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banjoplayinnerdLet me tell you how tired I was last night.
I was so tired that when my daughter offered to pay my way to a 9:10 showing of The Muppet Show, I declined.
I was asleep by 9:00.
At about 7 I got up, got showered and dressed, and hauled the various projects and tools out to the kitchen (the kitchen table is the only area with space enough to work on anything). I finally got the power supply up and working at about 11. (Here's a handy pro tip: Don't hook up the -12VDC line directly to ground, no matter how much the blue wire looks like a black wire in low light.) Closed it all up, and I think I got the battery successfully replaced in the old handheld without major damage to anything, including myself.
And then it arrived! My grandson was fascinated that I got a package that big, even though I assured him several times that it didn't have anything in it for him. Including the packing peanuts and bubble wrap. I got it unpacked, hauled it into the bedroom, hooked it up to the power supply, plugged everything in, and . . .
Nothing.
What the smeg? I know I checked everything. Well, it turns out there was one thing I forgot to check. Is the power strip it's plugged into switched on? Switched on the power strip, switched on the main power supply switch, threw the kill switch and the radio roared to life!
So off to the manual to figure out how to switch the radio to 2 meters, the band I operate on most. I put out a test call and my friend William in Woodinville answered.
"Hey, you've got a great signal today!" he said. "I could hear you on the repeater input." For you non-hams, that means I was getting a signal all the way from Shoreline to Woodinville without using a repeater. I have never been able to do that with my handheld.
So I am officially in business. Now I need to take a break, nap, clean up my messes, and do some banjo practice. Then it's off to see if we can put the antenna off the roof one of these next weekends.
Success!
I was so tired that when my daughter offered to pay my way to a 9:10 showing of The Muppet Show, I declined.
I was asleep by 9:00.
At about 7 I got up, got showered and dressed, and hauled the various projects and tools out to the kitchen (the kitchen table is the only area with space enough to work on anything). I finally got the power supply up and working at about 11. (Here's a handy pro tip: Don't hook up the -12VDC line directly to ground, no matter how much the blue wire looks like a black wire in low light.) Closed it all up, and I think I got the battery successfully replaced in the old handheld without major damage to anything, including myself.
And then it arrived! My grandson was fascinated that I got a package that big, even though I assured him several times that it didn't have anything in it for him. Including the packing peanuts and bubble wrap. I got it unpacked, hauled it into the bedroom, hooked it up to the power supply, plugged everything in, and . . .
Nothing.
What the smeg? I know I checked everything. Well, it turns out there was one thing I forgot to check. Is the power strip it's plugged into switched on? Switched on the power strip, switched on the main power supply switch, threw the kill switch and the radio roared to life!
So off to the manual to figure out how to switch the radio to 2 meters, the band I operate on most. I put out a test call and my friend William in Woodinville answered.
"Hey, you've got a great signal today!" he said. "I could hear you on the repeater input." For you non-hams, that means I was getting a signal all the way from Shoreline to Woodinville without using a repeater. I have never been able to do that with my handheld.
So I am officially in business. Now I need to take a break, nap, clean up my messes, and do some banjo practice. Then it's off to see if we can put the antenna off the roof one of these next weekends.
Success!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-12 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-12 04:24 pm (UTC)