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
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
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
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
I took the day off on Friday to try to get ready for Field Day this year. I planned to operate as class 1E. Here is what I managed to get done in a little over 36 hours: Moved all gear into shack and got set up on the new desk. Set up PC with Ham Radio Deluxe/DM780 (I forgot I gave my previous laptop tomy brother and wiped the drive), LoTW, etc. etc. I … Continue reading
After working on this thing for some evenings, and most weekends for about 4 months, I finished my custom designed and built sit/stand desk, and uploaded a couple of videos that detail the entire build process… take the third link if you just want to see the finished product. Continue reading
I am very excited! I transformed my daughter’s old room, which was yellow, pink and blue, into the nicest room in the house. It is a nice flat grey called ‘Elephant Skin’. I added ‘Ironwood’ laminate floors, white casing, baseboards and crown molding. I even did bead board on the ceiling and added a couple of track lights. No more hot/cold garage. Maybe I will actually get on the radio again! My son appears to … Continue reading
It took almost all day, but I’m done installing my Yaesu FT7900R in my 2008 Mazdaspeed 3. I tried to keep it as stealth as possible. Here’s what was involved: Installed Diamond K412S as low as possible to avoid the low clearance in the garage at work. (this was really a K412NMO that I converted to SO239) Installed Diamond SG7500 antenna and aligned three pivot points. Removed hatchback trim panels and pass-through rubber housing. Removed … Continue reading
Let’s see… I had to give up on the webmaster role a few months ago. Work just was consuming too much time. I’m glad I stepped down when I did because I ended up getting promoted at work and I have even less time available. I put up a Davis VantageVue weather station a little over a month ago. It hasn’t rained since. Perhaps I should take it down. 😉 I went to HamCom two … Continue reading
