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     Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my ongoing projects. We had been away on a family vacation, and as usual when coming back from a vacation, the job that pays the bills had some things piled up that need to be dealt with, so I ended up putting in a couple very full days.  With that thought though, here is a superfast update on where my projects stand:

• The home shack is stalled - waiting for me to finish some work in the addition we recently (okay, maybe not so recently anymore...) did, before I can get back to finishing the basement.
• The mobile shack is in the middle of a CB getting put in.

     I'm hoping to get the CB install finished by the end of this week, so that I can move on to "Phase 2" of the mobile install.  Once I get started on that I'll post updates, and let you know exactly what "Phase 2" is, but for now here's a teaser.  It has something to do with the 2 sheets of MDF plywood that are now sitting in my garage next to my table saw, and this thing:

     So what exactly is this thing?  About a year ago, this was a project I put together.  It is, in theory, a go-kit that I built.  If you happened to look at my QRZ profile though, you'll already know two things:

1. I called it my "porta-station" because it was too big and heavy to "go" the way most people think of a go kit.  It's more like moving a heavy shipping container.
2. It doesn't exist anymore, because I took it apart (insert frowny face here)

  My porta station started out as me wanting a way to have a fully functional station that I could put in my car and take with me on trips - it did work for that, it was just HEAVY.  Mainly because it had two 50ah batteries built into it, so that I could essentially run for a couple days without power.  Also built into it was a power supply, and a charge controller/DC load switcher that would automatically charge the batteries if it was plugged into AC power, and automatically run off the batteries if no AC was present.
     In the center of the beast was, from top to bottom, a small RF patch panel for switching between the various antenna connectors that I mounted across the top of the box, a row of switches for turning the various parts on and off, a small power outlet panel that had a volt meter, usb charger, and standard 12v automotive power connector, and the always important fuse block.
     The left side of the monster had (some of this stuff is internal and can't be seen in the picture) a Raspberry Pi computer with a 7" display, a mesh node, my 857d, the matching LDG tuner, a port audio patch panel, and external speaker with a separate amplifier and volume control.  Running on the Raspberry Pi was a custom command line rig control software that I wrote in Python.  Between the mesh node and the rig control software, this not only made this a porta-station, but one that I could use remotely, through a hammesh network.  The software was actually a school project (did I mention that I go to night school on top of all this other stuff?!) with the idea that I was building a drop and run emergency relay radio station, so I had a justification for putting this whole thing together - it was educational!  
     All of this goodness was build into an army surplus medical chest, in which I installed an aluminum frame (my first brazing project!) to hold all the stuff, topped off with a plywood panel to make the face.

     So why take it apart?  It was nice because it had everything in it I could need or want in a portable station.  That was also the problem.  Sometimes I didn't want all the stuff.  For some trips it was too big to take depending on what other equipment (actual work equipment) I needed to fit in the car.  I needed something more modular!

     Someone clever might be able to figure out that what I must be scheming is a go-kit version 2.  But how does that tie in to the start of this rant - my mobile shack Phase 2?  Maybe you just figured it out...

Leave a comment and let me know if you think you have an idea of what I'm up too...

    This is my plea - please stop blaming new hams when you hear bad behavior on the air!  
     I got into ham radio mainly because I am interested in technology, and I love to talk to other people - I'm one of those people that is quick to strike up a conversation when a group of strangers is gathered in one place.  I knew about ham radio from my father talking about it - he wasn't active when I was a child, but at one point he had a license.  From time to time he would mention it, and that was enough to intrigue me.  As a kid I also built several different radio kits, so I heard some of the hams chatting when tuning around with my little shortwave receiver.
     When I decided to have a go at getting licensed, I studied using the ARRL manuals, mainly because at first glance they really talked about the "stuff" instead of just drilling through questions and answers.  I've never been good at just memorizing facts - I'm just wired in a way that it is easier to learn a theory, methods, etc. and then apply them.  The ARRL manuals were great for this because I was able to read about the theory behind each question, which really helped make the concepts stick.  This made testing much easier for me than memorizing answers.
     I am aware that with an open question pool, just memorizing questions is very doable, but even in that case - so what!  I am of the opinion that if someone takes the time to memorize hundreds of questions, they really want to be in ham radio, and will learn more of the "stuff" as they go, which is what it is all about - the "experienced" folk didn't know it all when they started either!  
     This is an interesting case study in human behavior though - even outside ham radio, it seems like there is a certain personality type that, once it learns something, instantly thinks everyone who doesn't know that same thing is of lesser quality or intellect.  I'm sure you've come across this personality in school, work, social groups, etc.  I am assuming that when people with this personality type get into ham radio, they become the "new ham bashers."
     Anyway, since I am pretty new to the airwaves, I have to assume that everyone is more experienced than me, so when I hear bad behavior - like the gentlemen (I use the term loosely) in my pile up during NPOTA that kept shouting "He's coming back to you!" at a weak station that I was trying to work, my tendency isn't to instantly assume it's a new ham.  I'm thinking it's more likely that it is one of those personality types that is impatient, overly proud, and self absorbed.  You don't have to be new, young, or inexperienced to have the personality of an angry badger.  

     Feel free to comment, but any comments not meeting the above standards won't be approved!

     Nothing earth shattering here today...just wanted to share a couple tidbits about some changes to my blog.  Some of you that have checked in regularly may have noticed that the format changed.  The YL that I sometimes refer to as "the boss" is a writer, blogger, historian, and all around awesome person.  She suggested this different layout as being one that is more pleasing than the old style I was using - hopefully all of you enjoy it!
     Additionally, if you check in the sidebar, there are also now "categories" so that if you are looking for a specific topic I have written on, you can jump around without needing to read through the entire history of the blog.  That's always a plus if there is something specific you are looking for.
     Is there anything you would like to see changed on my blog?  Do you have topics you'd like to hear my thoughts on?

     Its finally March!  For me that's exciting because it's generally the last month where we get cold weather here in central PA, and there are usually more nice days than cold days.  This post will be a short one, so I apologize if you were looking for a long soliloquy on the merits of antennas.  I did however, want to fill everyone in on a my recent shopping trip to HRO.  I was at my company's New Castle DE location conducting a training session on the the 24th and 25th, so I had to stop by the candy store.
     I didn't actually "need" anything - but then again, nothing in this hobby is about needs......  While I was there, I did however get a new dual band antenna for the roof of my car, and some powerpole connectors.  I had run out of one of the sizes I regularly use.  As far as the antenna goes, I had been using a short little jobbie, that was a 1/4 wave on 2m, and 5/8 wave on 70cm.  It worked fine for me, and being on the roof of the car, performed better than many bigger antenna's often do, when you consider how some bigger antennas often get installed.  
     I decided to "upgrade" to the standard Larsen NMO 2/70 antenna, which is basically a 1/2 wave on 2 meters and a collinear antenna on 70cm.  Here are a couple pictures of the new antenna (and my 20 meter hamstick) on the car, if you can see it.....even when antennas are tall, they can blend in pretty easily depending on the background!  

     I promise I'm not going CB on you (not that there's anything wrong with that....)  

     Okay, now that I have both a teasing jab at CB, and a reference to a very popular 90's sitcom out of the way, I'll get down to the real business at hand - fun with Ham radio!
     The real reason for this post being titled "Breaker Breaker" is not because I'm trying to jump in with emergency traffic, or talk to truckers on channel 19 - it's because I just took delivery of a bunch of (6) actual breakers today....

     Apparently there were a lot arc fault breakers manufactured that were RF sensitive, and they can end up tripping from the RF produced by our Ham radio stations.  For a lot of people this is old news, but for new hams like me, it is new old news, if that makes sense.  The ARRL has a pretty good write up on it here, which includes contact info for whom to call if you have the variety in question, like I do.    

     The station works well considering that the antenna is the downspout and rain gutter, and the ground connection is a piece of steel re-bar (should we take bets on how long it takes to rust out?)  The radio is just my mobile rig that I pull out of the car when I want to operate from the house.  Anyway, while playing radio this winter, a week or so before Winter Field Day, I tripped the breakers and was reminded about the issue.  They even tripped when doing some digital stuff at 20 watts.  The big problem was that the breakers it was tripping included one of the circuits that includes one of our two pellet stoves that heat the house.  If I am forced to choose between playing radio and having a warm house, the YL will let you know in no uncertain terms that having a warm house is more important (I can't argue with that since we have 2 young kids.....)
     So, last week I finally got around to e-mailing the two gentlemen listed in the ARRL article, and within a week I had my new breakers, free of charge, sitting on my doorstep.  Now I just have to find time to...  *Ahem*  Now "my certified electrician" has to find time to replace these breakers (all kidding aside - changing breakers isn't a DIY project if you don't know what you are doing - consider yourself warned!) Once that's done, I'll be good as new, playing radio AND being warm!