Why are 3rd Order Intercept Points of Interest: A Continuing Discussion

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A Look Around the IC-7000

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Sunset at W4UOA

The tower immediately after taking down the rotor for repair. Click the picture for a hi-res image. Use your browser button to get back to this page.

The two videos below show The Gadget used to keep the mast stable when I took the rotor down for repair following a lightening strike. The first video shows The Gadget attached with the rotor still in place--the second after the rotor has been removed. Click on the ">" to play the videos. Thanks to David Drummond for the idea.

Bell Ringers Net, December 15, 2007

A sample of conditions today on 7.230. Click on the play arrow ">" at the bottom left to listen to the net and see the audio recording. This is a 20 minute segment of the net. You can move the slider at the bottom of the image to move toward the end of the recording and "sample" band conditions over this period.

For you contesters!

Do NOT miss this if you are a contester!

Join us on the airwaves...

If you have not seen this video...take a moment for big smile! Quoting from their web site,
"Yes, Andrew really is at the top of the 100 foot tower singing the song, and Lissa is really up at 66 feet singing the harmony vocal!"

IC-7800

I thought you might enjoy seeing the new IC-7800 close-up. Click on the image for large, hi-res image.

The following came from eHam:

I bought this radio over the summer and after about 2 weeks of operating, the finals blew (while running about 60W out into my Acom amp.) Apparently, this is a fairly common problem, discussed regularly on the 7800 email list. I know of 2 other radios that blew their finals the same day as mine! Rumor has it that Icom had a bad batch of transistors, though the official word is they still are trying to figure it out.

I sent the radio back to Icom (via UPS ground, for about $200) and got it back about 3 weeks later. So far, so good.

Any radio can have a problem, so why did I give it a 2? Besides the quality control problem, a 10K radio should be near perfection. This isn't. Operationally, weak signals on the noisy lowbands are easier to copy with my FT-1000D. The APF is significantly better on the Yaesu. The 7800's DSP doesn't help. Ergonomically, I find the AF gain knob uncomfortably close to the Mic jack. Also, the M=S button (to set VFO B equal to VFO A) is too close to the main tuning knob and it's tough to press it without changing frequencies. In case you're wondering, I don't have fat, clumsy fingers - I'm an eye surgeon.

Regarding service, I feel Icom should have paid for shipping, given the frequency of this problem with the 7800. They shouldn't sell a Lexus and provide Ford Escort service! If the Elecraft K3 lives up to its hype, I'll probably sell this radio and get the K3.
W2UP

QSO with W4BXI

This blog post explores another way to post videos. You will notice the SX-115 video in the right margin. Here, the QSO with W4BXI is embedded into a blog post using the Youtube inline code. Notice the picture image is larger than that seen on the right margin and the run-time video is also larger. When the video finishes, the full image is also left on the screen.

To play the video, click on the Play Button in the center of the image. If you click on the picture itself, you will link to the video's home on You Tube.

Marconi Adapter

This is the Marconi adapter and its connection on the back of the tuner. The theory can be seen in that that the shield and the center conductor are both terminated on the wire connector of the tuner. The antenna, a traditional half-wave dipole, then acts as a single wire with the station ground providing the "other side" of the circuit. The feed line is connected to the adapter by a female RG-8 connector.

The adapter has worked well so far. Good signal reports from Birmingham, West-Central Mississippi, and Georgia. Time will tell just how well it "hears".

73,
Carl