It's been a week or so since I updated, and even longer since I posted something regarding Amateur Radio.
YAESU FT-2000. I've not operated a great deal, but have been enjoying the rig when I have been in the shack. Band conditions on Monday on 75 meters were dismal; I called the Kentucky Emergency Net (KEN) and had one check-in. At the same time, the state SEC was calling the net from his home in Lexington; he had no check-ins. I actually thought perhaps my antenna was on the ground, or my feedline was severed!
Several weeks ago I had a terrible electrical noise all across 75/80 meters. It was a solid S6-8. We had some rain in the past week, and the night after the rain, the noise went away. I haven't heard it since. There must have been an insulator leaking somewhere closeby. I'll have to track it down if it comes back again.
I'm still not sure how well the rig is working as far as transmit audio quality goes. The adjustments aren't as simple nor as intuitive as those on the PRO3, so yeah, I'm going to have to get out the book.
I've been enjoying the DMU unit and the multi-function display. I added a small laptop-size keyboard so I can use the logbook function. It's nice to be able to have such a large visual display, particularly on the band scope. I miss the PRO3's ability to copy RTTY; I often would monitor RTTY just to see what stations were on. I've considered selling everything for a IC-7700, which has the built-in interface, but I'm not ready to sell out yet.
I joined a couple of FT-2K user groups, but the junk I'm getting too often winds up as pissing contests over which rig is better, or whines about the shortcomings of the FT-2K. Life's too short to get bogged down by that crap. Enjoy the rig, or sell it and try another!
SPEAKING OF RIGS. My IC-746PRO is due back early this week from the West Coast. Kuni couldn't find a problem, but he did replace the front panel. I'm not sure just what I was hearing that convinced me I had a problem. He ran the rig for several weeks while the replacement front panel was on back order, and he said the rig worked flawlessly.
The problem? I don't have a spot in the shack to put it.
When I shipped the PRO out, I replaced it with my Hallicrafters FPM-300. That rig has been a lot of fun to use, believe it or not. I don't necessarily want to pull it out to put the PRO back.
In my quest to find the original box and packing for my PRO3, I found the box for the PRO. I think I'll probably pack the PRO back in its original box for storage, and keep it upstairs in our closet. The PRO3 box is still missing. The rig is safely stored in the library, but until I have it safely packed I'll worry that something might happen to it in the interim.
EBAY TIME. I have some things to put on eBay, and I need to do it. I have depleted my radio fund to the lowest level it has been in for quite some time. I used what I had left to pay off a small loan, so the fund it empty. But good news, I have some gear to sell.
I have the complete Tempo 2020 station to sell; I have a Swan 350 and PS to sell; I'm still considering getting rid of my Knight R-100/T-150 station. I have a couple of National transceivers in the atttic still, and various and sundry receivers and transmitters. I could have my own hamfest if I put it all in one spot.
What's next on my purchase list? I let pass a matching Yaesu speaker for the FT-2k, but it needs an external speaker of some sort. I would like to buy a new tri-bander this winter, as well as a Rohn house bracket. There's no reason I can't put up a gain antenna for the higher bands, as well as 6 and perhaps 2.
I've picked up a couple of new semi-automatic keys, but I'll discuss those later. G'nite and 73 ….