In the vernacular of The Day, you could say that "I'm transitioning".
To Linux, that is - probably via Ubuntu, but I've been reading good things about Mint.
My Windows PC has apps on it that I cannot delete (bloatware) and I pay monthly to use Adobe's Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere apps. An amount that exceeds their value for a hobbyist like me.
I am pleased to announce the availability of the 60-15m QMX version, which has been requested multiple times by POTA and SOTA operators.
Note that there will be a few days' delay; the Rev 4 QMX boards will allegedly arrive here today according to the cargo company contracted locally by FedEx. But there will be some work to pack kits and program bootloader etc. I will also prepare a Rev 4 assembly manual update which will include the assembly instructions for the 60-15m version.
A new set of paddles and an inductive helper for my 17-ft whip both rode shotgun with me for about an hour on a beautiful Florida morning.
Everything about the kit made for a quick and easy set-up...and that is my goal: 2 minutes till "On The Air" and 2 minutes to "Back on the road".
The KX2 is probably the 2nd fastest rig to put on the air, second only to the KH1. But its effectiveness (due to full 10-80m coverage) trounces the KH1.
The weather was great and it was hard to stop - I wanted to keep riding, despite having taken the long way to the park. Traffic in Inverness and Dunnellon was moving at the speed of a tax refund but it was clear sailing after that with very few cars for many miles. This is the quiet part of Florida.
I may have gotten a bit of a late start for 40m activity so I don't know how to interpret the fact that I only made a single contact on that band. I'll return earlier (or in the evening) for another attempt with the 40m coil.
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I know you can see it...but the only thing airport agents see is camera gear.
Nikon, Canon, Olympus...they all make camera gear - nothing to see here.
After my trip to Ecuador last year, several people emailed to ask me about getting my gear through customs. Any problems?
Ditto with a recent Caribbean cruise and a trip to Nova Scotia.
My radio at the time was either an IC-705. It looks like a radio, not a camera.
I had permission from the relevant entities to bring a radio on all three trips and that was good enough for me. I didn't go out of my way to prove that I had permission, nor did I do anything that would cause a customs official to ask if I had it.
If they'd asked, I would have answered honestly - my job was to cause them to not ask.
To do this, I placed the radio in plain sight - right in my camera bag, which was hand-searched at my request.
For a bit over a year now, I've had a Bioenno and a Nermak battery - both are 12AH - and have used them at least weekly for POTA activity and as my in-shack 12V power supply.
