[SADXA] Tryout of my new radio--lab599 TX500

[w0pzd at juno.com]

Well my new radio finally arrived from Sweden.  No thanks to FedEx for taking so long.  It was "lost in customs" from Thurs til Wednesday in Indianapolis.  Then it spent another night in Phoenix before before being delivered 36 hours later.
I didn't even take time to fully read the manual--that's only about 25 pages of real info.  I've seen enough You-tubes that I just turned it on and started in using it.  I have a little Chinese auto tuner that can be had in kit form for under $50 or under $70 assembled. It took 7 days to get here.  There's no slow boats from China except those that deliver in Long Beach.  HRO is still waiting for a shipment of about a thousand units (on the boat in the harbor for 4 weeks now).  The tuner works well but doesn't like the OCF 80 dipole.  
My first contact was in Lake Havasu, the LBARA is getting ready for the Lighthouse event in a couple of weeks, N7Z, 27 stations around Lake Havasu!
I finally started reading the manual as there were a few things I couldn't figure out on my own.
Only made 22 contacts. average 7 watts, 40-10.  I had a more DX contacts than states worked. I had a few other part contacts as well--NZ, Italy, Spain, England and Chile.
The rig will handle stations every .5 khz without trouble!
The rig came with the latest software update.  All I need to get on FT8 is cable for audio I/O to the computer. It has the data cable ready made.  
The amplifier (matches the rig in size and has a plug in on the bottom).  It only makes 60 watts but is primarily geared for portable work. There is a battery add on that fits where the amplifier will go but it is not big enough for powering the amp and the rig at the same time.  I have a HardRock 50 and a Xeigu XPA 125B that would work well and both have built in tuners, so lots of tinkering in the future.  If the rig will hold it's own during a DX contest barefoot I may just forgo the use of an amplifier.  QRP 4ever!

Dick  W0PZD

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