Bad news/Good news: I blew the engine in the Mazdaspeed 3 and the shop wanted $12000 to rebuild the engine. I checked other options, but nothing was going to be less than $8K. More than the car was worth. So, the good news is I got a new truck. A 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 to be exact. I decided this was a good time to upgrade the mobile unit and had been eyeballing the FTM-400XDR … Continue reading
I wonder if I can fix this battery? The short answer is: No. I have had the Yaesu FNB-102Li extended battery since I bought my VX-8R.. so a while. However, it died less than a year into owning it. The ‘normal’ or slim version has held up just fine. At Hamcom this year, I purchased a replacement from Batteries America for around $45. It beats the heck out of the $80+ for the Yaesu version which didn’t … Continue reading
I posted a thank you to the Plano Balloon Festival’s Facebook page this morning and someone actually had the nerve to say “They didn’t do a thing but charge ppl money and cancel everything.” … Yep, it is all about you. They decided to take the easy way out and just cancel everything and take your money. Seems like the best way to get the crowds to return next year. So, what REALLY happened: Weather … Continue reading
The Flex 6300 is back! FlexRadio did a once, twice and three times over on the radio and said everything was fine. They did a firmware update, performed all factory checks on it (at least twice), accepted my payment, and sent my radio back. At this point I’m not exactly sure what the heck happened. I am back on the air and did make a couple of minor changes to the station… Surge Arrestor One … Continue reading
Well, that didn’t last long. It seems that the thunderstorm we had a week ago did some damage to my Flex-6300. While operating I noticed a wide horizontal line across the panadapter and about 15-20 seconds later we had thunder. So, I had a lightning strike in the 3-5 mile range, and apparently got enough of an EMP to take out part of the radio. My symptoms are/were: Right after the strike, the bands went … Continue reading
It took a lot of effort, but I made it! I pulled new LMR400, some nice heavy rotor control cable and two runs of CAT6 cables yesterday. I also reinstalled the roof-top mast and rotor. Today, my middle son helped me hoist the hexbeam antenna back up on the roof and I installed a new ground bar and strap. I got cluster monitoring working in HRD and then attempted to get on the air. Not … Continue reading
I’m kind of on a tear with Yaesu hate lately. OK, maybe not full on triggered, but I am tilted. They make some really nice, high-quality products, but I am sick of their proprietary nature. This is true with many of their connectors, be it power, signal, mic, phones, etc. I have had a G450a antenna rotator for a couple of years. I finally upgraded to a heavier control cable (302) because I am running almost … Continue reading
Like everything here, this update is long overdue. I remodeled a spare bedroom around two years ago. I built a custom sit-stand desk from pallet wood, linear actuators and steel. I installed new lighting, flooring, ceiling, crown molding, etc. I bought a new FlexRadio 6300, built a new PC, got dual monitors, configured everything with HRD. I installed a new KIO Hexbeam on the roof, with a G450A rotator, an ERC interface and was all … Continue reading
Dear god, Yaesu parts department is insane. I went to HamCom this weekend. It was fine.. but seemed much smaller than when it was in Plano previously. My goals were: Talk to the FlexRadio folks about updating since my 6300 was back at version 1.2.?? (current is 1.7.x). I want to get their take on the best approach since VAC/CAT etc has changed a LOT, and I use the connection to Ham Radio Deluxe a … Continue reading
See this? That is what an over-modulated PSK-31 signal looks like on the waterfall. The green is the OMs signal, and the purple are all of his sidebands. I counted 5 of them. Do you see any other conversations going on next to them? No. You may be thinking, “Well, maybe it was a quiet night on 20M”. Nope.. here is what that exact space looked like a few seconds after this person quit splattering all … Continue reading
