Packing for Dayton Hamvention

The famous Dayton Hamvention is this coming weekend! I can't wait. This will be my third year at Hara Arena, an oft-discussed...or was it disgusting...venue for all things Ham radio. W2PJM and I will be heading out first thing Thursday morning and I will be live-tweeting the event from the Hara Arena. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @rocknrollriter for up to the minute happenings, including a rumored announcement from Ten-Tec. Could more open-source radio be on the docket? It would make sense with this year's "Maker" theme.

I'll also be posting about the Hamvention here each night. I'd love to have you along for the ride. Also, if you can't make it, but wish you could be there to ask questions...let me know and I'll do my best to ask for you. I plan on spending plenty of time talking up the reps for all things QRP and Homebrew.

Catch you all in a few. 73

Uh Oh, I've Got Some Flowers to Buy

Oh boy, I may be in trouble again. I was messing around on eBay and another QRP rig jumped into my cart. Seriously, I was just looking around innocently and then *BANG* PayPal receipt. It wasn't my fault. Honestly. The guy priced it way to low. How can I be held accountable for such insanity? Right?

Think my wife will buy it? I hope so, because a Norcal 40A seems to have followed me home. I know, I know; ANOTHER radio. I'll get rid of one I promise.

I have been eying the Norcal 40 for some time. The receiver performance and especially the RX current draw have always peaked my interest. At 15 mA, the 40A will run for days on a 4.5 AHr gel cell. Further more, it's small, I'm talking fanny pack small (not that I carry a fanny pack, but in case I decide to start). Best of all, it is solid state and has a tuning knob. I love my PFR-3, but that knob is really calling my name.

I should have the new rig in time for the weekend. So after a few honey-do chores, I'll be on the air looking for some QRP love. I've also ordered an Emtech ZM-2 tuner to accompany it...wait, no I didn't. What do you mean it says so right there?
Uh oh, better scoot. I've got some flowers to buy.

Raspberry Pi QRP Station Computer

I love to start new things. I love the feeling of learning and stumbling. I’m really good at being a Newb. Following through on projects I began…well, not so much.

I have at least a thousand projects currently under way. So, obviously, I’m ready for a new one. All these feel stale. Do you ever feel that way? I’ve often felt bad about going in so many directions without ever really settling on one, but my sporadic interests have also allowed me some unique opportunities that might not have been available if I wasn’t familiar with so many different things.

If you read around the web or the bookstore, there are a lot of “experts” out there, but no one seems to be selling themselves as a “generalist.” Why is that? Is a lot of knowledge about one thing more valuable than a little knowledge of a lot of things? I’m not sure. But this is the string of thought that I’m using to justify a new purchase and a new project. J Enter the Raspberry Pi.

While this little computer is on order, I am thinking through how I plan on incorporating it into my radio operations. A few ideas I am playing with:

• Logging contacts on portable ops, especially during SOTA or Field Day
• A dedicated Packet and/or digital modes computer
• A mobile web server for ARES activations or club events, especially field day

I have read about a lot of hams buying a Pi and not ever using it, but I think they were expecting a lot more from a mini computer. The Pi isn't meant to replace the shack computer, it's meant to perform computing tasks on a more sparse level. It's design and architecture allows a high play to pay ration, which is also appealing. I'm excited to get tinkering with it as I continue my quest for the "perfect" portable QRP Shack.

I'm also excited about the possibility of interfacing the Pi with my TenTec Rebel 506. The "Rebel Alliance" on the TenTec Rebel 506 Yahoo Group have already developed some great software and hardware hacks for the chipKit(TM) Uno32 (Arduino compatible) platform, but a micro controller like the Uno32 has its limitations. Many of these limitations can be overcome by the processing power of the Pi, without necessitating a full-fledged desktop or laptop powerhouse, or weighing down an already heavy SOTA backpack with more computer than needed.

Here's to a fun new adventure in Ham Radio.

2 Strikes, Then Out of the Park!

I've been working on my Hendricks PFR-3 Build for several weeks now. Admittedly  I was nervous to test everything after assemble and put off casing the unit until this past weekend. Before I put it in the case, everything was working great! Then, just after I turned the last screw on the cover...nothing. The receiver was dead. Power output went from 4.5W on 40m to barley readable. from 5W on 20m to 1W. I was pretty bummed out, but I knew that it had to be something silly, so I tore it back out and began poking around.

That was four days ago. By last night, I had fixed a few solder joints and got 5W or so out on every band. However, for the receiver  I was out of ideas. I sent an email off to Steven Weber, KD1JV. By this morning, I had an email waiting for me. He offered a few suggestions that I implemented after work this evening. Still nothing. So I sent him another email begging for help. A response came ten minutes later (now that's what I call customer service). It seems I had my wires crossed, both literally and figuratively. One of the toroids in the RX section was mis-wound and I had crossed the primary and secondary thereby bypassing the tuning capacitor. No wonder the receiver was deaf.

It's too late to box the whole thing up again tonight, but by tomorrow, I will have officially completed my first kit radio. I am so excited to use this radio out in the field. It's going to be a real charge when some other camper or backpacker asks me what I'm doing. I can't wait to tell them that I'm talking with someone far away on a radio I built in my shack.