
> I think that a brighter color scheme would make for easier visib
Keep looking. They are out there. A friend of mine found a K1 antenna tuner on
the Elecraft site using an old URL. They actually had a kit available and sent
it to him. I just found a Pico Key in France.. worth the wait and the
price.
David J. Wilcox K8WPE’s iPad
> On Sep 27, 2019, at 6
You have to use the best quality connecting cables. A trip to Palomar
Engineers with a description of your set up will help so they can sell you the
correct EMI suppression toroid set up. And, YES, even some of Elecraft’s
cables can be (or become) defective as described in this site. A friend
Interesting response. I do agree (same XYL for the last 46 years). When I got
back in to ham radio I also took on a wife at the same time. I built an HW 7
“to have by the bed side to listen to code and get my speed up”. My fellow
club members had a riot with that comment. so the HW 7 stay
You might want to consider this when you plan your next cruise. There are some
cruise lines that permit ham radio when approved ahead of time. I have read
many blog posts about the fun that can be had.
Each cruise line has their own private island and a few years ago while lying
in a hammock
When unplugging and plugging in coax connectors to improve the connection a
spray of DeOxit on each end would be a good idea. Works on all kinds of
switches and connectors. I wouldn’t hook up my four trailers to my car without
it and those connectors are heavily abused. Less so for my coax co
I second the motion to replace ALL the older smoke detectors, not only in YOUR
home BUT IN YOUR CHILDREN’S HOMES! My daughters husband is not that bright and
I replaced all their smoke detectors and monitor them when we visit. They live
in a 112 year old run down mansion (fire trap) with kids
Can you warm or heat the replacement pads to let them stretch a little during
installation. I have done that in similar instances with good results. The
plastic or rubbery part shrinks back to its original size on cooling.
David J. Wilcox’s iPad
> On Nov 9, 2020, at 2:25 PM, Frank O'Donnell
I would venture to say that most hams (especially those recently licensed)
don’t and can’t utilize all the features of even an older K3, let alone one
with all the enhancements. The K4 is so far beyond the “average” ham in its
ability that unless you are an electronics guru with an EE you won’t
Rick,
I think one of the main problems with this is folks (old like me and
inexperienced in how the audio side of computers and connecting them to a
xcvr) who don’t understand fully the concept of what you are talking about once
they set up a dongle or other sound card and it works they don’t
I may have told this before but when the KX3 came out I suggested to my wife
that I would like one. She contacted my friend, Jeff, K9JP, and asked him to
order it for her to give to me for Christmas. I thought Jeff knew me well
enough but he then asked her the question: “What options does he
Not listed as “silky on their site but “silky wire” is a common name for this
kind of wire. Here is the description from The Wireman’s web site.
Known as ‘Invisible’ Toughcoat ‘Silky’, this 26 AWG, 19 strand 40% copper-clad
steel (OD 0.020″) has the same jacket as #531 (nominal OD, 0.050″ includ
It might be very helpful for dissatisfied customers to list the method they
used to communicate with Elecraft and the website info or whatever (phone
number? Elecraft does answer their phones) they used to contact Elecraft.
There are those here that are satisfied with Elecrafts response and mig
Jerry,
One way to interest a son in radio and electronics expose him to others of his
age that are interested and playing with it. Possibly a call to a local scout
master to see if he has any charges that have a similar interest.
Sometimes it takes a few years. I exposed my secretary’s sons
I will ask this again. I did not see a response earlier. I know the supply
chain of the KH1 is limited right now.
BUT will Elecraft be bringing any KH1s to Xenia just to sell there like they
have other rigs in the past? By May hopefully the supply issue should be more
stable.
Dave K8WPE si
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