[FARC] Introduction and mobile operation question

[Bob Moroney]

David,

If you pursue the "group buy" route on the TAK-40 PCBs, please add my 
name to the list of interested folks.  Same for any of the components 
you locate.  Thanks for offering to look into this.

73, Bob K9CMR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Kindred wrote:
> Hi, Bob, Kirk and David,
>
> Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm very excited to now be a part of FARC. 
>
> The TAK-40 does look as if it would be pretty exciting to build,
> regardless of whether or not it would be ideal for the summer camping
> trip. I hadn't realized that PSK31 was used really primarily on the 20m
> band. Thanks for pointing that out and also for the pointer to the
> WonderLabs kits; that was really helpful.
>
> My friend Mike (KB1MTS) in Boston pointed me to a discussion on the
> TAK-40 project here: http://www.eham.net/forums/HomeBrew/5356. It looks
> like, if you want to build one, it wouldn't be a bad idea to collect
> some parts now, since they're surplus. I think it might be a real
> educational experience, so I'll look into it. Perhaps some other folks
> would be interested and we could get a better deal on the PCBs? If I can
> pull this off, I'd be glad to talk about it, but do you think there'd be
> much interest in hearing from a complete beginner? The thought of
> squeezing DX out of a QRP rig warms my Scottish heritage heart. It's a
> whole new way to be thrifty!
>
> Thanks to you all!
>
> --David
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: farc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:farc-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of Bob Moroney
> Sent: Friday, May 02, 2008 10:26 AM
> To: Frederick, Maryland ARC
> Subject: Re: [FARC] Introduction and mobile operation question
>
>
> David,
>
> Welcome to the group!
>
> If you're handy with the tools needed, I'd definitely vote for building 
> the TAK-40 rig described in QST.  I haven't looked at the on-line files 
> yet, but it doesn't look exceptionally hard to build, and all those 
> features for $50 (or even $150 if you go the pc board route) is 
> amazing.  Go for it.
>
> As for talking with your friend in Boston, it will depend a lot on 
> (surprise) band conditions and your antenna.   But your chances for 
> success are greatly enhanced with PSK31.  And whether or not you are 
> able to chat with your friend, you'll no doubt have a lot of fun trying,
>
> and make a bunch of new friends in the process with the many other Hams 
> you'll meet on the air. 
>
> By all means, keep a log, including antenna configuration(s) used, 
> weather and band conditions, etc.  Perhaps you could give a short talk 
> about your adventure at a FARC meeting, once you get back from vacation,
>
> and show off your rig to the rest of the group.  
>
> I'll pencil you in right now.  Pick a month...  ;-)
>
> Good luck & 73,
> Bob K9CMR
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> David Kindred wrote:
>   
>> Hello, everyone,
>>
>> Since I'm brand new to FARC I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is
>>     
>
>   
>> David (KB3NAI), we have 3 sons (10 - 13) and live in Kemptown in the 
>> southern tip of the county. I've had my ticket for a couple of years, 
>> but I'm a really inexperienced ham, having only been having fun with 
>> APRS and chatting a bit on 2m during that time. My equipment is 
>> limited to a D700 and a VX-150 HT. I don't know any local hams, other 
>> than having an acquaintance with the very cool Joe (NE3R), and didn't 
>> know any hams growing up, so the full scope of amateur radio is still 
>> a bit of an unknown to me. I'm hoping that my membership in FARC will 
>> cure my ignorance and give me the chance to make some more friends. 
>> I'm also hoping to perhaps find an Elmer!
>>
>> Our family is planning a camping trip to the upper midwest over the 
>> summer. I thought it would be an awful lot of fun to set up a radio 
>> and communicate from "the wilderness" (actually campgrounds with 
>> showers) with a friend in Boston during that time. My funds are 
>> somewhat limited, so forking out $500+ for equipment, unfortunately, 
>> doesn't appear an option for me. The QRP project outlined in our most 
>> recent QST looked intriguing. It only works on 40m. Do you think it 
>> likely that 5w could make it from, say, WI to Boston on 40m for PSK31?
>>     
>
>   
>> If not, do you have any suggestions for what would make for a 
>> reasonably-priced mobile HF setup?
>>
>> Thank you all!
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> --David, KB3NAI
>>