Ray, check this out... Haven't had time or money to work on it... The stone was a gift from my ex girlfriend's little girl...

Gil.

Time and money that could be used for other things more pleasant to think about. Maybe because I don't own a television or care about sports, I have time to look around and get worried. We would be fools not to make some preparations. Unfortunately we are surrounded by fools. Like those lounging on the Titanic's deck laughing at people putting life vests on... Because of course the boat couldn't sink. If I was 25 and not 45, I would pray for it to hit the fan. Now I know better. I am nowhere near ready, and that little voice is screaming in my ear to hurry up. Intuition is nothing more than data processed by our brains unconsciously. Usually those feelings of uneasiness are well founded, because they are based on observation and powerful processing outside of our grasp. Like Tim, I had no worries five years ago. Today is woefully  different. I just hope nothing goes down before the spring.. One thing is certain, as Luck hints, we are on our own. That is why I urge people here to get on the air and call each-other. I just had a nice long QSO with RadioRay on 30m :) Bless him for being so patient with my slow-as-molasses Morse copy speed. We need to know who we can trust and exchange information with. Remember that everything has an end, and that includes the Internet. The Internet doesn't run on servers and fiber optics, it runs on money. Everything does these days. Money isn't green, it's black and it comes out of the ground. How reliable is that given what it takes to get it out? So they just print more monopoly bills.. I feel like sailing on a cardboard ship and there is a suspicious black cloud ahead. Everyone is partying. The captain and crew are stashing money in their shirts, heading to the lifeboats with a smile and a gun handle sticking out of their pants, while I'm at the bow getting more gray hairs realizing that there aren't enough life boats for everyone. I'd rather be partying too, but now the warning bells are too loud. I want to scream to everyone that they are fools and we are going to take the plunge, but I know they'll just laugh and think I'm crazy. What is that whooshy sound under my feet?

Gil.

I almost finished the SW+40 PCB tonight. I am missing R24, the 500 Ohm variable resistor, and I want to change the values of some resistors and capacitor. The next step now is to order those parts and build the digital frequency display, which should arrive soon...

Note that I did not use the IC sockets, which for 8-pin ICs I think is a liability I don't need. I have not found out yet if the crystal cases should be grounded, as this is not specified in the manual, but there is a ground pad for it.. The build was very easy and straight forward.

Gil.

Jefferson Davis. I was at his house on the photo...

Gil.

Different needs, different solutions:



Gil.

QuoteNot that there is anything wrong with folks motivated to help to provide assistance after an emergency, especially under more normalized conditions...I just think (for me), these are not normal times and we need to develop skills for maintaining contact on a more personal/non-continuity-of-government type level. Just people talking to people.

Amen!

Gil.

Nice, but I don't think all those add-ons are needed. The radio and a battery in a smaller case would be better. These days, most radios have SWR meters built in, and the fan plus breakers and whatever else he has are more for show than really needed. Something to remember about a go-box is that you may one day have to carry it on foot for long distances... He has a power supply, an amp and charger... Hum... You can get a brand new 75W Yaesu Ft-2900R for $170... No amp needed. A battery booster? I don't even know what that is. The battery he has next to the chair is big and heavy...

Sorry, I don't mean to criticize so much. I'm just a minimalist. If all that stuff is hauled up in a car, fine. I like to think of worst case scenarios...

Gil.

The SOTA tuner is great, I have one too! I plan on building a second one and put it in a strong cast aluminum box..

Gil.

Know who this was?

Another CW kit! That's number seven  ::) What can I say, it's all fun to me. I was lucky to get that one, as it is no longer manufactured. I found an unbuilt kit on the Rock-Mite Yahoo group. The radio is a 40m CW transceiver with a VFO (allowing tuning the frequency) and an output of 2.5W. There is no built-in keyer. I already have a nice Hammond 1590C cast aluminum box for it. I don't know if I'll have enough space to put the batteries inside the box though, since I will be adding a few PCBs in there. If I can, I will use 11x1.2v rechargeable AA cells. I think the digital readout is pretty flat, so it might work. Not sure If I'll have space for the touch keyer as well? My hopes of including a battery indicator, SWR indicator and audio filter/amp plus speaker are just fantasy on my part I think. Something will have to stay out of the box. I think the audio filter/amp and speaker can go in a separate box, because of size, and the speaker holes are a risk for water infiltration. The SWR indicator could be part of a separate tuner box, which might be better at the antenna instead of in the box (less coax losses). I like the idea of having the batteries inside. I plan on using fairly watertight plugs (no audio jack with big holes!).

Tonight I completed about 75% of the circuit board.

Here are the options I want:
- Touch keyer.  http://www.cwtouchkeyer.com/P4.htm
- Digital display. http://qrpkits.com
- Rechargeable batteries.
- SWR indicator. http://qrpkits.com
- Voltage indicator, http://qrpkits.com
- Audio filter/amp. http://newenglandqrp.org/nescaf

I found a mod online about changing the value of C8 to increase the range, but I need to ask a few people about that to make sure. I will be using a ten-turn potentiometer for better precision.

The whole build will be posted here.

Gil.

Geez! Glad I didn't buy them! I was going to...
They have aluminum ones...

Gil.

Nah, why live in the cold?  8)

Gil.

You can do 200 miles on 2m SSB with a Yagi and some power... No repeater.

Gil.

I've heard a lot of good about this antenna, and even considered buying it. The problem is that it is everything but discreet... Maybe if I paint it green... Then, if I move, it's not easy to transport (how long is the box?).

Gil.

I do have eQSL and LotW, but I do not send QSOs to them unless I receive one from a contact who wants confirmation. I think it is nobody's business who I talk to and my contacts might not want to be listed in some database either... Nothing "secret" here, but we have so little privacy left these days, I'll keep as much as I can, just on principle.

Gil.