WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 This episode of HamTalk Live is brought to you 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:06.000 by Tower Electronics. For connectors, cables, 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:12.880 and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit pl -259 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:17.620 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, logged 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:22.839 it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash amateur 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:31.719 for more information about ICOM radios. Here 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:59.140 we go, welcome to Amtok Good evening, everyone. 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:02.740 It's time for HamTalk Live. We're on episode 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:07.180 number 274. Some new kits with Joe Eisenberg 00:01:07.180 --> 00:01:10.819 recorded live on Thursday, September 30th, 2021. 00:01:11.459 --> 00:01:15.859 I am your host, Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Thanks for 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:18.379 tuning in to this episode of HamTalk Live. Tonight, 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.939 we're joined once again by Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:25.299 and we'll take your calls live a little later 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:29.640 on in the show. Last week, Vance Martin N3 VEM 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:31.920 was here to talk about some Parks on the Air 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.680 stuff and the new monthly POTA update. So if 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:38.180 you missed that, you can listen anytime at HamTalkLive 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:43.040 .com or on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:46.280 And don't forget, you can catch the rebroadcast 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:53.609 of HamTalk Live. on WTWW, that's 5085 on your 00:01:53.609 --> 00:01:57.329 AM dial, Saturday afternoons at about 3 .30 p 00:01:57.329 --> 00:02:00.010 .m. Eastern time. So get your questions ready 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:03.230 to go. If you're listening to us live on Thursday 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:05.909 night, you can give us a call later on in the 00:02:05.909 --> 00:02:08.210 show. I'll go ahead and give you the phone number 00:02:08.210 --> 00:02:10.550 so you can have it ready to go. It's not time 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:13.330 to call just yet, but I'll give you the number 00:02:13.330 --> 00:02:22.599 so you have it. It's 859. 9827373, again the 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:29.800 phone number 859 -982 -7373. You can also tweet 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:33.879 us. It's at HamTalk Live on Twitter. And if you 00:02:33.879 --> 00:02:36.939 are on Spreaker, you can type in the comments 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:41.240 and we'll get your thoughts and questions tonight. 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:44.430 And I'll be back with Joe to do that and talk 00:02:44.430 --> 00:02:46.870 to him about some new kits and some new tools 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:49.949 right after this word from Icom America right 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:54.210 here on HamTalk Live. Contest remotely or from 00:02:54.210 --> 00:02:57.009 the comfort of your own home, Icom has the perfect 00:02:57.009 --> 00:03:02.539 base station ready for action. The IC9700, IC7610, 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:06.719 and the IC7300 SDR transceivers are top of the 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:09.620 line and are the first choice for contesters 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.699 across the globe. Robust base stations like these 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:14.819 cut through pileups letting you work the bands 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:18.240 and record those contacts. Stay connected and 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:21.580 keep your competitive contesting edge with ICOM. 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:25.189 Heard it. Worked it. Logged it. Create your own 00:03:25.189 --> 00:03:28.250 band opening with the IC9700. This transceiver 00:03:28.250 --> 00:03:31.330 brings direct sampling to the UHF -VHF week signal 00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:34.319 world. This all -mode transceiver is loaded with 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:36.400 innovative features that are sure to keep you 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:39.580 busy, faster processors, higher input gain, higher 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.259 display resolution, and a cleaner signal. It 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:46.340 has a 4 .3 inch color TFT LCD screen, real -time 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:49.479 high speed spectrum scope and waterfall display, 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.740 smooth satellite operation with 99 satellite 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:55.580 channels and full duplex in satellite mode, and 00:03:55.580 --> 00:04:00.400 dual watch operation. The IC7610 is the SDR every 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.219 ham once. This high -performance SDR can pick 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:05.659 out the faintest of signals, even in the presence 00:04:05.659 --> 00:04:09.500 of stronger adjacent ones. The ICOM IC7610 is 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:12.120 a direct sampling software -defined radio that 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:14.759 will change the world's definition of an SDR 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.680 transceiver. It has RF direct sampling, 110 dB 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:21.920 RMDR, independent dual receiver and dual digit 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:25.800 cell. The IC7300 changed the way entry -level 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:28.490 HF is designed. This high -performance innovative 00:04:28.490 --> 00:04:31.230 HF transceiver with a compact design will far 00:04:31.230 --> 00:04:34.589 exceed your expectations. With RF direct sampling, 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.910 15 discrete bandpass filters, a large 4 .3 inch 00:04:37.910 --> 00:04:39.870 color touchscreen, real -time spectrum scope, 00:04:40.009 --> 00:04:44.569 and SD card slot. Visit icomamerica .com slash 00:04:44.569 --> 00:04:48.009 amateur for more information on ICOM radios. 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:51.829 It's not the amount of power, it's the size of 00:04:51.829 --> 00:05:14.180 our tower. HamTalk Live. Welcome back to HamTalk 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:19.279 Live. Tonight, Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB joins 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:23.360 us on the Orlando Amateur Radio Club and Hamcation 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:28.180 hotline. And thanks to ICOM America for sponsoring 00:05:28.180 --> 00:05:31.899 the show. As always, check them out at icomamerica 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:37.779 .com slash amateur. Joe Eisenberg, KZeroNEB is 00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:40.100 from Lincoln, Nebraska and is well known for 00:05:40.100 --> 00:05:43.600 his kit building expertise. He joins us regularly 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:47.720 on the show to talk about some kits and occasionally 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:52.379 this picture shows of Hamvention. He is the longtime 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:57.480 kit building editor over at CQ Magazine and often 00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:01.060 makes presentations and offers kit builds and 00:06:01.060 --> 00:06:05.910 HamFest conventions and club meetings. If you 00:06:05.910 --> 00:06:08.149 see him around Dayton, he's the guy wearing that 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:11.029 Dr. Seuss hat. So Joe, welcome back. Thanks for 00:06:11.029 --> 00:06:13.990 coming on again to talk about some new stuff. 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.870 Well, thank you, Neil. Always a pleasure to be 00:06:17.870 --> 00:06:24.050 on the show and always enjoy being here. I have 00:06:24.050 --> 00:06:26.370 some new kits to talk about, some that aren't 00:06:26.370 --> 00:06:31.209 even available yet and some that are out now 00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:33.750 and some that have been around a while. that 00:06:33.750 --> 00:06:36.709 you might consider to have some fun with as well. 00:06:38.250 --> 00:06:42.629 First off, I'd like to mention that in a couple 00:06:42.629 --> 00:06:46.730 weeks, two weeks from Friday is the beginning 00:06:46.730 --> 00:06:50.569 of Pacificon, and that's out in California, and 00:06:50.569 --> 00:06:56.759 I will be there. I will be not only giving my 00:06:56.759 --> 00:07:00.139 kit building talk, I will be helping Gordon West 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:05.220 do his demonstration at Gordo's breakfast, and 00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.160 I'm also going to be helping with some hands 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.779 -on kit building, and then in the evening I will 00:07:10.779 --> 00:07:14.040 be participating in the group kit building. at 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.720 the QRP activities at Pacificon, part of which 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:22.259 they're asking us to assemble a receiver kit. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:26.259 It's a regenerative 40 meter receiver kit, and 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:28.540 I'm mostly done with everything but the toroid 00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:33.110 on that. And that one is not for sale, but it's 00:07:33.110 --> 00:07:35.389 going to be kind of part of a competition at 00:07:35.389 --> 00:07:38.329 the QRP events and we'll build a matching transmitter 00:07:38.329 --> 00:07:42.290 there and a programmable code practice set that 00:07:42.290 --> 00:07:45.870 sends messages and things like that will be things 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:48.870 that we're going to be building there. So Pacificon, 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:53.050 I'm going to be really busy. So I really, really 00:07:53.050 --> 00:07:55.470 hope that those of your listeners who are on 00:07:55.470 --> 00:07:58.540 the West Coast that are planning on being at 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:01.899 Pacificon. If they see me walking around to say 00:08:01.899 --> 00:08:04.899 hi, I'll be easily identifiable with the call 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:08.180 sign mask and the ball cap. I don't wear the 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:13.220 cat in the hat anywhere but Dayton. So Pacificon 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:19.040 is going to be fun to get out and about. So first 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:23.680 off, there's a couple of new kits that are on 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:27.540 the horizon from the four state QRP group. One 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:31.480 of which is a Cricut. Now we have the 80, 30 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:35.600 and 40 meter versions of this kit. There is a 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:42.659 new one that is being designed and modified from 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:46.940 the previous kits by NV5F Virginia in Texas. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:51.299 And it is a one watt CW transceiver that has 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:53.940 a straight key and everything built onto it. 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:59.879 and it runs on a single 9 volt battery. And just 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:02.200 flip the switch on and plug it into an antenna 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:05.659 and a headset and away you go. And they have 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:08.740 a very unusually sensitive receiver for a simple 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:13.279 kit like this. And I'm able to hear S1, S2 signals 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.440 just fine with no trouble at all on it. And you 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:19.840 don't have to wind toroids because the coils 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:24.149 are etched onto the board in a spiral. Very unique 00:09:24.149 --> 00:09:27.809 design and very easy to build. And it's kind 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:33.509 of a good beginner's kit as well. Let's see. 00:09:35.990 --> 00:09:39.450 There's another kit that will be coming out also 00:09:39.450 --> 00:09:45.509 from the same source and from Forest 8. And it's 00:09:45.509 --> 00:09:48.429 going to be kind of a new version of the old 00:09:48.429 --> 00:09:52.990 Heath Kit CR -1 Crystal Radio. And the newer 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:56.690 version of this will have a set of binding posts 00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.429 that you can put your own different detector 00:09:59.429 --> 00:10:03.769 diodes, or a co -hearer, or a cat's whisker, 00:10:04.570 --> 00:10:08.649 or a razor blade detector. You can try any kind 00:10:08.649 --> 00:10:11.529 of detector you want. But this is a very high 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:14.850 -Q crystal set. It was very popular in the 50s 00:10:14.850 --> 00:10:19.200 and 60s when Heathkits sold these. And so he's 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:22.100 kind of reproducing that and improving on it 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:25.679 even more. So it's going to be a fun kit that'll 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:31.340 also be available through FourState. We'll talk 00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:35.679 here a little bit about some tried and true kits. 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:40.700 One of them... Is I have one that I picked up 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:43.840 and I couldn't believe my fortune on this It's 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:47.980 a WM2 by Oak Hills radio and they do not put 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:50.580 this kid out anymore because the person that 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:55.360 ran Oak Hills radio passed away and It's a analog 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:59.399 meter and it's a it's a watt meter and it's got 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:02.419 forward and reflected on it Yeah, it's a watt 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:08.409 meter a watt meter Yep watt meter And it's a 00:11:08.409 --> 00:11:12.750 watt meter That's right, and it's got a 10 watt 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:18.929 1 watt and 100 milliwatt full scale on it Runs 00:11:18.929 --> 00:11:21.570 on a 9 volt battery or an external power supply 00:11:21.570 --> 00:11:24.730 and so I'm going to be using that quite a bit 00:11:24.730 --> 00:11:28.789 also in my kit builds and stuff just put a dummy 00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:32.970 load on it and piece of coax and we can test 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:35.929 things with it. So that's going to become instrumental 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:39.970 in what I do now. Nobody has taken over the Oak 00:11:39.970 --> 00:11:43.350 Hills radio kits yet, so we don't know if it's 00:11:43.350 --> 00:11:45.330 going to be available in the future, but I'm 00:11:45.330 --> 00:11:52.730 hopeful. Let's see, another kit that I ran into 00:11:52.730 --> 00:11:56.970 when I was in Peoria at the Hamfest a little 00:11:56.970 --> 00:12:02.899 over a week ago. Is a super TV be gone kit and 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:07.120 it was put out by make magazine It is sold now 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:12.240 on Adafruit ADA fruit is basically the way you 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:18.080 spell that on Adafruit and it's like $19 19 or 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:20.919 20 dollars something like that and what it is 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:26.710 is it's got pin microprocessor on it, runs on 00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:31.029 two AA batteries, and it's got four very high 00:12:31.029 --> 00:12:36.649 -intensity infrared LEDs. And there are two different 00:12:36.649 --> 00:12:40.710 wavelengths of infrared. And the reason for that 00:12:40.710 --> 00:12:44.549 is certain remote controls for TV sets use the 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:48.970 different wavelengths. And what it does is it 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:54.330 sends the turn -on, turn -off codes In sequence 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:58.009 of about every major make and model of television 00:12:58.009 --> 00:13:01.149 It takes it about a minute and a half to get 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:03.429 through all the codes But in the first few seconds 00:13:03.429 --> 00:13:06.570 most the common ones get sprayed out and this 00:13:06.570 --> 00:13:09.789 thing this particular kit here goes at least 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:14.549 a hundred feet so if there's a TV that's being 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:18.149 obnoxious You can turn it off or turn it back 00:13:18.149 --> 00:13:21.789 on from a long distance away I don't recommend 00:13:21.789 --> 00:13:25.970 doing this in department stores or sports bars 00:13:25.970 --> 00:13:29.870 or other public venues that have a lot of TVs 00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:34.169 because you'll get caught because most surveillance 00:13:34.169 --> 00:13:37.330 cameras, when they see the high -power infrared, 00:13:37.830 --> 00:13:41.789 it shows up as a bright white or purple flame 00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:45.409 coming out of your hand. because they're sensitive 00:13:45.409 --> 00:13:47.370 to that. And you can try that with your cell 00:13:47.370 --> 00:13:49.629 phone unless it's an iPhone, which aren't as 00:13:49.629 --> 00:13:54.009 sensitive. Most of the Android phones, if you 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:56.690 point a TV remote control, you'll see a flickering 00:13:56.690 --> 00:14:01.330 purple light in your camera. But if you turn 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:04.690 this thing on, it's just blinding to your phone. 00:14:05.210 --> 00:14:07.389 And so you can imagine what it's doing with TV 00:14:07.389 --> 00:14:11.509 sets 100 feet away. It can turn them off. This 00:14:11.509 --> 00:14:15.570 kind of reminds me of another kit. What was that? 00:14:16.029 --> 00:14:19.610 This kind of reminds me of a very famous kit 00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:22.929 from back in the day. It kind of reminds me of 00:14:22.929 --> 00:14:28.710 the Zapper. Because the Zapper would just send 00:14:28.710 --> 00:14:33.529 out radar signals everywhere. And so radar detectors 00:14:33.529 --> 00:14:36.870 would start going off everywhere and mess with 00:14:36.870 --> 00:14:40.250 those. So now you've got like an infrared Zapper. 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:44.659 Yeah, exactly and actually somebody said that 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:49.519 it might affect Police radars because most of 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.279 them don't use RF base radar anymore. They use 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:57.539 infrared lasers and If if it sees this it's probably 00:14:57.539 --> 00:15:02.700 overloads it be interesting to try it but it's 00:15:02.700 --> 00:15:06.419 possible this might overload those as well, but 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:12.029 it runs on three volts and it it does its thing, 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:14.929 it will turn off that TV set from a long ways 00:15:14.929 --> 00:15:18.509 away and turn it back on. And it's great for 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.350 diffusing arguments at restaurants and things 00:15:21.350 --> 00:15:24.909 like that when they're showing political programming 00:15:24.909 --> 00:15:29.809 of one side or the other. You can quiet it down 00:15:29.809 --> 00:15:33.809 by popping the TV off. So it's called the... 00:15:33.850 --> 00:15:37.529 Super TV be gone kit and it's available through 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:42.490 adafruit and Amazon or TV be gone with the letters 00:15:42.490 --> 00:15:47.889 TV be and then the word gone .com You can get 00:15:47.889 --> 00:15:50.970 it there as well. So it's a it's a fun kit very 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:53.870 simple to build and Even a beginning builder 00:15:53.870 --> 00:15:56.090 won't spend more than about a half an hour or 00:15:56.090 --> 00:16:02.090 so putting it together There's a new kit from 00:16:02.090 --> 00:16:06.360 India that I recently got and I have not assembled 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:11.580 it yet. And it's called the EZ Bidex Single Sideband 00:16:11.580 --> 00:16:14.320 Transceiver Kit. And it comes with the case for 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:22.360 $95. And it has a two -line LCD display, kind 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:27.279 of like the original Micro Bidex. And it is a 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.039 single sideband. Transceiver I don't know exactly 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:32.600 how much power it puts out. I'll have to look 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:35.860 it up I think it's about three to five watts 00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:39.279 something like that but it's a very simple single 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.779 sideband transceiver and You could probably use 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:48.480 it on things like ft8 and things like that But 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:51.100 it's a great way to get started building kits, 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:53.879 too. It's a lot more complicated than, let's 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:56.840 say, the Cricut kit, which I think would be an 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:00.059 easier introduction to Transceiver. So I would 00:17:00.059 --> 00:17:02.580 call this a more advanced kit, but they call 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:07.319 it the EasyBitX SSB Transceiver. And it comes 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:12.740 from amateurradio kits .in .in, because it's 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:16.869 from India, amateurradio kits .in. and you go 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:22.950 to the webpage and it says IN Kits, IN Kits. 00:17:23.829 --> 00:17:28.390 And they have a lot of cases and things, accessories 00:17:28.390 --> 00:17:32.609 for the micro bit X that the other guy puts out 00:17:32.609 --> 00:17:38.849 from India. If you want information on the QRP 00:17:38.849 --> 00:17:45.069 wattmeter, it's at morsex, M -O -R -S -E -X dot 00:17:45.069 --> 00:17:50.740 com. And you can look up the WM2 QRP wattmeter 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:53.740 kit. It is not available right now, but hopefully 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:58.720 it will be. And let's see, what else do we have 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:05.680 for kits? There are a couple other more advanced 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:09.240 versions of the micro bit X coming I don't know 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.259 a lot about them, but I'm sure that once I do 00:18:12.259 --> 00:18:15.619 I will let you know because those are fun the 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:20.140 micro bit X version 6 only takes took me about 00:18:20.140 --> 00:18:23.039 45 minutes to assemble did not have to solder 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:27.579 anything and You basically put the parts in the 00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:32.400 box and plug them in and do a slight adjustment 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:37.480 to calibrate it, and you have an all -band sideband 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.740 and CW transceiver. So lots and lots of things 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:46.359 in the kit world, Neil. Yeah, lots of cool stuff 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:50.640 coming out, and thanks for letting us know about 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:54.900 those. And if you're interested in those, we 00:18:54.900 --> 00:19:00.119 can get you some links to all that stuff. I know 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:04.819 you've also got a hold of some new soldering 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:07.640 tools and kit building tools. So tell us about 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:12.960 those. All right. What's interesting is there's 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.599 been a lot of lesser expensive, but highly controlled 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.420 soldering stations that are available online. 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:24.980 And I found some at Hamfest, but I try to look 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:29.349 for tools that are easy for people to find. And 00:19:29.349 --> 00:19:34.069 by far, one of the more universal stores to find 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:36.730 inexpensive tools has been Harbor Freight. But 00:19:36.730 --> 00:19:40.450 up until now, they've basically had the highly 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:44.950 unregulated $7, $8 type soldering pencil, which, 00:19:45.190 --> 00:19:48.470 you know, if you're soldering a PL 259 or something, 00:19:48.529 --> 00:19:51.990 you know, that might work. But it's really not 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:56.059 designed for fine work on circuit boards. The 00:19:56.059 --> 00:20:00.079 temperature is not controlled and the tip gets 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.740 corroded very easily on those and just does not 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:07.440 do a good job. So I always recommend temperature 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:09.759 controlled soldering stations and kind of the 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.119 rule of thumb is if it keeps the temperature 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.680 within plus or minus two degrees Celsius it's 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:17.500 probably pretty good. Well Harbor Freight has 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:22.410 such a tool and it's $49 .95. and it's called 00:20:22.410 --> 00:20:25.569 the Schneider 5 to 50 watt soldering station 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:29.049 and it's in stock in most of the stores. I checked 00:20:29.049 --> 00:20:32.130 online and they do have them around here and 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:38.430 I have one of these things. It's $49 .99 and 00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:43.029 it is analog. In fact, the power supply you can 00:20:43.029 --> 00:20:45.809 feel it's got a good size transformer in there. 00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:49.390 A lot of soldering stations now are switching 00:20:49.390 --> 00:20:54.220 supplies. This particular one is analog and does 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:57.039 not have a digital display and it does not have 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:01.000 the auto cool down feature that a lot of soldering 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.579 stations have now. But this one has a nice stand 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:08.759 with a sponge so you can clean the tip and it 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:13.700 holds the hand piece quite nicely. And like I 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:16.259 said it's an analog dial so you set it for about 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:22.359 630 degrees and away you go. You can replace 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:26.940 the hand piece, it plugs into the front. So for 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:30.779 $49 .99 at Harbor Freight, that's a pretty good 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:34.859 deal. And I found it to work quite well. I used 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:38.380 it at two different group kit builds and people 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:42.059 got their hands on it and I'd say it works pretty 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:44.460 good. It even comes with three different soldering 00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:48.750 tips. So once again the Schneider 5 to 50 watt 00:21:48.750 --> 00:21:51.470 soldering station that will be featured I think 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:59.009 in my November column in CQ Yeah, it's good to 00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:01.710 know where you can go grab one because you know, 00:22:01.769 --> 00:22:05.630 we've got some of our for other soldering irons 00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:08.170 and stations that are kind of been our favorites, 00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:11.410 but But you know if you need something in a pinch 00:22:11.410 --> 00:22:14.509 why? It's nice to know that somebody has them 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:20.240 Yeah, that's why I say that in fact By far my 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.539 my favorite or the extronic ones which come from 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:27.660 here because they have digital display They even 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:30.740 have board holders now in the newer versions 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:34.400 they have a solder roll holder and they're a 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:38.039 lot lighter than this thing and But they are 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:42.859 a little more expensive. They're about $60 and 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.220 They have automatic cool down and they come right 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:50.779 back up right away. And I know you guys had just 00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:54.299 a wonderful experience with the Xtronic USA soldering 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:58.180 stations at Yoda. In fact, they donated those 00:22:58.180 --> 00:23:02.000 and that's a wonderful thing for a local Lincoln, 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.480 Nebraska company to do. Absolutely. They worked 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:11.180 really well. But, you know, I also made a trip 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:16.150 to Harbor Freight. day before camp to get some 00:23:16.150 --> 00:23:19.029 tape measures and some other stuff. So it's, 00:23:19.029 --> 00:23:21.190 like I said, it's nice to know that, you know, 00:23:21.190 --> 00:23:23.589 there's something there. So if you need it, uh, 00:23:23.890 --> 00:23:26.069 you know, chances are you can run out and pick 00:23:26.069 --> 00:23:30.069 one up. Yeah. That's the idea. Cause not everybody 00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:34.269 orders online and stuff. And, uh, but I do like 00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:36.789 the, the Xtronic. In fact, I'm going to go out 00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:39.190 there and take a look and see what's new here. 00:23:39.470 --> 00:23:45.549 Uh, pretty shortly. see what else. There is also 00:23:45.549 --> 00:23:50.890 a need for a soldering iron that's not run by 00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:54.740 AC or batteries and this is because A lot of 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.079 times you're outdoors especially this time of 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:59.279 year in the fall where you're fixing your wire 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:02.059 antennas and getting them ready for winter. Last 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:05.539 winter we went down to 31 below zero and that 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.640 was not the windchill and this last summer we 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:12.279 went up to 109 degrees so your wires take a beating. 00:24:13.080 --> 00:24:15.880 and especially with storms and things like that. 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:18.519 So a lot of times you have to solder connectors 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:21.680 and splice wire, you know, heavy antenna wires 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:24.579 and stuff outside. Well, your soldering station 00:24:24.579 --> 00:24:26.880 like we were talking about is not the appropriate 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:29.700 tool for that because it cannot deliver the amount 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:33.859 of heat that you need to solder thick antenna 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:39.160 wire. So I always recommend a gas powered soldering 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:41.180 iron for that. And the reason is, is that once 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:44.559 you get it started, Wind going by it doesn't 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:46.559 necessarily blow it out. It may make it even 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:50.180 hotter and Harbor Freight has one of those too 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:55.299 for $24 .99 and It has things so you can use 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:59.160 it as a torch and other things as well as a soldering 00:24:59.160 --> 00:25:02.940 iron and for 25 bucks That's it's quite a deal 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:05.920 you you refill it with your butane cigarette 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.380 lighter cartridge thing or you yeah, it's like 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.819 an aerosol and you poke it in the bottom and 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:18.039 you fill it up and it has the striker inside 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:21.140 it so that you don't need to mess with flints 00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:24.299 or get a spark from the cap or something like 00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:27.099 that or use a match to get it started. It has 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:33.140 its own internal piezo type spark generator and 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:35.839 the good thing about this is it generates more 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:38.519 than 75 watts of heat. Actually it's a hundred 00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.230 or so more. And that's what you're going to need 00:25:41.230 --> 00:25:43.910 outside, especially this time of year when you're 00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:46.089 trying to heat up that wire and get that solder 00:25:46.089 --> 00:25:49.210 to flow real nicely. So you get a really good 00:25:49.210 --> 00:25:51.990 connection. So you're not going to get any noise 00:25:51.990 --> 00:25:53.930 or anything like that. And that wire is going 00:25:53.930 --> 00:25:58.109 to hold up when you splice it for the winter. 00:26:00.529 --> 00:26:05.930 Couple of excellent tools there for getting everything 00:26:05.930 --> 00:26:10.380 kind of ready for fall. I know I'm kind of Panicking. 00:26:10.380 --> 00:26:13.440 I need to get some antennas up here before winter 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:17.000 gets here So I can have something to use this 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:21.940 winter. So it's a good timing to To know about 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:24.460 those because yeah, you got to do some soldering 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:27.359 outdoors, too All right. Well, we're gonna take 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.400 a break when we come back. We'll talk some more 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:33.339 kits and kit building and All that kind of thing 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:37.440 and take your phone calls at eight five nine 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:42.670 nine eight to 7373. We'll give that number out 00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:44.789 some more and we'll also check the tweets and 00:26:44.789 --> 00:26:47.990 the messages right after the word from Tower 00:26:47.990 --> 00:26:51.329 Electronics right here on HamTalk Live. Hey honey, 00:26:51.829 --> 00:26:56.789 have you seen the PL 259s anywhere? No, I haven't. 00:26:56.950 --> 00:27:02.160 Come on kids, let's go. There's just one place 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:05.140 to go for all of your connector needs. Tower 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:09.259 electronics. Tower electronics. A giant warehouse 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:12.160 of connectors and adapters for every occasion. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.880 Thousands to choose from in every shape, size, 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.359 and color. And they have antennas, soldering 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:20.740 supplies, cables, meters, and more. Where do 00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:22.900 you go if you want to buy a connector at a fraction 00:27:22.900 --> 00:27:26.539 of retail cost? Tower electronics. Tower electronics. 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.579 Tower electronics. And this weekend only, take 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:32.339 advantage of our Special liquidation sale. Buy 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:35.500 nine solder -type PL -259s. Get the tenth one 00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:40.380 for just one penny. They make great Christmas 00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:45.960 presents. And what better way to say, I love 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:50.240 you, than with the gift of a PL -259. Tower Electronics. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:54.059 Tower Electronics. Tower Electronics. I'm Scott, 00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:58.900 KB9AMM of Tower Electronics. I like the PL259 00:27:58.900 --> 00:28:01.539 connectors so much, I bought the company. Tower 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:03.980 Electronics, coming to a hand fest near you, 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:08.920 or online at PL -259 .com. And we're in the yellow 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:11.910 pages under... Amateur radio connectors. My, 00:28:12.230 --> 00:28:15.549 wherever did you get that lovely PL259? Tower 00:28:15.549 --> 00:28:22.849 Electronics, pl -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. 00:28:23.250 --> 00:28:27.079 Do we sell PL259 connectors? Join the conversation. 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:33.640 Give us a call at 859 -982 -7373. Again, the 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:39.839 number to call is 859 -982 -7373. Or, if you'd 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:43.099 rather type than talk, tweet us at HamTalk Live. 00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:46.920 Now, here's Neil Rapp with more HamTalk Live. 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:51.220 Here's the snap rap takes the rig he breaks through 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:57.359 the pile up he's on 80 now 40 now 20 15 10 2 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:25.259 meters touchdown hand talk live We are back. 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:28.599 Thanks to Scott and Jill at Tower Electronics 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:31.500 for sponsoring the show tonight. They bring you 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:35.880 HamTalk Live each and every week. They will be 00:29:35.880 --> 00:29:39.579 in Belton, Texas this weekend, October 2nd. And 00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:42.000 then they're off to Florida, Crestview, Florida, 00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:45.619 October 9th, where you can visit them online 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:53.779 at pl -259 .com. HamTalk Live is on the air every 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:56.160 Thursday night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time right 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:58.579 here at HamTalkLive .com. Be sure to check us 00:29:58.579 --> 00:30:02.420 out on Facebook. Twitter and Instagram. And before 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:05.259 we get back to Joe, it's time for the HamTalk 00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:08.579 Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week. Now it's time 00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:12.059 for the HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of the Week, 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:14.680 the part of the show where Rick tells us a ham 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:17.880 radio joke. The HamTalk Live Ham Radio Joke of 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:21.740 the Week is brought to you by QRM Labs. Now here's 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:26.019 Rick Garrett in 9GSU with today's HamTalk Live 00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:33.369 Joke of the Week. My wife said I was spending 00:30:33.369 --> 00:30:35.930 far too much time inside on the radios and wanted 00:30:35.930 --> 00:30:39.069 me to take up a new hobby So she thought of astronomy 00:30:39.069 --> 00:30:42.250 and bought me a telescope. I told her I'd look 00:30:42.250 --> 00:30:47.089 into it This has been the ham talk live ham radio 00:30:47.089 --> 00:30:50.609 joke of the week with Rick Garrett in nine GSU 00:30:50.609 --> 00:30:53.470 Tune in again next week for another joke from 00:30:53.470 --> 00:31:06.049 Rick Have you done any astronomy Joe? Actually, 00:31:06.230 --> 00:31:09.089 yeah There is a place called the Branched Oak 00:31:09.089 --> 00:31:12.289 Observatory here in Lincoln It's actually northwest 00:31:12.289 --> 00:31:15.789 of town at Branched Oak Lake and it sits on the 00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:18.250 property that's owned by our Nebraska section 00:31:18.250 --> 00:31:25.369 manager Matt k -0 Boj and It has a domed Observatory 00:31:25.369 --> 00:31:28.630 and another building where the roof retracts 00:31:28.630 --> 00:31:35.130 horizontally and It has a small library and video 00:31:35.130 --> 00:31:38.650 center, and then it has a classroom, a large 00:31:38.650 --> 00:31:43.309 classroom there for STEM activities. And a few 00:31:43.309 --> 00:31:45.750 weeks ago, they had what's called the STARBQ, 00:31:46.170 --> 00:31:49.990 which they bring out food trucks and stuff. And 00:31:49.990 --> 00:31:52.950 you look at the sun and see sunspots and things 00:31:52.950 --> 00:31:55.170 like that. And as soon as the sun goes down, 00:31:55.210 --> 00:31:59.170 you can see Mars and Jupiter and Venus and things 00:31:59.170 --> 00:32:03.099 like that and lots of. neat things I saw nebulas 00:32:03.099 --> 00:32:07.500 the dumbbell nebula and things like that and 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:11.119 they have a new radio shack there that has dual 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:14.880 dipoles for 20 megs and that is so that they 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:19.619 can listen to the signals from Jupiter and they 00:32:19.619 --> 00:32:23.299 call it the radio Jove project and they are also 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:26.500 putting in a 9700 and they're going to set up 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:31.599 for moon bounce and different other VHF modes 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:35.420 as well as being able to do an air risk contact 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:41.519 for schools. So it's quite a deal and a lot of 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:44.099 fun. They have concrete pads there. You can bring 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:47.680 your own telescopes out there and enjoy darker 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:51.700 skies outside of the city. Well, there you go. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:33:02.660 Maybe Rick can look into that. It's a fun place 00:33:02.660 --> 00:33:07.339 and like I said, it's run Least half of the people 00:33:07.339 --> 00:33:10.920 involved in it are hams and it is on the ground 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:14.339 zone by a ham who's our a RL section manager 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:17.839 So it's it's really a fun place to visit and 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:21.700 they have activities all year round All right. 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:25.279 Well, let's see who's who's in the chat here 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:28.000 tonight or the Comments or whatever you want 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:31.680 to call it. We have Chris a for CB who says hello 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:36.859 and sent us the link to the to the Adafruit The 00:33:36.859 --> 00:33:40.839 TV be gone. I think it was that actually sounds 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:43.920 like a good kid. I may have to go for that one 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:49.299 Thomas 86 TW says hi Neil and then Joe's always 00:33:49.299 --> 00:33:52.710 interesting. So So thanks for being here and 00:33:52.710 --> 00:33:58.390 he's a eubitix builder. And, um, we've got somebody 00:33:58.390 --> 00:34:02.170 here on a, on an account. Uh, I don't recognize, 00:34:02.309 --> 00:34:04.490 but anyway, so the Harbor freight always has 00:34:04.490 --> 00:34:08.329 some good, some good bargains. So, uh, thanks 00:34:08.329 --> 00:34:11.849 everybody for tuning in and, and, and Jill's, 00:34:11.849 --> 00:34:13.750 Jill's kind of wondering if you, if you caught 00:34:13.750 --> 00:34:18.239 the joke there, but I thought you did. Yep, yep 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:21.320 that I did Then I did and I'll tell you what 00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:25.019 your football segment. I just only wish Nebraska 00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:29.559 would make touchdowns that easy Now there's a 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:32.079 story behind that I don't know if you know this 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:36.280 story or not, but but the guy who made that recording 00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:41.760 for me Is a former student of mine. I actually 00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:46.760 got him started doing broadcasting And he now 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:50.699 is a broadcaster for the Big Ten Network and 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:54.119 some other outlets, Westwood One and some other 00:34:54.119 --> 00:34:57.900 places. But the main reason I had him do that 00:34:57.900 --> 00:35:02.619 is he is the announcer voice on the Madden series 00:35:02.619 --> 00:35:08.440 of electronic football games. Ah, so that's why 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:12.960 it sounded familiar. So he's been the voice of 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:15.599 Madden football for three or four years now, 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:20.780 I think. But yeah, he does a lot of work on Big 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:24.579 Ten and Westwood One and I always enjoy listening 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:29.780 to him on the big time now after being on a little 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:33.860 public school radio station with me once a week 00:35:33.860 --> 00:35:37.360 doing a baseball game. Well, he's come a long 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:41.579 way. Well, that sounds great. Maybe I'll see 00:35:41.579 --> 00:35:44.659 him doing one of our games on the Big Ten Network. 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:49.179 Wouldn't surprise me. Like I said, I really hope 00:35:49.179 --> 00:35:53.599 that we can score, at least this weekend, at 00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:58.820 least as good as that call. Well, I know that 00:35:58.820 --> 00:36:03.260 when I left the family room downstairs, the Bengals 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:06.519 game had just come on because we're here in Bengals 00:36:06.519 --> 00:36:10.360 country. So that that one's playing right now, 00:36:10.360 --> 00:36:13.719 but I haven't I haven't kept up with it. But 00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:18.280 anyway We want to give you a chance to call in 00:36:18.280 --> 00:36:21.179 and ask some questions or give us some comments 00:36:21.179 --> 00:36:25.179 So now is the time to call so if you have a question 00:36:25.179 --> 00:36:28.300 for Joe or a comment give us a call at eight 00:36:28.300 --> 00:36:36.400 five nine nine eight Again, the phone number 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:42.119 is 859 -982 -7373 and the phone lines are working 00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:44.340 tonight. We don't have another denial of service 00:36:44.340 --> 00:36:46.840 attack on our provider. Thank goodness this week. 00:36:47.559 --> 00:36:52.079 So we got through that one. You can also tweet 00:36:52.079 --> 00:36:55.539 us. It's at HamTalk Live. And if you're listening 00:36:55.539 --> 00:36:59.380 to us on WTWW or on the podcast edition, you 00:36:59.380 --> 00:37:01.860 won't be able to reach us live because We're 00:37:01.860 --> 00:37:05.559 doing this on Thursday night live here. So, um, 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:08.239 so we've caught up with a lot of the comments 00:37:08.239 --> 00:37:12.579 here on Spreaker. Don't see anything over on 00:37:12.579 --> 00:37:15.239 Twitter. So we'll stand by the phones, but, um, 00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:18.880 I was hoping, um, Dave Swartz, uh, W zero DAS, 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:21.280 uh, would have a chance to call in and he may 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:26.000 yet, but, um, I just want to mention this, uh, 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:31.190 that WWVs one hundred second anniversary is coming 00:37:31.190 --> 00:37:36.010 up uh... this weekend and so that the w w zero 00:37:36.010 --> 00:37:41.650 w w v uh... special event call sign will be on 00:37:41.650 --> 00:37:45.010 the air this weekend so make sure you look for 00:37:45.010 --> 00:37:50.050 them and then uh... uh... no r j uh... uh... 00:37:50.050 --> 00:37:52.750 is going to be out w y seven a a is going to 00:37:52.750 --> 00:37:55.409 be out uh... doing some satellite activations 00:37:55.409 --> 00:37:59.340 for that uh... as well as some uh... w seven 00:37:59.340 --> 00:38:03.559 y uh... stuff so uh... make sure you check those 00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:07.800 out and i saw one come across my my screen the 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:09.980 other day and i was so disappointed i didn't 00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:15.360 have an antenna up i saw wbz had their one hundredth 00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:19.380 anniversary out in boston and uh... grew up uh... 00:38:19.380 --> 00:38:21.880 listening to them late at night and and wish 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:24.239 i could have uh... got a hold of that one but 00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:29.519 uh... No antennas yet, so oh enjoy says they're 00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:33.940 on 40 meters right now, so So very good pick 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:36.780 them up. I can tell you one of the things I wanted 00:38:36.780 --> 00:38:42.199 to recommend before we go is When I fly I obviously 00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:44.760 am not going to carry a big well or soldering 00:38:44.760 --> 00:38:47.699 station or even one of the X tronics because 00:38:47.699 --> 00:38:52.690 it's kind of big What I use is that they? If 00:38:52.690 --> 00:38:55.289 you look at it online, you can find a zillion 00:38:55.289 --> 00:38:58.829 of these things. They're tiny, pencil -sized 00:38:58.829 --> 00:39:02.989 iron, very small. They run off of a small power 00:39:02.989 --> 00:39:07.949 supply that looks like a laptop supply. And if 00:39:07.949 --> 00:39:15.940 you look for a TS -100 or an OLED, OLED soldering 00:39:15.940 --> 00:39:19.519 iron. They have different packages of them that 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:22.699 have the power supply or don't and things like 00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:25.159 that and extra tips and you can get different 00:39:25.159 --> 00:39:29.059 varieties of these but they all have in common 00:39:29.059 --> 00:39:32.199 the fact that the digital display is in the handle 00:39:32.199 --> 00:39:35.980 and it has up -down buttons and so forth and 00:39:35.980 --> 00:39:39.980 there's a micro USB port on the back and it has 00:39:39.980 --> 00:39:44.000 like I think it's like 16 bytes or whatever a 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.519 memory and what you do is you can tell it What 00:39:48.519 --> 00:39:52.679 temperature you want for the default what you 00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:57.219 may want for a high temperature? And your cool 00:39:57.219 --> 00:40:00.780 -off cycle, you know if it's not being used because 00:40:00.780 --> 00:40:03.579 when you pick it up it will heat itself right 00:40:03.579 --> 00:40:05.860 back up just like the big soldering stations. 00:40:05.940 --> 00:40:08.039 But when you look at these and see how small 00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:11.039 and light they are, they are ideal for if you're 00:40:11.039 --> 00:40:14.719 going to be flying somewhere and you want a soldering 00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:19.400 iron that is the right type for working on PC 00:40:19.400 --> 00:40:22.840 boards. So when I build kits at this particular 00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:27.099 one, since I'm not doing a group kit build where 00:40:27.099 --> 00:40:30.199 I have to supply all the tools like I have before 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:33.489 some others, If it's just for me, that's what 00:40:33.489 --> 00:40:36.769 I'm going to bring along. And so I can put all 00:40:36.769 --> 00:40:40.869 that into a little box in my suitcase and bring 00:40:40.869 --> 00:40:44.530 that along. I also, for Pacificon, I'll be bringing 00:40:44.530 --> 00:40:48.610 along some of my little CW key kits that I've 00:40:48.610 --> 00:40:51.469 been making with the 3D printer. And they're 00:40:51.469 --> 00:40:54.449 a lot of fun and you could do that as a group. 00:40:54.750 --> 00:40:57.590 And it shouldn't take more than 10 or 15 minutes 00:40:57.590 --> 00:41:00.349 at the most for each builder to complete a nice, 00:41:00.389 --> 00:41:04.650 simple CW key. Well, there you go. And I like 00:41:04.650 --> 00:41:07.670 that little soldering iron. That's a great idea. 00:41:08.829 --> 00:41:11.690 I may have to check into one of those. Yeah, 00:41:11.849 --> 00:41:16.369 it's really nice and very light, very small and 00:41:16.369 --> 00:41:21.219 very, very accurate. Well while you're talking 00:41:21.219 --> 00:41:23.980 about traveling one other thing I wanted to talk 00:41:23.980 --> 00:41:28.039 about tonight here before we go is you know the 00:41:28.039 --> 00:41:32.800 pandemic is still moving on starting to see a 00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:37.679 little bit of a Downward trend now, but it's 00:41:37.679 --> 00:41:42.880 still still pretty heavy in a lot of areas And 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:45.719 you know you've been doing some ham -fests here 00:41:45.719 --> 00:41:50.000 and there. How are the kit builds going in the 00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.179 middle of the pandemic? They were pretty much 00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:57.980 non -existent for quite a while and now we have 00:41:57.980 --> 00:42:00.739 a local group that meets between Omaha and Lincoln 00:42:00.739 --> 00:42:03.960 and we do one about once a month. We'll be building 00:42:03.960 --> 00:42:08.179 stuff. Like I said, Pacificon is resuming kit 00:42:08.179 --> 00:42:13.900 builds. They have a much higher vaccination rate 00:42:13.900 --> 00:42:20.780 and it seems that I think they still require 00:42:20.780 --> 00:42:24.920 masks in all the buildings out there and so they've 00:42:24.920 --> 00:42:28.420 deemed it safe to do this and so we will be doing 00:42:28.420 --> 00:42:33.900 group kit builds there at Pacificon. But most 00:42:33.900 --> 00:42:36.579 of the time I've been doing them online other 00:42:36.579 --> 00:42:40.400 than my local club where we've been doing the 00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:46.710 kit builds. and mostly through Zoom and things 00:42:46.710 --> 00:42:50.909 like that. But there's a lot of people been touching 00:42:50.909 --> 00:42:55.010 base with me about future hamfests and stuff 00:42:55.010 --> 00:42:58.610 and meetings and doing local kit builds, which 00:42:58.610 --> 00:43:00.730 I can do a lot easier now because I'm mostly 00:43:00.730 --> 00:43:03.190 retired and can travel even during the week. 00:43:03.590 --> 00:43:07.590 So I can get to a club, you know. Four or five 00:43:07.590 --> 00:43:11.489 hours away easily and do one and drive home and 00:43:11.489 --> 00:43:16.630 things like that Okay, very good. Okay. Well, 00:43:16.630 --> 00:43:19.010 we're just about out of time here, but one thing 00:43:19.010 --> 00:43:23.429 I wanted to do Because I usually get these questions 00:43:23.429 --> 00:43:27.269 after you're you're on is Okay now what was that 00:43:27.269 --> 00:43:31.469 kit and where do I get it? So I want to run down 00:43:31.469 --> 00:43:36.090 where to get this stuff and already Thomas AD6TW 00:43:36.090 --> 00:43:39.530 says please post the name of that pencil soldering 00:43:39.530 --> 00:43:42.670 iron. So let's make sure we hit that one and 00:43:42.670 --> 00:43:46.150 then if you would just kind of run down where 00:43:46.150 --> 00:43:48.849 you can get this stuff that we've talked about 00:43:48.849 --> 00:43:52.210 tonight. Well the pencil iron if you look for 00:43:52.210 --> 00:43:56.170 a TS 100 that's just one of the models of this 00:43:56.170 --> 00:44:00.010 type of iron and your Amazon will also show you 00:44:00.010 --> 00:44:03.190 related items that are competitive ones to it, 00:44:03.190 --> 00:44:07.070 but that are very similar and So if you look 00:44:07.070 --> 00:44:10.929 for the TS 100 and it's not no dash in it just 00:44:10.929 --> 00:44:17.130 TS 100 OLED soldering iron and look for that 00:44:17.130 --> 00:44:21.659 on Amazon The soldering station and the gas powered 00:44:21.659 --> 00:44:23.800 soldering tool that we were talking about earlier 00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:26.619 is Harbor Freight and it's a Schneider tool. 00:44:27.880 --> 00:44:34.019 The TV begone kit is from Adafruit and the Easy 00:44:34.019 --> 00:44:38.019 Bits single sideband transceiver kit is available 00:44:38.019 --> 00:44:41.800 from amateurradio kits .in. And the other kits 00:44:41.800 --> 00:44:47.559 to look for the new ones will be at 4sqrp .com, 00:44:47.820 --> 00:44:51.699 4sqrp .com, which is the 4 -State QRP Group. 00:44:53.139 --> 00:44:55.940 All right, very good. Well, Joe, thank you for 00:44:55.940 --> 00:44:58.500 letting us know about all this cool new stuff 00:44:58.500 --> 00:45:02.420 and for making a bigger dent in my wallet this 00:45:02.420 --> 00:45:07.570 week. Well, I'm glad I did that because that 00:45:07.570 --> 00:45:09.869 means we're having fun with amateur radio and 00:45:09.869 --> 00:45:13.530 that's what kit building is all about Absolutely. 00:45:13.769 --> 00:45:18.530 Well, thanks for doing that and I'll put the 00:45:18.530 --> 00:45:21.510 Links in the show description here after a while 00:45:21.510 --> 00:45:25.469 once we get everything settled so that way they'll 00:45:25.469 --> 00:45:29.320 be will be online as well. So thank you for everybody 00:45:29.320 --> 00:45:32.719 that was listening and chiming in here tonight. 00:45:32.860 --> 00:45:36.800 We appreciate that. And that's what makes the 00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:39.980 show. So thanks for that. All right, Joe, last 00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:45.900 words, anything? Other than Go Big Red at this 00:45:45.900 --> 00:45:50.599 time of the season and hope always springs eternal 00:45:50.599 --> 00:45:53.940 here. You know, we used to be way up on top and 00:45:54.079 --> 00:45:57.820 not lately, but Hope Springs Eternal in Lincoln, 00:45:58.039 --> 00:46:02.320 Nebraska during football season. And make sure 00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:04.880 that you get your antennas fixed up and ready 00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:07.940 to go for the winter. So a gas -powered soldering 00:46:07.940 --> 00:46:11.719 iron is a must for working outside with heavy 00:46:11.719 --> 00:46:15.719 antenna wires and connectors. And just make sure 00:46:15.719 --> 00:46:19.099 you have fun and be safe and enjoy amateur radio 00:46:19.099 --> 00:46:23.699 in the coming cooler months. Yeah now living 00:46:23.699 --> 00:46:27.900 in the Cincinnati area now, you know, the phrase 00:46:27.900 --> 00:46:36.559 is there's always next year Yep With the Reds 00:46:36.559 --> 00:46:39.420 exactly that's what they're talking about a lot. 00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:42.460 It was the Reds there's always next year and 00:46:42.460 --> 00:46:47.340 Troy says sorry my align I gave you an L so Yes, 00:46:47.380 --> 00:46:53.559 they did So Jill, it says, go big red. So there 00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:56.320 we go. We got the, we got the Nebraska. You and, 00:46:56.320 --> 00:47:00.260 you and Penny on, on big bang theory, the Nebraska 00:47:00.260 --> 00:47:05.320 fans, right? That's right. That's right. All 00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:09.010 right. Well, that is a wrap. for this week's 00:47:09.010 --> 00:47:11.730 episode of HamTalk Live. Thanks to my guest, 00:47:11.869 --> 00:47:15.130 Joe Eisenberg, K -0 -N -E -B, and everybody out 00:47:15.130 --> 00:47:18.250 there in cyberspace for listening and typing 00:47:18.250 --> 00:47:20.769 in tonight and invite you back next Thursday 00:47:20.769 --> 00:47:24.630 night, 9 p .m. Eastern time. And to see our upcoming 00:47:24.630 --> 00:47:28.429 guests, just go to hamtalklive .com. And if you 00:47:28.429 --> 00:47:32.139 like the show, All we ask is leave us a review. 00:47:32.239 --> 00:47:34.579 That'll help other people find the show faster. 00:47:35.500 --> 00:47:38.380 So if you like the show, leave us a review. So 00:47:38.380 --> 00:47:43.900 for now, this is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, saying 7375, 00:47:44.480 --> 00:47:56.409 and may the good DX be yours. Well you came right 00:47:56.409 --> 00:47:58.789 back to my CQ call