AmateurRadio.com

 

Exposed PCB

 http://www.cwtouchkeyer.com/

Model P6 CWtouchkeyer

Model P6 CWtouchkeyer http://www.cwtouchkeyer.com/P6.htm

“The PC card is exposed to reduce assembly cost and material cost to provide a low cost touch paddle. The model P1PAD would be the next option.  It’s twice the size and offers a weight in it. The P6 is designed to be low cost, light weight yet hold the touch standard as with all my products.” Summer, from CWtouchkeyer.com says, “I’ve had a few comments about the exposed PC card but less than 1%.”

I wanted to protect the PCB from potential short circuits that might damage the Touch Paddles.  I ordered the P6 because every radio I have already has a keyer onboard. A quick scan of the CWtouchkeyer.com web site will show you various models with better and better features.

I like to tinker and one of my favorite things to do is to use something for ham radio for which it was not intended. The Old Bay spice can was just the right size for this job. The can was almost empty anyway. I was going to mount the entire keyer inside the Old Bay box but eventually decided that was overkill. Modifying the cover was pretty easy. I used a Dremel tool to rout out the cover lip so it would fit better on the PCB. I used ‘Whiteout’ to drip a mark onto the Old Bay Cover through the screw holes of the PCB for its rubber feet and main cover screws.

The hardest part of this job was getting all the wire back in the box, and whole thing put back together without pinching the wire. It took longer to write this blog and get the photos properly displayed than doing the actual work.

Using these paddles is not exactly the same as using mechanical paddles. You cannot ‘rest’ your fingers on the metal tabs. Touching the metal strips sends a stream of code out. I learned to keep my wrist steady to avoid sending extra dits. The learning curve is not as steep as I first suspected it would be. My fist improved after using the touch paddled for just a short time. Using them if fun. I plan to try various CW speeds on my radio keyer just to test myself and make sure I don’t embarrass myself when I go on the air.

I tested the paddles with very low power into a dummy load. So far so good. Now I’m looking forward to using them on the air.

The P6 is a very light weight model and can be held in your hand to steady it. I like these paddles so much that I am thinking about getting a second set and boxing them up in a different kind of enclosure and weighing it down to keep it from moving around. That will be fun to play with indoors with my 100 watt radio.

73

de AA1IK

Ernest Gregoire

Geezer on the porch

Elecraft KX3

KX3 Transceiver (Preliminary)
Note: This is advance information. Specifications and option/accessory availability are subject to change without notice.
KX3 Ordering and Shipping dates will be Fall-Winter 2011

• 160-6 meters, SSB/CW/DATA/AM/FM modes
• 0 W PEP (100 W with KXPA100 amp)
• Only 1.5 pounds (0.7 kg)
• Current drain as low as 150 mA

I have been following the story about this rig ever since I found out about it. I am very excited about it, especially since the QRP community lost a source of rigs from Icom

The Icom 703 is no longer made. I have two of them. One has a SSB filter and the other a CW filter. If one breaks I’ll still have a back up. Although the 703’s are fine rigs and I have used them for years without the need for repair, Its nice to see a new rig coming to the QRP market.

I am eager to get my hands on this new Elecraft KX3. I have a Kx1 that I like very much but this new one has a lot of promise.

http://www.elecraft.com/
You can put your name on a waiting list at Elecraft at the web site listing above. I hate to wait when I have money for a new rig burning a hole in my pocket. As luck would have it, by the time my number comes up here. I’ll have spent it on something else.

Even worse, there is no price on this radio yet. We can only guess what it might be!
I am very satisfied with the KX1 and I look forward to the same quality from Elecraft on this new KX3 radio.

I’m curious!

How many readers of Amateur Radio.com are seriously interested in buying one of these babies! I think it would be fun to know how much interest this new offering from Elecraft has generated.

In your reply, tell us about how you plan to use this rig. Also include how many and what kind of QRP rigs you use and which modes you operate these rigs in. Is this the rig you have been waiting for?

I’m always interested in what other QRP’ers are doing and what they are thinking and planning. I’ll bet others would like to hear from you too.

Its been a long time since the FT 817 was introduced and likewise the Icom IC 703 in its various iterations.

73

de AA1IK

Ernest Gregoire

As I wrote previously, for 2011 Field Day, I made a game of trying to contact W3AO and KE3Q on as many bands and modes as possible.  Here are the official standings from KD4D who managed the PVRC competition:

So, K1DQV was at the top of the heap (with a 2-meter CW contact, I might add).  Anyhow, I’m quite pleased with the results and happy to report that W3AO is claiming the all-time high QSO total for Field Day this year.  Congratulations.

Early Monday morning, the day after Field Day, we welcomed our son Evan into the family.  We were so right to stay home!  As good friends have opined “your life will change…for the better.”  So far, I would tend to agree.  The blog will receive (even more) infrequent updates, K8GU may be a little less active on the air, and there will be fewer homebrew projects over the next few weeks and months.  A few months ago after building some UHF antennas when I pinched the palm of my hand with a pair of pliers, I watched the blood blister heal and commented to Sarah on how amazing it was for several days straight.  “You think that’s amazing?  Well, I’m growing new life inside of me.”  We laughed, but it’s very true.  Every day is something new:  grasping, gazing, grunting, and gurgling.  This is only the beginning.  That’s pretty amazing.

I just wanted to post a very quick update regarding my TI7/K2DBK operation that’s coming up in a few days. I see that my announcement to the various DX Publicity sources that I’ve collected has done the job, as I’ve been mentioned in most of the major DX announcement lists. As mentioned, this is a “holiday-style” operation which means that operating will take place when I’m at the QTH where I’m staying (as opposed to sightseeing, etc.)  and not otherwise occupied with other important things, like working on my suntan, swimming, or consuming the occasional “adult beverage”. (Come to think of it, I could do at least some of those while operating, but I think I’ll skip trying to operate from the swimming pool.)

Although I wasn’t home to take advantage, I noted that 6m was open today and if that happens again while I’m there, I’ll try to get on the air on that band. However, unless there’s some indication of a band opening I probably won’t spend much time just CQing since the lower bands should be more productive overall.

I had intended to post several updates this week, but as luck would have it this was an extremely busy week at work and I got home significantly later than usual and just haven’t had the time to update. I may post a few updates from Costa Rica when I’m there at which point I may have a better idea of when I’ll actually be on the air.

Until then, I’ve got to get back to packing.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’d been looking at these rigs. Well, I have had the chance to play with one and I must say I’m not disappointed.

Quite obviously the rig shows its CB heritage. It’s quite big too. Certainly it wouldn’t fit in the centre console of my VW Polo in the same way that the FT8900 does.

The rig comes with a mounting kit for the car (which I made double as a stand) since the loudspeaker is on the bottom of the case, not ideal if you want to place it on a shelf in the shack.

I’ve found the rig fun and easy to use. As supplied in the AT5555N configuration from Nevada, the rig is 28MHz amateur band only. I quickly got used to the channel change moving me up or down 10khz and using the clarifier to tune in between in either 1, 0.1 or 0.01 KHz steps. This is only of significance on CW/SSB of course.

So far, I have had the rig connected up to the Butternut HF6V at home and have had a number of contacts around Europe using Sporadic E propagation. Some more distant signals have been heard from South America and the Middle East.

Output power is around 10W FM and a little more on SSB. Entirely adequate to make some fun contacts. Haven’t tried it on CW yet, but it should work with an external keyer.

I like the fact that the rig is available through Amazon making it easily accessible to someone who might be new to the hobby or getting back into it again.

If you’ve not played on 28MHz before then with rising solar flux, this is the time to do it!

As I have written in my other blog, I am currently in a period of recuperation from my brain surgery prior to beginning treatment to try to stop the cancer. I’m feeling better every day, if still rather weak and living as if in a dream – in part no doubt due to my difficulty in sleeping.

Since I can’t go anywhere much – we sold the car to a neighbour yesterday – I need things to keep me amused here, so inevitably I am once again becoming more interested in my radios. But I do have a different outlook on the hobby now. The computer gives me a headache in more than small doses so digital modes are out for the time being, as is the APRS gateway. The simple approach to ham radio now seems far more appealing. Perhaps I’ll even spend some time trying to improve my CW.

I managed to set up my Kenwood TM-D710 as a digipeater and it can be heard and gated by Mark MM1MPB’s station at Annan, Scotland. So my weather station G4ILO-5 and my Kenwood handheld TH-D72 G4ILO-7 still appear on the map and I can do limited messaging via the keypad on the handheld.

This burst of activity is only a sign of recovering from the operation (and of coming to terms with the fact of my mortality) not of beating the cancer. The treatment will not begin for a couple of weeks or so and I have been reliably informed that it may make me feel so tired that I won’t feel much like blogging or radio. So my main intention during these next couple of weeks is to try to enjoy them as much as possible.