• great 1st contact on new rig

    From Kent Timm@1:229/728 to All on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 20:55:00
    I just got the radio I've been drooling over almost since i got my license 6.5 years ago, a Yaesu Ft-950 :) So last night I got my home made interface for
    digital rewired for it (I do a lot of JT65) and got on the air,
    I called CQ just once and got a VK contact on the first try! Pretty good for about 3am and the first contact on my new used radio.. Maybe I'm over excited on this.. but just had to say it:)

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    * Origin: HoloDeck BBS telnet://kentsoftware.com:2323 London ON (1:229/728)
  • From Tony Langdon@3:633/410 to Kent Timm on Thursday, August 11, 2016 13:34:00
    Kent Timm wrote to All <=-

    @MSGID: <57ABD1D2.307.fido-amateurr@freeway.apana.org.au>
    I just got the radio I've been drooling over almost since i got my
    license 6.5 years ago, a Yaesu Ft-950 :) So last night I got my
    home made interface for digital rewired for it (I do a lot of JT65) and got on the air,
    I called CQ just once and got a VK contact on the first try! Pretty
    good for about 3am and the first contact on my new used radio.. Maybe
    I'm over excited on this.. but just had to say it:)

    Nice start to the new rig. :)


    ... Remember the immortal words of Socrates: "I drank what?"
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  • From Paul Hayton@3:770/100 to Kent Timm on Thursday, August 11, 2016 23:21:28
    On 08/10/16, Kent Timm pondered and said...

    I just got the radio I've been drooling over almost since i got my
    license 6.5 years ago, a Yaesu Ft-950 :) So last night I got my home made interface for digital rewired for it (I do a lot of JT65) and got
    on the air, I called CQ just once and got a VK contact on the first try! Pretty good for about 3am and the first contact on my new used radio.. Maybe I'm over excited on this.. but just had to say it:)

    Well done, thats super cool ;-)

    Best, Paul
    ZL4PH

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  • From Corey Reichle@1:267/154 to Kent Timm on Thursday, August 11, 2016 08:13:47
    I just got the radio I've been drooling over almost since i got my
    license 6.5 years ago, a Yaesu Ft-950 :) So last night I got my home made interface for digital rewired for it (I do a lot of JT65) and got
    on the air, I called CQ just once and got a VK contact on the first try! Pretty good for about 3am and the first contact on my new used radio.. Maybe I'm over excited on this.. but just had to say it:)


    Congrats on the first QSO! The 950 is a really nice rig, although, I really, really, really am waiting on the 897D's "real" replacement. I'm more a
    "shack in a box" kinda guy.

    "There's no place like ::1"

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A30 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Solar Pi BBS (1:267/154)
  • From Kent Timm@1:229/728 to Paul Hayton on Thursday, August 11, 2016 17:18:00
    Well done, thats super cool ;-)

    Yes, it's not my first Aussie contact, but to get that on the first CQ of a new (to me) radio was graet, I think the first time I got a VK it took me about 2 or so hours to calm down.. Keep in mind I live in an apartment and use a hamstick mounted above my satelite dish for 20 meters,

    Haven't even had it on today.. one of my air conditioners decided to dip all over the floor last nite and I won't waste space on the rant that would sum it up... portable ACs are a pain..
    --- RA2+ FMail
    * Origin: HoloDeck BBS telnet://kentsoftware.com:2323 London ON (1:229/728)
  • From Kent Timm@1:229/728 to Corey Reichle on Thursday, August 11, 2016 17:25:01
    Congrats on the first QSO! The 950 is a really nice rig, although,
    I really, really, really am waiting on the 897D's "real"
    replacement. I'm more a "shack in a box" kinda guy.

    I'm hoping the FT950 will last me the rest of my life or til i win the lottery and go nuts.

    I've read people have had a problem with the FT950's dieing if the switch them off at the power supply instead of turning the radio off by it's own switch first, so that's made me a tad nervous, so I'm thinking about getting
    a WEST MOUNTAIN PG40S PWRGATE and protect it that way in case of power failures, which thankfully don't happen too often here. Right now I have my power supply (Drake PS7) plugged in to the UPS with my computer, but I know if I'm transmitting it would be way to much load for the UPS.

    --- RA2+ FMail
    * Origin: HoloDeck BBS telnet://kentsoftware.com:2323 London ON (1:229/728)
  • From Andrew Haworth@1:123/525 to Corey Reichle on Thursday, August 11, 2016 16:08:00
    On 08/11/16, Corey Reichle said the following...

    Congrats on the first QSO! The 950 is a really nice rig, although, I really, really, really am waiting on the 897D's "real" replacement. I'm more a "shack in a box" kinda guy.

    Were you a fan of the Yaesu FT-847 by any chance? That was my first radio,
    HF, 6M, 2M and 440 in one package. I don't have that one any more, but I do have an FT-817nd for fun and a K3 as my main rig.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)
  • From JIMMY ANDERSON@1:116/18 to Kent Timm on Friday, August 12, 2016 08:50:54
    On 8/10/2016 8:55 PM, Kent Timm wrote to All:

    I just got the radio I've been drooling over almost since i got my license 6.5 years ago, a Yaesu Ft-950 :) So last night I got my home made interface for digital rewired for it (I do a lot of JT65) and got on the
    air,

    w00t!

    I called CQ just once and got a VK contact on the first try! Pretty good
    for
    about 3am and the first contact on my new used radio.. Maybe I'm over excited on this.. but just had to say it:)

    I don't think it's possible to be over excited. :-) Everyone geeks on something. :-)

    I still have just an HT, but was excited the first time I connected to a local repeater! I've since acquired a hand me down HF rig & home made antenna, but haven't hooked it up yet... Have to get a power supply and get it setup. :-)


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  • From JIMMY ANDERSON@1:116/18 to Kent Timm on Friday, August 12, 2016 08:53:54
    And I should have said...

    KM4UXV

    :-)


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    * Origin: Neptune's Lair - Olive Branch MS - winserver.org:1974 (1:116/18)
  • From Kent Timm@1:229/728 to JIMMY ANDERSON on Friday, August 12, 2016 14:46:00
    I still have just an HT, but was excited the first time I connected
    to a local repeater! I've since acquired a hand me down HF rig &
    home made antenna, but haven't hooked it up yet... Have to get a
    power supply and get it setup. :-)

    Yes, Aussies and other longer distant contact are always fun to get. Russia is a good one to get excited over also. Power supplies are always a big thing that doesn't get that much attention, if you can, get a linear power supply instead of a switching one. The modern switching ones are smaller, lighter, more efficent and can make a lor of RF noice that will show up as "birdies" though the bands. I'm sure some are better then others.. I have a old Drake PS7 linear power supply, it's huge, 33 POUNDS about the size of a breifcase and
    no RF birdies to interfere.

    When your on the HT bring up you're looking for a power supply once in a while, somebody might have one they'd be willing to part with. just be sure to test it first and that it can delived the Amps an HF radio needs. I'd recommend 25amps continious.
    --- RA2+ FMail
    * Origin: HoloDeck BBS telnet://kentsoftware.com:2323 London ON (1:229/728)
  • From Corey Reichle@1:267/154 to Kent Timm on Friday, August 12, 2016 08:39:43
    I've read people have had a problem with the FT950's dieing if the
    switch them off at the power supply instead of turning the radio off by it's own switch first, so that's made me a tad nervous, so I'm thinking

    I think most radios are prone to that, to be honest. You could leave your PS on all the time, and just use the radio's pwr button :P


    "You can tune a piano, but your can't tuna fish!"

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A30 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Solar Pi BBS (1:267/154)
  • From Corey Reichle@1:267/154 to Andrew Haworth on Friday, August 12, 2016 08:41:40
    Were you a fan of the Yaesu FT-847 by any chance? That was my first
    radio, HF, 6M, 2M and 440 in one package. I don't have that one any
    more, but I do have an FT-817nd for fun and a K3 as my main rig.

    Well, it was before my time, so to speak. I've been licensed since 2008, and at that time, the FT-817, 857, and 897's were the "bee's knees".

    I do love my 817nd and 857D, though. Top-notch radios, IMO, even if they do suffer from their "shack in a box" design when compared to the K3.


    "You can tune a piano, but your can't tuna fish!"

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A30 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Solar Pi BBS (1:267/154)
  • From Andrew Haworth@1:123/525 to Corey Reichle on Friday, August 12, 2016 18:45:00
    On 08/12/16, Corey Reichle said the following...

    Well, it was before my time, so to speak. I've been licensed since
    2008, and at that time, the FT-817, 857, and 897's were the "bee's
    knees".

    Only been licensed since 2011 myself. I bought the 847 used. Completed WAS
    and most of DXCC on it before I built a K3. It was great because I could use
    it for 2m SSB or for a repeater, etc. I thought it was decent on HF but
    didn't really have anything else to compare it to at the time.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
    * Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (1:123/525)