Despite working at the food booth for the Milford Hamfest, I did get some time to get into the boneyard.  I came back with a few things.

Astron SS-25M. Yes, the price sticker says “Bad”. No power output. It can be fixed – Astron makes some good products, and I’m sure I can find the schematics online.

Footswitch. Dear reader, you didn’t think I’d use the wooden one forever, did you? 🙂

Kenwood TM-201A. Works, but has quirks (some may be by design – like the fact that I have to use an external speaker!). Power output was 6 watts, although I didn’t play with the power level switch to see if it would go up to 25 watts. I do like the slide-out bracket it uses.

Another view of the Kenwood.

AEP PK-232 Packet TNC.

Parts. I looked through several bags and picked ones with parts I really want. The meter was partly to round up to $4, although I’m sure I’ll use it, too.

Not a bad haul.

-73-

I’ve had a few “duuuh!” moments recently:

• I tried to test SWR with the mic on SSB without whistling or saying “heelllllllooooo” (I realized I shoulda known better and got a 3.5mm plug to use as a redneck key)
• I saw something on the Internet about using a butane torch to solder PL-259 plugs.  One of those plugs just popped off the wire it was supposed to be soldered to.  Another had the center insulator shorted to ground.  Each time I’ve done this, I’ve burned insulation and other stuff.
• I got my work computer banned from http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html trying to make a Rainmeter skin for it.  Fortunately, I did this on Friday and the ban was lifted by Monday.

I’ve had a few smarter moments, too:

• Since I bought a pair of the HTX-100s, I joined the Yahoo Group and just started watching messages.  A recent message by another group member indicated that the display would be back if you let a certain capacitor charge.  The supposedly-broken rig is now working again.
• I joined the Milford Amateur Radio Club.
• I started playing with MPM Morse Factory on my Android phone to practice sending in CW. Unfortunately, it appears that it has disappeared off the Play Store.
• I wanted to see Ham Nation on a big screen, so I used my Blu-Ray player to pull it up on YouTube.
• I dropped by a truck stop on my way home from a meeting in Frankfort, KY to grab lunch.  While I was there, I browsed through the CB aisle and picked up some RG-8.  Probably not the greatest stuff, but it’ll work in the pinch I’m in.