http://bildr.org/2011/06/easydriver/
Mobile Install
I have a new vehicle and a new radio. The radio is a Yaesu 9800 and I’m working on an easily removable rig, as my urban location is prone to the occasional stolen stereo. A local commercial radio vendor was able to provide an Archer CB removable plate (vintage radio shack – the instructions are dated 1979) to mount the radio and the faceplate is held by a cell phone / GPS cup mount. I’m looking at a ball head tripod mount with a shoe to replace it. Coffee ranks higher than radio on road trips!
QSL Card II
A second of round of modeling left me with the basic contact info. I’m thinking a banner of “Greeting from Columbus Ohio” in-between the the buckeye leaves will finish the design.
QSL Card
I had the idea a few weeks ago and administering semester exams gave me time to develop the basic idea of the card using 3D Studio Max 2012. Mental Ray rendering helps the glass materials pop.
KD8RIB/AG
Passed my element 4 General test this evening! I’m looking forward to getting into HF!
Ash Cave Fire Tower Hike
Enjoyed a couple of days in Hocking Hills. We hiked the Ash Cave trail up to the buckeye trail and visited the Ash Cave fire tower (the tower photo is from the wiki) After the stair master hike up i tried out my 2 meter roll up pole and talked to a local ham on the hocking valley arc repeater. I had hoped to spend more time up there and see how far I could I could reach out with my 5 watt ht, but Mona was getting cold and we were loosing light.
Ten Tec 1253 – FIN
If you were listening to radio in the 1920s you were probably using a regenerative receiver or “gennie”. The simple design made construction relatively easy and they could receive radio signals from all over the world. The superheterodyne receiver quickly became king in the 1930s but gennies have lived on as kits and diy projects. I understand why, there’s something amazing about tuning in a station with this radio. You can “hear” how the radio theory works as you tune in and jump onto a carrier frequency and listen the transmission that rides along.
The instruction manual is well written and pointed out the snags you find in a set of plans once you’ve coached a few people through the build. There were a few checkpoints to test the project along the way, the tests gave me confidence in the work I was doing.
Ten Tec 1253 Construction
Tec Ten 1253 SW receiver parts sort
I’m impressed! The instruction manual seems excellent, a lot of attention to detail.
I settled into part sorting and labeling, I like to use index cards and a cigar box to keep everything organized. I usually use a meter to sort resistors, the color bands are very hard to read. The inductors were a little tricky. I’m hoping to have the kit together before I go back to school in January.
Calling Toledo
Installed the discone antenna in the attic this afternoon. A scrap section of closet rod mounted to a board made a good mast. Amazing how my reception has improved. I was able to hear the KB8YVY repeater in Toledo 146.835MHz (pl103.5) . I’m wondering how far my 5 watts will travel.
