Sometimes, a simple fix manages to evade me :-) I was in Studio A, keyboard and mouse too far to the left to suit me, and thought: "Why is this?"... The light bulb in my head illuminated dimly, and I wondered if I could extend the cables. Well darn, both devices are USB, so I ran out to the shop and sifted through my USB cable inventory. Sure enough, I had some 18" USB extensions. I popped a couple of them in line, and all is well. Now I have everything in a comfortable location.
This is a Yaesu FT-101ZD a friend wanted me to restore for him. It was an eBay purchase, I'm wondering how well it might have been described... Poorly packed for shipping, the case was bent, bottom feet broken and shoved up into it, broken switches, and a bent vfo shaft. To top it off, it looks to have been wet... a WHILE. People with toss a 50lb radio in a box with a few peanuts and call it "ready to ship". What a mess... I guess I'll start on the cosmetics, first...
While working on some repeater stuff, I pulled all of the old repeater construction notes together and put them in a book, before they were lost in the scramble of 50+ years of ham radio.
Much of this split-site repeater was built from bits and pieces of what I had, and I scratch built the rest. This was probably the most fun of any repeater I've ever worked with, working hams from the middle east in the morning hours, and out into the south pacific late in the day.
I plan to detail this a lot more in the coming days, as this 30+ year old system gets a face-lift.
The Hy-Gain HDR-300A Conversion from 180° satellite elevation control to 360° antenna azimuth controller is finished. I added a few final touches... new 3-wire power cord, new cabinet feet, and reinstalled the refinished cover with black Tapered finishing washers. I got it installed in the shack and calibrated. I'm loving this thing already!
Debbie AC4QD has been crafting for many years. Recently, she started working with Sublimation. This is a process where permanent inks are transferred into material, making a durable custom printed item. This is infused into a non-slip neoprene substrate with a durable polyester top layer. These soft, flexible pads that can be washed if they get dirty.
I find that I'm often referencing an Azimuth chart, when my logging program, QRZ, DXcluster, etc displays a heading in degrees. That helps me wrap my head around the direction of an HF contact from my QTH. Debbie made this for Studio A. Call signs, etc can easily be added. Email wb4iuy@gmail.com if you want one. These are a great gift item for the radio folks in your home. Here's a couple of videos and pics...
