I risk falling behind in my weekly posts, so this is a post to provide a few small updates.

The Icom 706 is still screwed up on 2m FM.  And maybe 70cm FM.  I haven’t tested SSB or AM on those, perhaps I will soon.  I’ve thought up a way to test things, so soon I will have it on the bench (again) to test.  I listened to a 40m SSB net all morning and noted no static that seemed out of place (e.g. static with an S9+40dB signal), so it still looks like things are affecting only the high VHF and UHF signal path.  In a related note, I need to tune my 40m hamstick.

I am halfway through building a Bus Pirate.  I ordered the remaining parts I need late last week and they are expected to arrive the same day I’m typing this blog post (Tuesday).  I’ve really been chomping at the bit to finish this and play with it, and Ian (from Dangerous Prototypes) has uploaded several videos to YouTube that show how to use it, so I fully expect to watch several of them again.

In keeping with my want to build a small Arduino powered receiver, I purchased some parts for that (on the same order that arrives today).

I’m still working on my experiment that I talked about last week.  There are some interesting findings so far.

I stopped by a Radio Shack while in the mall over the weekend.  Apparently we’re still waiting for their return to a not-useless store on the east side of Cincinnati.  All I saw were the same things as the past few years, with the same high prices and same SMALL selection.  Honestly, if Micro Center would open a mall on the east side of Cincinnati, it would be maker heaven.  I do appreciate that the kids behind the counter didn’t attempt to sell me a cell phone, but in their return to the 80s, they attempted to sell me batteries (and, like their cell phone sales strategy, they didn’t take the first no for an answer).

On that, big shoutout to Micro Center – they’ve been growing their maker section with a decent selection of Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, Beaglebone Blacks, and even parts at very nice prices.

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