[CQ] Anyone going to HRO sometime?

[Jonathan Lassoff]

Excerpts from Bill Paul's message of Sun Feb 21 17:14:54 -0800 2010:
> Yeah, but then I can't drool over the toys.

So true. I like that they have them connected to beams on the roof that
one can play with.

> Not so much overhaul as preventive maintenance. The 850 is known for having 
> some bad surface-mount capacitors that can eventually leak electrolyte fluid. 
> Those are easy to replace, luckily. Unfortunately I also had to replace a 
> transistor in the RX IF stage that failed only about 1 week after I got the 
> radio. The transistor only cost 50 cents, but it was an incredible pain to 
> replace it without proper surface mount soldering tools.
> 
> It's working well now though. I even managed to work Italy this morning on 20 
> meters. (First European DX contact.) I've heard Germany and France too, but 
> wasn't able to get through the pileups.

Nice!

> > My radio has SSB, but I don't have a handmic, so I'm CW only at the
> > moment.
> 
> It shouldn't be too hard to wire up a microphone to that radio. Radio Shack 
> sells 8 pin microphone connectors. Oddly, it looks like you have to set up 
> some jumpers in the K2 to use a mic. I don't know if you have them already. 
> If not, we can probably find some at 2169.
> 
> Is your radio the K2, or K2/100?

It's not hard, I used to have a loaned Icom IC-746, and I wired up the
K2 for that mic.

The jumpers are kinda smart since it lets the user hook up whatever
gear they have around (that also uses an 8-pic mic connector). I suppose
I could just hook up any ol' microphone and a switch.

The radio is the K2 without the K2/100 amp. Pretty much QRP (~10 - 15
Watts max).

--j