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
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
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
