Support KB6NU.Com
Donate $5 and get this cool sticker. Measuring 5-3/4-in. W by 4-1/4-in. H, it's perfect for your car, your shack, or wherever!
Looking for my study guides? Click here.NEW! Kindle and Nook versions now available!
Like them on Facebook:
Are you a ham radio club newsletter editor?
Looking for the KD8LWR Repeater Guide?
|
By Dan KB6NU, on January 25th, 2012 There’s no doubt that today’s rigs are pretty complicated. Even so, there’s no reason not to crack them open should they quit working. Often, the repair is something simple. Two recent experiences back me up on this.
New fuse makes Heathkit happy
A couple of weeks ago, a ham friend expressed an interest in one of the Heathkit IP-2717 HV Power Supplies that I rescued from the University of Michigan’s Property Disposition center a couple of years ago. I purchased three of them at the time, one working, two not working. I told him that I’d let him have one of the non-working units for $25, exactly what I paid for them.
He agreed to the price, and we agreed to meet for lunch about a week later and make the transaction. A couple of days beforehand, though, I decided to pull one off the shelf and just have a look inside.
Well, as soon as I popped the top off, the problem was obvious. It had a blown fuse. I just happened to have that value and when I stuck a new one in, the power supply fired right up and worked like a charm. My friend not only gave me a few more bucks for fixing it, but also bought lunch!
A two-minute fix for 2m rig
This evening, as I was working a guy in ME on 30m CW, I spotted on my shelf, an old 2m FM rig that someone had given to me. It had quit working on him, and since he wanted to get something newer, he didn’t feel like fooling around with it. He told me that if I could fix it, that I could sell it or give it to someone who attended one of my classes and was looking for a starter radio.
That radio has sat on the shelf for at least two years. When I caught sight of it this evening, though, I was inspired to open it up and see if there was anything obviously wrong with it that I could fix easily.
Sure enough, all I had to do was remove the two screws holding the top of the case to the radio and peer inside. The problem was readily apparent. Somehow, one of the connectors connecting a cable to the main board had worked itself loose. I plugged it back in, hooked it up to my power supply and 2m antenna, and worked N1RIT on the club repeater.
The point of these stories is that even though a piece of equipment might be quite complicated, often what goes wrong is something simple to fix. In the case of the power supply, all I had to do was change a fuse. All the 2m rig needed was for me to reconnect a disconnected cable.
So, next time one of your radios goes on the fritz, don’t just send it off to a repair center. Crack open the case and have a look inside. It may be a simple fix, and if it is, you’ll not only save yourself a lot of money, you’ll have the satisfaction of having fixed it yourself.
By Dan KB6NU, on January 25th, 2012 We’ve criticized the ARRL website here on KB6NU.Com from time to time, but there’s a lot of good stuff there, too. In particular, they regularly post timely news items. Here are three items I found particularly interesting:
- FCC denies Anchorage VEC’s waiver request. In July 2011, the Anchorage VEC asked the FCC to permit individuals who have previously held an Amateur Radio license grant issued by the Commission — but which has expired and is beyond the two year grace period for renewal — to receive credit for elements previously passed, and thus a new license grant, without additional examination.
I’m not altogether sure why this VEC would request this waiver. In fact, I’ve suggested that maybe it would be a good idea to regularly re-test ham radio operators.
- Minutes of ARRL Board’s winter meeting posted. The ARRL board held their annual winter meeting the weekend of January 13-14, 2012. The minutes from that meeting have now been posted. These are always interesting and worth perusing.
One item of interest is that the board has approved electronic voting for division elections. I wonder how that would have affected, if at all, the two elections that I participated in.
- LOTW to support CQ awards. The ARRL and CQ magazine have agreed that QSLs recorded in Logbook of the World can now be used to apply for CQ-sponsored operating awards. These are the first non-ARRL awards to be supported by LoTW. The first CQ award that you will be able to apply for via LOTW is the WPX award.
By Dan KB6NU, on January 20th, 2012  The venerable Simpson Model 60 VOM has been in production for more than 60 years. In the Test&Measurement World group on LinkedIn, editor Martin Rowe asks, “What’s your favorite test instrument”? He gets some interesting answers, but the two top vote-getters are the Bird Model 43 Wattmeter and the Simpson Electric Model 60 VOM (see right).
About the Bird wattmeter, one engineer said, “That’s easy – The Bird Model 43 Wattmeter. No other instrument has been in production, in its original design, for so long. Since 1952, which makes next year 2012 its 60th anniversary. Also, it must be the simplest, most rugged instrument ever produced. We regularly see Model 43 Wattmeters returned to us for calibration that are 30-40 years old, still working and, when they leave our facility, as accurate as the day they first came of the production line in Solon, Ohio.”
About the Simpson VOM, another replied, “My favorite test instrument of all time is the Simpson 260. I used it back in the 1970s while serving in the US Navy. It is rugged, easy to use, and does the job!”
Those are really two classics, and either is a great choice. But, what do you think? What’s your favorite test instrument?
By Dan KB6NU, on January 17th, 2012 
Me making a point (apparently about SWR) at Saturday's One-Day Tech Class
Last weekend was pretty busy for me, ham radio-wise. It started bright and early Saturday morning with the latest One-Day Tech Class. There were twelve students in the class, and all twelve passed!
This class was a bit odd in that most . . . → Read More: Last weekend a busy one for KB6NU
By Dan KB6NU, on January 15th, 2012 From the ARRL Letter, 1/12/12:
Amateur Radio Video News (ARVN) has released high-definition videos of all the talks presented at the 2011 ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference (DCC), held September 16-18. The programs are now available online on the ARVN website.
The DCC is a three-day conference on Amateur Radio digital technology. Among the video presentations . . . → Read More: TAPR Conference Videos Online
By Dan KB6NU, on January 15th, 2012 Since I’m the station manager for WA2HOM, I’m always interested in ham radio events that take place at museums. I am, therefore, excited to note that the operating event, International Museums Weekend, will take place on both June 16-17, 2012 and June 23-24, 2012.
This has been primarily a European operating event, but I’m hoping . . . → Read More: International Museums Weekend, June 16-17 and 23-24, 2012
By Dan KB6NU, on January 15th, 2012 From Kent, W7AOR:
The next VOIP Topical Conference is Friday, May 4, 2012 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.
Since 2001 Nevada Amateur Radio Repeaters, Inc. (NARRI) sponsored the Annual VoIP IRLP Conference that is held in the Spring. Prior to 2012 the conference was held in Las Vegas as a separate event. Now it . . . → Read More: Next VOIP Conference, Friday, May 12, 2012 in Reno, NV
By Dan KB6NU, on January 14th, 2012 The Twittersphere is kind of like the ionosphere. It helps you make contact with other hams and brings you news from far and wide. Here are a few interesting links that I found on Twitter in the last day or so:
Global Pirate HF Weekend 14-15.1.2012. This station lists pirate SW radio stations that it . . . → Read More: From the Twittersphere
By Dan KB6NU, on January 12th, 2012 Over three years ago, I wrote that ham radio should do more to associate itself with the Maker movement. Well, it finally looks like it is going to do just that.
Just before the first of the year, the ARRL unveiled its DIY campaign. It mostly consists of the video below, but there’s also a flier . . . → Read More: Ham Radio Finally Jumps on the Maker Bandwagon
By Dan KB6NU, on January 10th, 2012 
In the mail today, I received something totally unexpected—a certificate proclaiming WA2HOM to be the first place finisher in the multi-operator, single-transmitter category of the 2011 CQ World Wide WPX contest.
With such a low score, I don’t supposed that we had many competitors in that category, but it’s still pretty cool.
. . . → Read More: WA2HOM: Championship Contest Station?
|
|
Recent Comments