WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:03.120 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.540 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:13.460 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:13.460 --> 00:00:18.140 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:23.359 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:32.590 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:32.590 --> 00:00:38.549 we go, welcome to Amtok Live Call in, let's talk, 00:00:38.789 --> 00:01:01.420 Neil's your guy Hey everyone, it's time for ham 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:06.379 talk live. It's episode number 306 new tools 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:11.980 and new kits recorded on Thursday October 6 2022 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:17.079 live actually I'm your host Neil rap WB 9 VPG. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.519 Thanks for tuning in to this episode of ham talk 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.920 live tonight. We're joined by Joe Eisenberg K 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:28.959 zero in e be And last time here on the show Bill 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:32.780 Stearns. Ne4RD was here to talk about jamboree 00:01:32.780 --> 00:01:35.099 on the air and jamboree on the internet So if 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:37.599 you missed that show you can listen anytime at 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:40.620 hamptalklive .com or on your favorite podcast 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:44.879 app or on YouTube and you can catch the rebroadcast 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:51.359 of this very program on WTWW that's 5 0 8 5 a 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.959 .m. Saturday afternoons at about 3 30 p .m. Eastern 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:01.629 time so We have some some news just in and some 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:03.609 things to talk about with Joe so we'll be back 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:06.670 to talk about those right after this word from 00:02:06.670 --> 00:02:10.930 Tower Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. 00:02:13.090 --> 00:02:20.030 His two cents is worth $37 in change. He once 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:24.610 ran a marathon because it was on his way to Dayton. 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:37.370 He works FT8 by ear. He once worked North Korea 00:02:37.370 --> 00:02:41.909 on every band in one minute using only a microwatt. 00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:49.990 He slowed down his code speed to work a de -expedition 00:02:49.990 --> 00:02:58.939 to 200 words a minute. He is, indeed, the most 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:04.139 interesting ham in the world. I don't always 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:08.979 put on my own PL -259s, but when I do, I prefer 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:12.740 them from Tower Electronics. Stay resident, my 00:03:12.740 --> 00:03:16.960 friends. Tower Electronics has all the adapters, 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:22.319 cables, connectors, and yes, PL -259s you need 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:29.159 at a ham fest near you. or visit PL -259 .com. 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:36.759 And the Tower Electronics AmFest schedule will 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:41.020 be at Crestview, Florida October 15th, then Chickasaw, 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:45.900 Alabama October 22nd. That's in North Mobile, 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.340 Alabama, then Lawrenceville, Georgia, better 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:51.159 known as Stone Mountain November 5th and 6th. 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:54.740 and Montgomery, Alabama, November 11th and 12th, 00:03:54.740 --> 00:04:02.020 but you can visit them anytime at PL -259 .com. 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:05.900 HamTalk Live. The longer you listen, the later 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:22.879 it gets. And welcome back to HamTalk Live. Tonight, 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:27.899 Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, joins us on the Orlando 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:32.300 Amateur Radio Club and hamcation Zoom line. Joe 00:04:32.300 --> 00:04:35.480 is from Lincoln, Nebraska, and is the kit building 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:40.560 editor at CQ Magazine. And we'll talk about some 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.079 of the hamfests and conventions and club meetings 00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:46.509 he's going to here soon to do some kit building 00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:49.089 activities. He's also known for his picture shows 00:04:49.089 --> 00:04:53.129 at Hamvention and his Dr. Seuss hat at Dayton. 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:57.329 So Joe, welcome back to the show. Well, good 00:04:57.329 --> 00:05:00.490 evening and great to talk to you again, Neil. 00:05:01.189 --> 00:05:04.589 And there's been a lot of talk. Somebody's been 00:05:04.589 --> 00:05:07.050 asking me, well, why don't you bring your hat 00:05:07.050 --> 00:05:11.160 to this ham fest or that ham fest? And it might 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:13.860 take some thinking since the tradition is over 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:17.740 20 -some years old and maybe it's time that it 00:05:17.740 --> 00:05:20.259 should appear at other places besides Dayton. 00:05:20.740 --> 00:05:23.800 Start branching out a little bit, huh? So we'll 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:26.899 see about that. It does make it easy to find 00:05:26.899 --> 00:05:29.860 you, I will say that. Yes it does. It does help. 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:33.180 Especially in the crowd, you know, and Orlando 00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:37.129 I wear my Mickey Mouse ears. I don't have anything 00:05:37.129 --> 00:05:39.449 special for Huntsville other than my red ball 00:05:39.449 --> 00:05:42.730 cap, so I don't know. We'll figure out something. 00:05:43.709 --> 00:05:46.350 Maybe the hat's going to become the symbol of 00:05:46.350 --> 00:05:50.350 all the hamfests I go to. We'll see. It does 00:05:50.350 --> 00:05:53.709 make it easy to find you. That's for sure. Well, 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:56.230 before we start, we do have some breaking news. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.839 So the Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:13.819 is now open noon to five on Saturdays and Sundays. 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:19.259 So you get an extra hour, although they usually 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:22.860 opened up before noon to start with anyway. But 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:25.740 now it's official. They're open noon to five 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.779 on Saturdays and Sundays. So if that's more convenient 00:06:28.779 --> 00:06:33.430 for you to come visit, they are They are open 00:06:33.430 --> 00:06:37.290 and they also are in the middle of a five -part 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:42.649 series with the Voice of America office in Washington 00:06:42.649 --> 00:06:46.689 DC. The next one is Thursday, October 20th from 00:06:46.689 --> 00:06:49.110 7 to 9 p .m. There's another one on November 00:06:49.110 --> 00:06:54.610 17th, December 15th and January 19th. And it's 00:06:54.610 --> 00:06:59.769 the VOA Director Yolanda Lopez and the VOA East 00:06:59.769 --> 00:07:03.439 Europe Chief I'm going to try to pronounce this. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:09.980 Myroslava Gondazi, I think. But these are distinguished 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:13.120 journalists that report accurate news and stories 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:17.680 from countries lacking a free press. And so they're 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.379 talking about Some Ukrainian stuff actually. 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:24.740 Lopez describes the challenge of managing an 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:27.139 international news organization in multiple war 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:31.439 zones. And Gungazi shares highlights from her 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.980 recent trip to Ukraine. She's an award -winning 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:38.879 correspondent, awarded the Order of Princess 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:43.300 Olga Third Class, which is a Ukrainian civil 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:46.750 decoration. bestowed on women of outstanding 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:53.810 personal merit. So check that out voamuseum .org 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:58.490 and you can check out this five -part series. 00:07:59.370 --> 00:08:03.649 So Joe, if you have some time on an airplane 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:08.350 going to some of these hamfests, maybe you can 00:08:08.350 --> 00:08:11.779 catch one of those. That sounds good. I'll have 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:15.160 to download it into my little iPod and take it 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:21.759 with me. It's really good to be back on the show 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:26.180 and actually be back in circulation. I did catch 00:08:26.180 --> 00:08:29.019 COVID at my high school reunion about three or 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:33.639 four weeks ago and been testing negative now 00:08:33.639 --> 00:08:36.639 and so I'm back out into the real world again 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:41.659 and fortunately it was pretty mild. And we're 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:45.519 moving forward again. So, of course, while we're 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.799 stuck home, we do things like order new tools. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.440 Order new stuff, yes. That's right. It does not 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:56.159 stop the Amazon truck from coming to the house. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:02.639 Oh, yeah. And so let's talk about something. 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:06.019 We've had more and more kits that have one or 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:09.710 two surface mount parts in them. sometimes a 00:09:09.710 --> 00:09:13.070 little more and this is a little soldering station 00:09:13.070 --> 00:09:15.909 it's digital temperature controlled but it has 00:09:15.909 --> 00:09:19.029 dual controls because it has both a temperature 00:09:19.029 --> 00:09:22.870 controlled soldering iron that has cool off and 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:28.490 everything and full temperature precision but 00:09:28.490 --> 00:09:32.470 it also has a heat gun they call it a rework 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:35.409 tool and what that's used for is to heat up little 00:09:35.409 --> 00:09:38.210 spots on circuit boards that have surface mount 00:09:38.210 --> 00:09:42.129 parts and so a rework obviously would be to remove 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:44.870 one but also it can be used with solder paste 00:09:44.870 --> 00:09:49.070 and putting parts on a circuit board as well 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:54.769 and so with a kit that I should mention here 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:58.850 real quick, and that is the four -state QRP surface 00:09:58.850 --> 00:10:03.649 mount dummy load kit. And what it is, is it's 00:10:03.649 --> 00:10:06.490 a circuit board, very, very simple, but it's 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:09.090 got surface mount parts. Now these aren't tiny 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:11.590 surface mount parts. These are bigger than a 00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:14.009 lot of the resistors you're used to working with. 00:10:14.289 --> 00:10:16.629 And it's because they have to be powerful enough 00:10:16.629 --> 00:10:20.509 to act as a dummy load when hooked up the way 00:10:20.509 --> 00:10:25.539 they are. And so it has four LEDs on it. And 00:10:25.539 --> 00:10:31.580 so it will read your power at 0 .5 watts, 1 watt, 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:34.340 2 watts, and 5 watts. So you can use that to 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:38.440 tweak up a QRP kit and measure it. And of course, 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:42.720 all powered by the RF. So no power supply is 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.419 needed. And it's a nifty little kit. And there 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:51.620 are the STL files linked on the four -state QRP 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:57.000 site as to where you can download the STL files 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.039 to print the case for this kit if you want to 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:03.419 put it in the case. Now, we would be remiss if 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:06.320 I didn't give the model number of this soldering 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:09.820 station that's also got the heat tool. And it's 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:17.610 an LRT8868. Once again, LRT8868. eight eight 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:20.730 six eight and it says like thirty nine ninety 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:23.169 nine so i just say forty bucks for the thing 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:27.529 it's not that big or heavy or anything it's i 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:30.029 pretty sure it's got a switching supply in there 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:36.429 and it is grounded for esd and the heat gun puts 00:11:36.429 --> 00:11:40.649 out plenty of heat so that you can melt solder 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:44.090 paste and put parts on a surface mount board 00:11:44.090 --> 00:11:47.070 that way. And the solder paste method is something 00:11:47.070 --> 00:11:49.529 that maybe sometime I'll go into more detail 00:11:49.529 --> 00:11:54.110 on another show. But it's a very, very effective 00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:57.809 way of mounting surface mount components at home, 00:11:57.909 --> 00:12:02.289 and it looks absolutely perfect. It looks just 00:12:02.289 --> 00:12:06.570 like it was done professionally. Yeah, you showed 00:12:06.570 --> 00:12:09.629 it to me here. We're on skype and we have our 00:12:09.629 --> 00:12:12.409 video going here tonight so I can see that but 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:17.549 It looks like you know your your usual nice digital 00:12:17.549 --> 00:12:21.350 Soldering station and then a little wand on top 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:25.509 that sticks out And that's your your heat gun. 00:12:25.789 --> 00:12:28.690 So and it comes with like different tips with 00:12:28.690 --> 00:12:31.289 it, right? Yep Yeah, it's got three different 00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:33.990 size nozzles, so I can concentrate the heat on 00:12:33.990 --> 00:12:38.289 smaller areas if I want, so I don't melt other 00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:42.769 parts that are already on the board. And the 00:12:42.769 --> 00:12:45.750 heat tool, as well as the soldering iron, when 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:49.669 you hang them up, they cool down. So it's, you 00:12:49.669 --> 00:12:52.129 know, when you're talking about a solder station 00:12:52.129 --> 00:12:55.830 that has both tools, and it's 40 bucks, you can't 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:58.450 beat it. And it seems to be pretty reliable. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:01.539 And the soldering iron comes with like four or 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:06.120 five extra tips, different sizes and shapes and 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:10.299 there's solder wick also and it's a total rework 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:14.860 kit and very, very good for a beginning kit builder 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:17.679 because it has both the tool for surface mount 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:23.200 as well as a good sharp soldering iron. So. And 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:25.820 that's found on that's an Amazon find, right? 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.679 Yeah, that's on Amazon. and the kit that I use 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:34.460 this with, the 4State QRP surface mount dummy 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:38.879 load is at 4sqrp .com and I think it's like $35 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:42.019 for the kit. I'd have to look it up though. Might 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:48.799 be less. But it's a very good kit and like I 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.799 said, if you have access to a 3D printer, you 00:13:51.799 --> 00:13:55.240 can make the case for the dummy load although 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.559 you don't really need it. as long as you're not 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:01.720 putting it down on something metal. Okay, well 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:06.299 sounds like a great tool and a great kit. So 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:10.200 we've got a couple of things and we're going 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:13.220 to take a break and when we come back we're going 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:17.799 to talk about a bunch more kits and some of Joe's 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:22.029 travels coming up. We'll take a look at all of 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:24.529 that when we come back right after this word 00:14:24.529 --> 00:14:28.690 from ICOM America, right here on HamTalk Live. 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:31.990 Keep your competitive contesting edge with ICOM, 00:14:32.289 --> 00:14:34.190 our high -powered base stations cut -through 00:14:34.190 --> 00:14:36.509 pileups letting you work the bands and record 00:14:36.509 --> 00:14:38.990 those contacts. Contest from the comfort of your 00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:42.730 own home or remotely with the RSBA1 app. Heard 00:14:42.730 --> 00:14:47.759 it, worked it, logged it. The IC7851 gives you 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:51.539 a new window into the RF world and is HF excellence 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:54.539 unparalleled. With faster processors, high input 00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:56.840 gain, high display resolution, and a cleaner 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:00.039 signal, it is truly the pinnacle of HF perfection. 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.120 It has dual receivers, digital IF filters, memory 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.899 keyer, digital voice recorder, spectrum waterfall 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:10.389 display, and an SD card slot. The IC7610 is the 00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:13.789 SDR every ham wants. This high -performance SDR 00:15:13.789 --> 00:15:16.429 can pick out faint signals in the presence of 00:15:16.429 --> 00:15:20.250 stronger adjacent signals. The IC7610 by ICOM 00:15:20.250 --> 00:15:23.090 is a direct sampling software -defined radio 00:15:23.090 --> 00:15:25.730 that has changed the world's definition of an 00:15:25.730 --> 00:15:29.669 SDR transceiver. It has 110 dB RMDR, dual digit 00:15:29.669 --> 00:15:32.529 cell, dual receiver, and RF direct sampling. 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:36.000 Create your own band opening with the IC9700. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.620 This transceiver radio brings direct sampling 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:41.860 to the UHF -VHF week signal world. It's loaded 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:43.940 with innovative features that are sure to keep 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:46.879 you busy. Faster processors, higher input gain, 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:49.399 higher display resolution, and a cleaner signal. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:52.460 With a 4 .3 inch color touch screen, real time 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:55.059 spectroscope and waterfall display, dual watch 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:58.340 operation, full duplex in satellite mode, and 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:01.379 smooth satellite operation with 99 satellite 00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:05.549 channels. The IC7300 is a high -performance innovative 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:08.649 HF transceiver with a compact design that will 00:16:08.649 --> 00:16:11.509 far exceed your expectations. The innovative 00:16:11.509 --> 00:16:15.169 transceiver digitizes RF before various receiver 00:16:15.169 --> 00:16:17.690 stages, reducing inherent noise in different 00:16:17.690 --> 00:16:21.970 IF stages. The IC7300 changed the way entry -level 00:16:21.970 --> 00:16:25.990 HF is designed. It has 15 discrete bandpass filters, 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:28.809 the large color touchscreen, spectrum scope, 00:16:28.990 --> 00:16:32.539 SD car slot, and RF direct sampling. Real HF 00:16:32.539 --> 00:16:36.759 fun starts here. Visit IcomAmerica .com slash 00:16:36.759 --> 00:16:40.320 amateur for more information on Icom radios. 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.399 You're listening to Ham Talk Live, the most popular 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.440 podcast with the words ham, talk, and live in 00:16:47.440 --> 00:17:11.700 the title. Here's your host, Neil Rapp. And welcome 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:14.920 back to HamTalk Live. Be sure you check us out 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:18.180 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and we'll 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:22.680 be back here with Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, to 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:25.920 talk about some more kits here in just a moment. 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:31.200 But first, it's time for the N9GSU Joke of the 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:34.500 Week. Now it's time for the HamTalk Live Ham 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:37.019 Radio Joke of the Week, the part of the show 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:40.319 where Rick tells us a ham radio joke. The HamTalk 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:42.859 Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week is brought to 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:46.759 you by QRM Labs. Now, here's Rick Garrett in 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:51.119 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live Joke of the Week. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:58.900 I decided to take my friend who had never been 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:01.059 out of the big city camping for an overnight 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.019 parks on the air activation. Well the mosquitoes 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:06.980 were the worst I have ever seen them. We kept 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:09.880 lathering on bug repellent and still they came. 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.619 Finally we saw lightning bugs my buddy says I 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:16.579 give up. Now they've got flashlights. This has 00:18:16.579 --> 00:18:19.599 been the ham talk live ham radio joke of the 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:23.279 week with Rick Garrett in nine GSU Tune in again 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:29.619 next week for another joke from Rick Those mosquitoes 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:35.660 and those flashlights Were those kit with the 00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:38.900 flashlight kits you gave them Joe or no, but 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.480 you know what there is a real good one out there 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:47.349 I'll have to talk about some time All right. 00:18:47.390 --> 00:18:49.509 Well, Rick, thanks for the joke. We'll, uh, we'll 00:18:49.509 --> 00:18:52.670 have another one next time here and, uh, we'll 00:18:52.670 --> 00:18:56.490 get to talking to Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB, the 00:18:56.490 --> 00:18:59.950 kit building editor at CQ Magazine. And, uh, 00:18:59.950 --> 00:19:02.650 we'll talk about some new kits here, but, uh, 00:19:02.650 --> 00:19:05.849 Joe, you're, you're making a trip someplace you've 00:19:05.849 --> 00:19:09.369 never been before. Yeah, that's right. Tomorrow. 00:19:09.549 --> 00:19:13.599 Tomorrow I am leaving for. Cheyenne, Wyoming. 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:15.900 Now you say, well, this is the next state over. 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:19.099 Well, from here, it's six and a half hours at 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:25.319 75 miles an hour speed limit. So it is definitely 00:19:25.319 --> 00:19:30.039 west of Nebraska, not very far, but six and a 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:32.579 half hours west. And like I said, I've never 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:34.660 been there before, so that's going to be a new 00:19:34.660 --> 00:19:38.160 one. It is the Rocky Mountain Division ARL Convention. 00:19:38.730 --> 00:19:42.049 And I'll be giving my kit building seminar there. 00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:47.430 And then I might be visiting Sedalia the weekend 00:19:47.430 --> 00:19:52.869 after, not sure yet. And then in November, I'm 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:55.890 going to be in Enid, Oklahoma. And I'm going 00:19:55.890 --> 00:19:58.769 to be doing a live kit build there. And we'll 00:19:58.769 --> 00:20:01.230 have room for, I think, up to 20 kit builders. 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:04.900 and we'll be building the FM radio kit, same 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:09.079 one that we just recently did at the combined 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:12.500 Hudson Division and New England Division Convention 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.480 in the Boston area I did a little over a month 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:21.190 ago. And that was a lot of fun. And we had 28 00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:24.329 builders walk out with working radios. And it 00:20:24.329 --> 00:20:26.930 had a surface mount part. So we got to demonstrate 00:20:26.930 --> 00:20:30.269 solder paste. And so that's a fun one that I 00:20:30.269 --> 00:20:36.650 like to do as a group kit build. But first off, 00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:39.549 let's talk about real - And then you're off to 00:20:39.549 --> 00:20:42.869 Georgia, right? Yeah, yeah, that's right. A week 00:20:42.869 --> 00:20:46.289 after that, I'm flying down to the Hotlanta area. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:53.279 I will be in Alpharetta and I will be at Ham 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:57.420 Jam, which is a week after the one in Stone Mountain. 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:02.519 It's more of an educational one and I will be 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:05.680 giving my kit building seminar there and showing 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:09.630 off a few different kits. So it'll be fun to 00:21:09.630 --> 00:21:12.210 get down to Georgia. Hopefully be a little warmer 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.609 than it is here because tomorrow they're talking 00:21:14.609 --> 00:21:17.809 about thirties in the morning. So it's going 00:21:17.809 --> 00:21:21.750 to be chilly. It's hitting here too as well. 00:21:22.630 --> 00:21:25.130 But yeah, ham jams one it's been on my list. 00:21:25.170 --> 00:21:28.869 So I'm one of these days I'll have to have to 00:21:28.869 --> 00:21:31.069 get down there for that one because they do a 00:21:31.069 --> 00:21:33.769 lot of cool stuff with youth and education and 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:36.980 I do a little bit of that stuff every once in 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:39.839 a while. So I need to go, need to go check it 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:43.019 out. Well, you've got some more new kits to tell 00:21:43.019 --> 00:21:47.140 us about. So, you know, now's the time, the temperature's 00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:50.680 dropping. So that means you spend more time indoors 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:54.640 and build some more kits, right? Yep. And, and 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:57.579 also reading CQ magazine, which is coming out 00:21:57.579 --> 00:22:00.720 the last seven months, I think, uh, seven or 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.000 eight months. It's been coming out right at the 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.910 beginning of the month. So, Make sure you update 00:22:05.910 --> 00:22:10.750 or subscribe to CQ Magazine, both digital and 00:22:10.750 --> 00:22:17.289 in print. What we're looking at here is a, they 00:22:17.289 --> 00:22:21.390 call it the KX Mini Paddle. And what it is, is 00:22:21.390 --> 00:22:25.490 it's put out by qrpbuilder .com. Now if you haven't 00:22:25.490 --> 00:22:29.720 heard that name, it is a new one. but it's done 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:32.900 by one of the guys that's worked previously with 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:38.019 qrpguys .com and it's strictly made out of pc 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:41.720 board material that's all soldered together and 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:46.740 it has a paddle and they have it iambic and they 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:50.559 have it dual you know and they have single lever 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:55.710 paddle and What it does is it bolts to the front 00:22:55.710 --> 00:23:01.390 of an Ellicraft KX2 or KX3. But if you don't 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:03.710 have one of those radios or even if you do and 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:05.890 you want to use this pedal on another rig, you 00:23:05.890 --> 00:23:08.730 can get this adapter for I think it's like $10 00:23:08.730 --> 00:23:12.309 or $15 extra and you can either solder a cable 00:23:12.309 --> 00:23:16.210 or plug the cable into the back to that and it 00:23:16.210 --> 00:23:19.150 mounts onto there. And the whole thing shouldn't 00:23:19.150 --> 00:23:22.230 take you more than an hour to put together. It 00:23:22.230 --> 00:23:25.569 is a little tedious at times getting it exactly 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:28.769 straight and so forth but it pays off in the 00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:32.670 end because it's very very strong and it's a 00:23:32.670 --> 00:23:35.410 great little paddle and like I said I can bolt 00:23:35.410 --> 00:23:39.009 it into the front of my KX -2 and I have an instant 00:23:39.009 --> 00:23:41.769 paddle or I can plug it into this base and plug 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:47.119 it into any QRP radio I have. But it's a simple 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.380 iambic pedal. There is no electronics or key 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.500 or anything. It's designed for the rigs that 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:55.240 already have the keyer in it. And the whole thing 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:57.740 is not very expensive. I think it's like $25 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:04.240 if you get the full options on it. Another kit. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.660 Let me see here. And let you take a little peek 00:24:09.660 --> 00:24:13.319 at that. What this is, is it's a power supply. 00:24:13.660 --> 00:24:17.839 and it is a dual bench top type power supply. 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:21.880 Now what we mean by that is it has two basic 00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:26.180 power supplies in one box and they are separate. 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:29.900 They run off the same transformer but each one 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:33.160 has separate electronics and they are adjustable 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:41.529 from about 5 volts up to about 16 volts. They 00:24:41.529 --> 00:24:44.150 put out about an amp and a half on each side. 00:24:44.309 --> 00:24:46.630 And so that way, if you're powering a lot of 00:24:46.630 --> 00:24:50.029 kits, don't run more than an amp or so from the 00:24:50.029 --> 00:24:52.710 power supply. And you can power two different 00:24:52.710 --> 00:24:55.569 things that run on two different voltages with 00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:59.829 this very stable, highly regulated and filtered 00:24:59.829 --> 00:25:03.650 power supply. And so I've already used it testing 00:25:03.650 --> 00:25:06.569 some kits and so forth. And it's really useful. 00:25:06.569 --> 00:25:09.529 It has two separate digital voltage displays. 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:13.920 and two separate switches to turn on and off 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:17.579 each side of it and a master power switch. And 00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:19.799 it's got the power cord and the case and everything. 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:22.359 I think it's gonna sell in the range of $70 or 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:26.519 $75. And it's gonna be available by the Joplin 00:25:26.519 --> 00:25:29.900 Amateur Radio Club. And they just had their ham 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:35.210 fest last weekend in Joplin, Missouri. And I 00:25:35.210 --> 00:25:39.849 did not get to go, but they tell me that anytime 00:25:39.849 --> 00:25:42.410 now this fall or winter, they will be putting 00:25:42.410 --> 00:25:48.170 this kit out and making it available for purchase. 00:25:48.549 --> 00:25:52.150 And it's a good deal for a benchtop power supply 00:25:52.150 --> 00:25:56.009 with digital displays. Something very, very, 00:25:56.009 --> 00:26:00.950 very useful for the shack. My one trip to Joplin, 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:08.119 Missouri, I remember. Was a 10 -way stop ah I 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:11.299 think we're going down the street and all of 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.380 a sudden we get to a 10 -way stop That was the 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:16.400 craziest intersection. I think I've ever seen 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:19.240 Yeah, I don't know where in town that is, but 00:26:19.240 --> 00:26:24.369 I think I've seen it But the Joplin Club also 00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:27.509 still puts out the antenna launcher, which is 00:26:27.509 --> 00:26:31.289 made out of PVC materials And you got to buy 00:26:31.289 --> 00:26:39.349 your own fishing rod Line and so forth and It 00:26:39.349 --> 00:26:41.730 launches a projectile that pulls the fishing 00:26:41.730 --> 00:26:44.869 line like through the tree or whatever and and 00:26:44.869 --> 00:26:50.119 you can Put up antennas with that and they still 00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:54.740 make those and I remember reviewing it and they 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:57.000 were just surprised how many orders they got 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.579 and it does work. I still have it in my garage. 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:04.599 Kind of a non -kit project I'm working on right 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:09.900 now. This is a control pad and what this is for 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:14.740 is to access the eight memories for voice or 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:22.210 CW or RTTY or PSK in the 7610, the ICOM 7610. 00:27:22.650 --> 00:27:25.569 And the button is the mute button that mutes 00:27:25.569 --> 00:27:34.430 everything. And I designed and 3D printed the 00:27:34.430 --> 00:27:37.690 holder that holds all the buttons. And I'm working 00:27:37.690 --> 00:27:41.029 on the base of that now. And I'm starting to 00:27:41.029 --> 00:27:44.009 wire the buttons. And that will allow me to just 00:27:44.009 --> 00:27:49.690 tap a button trigger off a automated sequence 00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:53.490 either like I said on RTTY or CW or sideband 00:27:53.490 --> 00:27:57.410 like for sweepstakes so it'll call CQ for you 00:27:57.410 --> 00:27:59.849 instead of touching the screen all day or something 00:27:59.849 --> 00:28:02.789 on the radio you can just tap the button on the 00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:08.569 keypad and so that is one of my latest projects 00:28:08.569 --> 00:28:14.480 and let's see what else and this piece happens 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.619 to hold up a circuit board in the kit that we're 00:28:17.619 --> 00:28:20.119 going to talk about that is probably the most 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.539 one of the most advanced kits out there. And 00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:30.519 it's called the T41. And the T41 is a all mode 00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:35.259 SDR transceiver. And I'm pretty sure it's most 00:28:35.259 --> 00:28:42.710 of the HF bands. And it uses a five inch touch 00:28:42.710 --> 00:28:47.130 screen to control it as well as a whole row of 00:28:47.130 --> 00:28:49.769 buttons and I mean it's got a lot of buttons 00:28:49.769 --> 00:28:52.910 on it that's a whole circuit board full of buttons 00:28:52.910 --> 00:28:59.730 and the case is made partly 3d printed and partly 00:28:59.730 --> 00:29:07.750 PC board and this kit is surface mount pre -mounted 00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:10.200 and the rest of the parts that you will mount. 00:29:10.539 --> 00:29:12.839 And there's a lot of kits that do that, like 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:17.759 the QDX and several others from QRP Labs, that 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:20.740 have the surface mount parts already done for 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:24.259 you. And then you're just expected to do the 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:28.480 through -hole parts. And the T41 is like that, 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:31.940 but there are several boards. I think there are 00:29:31.940 --> 00:29:35.750 seven or eight different boards in the kit. I 00:29:35.750 --> 00:29:38.190 could be wrong there. I've been getting boxes 00:29:38.190 --> 00:29:42.970 in the mail the last two weeks, and I'm anxious 00:29:42.970 --> 00:29:47.630 to get started putting it together. And I'm doing 00:29:47.630 --> 00:29:50.490 a beta build right now, and once we've cleared 00:29:50.490 --> 00:29:53.769 it through the beta process and we can start 00:29:53.769 --> 00:29:57.069 getting parts, the four -state QRP group is going 00:29:57.069 --> 00:30:02.230 to start distributing the T41. So if you look 00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:07.009 up T -41SDR online, you're going to find out 00:30:07.009 --> 00:30:10.210 that there's even a book about this thing. It 00:30:10.210 --> 00:30:12.609 looks kind of complicated when you look inside. 00:30:12.690 --> 00:30:16.170 It's going to have several ribbon cables, some 00:30:16.170 --> 00:30:21.829 SMA type Teflon coax jumpers in there, and things 00:30:21.829 --> 00:30:25.789 like that. That means that each board can be 00:30:25.789 --> 00:30:30.329 separated out and upgraded as things go on. They 00:30:30.329 --> 00:30:33.509 might come out with a new improved RF deck or 00:30:33.509 --> 00:30:38.430 a new touch screen thing or board or whatever. 00:30:39.430 --> 00:30:43.069 And there's at least a couple of megs or more 00:30:43.069 --> 00:30:47.529 of spare memory on the CPU that you can even 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:50.519 take the open source firmware and you might be 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:53.339 able to write routines to add more features to 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:57.140 it. And so this is really an incredible software 00:30:57.140 --> 00:31:03.559 -defined radio, a experimenter's SDR more than 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.700 anything. And so it's not going to be tiny and 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:12.740 compact like your true SDX or things like that. 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:17.619 It's going to be more a larger thing that you 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:21.740 can work with and Do updates to and things like 00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:25.559 that. So something like your true SDX or something 00:31:25.559 --> 00:31:28.980 which is real small No, it's not going to be 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:30.960 that way, but it's going to put out a lot more 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:33.160 power I think it's going to be about 10 to 20 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:38.779 watts and It's going to have a pretty full featured 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:42.420 screen like you'd expect on an SDR. And so the 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:47.660 T41, like I said, look up the T -41 SDR transceiver 00:31:47.660 --> 00:31:49.960 online and you'll see a lot of stuff written 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:53.099 about this. It was designed by a couple of guys 00:31:53.099 --> 00:31:56.799 who have shared it with the QRP community and 00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:00.220 the four state QRP group is working diligently 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:04.509 to get that. put together in kit form so that 00:32:04.509 --> 00:32:08.130 all you need to do is put together the through 00:32:08.130 --> 00:32:10.329 hole parts and you won't have to worry about 00:32:10.329 --> 00:32:12.730 the surface mount. But you're going to have a 00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:16.630 lot of jumper cables to deal with. But that's 00:32:16.630 --> 00:32:19.650 part of the kit and makes it modular so that 00:32:19.650 --> 00:32:23.089 we can update a piece at a time. Yeah, that's 00:32:23.089 --> 00:32:25.910 always cool because, you know, if you come out 00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:29.049 with a new one, then you got to start all over 00:32:29.049 --> 00:32:31.710 again. So that's That's a good way to go with 00:32:31.710 --> 00:32:36.089 all the modular stuff. So very good. Well, Joe 00:32:36.089 --> 00:32:39.549 got anything else for us here tonight? Well, 00:32:39.569 --> 00:32:44.289 I enjoy seeing people at group kit builds and 00:32:44.289 --> 00:32:48.769 I'm already booking my calendar up for next year 00:32:48.769 --> 00:32:52.490 and we'll come out and we can do group kit builds 00:32:52.490 --> 00:32:57.500 or seminars and It doesn't have to be a ham fest 00:32:57.500 --> 00:33:00.920 necessarily. We can arrange for club meetings 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:03.799 and because I'm mostly retired I can even do 00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:07.259 them during the week even if I have to fly somewhere 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:09.460 as I can go in the middle of the week as well. 00:33:11.140 --> 00:33:18.700 So the calendar is filling up and let's see if 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:21.539 we can get some more clubs involved in kit building 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:24.700 and get you started. putting some solder to circuit 00:33:24.700 --> 00:33:29.079 board and making your own radios. Yep, that's 00:33:29.079 --> 00:33:33.019 some cool stuff and there's a lot of kits out 00:33:33.019 --> 00:33:37.099 there from the very beginner to this big SDR 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:40.660 that you're talking about. I know that I was 00:33:40.660 --> 00:33:43.960 looking at one down at Huntsville that had some 00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:47.680 humongous solder traces on there for the kids 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:51.140 to kind of get started. Doing some soldering 00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:53.619 and I'm going to be taking a look at some of 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:58.839 those from mad labs. I think it was And just 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:01.680 you know getting some some soldering experience 00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:05.619 for them. So all kinds of stuff and Joe knows 00:34:05.619 --> 00:34:11.420 all of them so Thanks Joe for being here and 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:14.380 filling us in filling us in on the new ones so 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:21.369 and have a good trip to Cheyenne and If you if 00:34:21.369 --> 00:34:28.550 you run into into AJ or RJ sorry, not AJ RJ Tell 00:34:28.550 --> 00:34:33.449 him I said hello and Enjoy your trip. I Sure 00:34:33.449 --> 00:34:36.190 will and thank you very much for your wonderful 00:34:36.190 --> 00:34:40.829 program All right. Well, that is a wrap for this 00:34:40.829 --> 00:34:43.369 edition of ham talk live. Thanks to my guest 00:34:43.369 --> 00:34:46.869 Joe Eisenberg K0neb and everybody out there in 00:34:46.869 --> 00:34:48.590 cyberspace for listening and invite you back 00:34:48.590 --> 00:34:51.360 next time For a list of all of our upcoming guests, 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:56.400 go to HamTalkLive .com. So for now, this is Neil 00:34:56.400 --> 00:35:01.420 Rapp, WB9 VPG, saying 7 -3, 7 -5, and may the 00:35:01.420 --> 00:35:21.440 good DX be yours. It's hard to believe that you're 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:24.820 into OD, cause you sound just like a local up 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:24.840 here.