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Kellan Meig'h Administrator
Joined: 01 Apr 2007 Posts: 2044 Location: Just East of Indianapolis, Indiana
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:10 am Post subject: Casual Observations |
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Just sayin' . . .
I've been working on installing an Amateur radio/CB radio combination in my truck, so that involves brackets and other such things.
Next time you're in an electronics sales area, look around.
Back in the day (yes, I'm a gray-muzzle), when we would install 8 Track players in our vehicles, you could buy brackets, power cords, slide mounts and other such items to make things easier.
Not anymore.
Even my least favorite big box retailer, Frys Electronics, falls far short when it comes to installation items. So far, I've had to make (60 mile round trip) Saturday trips to my local Ham Radio Outlet for some parts, then I'm still fabbing up some others.
I suppose, since the CB craze died out and all radios can be mounted in the dash because they are DIN size compliant, there is no needs for mounting accessories.
Oh well, that's how things are, I guess.
Kel _________________ "Старый боевой конь, Кeллан" |
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Leonato Moderator
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 319 Location: Nashville TN, USA
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Often times we wind up having to just fabricate something. Finding a -lot- of older components is also becoming trickier and trickier.
RadioShack has done a lot to reform its image, of late. Still, its hard to find certain older items. Often times, the only resource is other HAMs, and even they are becoming harder to find. Things wear out, things break, and slowly certain items are just disappearing altogether.
Its interesting, got my paws on more and more old QST editions, and older 'so you want to be a HAM' books. And so much of it then was exactly this, fabricating your own hardware. Often times building the radio in its entirety from kit-parts, or just parts you could get at RadioShack/etc... That time is long gone now, and what one can't find, one often has to just try and fabricate anyway.
Wish ya the best of luck! And welcome to the hobby!
73 de KF4LNX _________________ My Fury Code:
FFX2arsw A-- C+ D++ H+ M- P++ R+++ T+++ W Z- Sm# RLCI a36 cl++ d+ e+ f++ h+++ iwf+++ j+ p++ sm+ |
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Kellan Meig'h Administrator
Joined: 01 Apr 2007 Posts: 2044 Location: Just East of Indianapolis, Indiana
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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Leonato wrote: | Often times we wind up having to just fabricate something. Finding a -lot- of older components is also becoming trickier and trickier.
RadioShack has done a lot to reform its image, of late. Still, its hard to find certain older items. Often times, the only resource is other HAMs, and even they are becoming harder to find. Things wear out, things break, and slowly certain items are just disappearing altogether.
Its interesting, got my paws on more and more old QST editions, and older 'so you want to be a HAM' books. And so much of it then was exactly this, fabricating your own hardware. Often times building the radio in its entirety from kit-parts, or just parts you could get at RadioShack/etc... That time is long gone now, and what one can't find, one often has to just try and fabricate anyway.
Wish ya the best of luck! And welcome to the hobby!
73 de KF4LNX |
I'm looking at an Elecraft KX3 kit. Yeah, I know it's partially assembled when I get it but I'm just too old school not to be excited about building my own rig.
So far, the best mounts for what I'm doing looks like a Panavise 6" swivel floor mount. I'm going to try it with both radios on it but if I have to, I'll remote the face on my Yaesu FT-7900R.
What's funny is the fact that my truck ('97 F250HD) really wasn't meant for radio installation. The dash wasn't built to hang anything off the bottom and there's no metal, just plastic down there. Oh well.
By the way Leonato, it that a vanity call sign? LNX = Lynx?
73's back at you,
Kellan AG6TH _________________ "Старый боевой конь, Кeллан" |
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Leonato Moderator
Joined: 23 Dec 2003 Posts: 319 Location: Nashville TN, USA
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Yep, you busted me. I was issued KK4EER after taking the test, but put in immediately for a vanity call. I wanted the LNX suffix of course, for Lynx, and also for Linux reasons =^.^=
The available prefixes in region 4 (I didn't want an out of region call sign) were KF and KE. My Elmer through all of this is right here on this board, Nicolai =^.^= He informed me that in CW (Morse code for those who don't know), KE, especially KE4, was easy to misunderstand, as E is just a single dot (dit). So, that is how I arrived at my preferred vanity call of KF4LNX, and whatya know, it was available.
A local HAM was super lucky however, he actually managed to get N4FOX. I've called him 'SlyFox' on the radio ever since =^.^=
I can usually be found hanging around the 146.670 machine here in Nashville, whenever I'm mobile (very frequent). I've also been sporadically spotted at 06:00 local on 147.015 on the bible-study-net =^.^=
Ohh, by the way, have a good field day? Mine got to be 100% digital modes (mostly PSK), at least for me. Thanks in large part to KE4ETY, for his radio and tuner and powersupply. He was using his SignaLink as well, so I didn't have to break out mine... I'm probably gonna be using my SignaLink more in the future, with that Heathkit HW-101 of Nicolai's, that he is letting me borrow. Get out there and attempt some ragchew on PSK, like I'll ever be lucky enough to find someone interested in ragchew using that protocol *shrugs*
If you are at all interested in such things, look up the program fldigi, it knocks the socks off of any other PSK/Textmode program I've found. It speaks more protocols than the others, and was my real workhorse (nothing personal) on field day. Worked it off a GAP antenna of the club's, set-up portable on the lawn. Gonna wait for KE4ETY to tell me how many contacts I actually made with it, but hey, digital modes on field day are worth 2 points a piece =^.^=
Anyway, like I said before, welcome to the hobby, it really is an awesome one!
73 de KF4LNX _________________ My Fury Code:
FFX2arsw A-- C+ D++ H+ M- P++ R+++ T+++ W Z- Sm# RLCI a36 cl++ d+ e+ f++ h+++ iwf+++ j+ p++ sm+ |
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