Texas radio and the big heat [017]

HERE

I’m back in the shack after being on the road. Just finished a 2m SSB QSO with Gordon 2E0HVQ. He is one of the handful of supporting subscribers that chuck a little cash towards the running of this newsletter in the form of a monthly subscription. This gives me a kick in the pants and a little inspiration to ensure I at least get something out sporadically. Cheers Gordon!

This week we have an amalgamation of audio, words and pictures. All the spelling mistakes are intentional and nothing to do with jet lag.

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THERE

I’m fresh back from another jolly jaunt to Austin Texas. It was hot. 40 degrees C at times. That’s 104 degrees F.

Most of the time I basked in air-con but as I adjusted to the temperature I headed downtown.

I’m getting to know the place a little better with every trip I take out there. Mostly thanks to the hams I reach out to on the local repeaters. Justin AI5OS (in the audio above) is one such friendly operator. We had been chatting for a couple of minutes when I decided I wanted to remember the QSO and hit record on the handheld.

We talked about storytelling, radio dramas, Android Vs Apple and of course amateur radio. The audio is straight off the FT5D and a little distorted but should still be listenable.

After we finished the QSO I could not remember if he recommended I have A breakfast taco or a burrito for breakfast. So I had both.

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GEAR

If you are an iPad user and just so happen to have an iCom 705 then SDR Control by Marcus Roskosch DL8MRE might be for you.

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In other news I have bitten the bullet and bought a sky loop. Not from Chameleon. Weirdly I managed to get it cheaper in the UK.

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I also took the recommendation of Gareth, M5KVK and treated myself to a new USB-C soldering iron.

TS80P Smart Soldering Iron

It’s a fantastic bit of kit. Really easy to use and fully hackable should I want to get in that deep.

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I also bought a 7m pole and some straps to help me get the sky loop up.

But there is a lot of things to prep before I can get the antenna up.

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I also bought a telescopic duel band antenna for my FT5D. It was cheap so I’ll let you know if it works.

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ELSEWHERE

• How to build a loop antenna for 40 and 80.

• Sweden’s new Archbishop is a ham radio operator.

  K3RRR @K3TripleR

  Walter Cronkite, an American broadcaster who served as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981), is known for his catchphrase, "And that's the way it is" but this tells you how he became a ham radio operator...even he was nervous during his first contact!

  

• A quick tip from DXCommander.

• This cobweb looks like an interesting option for those with limited space.

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FINALS

Thanks for reading and I hope subscribing.

Please share this wherever you think it might resonate.

It’s chucking it down here and I’ll not be putting up my sky loop till I can get some trees and hedges trimmed. That might be some time.

Over

73 de Christian G5DOC

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