Order From Dan’s Small Parts And Kits Arrives

Of all the orders for electronic parts that I’ve placed in the last couple of weeks, the one that I have been eagerly awaiting the most was the one from Dan’s Small Parts And Kits. It was also the one that I haven’t really been counting the days on because even though I haven’t used […]

My Morning – QRS Pse OM and G4ILO News

My morning began quite well. I woke up at about 3:30am and heard the Russian “K” beacon on 7039.3, tuned lower down the band and worked JS1NDM – Hiro near Tokyo.  Worked him with 4W from my Norcal 2N2/40.  From his QRZ listing, it looks like he has a beam on a tower, and was […]

The N3ZI Digital Dial

The last 2 QRP radios I built were the Fort Tuthill 80 and the Norcal 2N2/40, both of which I fitted with KD1JV digital dials. I’d seen Doug Pongrance N3ZI’s Digital Dial and was curious, as it drives an LCD display, as opposed to the LED display in Steve Weber’s kit. I figured that it […]

Low Solar Activity – The Beginning Of A New Era?

Today an announcement was made at the annual meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held this week at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. I’m going to directly quote today’s article on Space.com: “Some unusual solar readings, including fading sunspots and weakening magnetic activity near the […]

The End Of A Good Relationship – FT-817 Up For Sale

I haven’t owned that many rigs in my amateur career which is surprising, as I’ve been licensed since 1978.  There was the 2M FM VFO-controlled transceiver designed and built by a local amateur, who was also a regular contributor of technical articles to the RSGB’s RadCom. He gifted it to me, and it became the […]