Left Coast Political Scene

     

 

Now, I am just permanently gone! I will leave the prior radio postings on the blog until year end when all of the info will be wiped clean like I was never here. This was a fun yet disappointing ride! Like a friend (Hal Parker, SK) once said: Put your finger in a glass of water and remove it quickly and see how big of a hole you leave. There is no hole, so the demise of this blog will leave no hole. The disappointment stems from the low number of blog readers and extending to low views counts of the you tube videos -- those are metrics you can't deny. The crowd sizes are indeed almost miniscule! I am considering creating a political blog where I can rant unrestrained at you know who.  Thanks to those who rode along and maybe picked up a piece or two of some obscure radio knowledge. 73's Pete N6QW

 

A Hiatus for The N6QW Blog I now will shortly begin an undefined period of hiatus and may (or may not ever) in the future return to blogging. I apologize to those few who daily, faithfully read the blog and are subjected to the outpouring of random comments from my weird, and slightly bent brain. [Homebrew radios and the 300-pound Mary Jo are indeed divergent subjects.] But right now, the effort to keep things fresh and relevant exceeds my capacity to do so. As Adam Clayton Powell so aptly stated -- Keep the Faith and I add don't eat your pets. [For many, Adam Clayton Powell just doesn't ring any bells, but he was a very colorful and powerful Congressman representing Harlem for decades.] But for now, we move to the final of the three-part series on the FAT display and start with a part fit check. The photo below shows a compact layout that keeps a small footprint yet provides the functionality that was the original goal. Note the 3.2 Inch display is larger than the board by a b

  This is the current display on the P3ST QRP SSB Transceiver which shows a lot of info on a 128X160 small sized screen. It is of the ST7735 form of Display. What is presented are two VFOs (A &B) that have VFO memory, but also a much smaller display of the VFO frequencies with a thought of split operation. The simulated Green LED's signal what is "hot".  The initial theory was that you could receive on the A VFO but actually transmit on the B VFO. While the logic exists in the sketch, it was never actually implemented. Albeit you can switch the VFOs with a panel switch but not split operation. We also have the Step Tuning rate and the S Meter which by the way is implemented using an audio sample. I included my call sign just in case I forget and the title under the A VFO directs me to the Arduino sketch in the Arduino directory. Lest I forget we show which sideband is selected with a simulated RED LED.   Needless to say, it took many hours of programming to get this d