[HBQRP] Dayton Hamvention - loot and things.

[Arnie Grubbs]

Hi Group,

Well, looking forward to the next gathering, which will be this weekend.I have placed an order for warm and dry weather for our yearly Lark In the Park.
I picked up a few items while in the flea market at the Hamvention.  Scored a vacuum variable cap rated for up to 5 KV (kind of low actually).  Also found anSMD tweaser meter.   It looks and functions like a set of tweasers but will readout resistance and capacitance or semiconductor junctions.  It will not doinductors though.   I got it at the EAE tent in the flea mkt.  Those are the guysthat sell new and reconditioned soldering tools, supplies and complete soldering andde-soldering stations.  I also picked up some more solder, and a bottle of liquid flux.
This is not EAE sales, but they have the tweasers at a good price...
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1359
On Thursday while some of the FDIM seminars were going on,  we (NF0N, NQ0V and myself)went up to Fair Radio in Lima OH.   I found a few vacuum caps up there too.  3 of themfound their way into my cart.  They were 250 pF. at 32KV.  Might make a goodaddition to extend the voltage value of the vac variable cap I got from the flea mkt.
I also found a group selling Arduino UNO boards for $29.95, so I picked up 2 of them for projects.  I wish that I would have picked up an LCD and button "shield" that they wereselling, but I guess I can order one from AdaFruit web site.   This  would give a 16x2character LCD and 6 or so buttons and only takes a 2 pin interface to the Uno board.I think that will be something that I will want to have for my mag loop controler project.It will allow a readout, and several buttons for control of menu's and mode's.
Anyhows... I had a great time.. didn't get rained on, but I think it did rain for a little while, but I think I was sitting in the arena at the time,  letting my feet cool off and checking my eye lids for pin holes.   So I didn't get involved with the rain.  
I did see that quicksilver radio was selling some of the Baofeng UV5 radios as part of "go kits" that they were selling.  Its like a camera carry bag with a gel cell and charger, the radio and all that comes with the radio from Baofeng, and some sort of a cable to attach it to an "off the rig" antenna.  I think it might have had a mag mount antenna too.You can basically grab a carry case and you are ready to go out and set up a VHF/UHF station for emergencys or other public service events.
Speaking of Baofeng,  I have gotten a 2nd one.  This one is the UV5AX and it is for 144/220 Mhz.  Chirp does not support programming of 220 MHz freq's yet. Neither does the VIP software.  I know that there is a action request in to CHIRP to open up the parsing of the freq's going to the radio, but it was not in Mondays' update of the software.I am sure that it will get added soon.   In the mean time I will have to program all of the many 220 MHz repeaters and links in by hand.. not that big of an ordeal in other words.
Also, I just want to say, if you have one of the stock Baofeng rubber antennas, do yourself a favor.  Throw it as far as you can and don't look back.  The ones on the 2m/70cm radios are basically the same thing as the dummyload QSO antennas that some of us useat Ozark con or FDIM..   a 50 Ohm resistor and a short wire to allow a little rf leakage.This gives great SWR, but it don't go no where no how!   I have a replacement antenna for my 2/70 radio, and it works great,  but I think I am going to have to look very hard to find one for 2m/220Mhz. Will probably end up using an adapter to either an off radio antenna for the car, or will make up some kind of antenna for it.
Anyhow... Still doing my Anti-rain dance.. so I hope to see a lot of people out at the Lark in the Park.   I will bring my mag loop and an end fed Half Wave antenna along with a KX3 radio.  
73 - Arnie KA0NCR