[QRP] Portable QRP project for blind ham living in an apartment.

Wed, 31 Mar 2004 19:36:11 -0700

Hi Bob!

Excellent!  Yes.  It has been a very very long time.  A lot has happened,
and I've grown up quite a lot since then.  I'm looking to recapture some of
those good old days.  I went for the IC-703.  I ordered my gear yesterday
from AES.  It should arrive tomorrow.  I am expecting to work on getting up
and running this weekend.

Given my situation, living in an apartment and all, my station is
necessarily going to be a huge compromise.  I purchased the IC-703 with the
external battery pack, a power supply and a voice synthesizer module.  Of
course, I purchased the mic and a key.  For the antenna, I went for the
Outbacker Joey Backpacker antenna.  I have heard that this antenna should be
fairly easy for me to handle as a blind person, since it comes pre-tuned
from the factory.  I hope I'll be able to adjust the wire successfully.  I'm
told it shouldn't be a problem, but I just haven't had my hands on one yet.

So, are you still living in Tucson and still a member of the radio club?  Do
you still do field day?

Let's keep in touch.  I'm hoping to be able to set up this weekend.  I'm
trying to find some local assistance to complete a few parts of the deal
which I'm not going to be able to accomplish completely by myself.

Talk soon.

73

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Nielsen" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: [QRP] Portable QRP project for blind ham living in an
apartment.

> Hi Darrell,
>
> I don't know if you remember me, but we met several years ago at a
> Catalina Radio Club Field Day on Mount Lemmon (my call was W6SWE at the
> time).
>
> The Elecraft K2 is a great rig (I have one) but it does not have a
> voice synthesizer, which is another point in favor of the 703.  The
> KX-1 has audio cw indication of frequency, etc., but that is a CW-only
> radio.  I'll probably pick one up soon for traveling, since it has
> everything including the battery and antenna tuner in a very small
> package.  At least one ham has modified the K1 (the other Elecraft
> radio) for SSB, but I suspect that might be a bit of a kludge.  It
> doesn't have a voice synthesizer either.
>
> 73, Bob N7XY
>
> On Tue, Mar 30, 2004 at 07:09:46AM -0700, Darrell Shandrow wrote:
> > Hi Dwayne,
> >
> > I know the Elecraft rigs are probably the absolute best for my
situation,
> > especially if I could afford the higher price and I were able to be a
bit
> > more experimental.  Price is a significant stumbling block here, as I'll
> > be able to set up my antenna and rig with the 703 before I could afford
> > all the options for just the Elecraft radio.  Plus, I'd need to find
> > someone I could trust to build it.  I know several blind hams say others
> > will build these free of charge for disabled hams, but I don't usually
> > believe in that sort of thing...  I'd pay someone a little extra to do
it
> > for me.
> >
> > Well, I don't have to build a rig like the 703.  That would allow me to
> > work out other areas, such as the antennas and power source for Field
Day.
> >
> > Thanks and 73.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 [email protected] wrote:
> >
> > > The IC703plus which includes 6m with UT102 voice synthisizer, BP228
battery which is not an internal battery, Ic BC 155 charger comes to a grand
total of 890 dollars. The keying on the IC703 is no where near the quality
of the ELecraft rigs. I own both the IC703 and all Elecraft rigs and I chase
to bring the Elecraft rigs to Iraq. If you don't mind hearing the relays
clicking back and forth with your keying then go with the IC703. I would
suggest adding the narrow CW filter to help the DSP. Just the humble opinion
of a ham....Good luck in your quest and hope to catch you on the air
sometimes.
> > >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > [email protected]
> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/qrp
>
> -- 
> Bob Nielsen, N7XY                          n7xy (at) n7xy.net
> Bainbridge Island, WA                      http://www.n7xy.net
>
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