Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, 1:30 a.m. — I’m up late, sure, just catching up and cooling off after getting my armored butt blasted in World of Tanks. Yeah, its sad, isn’t it? A man my age playing tanks?? My wife insists this is not my second childhood but a continuation of my first (and ongoing) childhood. But I digress …
SATISFACTION! WOOT! The previously mentioned panadapter seller came through for me today. Given his very excellent feedback, I really shouldn’t be surprised. Always good to find a seller who stands behind what they sell.
He gave me a link to a couple of videos and the instructions, which include the links to needed software. Basically the hardest part will be clearing off the operating position desk in order to set my Yaesu FT-2000 there so I can remove the top of the case.
The “hardware” change is pretty simple — in my case I’ll have to unhook the existing DMU board, plug in the adapter for the provided cable that connects to the RTL SDR dongle, and then download and install the software. There will be some setup necessary, and from the looks of it, that’s going to take more time than the hardware end of it. Looks pretty easy, and from those who have installed these, it is as easy at it looks. Looking forward to it.
SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! The roads here have become hazardous with 4 to 6 inches of snow, the police had wrecks galore on the Bluegrass Parkway. So many vehicles were left crashed that people traveling the parkway kept reporting the crashed cars as new accidents. Police, fire and EMS were dispatched at least three times for the same old accident scene. But in those cases, you have to check them out, I get it.
One of the hazards were people driving too fast and coming up on slowed or stopped traffic while first-responders were working the accident. One deputy sheriff’s car was hit and he a passenger in the car that hit him suffered minor injuries. Just wasn’t safe to be on the roads for a while tonight.
QST/73/HAM MAGAZINES ON CD. As mentioned in a previous entry in this space, I have been enjoying reading old issues of radio magazines on CD and DVD. What I apparently missed was a note that the files were best read when moved to your hard drive; when trying to read the big-honkin’ pdf files, you may get errors — and brother, did I get errors! Well, it was a case of “when all else fails, read the directions.”
I have a bunch of QSTs in binders through the 1920s, 30s and 40s, going to the 50s, and I may just sell them. Its not very convenient to read them in binders. And yes, at one time I was working to collect a complete set of QSTs. I did not announce this goal to my wife, but she began to wonder what the hell I wanted with all of these old magazines.
The quality of QST’s scans from the CD archives they created aren’t very high quality; the photos look like crap. Of course, they date back quite a few years too. I hesitate to part with them, partly because the higher quality images in the event I want to scan them. Of course, I haven’t scanned an image from a printed QST in 3 or 4 years, I guess.
There are some copies I’m not planning on selling however. I bought several years worth of QST in binders from someone liquidating former ARRL Communications Manager F.E. “Ed” Handy, who figured large in the ARRL and QST magazine from the early 1920s and for man years afterward until George Hart took over after World War II. Ed stamped all of his QSTs with his official stamp; some of them have his notes about the issue inscribed in them. At the time they sold on eBay there was quite a scuffle for them. I can’t recall what I paid, but I know I didn’t get as many years worth as I had hoped. But like so many things we decide to “collect,” they are currently boxed up in storage.
Checked in again tonight to the GTN, 80 was very quiet. There was no Kentucky CW net apparently, I kept checking but heard no net.
73 es CUL de KY4Z … SK …. dit dit…