Radio W4KAZ Thanks for stopping by the virtual KazShack. Feel free to comment - I often approve them.
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By w4kaz, created on 2007.09.24 at 17:29:31 | last changed on 2007.09.24 at 17:29:31 | N1LN and his XYL N1YXU have been busy since the last visit. All three towers are complete, and several antennas have already gone up. This past weekend we helped raise a 2 element 40 meter yagi to the ring rotor at 66 feet on the 40 meter tower. This station is going to rock.
Bruce and Laurie have done a great deal of work since the last gathering. There are now coax runs from the house out to the remote panel, and some of the trenching is done for the runs to the towers. There is still a lot of work to be done, but its beginning to come together for them. I’m glad to get a chance to see it up close, as I’m learning a lot about the process.
The next time I go, I’ll try to remember to bring the camera so I can get a few snapshots from the top.
By w4kaz, created on 2007.09.18 at 18:14:25 | last changed on 2007.09.19 at 16:23:54 | The September 2007 volume of the Straight Key Century Club newsletter, the Centurion, has an interesting article by KI4STU, Detrik. In it, he describes the steps one can take to mold specialty custom knobs. Sounds simple.
I wonder how well the resin will hold paint? Maybe the new Krylon for plastic? Maybe a shot of spray adhesive first as a primer coat? Gotta try it.
By w4kaz, created on 2007.09.14 at 19:01:19 | last changed on 2007.09.14 at 19:01:19 | I just stumbled upon the Install Dr., a site that documents many of the auto makers pin diagrams, as well as lots of other helpful information for someone looking to install a sound system into a vehicle. I just thought I’d document it here for posterity(and my own future reference!)
By w4kaz, created on 2007.09.04 at 17:11:38 | last changed on 2007.09.04 at 21:57:25 | We made the annual pilgrimage to the Shelby, NC hamfest. The flea market area looked like it was back to normal now that everyone is adjusted to fuel price realities. Attendance seemed down last year after the sharp spike in gasoline prices just before labor day.
I finally got a good look at the Yaesu FT-450. Its not much larger physically than an FT-100D and a bit smaller than the FT-897. Also on display was the new FT-950.
So many radios to choose from.
The hamfest was fun. I enjoyed the trip there and back with K4CZ, NT4Q and N4YDU. N4YDU had ‘no joy’ looking for a new slightly pre-owned radio toy. I picked up a few odds and ends from the flea market, but came up empty on 1/4 inch stereo inline jacks. Yesterdays ubiquitous parts are todays hen’s teeth. Go figure.
By w4kaz, created on 2007.09.04 at 16:50:13 | last changed on 2007.09.04 at 19:28:17 | Wooooweee. Yaesu has their lineup rounded off just in time for the beginning of the sunspot cycle. Their new FT-950 was on display at the Shelby, NC Hamfest. This radio is being listed already at below $1500 via the normal stores. The 950 seems to be the replacement for the discontinued FT-920 in the middle level of the Yaesu HF base station lineup. Very interesting.
Here is a link to a higher resolution photo of the 950. The ads are already up at AES and Universal radio, maybe everywhere else too. The Yaesu rep indicated these would start shipping in September.
It appears to have only the single receiver. Okay by me. It seems to have lost the separate RX antenna input. Not so okay. One of my favorite features from the FT-920 is MIA on the 950–the ‘shuttle jog’ tuning ring. Too bad. I really like that. It will be fun to hear reports from buyers. I’d really like to finally see a contest capable radio hit the market on the lower end of the price spectrum. That would be a Good Thing for contesting.
I sure hope its filtering is sharper than my FT-920 without losing anything on the weak signal performance. That would make it a great entry level contesting rig. That is about the same price as a used 1000MP with some of the filters, making the question–new or used?
By w4kaz, created on 2007.08.26 at 19:28:57 | last changed on 2007.08.26 at 19:53:59 | I added more N4A photos to the N4A website. The last few frames at the bottom of the N4A photos page show some close ups of the gear we used on the beach for the Iota expedition.
I was a bit surprised at just how well the 21 inch stakes worked as guy anchors. They really held firm. These stakes were cut from 42 inch”deck balusters” I got from the local big box for about 75 cents each. They are just pressure treated 2×2 material. I cut each baluster in half, so two vampire killers are obtained per baluster. I expected to need to back these up with additional stakes, but they held the 36 foot mast with just dipoles very well. It took only one stake to hold each guy. The second surprise was how easily they came out when pulled straight up rather than at the 120 degree guy angle. Continue reading N4A Antenna Support Hardware
By w4kaz, created on 2007.08.25 at 08:20:53 | last changed on 2007.08.26 at 19:15:26 | Once again, I missed both August NAQP’s by picking the hottest week of the hottest month to spend in the hottest, most humid place in the US east of the Mississippi. I did manage to get some fishing in with a buddy.
 
My fishing pal kept all of the catch.
By w4kaz, created on 2007.08.23 at 12:00:01 | last changed on 2013.04.12 at 20:24:22 | Here’s a new look for the site. I like the relatively plain “Joe Friday” feel. The sidebar was easy to customize too. The obligatory credits for the original WP theme author are at the bottom of the page. Credit for the banner photo is to N4YDU, a sunrise shot he took from the N4A Iota expedition.
By w4kaz, created on 2007.08.02 at 09:47:28 | last changed on 2007.08.21 at 08:23:22 | As always, working N4A with N4YDU was a lot of fun. On arrival at the docks, we were both very eager to get going, and got a little impatient waiting for the boat across to the island. The wait was somewhat broken up by the boat pilot’s dog, who seemed to be torn between playing ball with N4YDU and jumping in the water to cool off.
Arriving at the cabin by about 2:00pm local, the WX was very hot and humid, with only a light breeze and crystal clear blue skies. We first set up the generator and climate control, then spent a couple of hours putting up antennas.
Continue reading 2007 Iota as N4A from Cape Lookout
By w4kaz, created on 2007.07.16 at 11:18:38 | last changed on 2007.07.16 at 19:53:38 | Only 112 QSO’s spread out over several hours. I spent a lot more of my operating time listening to various run stations and just soaking in the propagation observations on the bands. I just couldn’t get into operating the contest on either mode.
But maybe thats because I spent the first five hours ripping apart and re-building the station set up. All was not lost. I was able to debug a problem with the DVK input to the radio(a bad RCA jumper). Since I had just completed a new feed-through panel, I also needed several new jumpers to go from the panel to the station. I had more fun soldering up jumpers than I did operating.
Continue reading 2007 IARU @ W4KAZ
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