SignaLink Radio Interface

I have heard much about the SignaLink radio interface that I finally had to buy one. It looks like a very good quality piece of equipment. I have not tried it yet. but soon! I am going to connect it to my DX-70T and see how it performs. I have been busy in life and also busy trying to upgrade my shack. I have added some new things for the digital world and will be posting them here soon.

www.tigertronics.com

New Laptop Computer

I have been thinking about getting another laptop, because two is never enough. I started looking before windows 8 came out and probably should have pulled the trigger then but like everyone else I could not see spending the money at the time. I looked at netbooks and the full size versions and never found what I wanted. Then Windows 8 was released and I was no closer to a new laptop. I did what any Ham would do, I started looking on the used market. What I was finding was not good, to high or to worn out. So here I am still looking and all the new ones are Windows 8 units. So last night I was in a smaller local computer retailer looking at what they had. I was playing with one with Windows 8 on a display model and was not very happy with the OS when the manager asked if he could help. I told him if he had anything but windows 8 I would be interested. This is when he told me he had one clearance HP Windows 7 laptop with about the same specifications as the one I was looking at. So I walked out of the store with a HP 2000-2a10NR.

• AMD E_Series_Dual_Core_E1_1200 Processor 1.4GHz
• 4 GB SDRAM RAM
• 320GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
• 15.6-Inch Screen, AMD Radeon HD 7310
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I will give this a try and hope I made a good choice. At this time I will use a Linux version before I go to Windows 8. I might use Windows again if they come out with something better.

Radio Go Box-A Fresh Idea

I have been looking at all the different Radio go boxes on line and I have not found one that talks to me. All I have seen look good and function well, but I really don't like the idea of mounting everything in a box and working out of that box. I am working on a go box that would contain a complete station. The box I am planning around is the Plano 1819 Sportsman Trunk. This platform has many advantages such as big but not too big to move around. I would like any ideas out there, just remember I want the complete station. Check out the box at the link.


http://www.planomolding.com/

Harbor Freight 800 watt generator

I recently purchased a Harbor Freight 800 watt generator. I did have a coupon and only spent $89.99 for the unit. I was very skeptical about what I was reading on the reviews about this little generator. I would not have taken a chance at regular price but what the heck it was less than $100.00. When I opened the box, I did not know what to expect, and I was surprised! It had very minimal assembly required and looked like a very nice little generator. Looks are not everything, I wanted to see if it worked as good as it looked. I had figured it would smoke and be very loud. It was not! It smoked a little on the first start up, but was gone very quickly. It was not very loud at all! If you use a long extension cord the generator should be no problem sound wise. I have not run it long enough yet to know if the 110v is clean and stable, but I am planning on using it to charge batteries and not run anything other than a battery charger with it.

www.harborfreight.com/800-rated-watts-portable-generator

Rascal interface for the collection

I went to a Hamfest just this last weekend and picked up some interesting items. I found a Rascal interface among all the treasures. I am always on the look out for packet and sound card interfaces to add to my collection or to help promote the digital world. The unit was in great shape, but still used for a lot less money. It is a nice small design that is well built. It came with the right connectors for my FT-767GX so I will be able to use it without any problems. I will test this very soon, I am in the process of finishing a new shack. Updates later.


Rascal Interface

Yaesu FT-1D The New Digital 2 meter/440 HT

Here is the latest entry into the digital radio field. It looks like an interesting radio, but it looks like another problem with interoperability. I hope maybe some smart Hams will figure out a way to make all the different modes work together. It would be nice if we could have a upgradeable mode that we could build upon and have available for all brands of radio. I am glad another manufacture is moving forward with new radios for Amateur Radio, this does help the hobby. I still would like to see something from the open source community. On a side note the camera microphone could have some use with HSMM.

Check it out here: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/0111.html


Features

• 5 watts on Both 2m/440
• Image Transmit (QVGA 320 × 240)
• Integrated GPS
• CTCSS/DCS Encode & Decode
• Weather Receiving with Weather Alert
• Analog and Digital
• Wide-band Receive 
• Optional Camera Microphone