Dayton recap

 
I got back from Dayton Sunday night and we had a great trip. I went with Ron, WQ1Z and Al, W1WDX and we all had a good time. It was my first trip to Dayton and it won't be my last. There was so much to see that I certainly could have gone all 3 days and still could have seen more. I spoke to Martin F. Jue, the president of MFJ Enterprises. He's a nice, soft-spoken gentleman that was really a pleasure to talk to and he even gave me an eyeball QSL card. He spoke with me about the new pass-thru devices for getting cables into the home. There were lots of deals to be found, but I really didn't buy all that much. If you are a Ham and have never been, you really owe it to yourself to see what it is like. Now I'm looking forward to Boxboro this summer, as it will be like Dayton but just on a smaller scale.

First day in Dayton

I spent the whole day looking for bargains and I found quite a few.  One day is not enough, so I'm glad we are staying for two days.  I met Martin F. Jue (owner of MFJ) and he is a very nice man and gave me an eyeball QSL card.  I learned that there is a lot of cool stuff out there and that you really need to be in good shape for all the walking!  I did check out the flea market, but didn't see anything I wanted.  I'll report more later.

A winning antenna

Here's one of the antennas that I plan to install this spring.

 

http://www.w5fc.org/files/QRP Expressions.pdf

 

 

PSK modes contest coming soon!

If you enjoy PSK, this contest coming up is for you!

http://harvey.licht.home.sprynet.com/PSKFlavors/2008/2008RulesPost.htm

An amazing robot from Boston Dynamics

This is truly an amazing robot to watch in action

 

Spring Lites QSO Party is March 20-30, 2008

This is a contest on all modes to make contacts with Lighthouses - wicked cool!

For more info, visit http://arlhs.com/SL-2008-guidelines.html

My Kenwood TS-440 has the dreaded "dots on display" problem

If you own a Kenwood TS-440 (or know someone that does), odds are you are familiar with the "dots on display". When the TS-440 was made, it could be used mobile. To prevent parts from working loose, Kenwood used this clear "goop" to hold them in place. The problem is that as this goop ages, it becomes brown and conductive, and that's not good! My 440 had been experiencing the "dots on display" problem with more frequency, so after Clipperton went QRT (I was not able to work them. If you did, let me know how you did it!), I opened it up to see if my goop was brown, and it is. The picture below shows you what it looks like. I will now attempt to remove the goop and report back on the outcome. Click on the photo for a closer view.

BTW, this was taken with my new Nikon L11. I wanted a small camera that could fit in my pocket, used AA batteries and cost under $100. I paid $89 at Ritz camera last weekend and I am very pleased with it!