Left Coast Political Scene

Exploring Upgrades and Improvements! "JABOM" 3/30/2018 Hey guys (and gals) great news: The JABOM is cranking right along. Yesterday on a band that seemed virtually dead (and using the linear amp @ 600 watts out) I worked Portugal in mid-afternoon. The signal reports are excellent and I couldn't be more pleased. It is a testament to the design and circuit topology. The you tube  video documents the receive performance. The on air contacts demonstrate the transmit performance.  While not having all the bells and whistles of commercial rigs the JABOM demonstrates that solid contacts, including DX contacts can be made using homebrew equipment. You only to get off the couch and now that March Madness is over --heat up that iron. 73's Pete N6QW 3/28/2018 ********************************************************************************* 3/26/2018 ~ More work on the front Panel. The Before C Change: Changed on 3/25 to ...

Meet Stormy! Something from 1959 ~ Almost 60 year ago I n the photo above we see K3IXU's  Big Gun DX station circa 1959 from Western Pennsylvania (Connor Lamb Country) where the station line up includes a DX-100B, SX-99, Johnson Adventurer and a Heathkit QF-1. We see K3IXU diligently working on a Toob QRP transceiver. The antenna was a 40 Meter Dipole and the TR Switch was some concoction involving a couple of lightbulbs later changed over to a Dow Key Relay. Once the west coast was worked on 40M AM Phone from this station. The Johnson Adventurer had the Screen Grid Modulator accessory albeit still crystal controlled.  In 1965 uncertain that K3IXU would return home alive from Chu Lai, South Vietnam, K3IXU's dad sold this whole station plus a huge junk box of parts and other rigs for $100 to a new ham. Wonder what that stuff is worth today?. Prior receivers included a National SW-54 (pure junk) and a Hallicrafters S-85 a close second to the SW-54....

3/17/2018 ~ Happy St. Patrick's Day! I n case you didn't know it ~ St. Patrick is the patron Saint of Engineers. He was given this title because of the "Knack" demonstrated in removing the snakes from Ireland. I jokingly say I am Mediterranean Irish but my XYL is actually part Irish as evidenced by the naming of #2 son --- Timothy Ryan. More Woes with Windows 10. Knowing what I know today -- Never Again! One of the things that you keep being prompted by Microshaft  to do to the point of vomiting is to enact the "One Drive" crap! This is so that any device you have will be linked to this one drive. Thus on your phone you can look at important documents uploaded to this one drive and you can see them anywhere. In theory sounds good. Down side-- Hey, you know who, you don't want to put Stormy's contact info on the one drive --it will be seen --everywhere. Initially this sounded like a good idea --except it now rearranges your hard dri...