bugs
Unboxing a ‘new’ 2013 bug …
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020 This week while excavating in the shack, I dug up a USPS Priority Mail box from 2013 that was never opened. Judging by its weight, my guess was that it was […]
Year: 2020
ebay
Waiting, more waiting, for deliveries via the United Pokey Service
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 On my radio show this morning, we honored our nation’s veterans and we had a guest, a local pastor who was a 28-year U.S. Army veteran and a chaplain. He served […]
bugs
Waiting for the valves …
Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 The 12BY7 I ordered for the Kenwood TS-520SE arrived today, though I’m probably not going to install it yet. I also ordered a new pair of matched 6146W finals, but unbeknownst […]
bugs
From one hybrid rig to the next ….
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 The Kenwood TS-520SE had to be reassembled and put on the back burner temporarily while I await new tubes. I did take time check the plate idling current, which was set […]
bugs
Deoxit is de bomb, but its no miracle worker …
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 I took the case off my new Kenwood TS-520SE and purchased a can of DeOxit contact cleaner. I was watching YouTube videos of common TS-520x problems, and dirty contacts seem to […]
ebay
Just like Cracker Jack, with eBay, there’s a surprise in every box …
Monday, Nov. 2, 2020 The Kenwood TS-520SE I purchased recently on eBay arrived today, though I’ll admit that the box sitting on my front porch worried me. As I turned the box over, I felt […]
bugs
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020 After 10 days of waiting, the two-pin molex connector finally arrived a couple of days ago, and I connected my Heathkit HD-8999 UltraPro CW keyboard to 12vdc power. The keyboard works […]
classic radio
Who pulled the plug on the propagation machine?
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 So far this week, I’m batting .333 for my efforts to check in on my CW traffic net. Every night the band seems to go long at 9 p.m. Eastern time, […]
ham radio
Amphenol connectors resemble Maker’s Mark bourbon: ‘Taste expensive — and is.’
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 I found out first-hand why so many classic radio owners switched their microphone chassis jacks from the old Amphenol 2-pin connector — as used on Hallicrafters, Collins and other vintage gear […]
ebay
Shipping classic gear an (increasingly) pricey proposition …
Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 My son and I just got back from our trip to town and the post office, where we mailed three packages — two of them large, one of them extraordinarily heavy. […]