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The weekend of Aug 29/30 is the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw. The Sauk Co. ARES/RACES group is going to be holding a fundraiser selling soda and possibly other condiments. I’m planning to attend and I think you should too! If you want to help out, contact Rick N9ROY, otherwise stop by.

If someone wants to rent a cow suit/costume, I’ll totally wear it. Bonus points if it has utters that squirt stuff. Seriously, I’ll bet you a dollar that I’ll do it!

I’ve owned RS HTX-202/404’s, Yaesu’s VX-5r, 6r, 7r, and now a Kenwood TH-D7A(G). The RX and TX performance exceeds the VX-7R in my experience. Maybe it was the radio, or maybe it was the antennas, but regardless.

Pros: Built in TNC is awesome and terribly convenient. Easy menu navigation and neatly organized. Nice big screen, and buttons are easy to navigate, especially with APRS functions.

Cons: Dual band/memories is rather odd.. I can store memories memories per band, but it won’t automatically switch between bands in case I wanted to scan all memory channels. Built in APRS software is limited for receiving messages and sending. Still works excellent for APRS broadcasts. No spectrum analyzer, something I sorely miss from my Yaesu radios.

Overall: The power levels are odd, 50mW, 500mW, and 5W, those are interesting jumps in RF output. I simply cannot argue with performance or built in TNC. I have the 9.6v 1700mAh battery and I get awesome performance, more so than my VX-7R.

In the end, I really wish I had purchased this radio instead of my VX-7R when I was shopping at AES. But I got it anyway and LOVE it. I couldn’t imagine myself without it. I give this a 5 out of 5.

I’ve owned a TT3 for some time now and I can’t say I hate it. It does what it needs to do automatically. I have it hooked up to a HTX-202 and the gps output of my GPSMAP60.

Pros: With the flip of a switch, it’s ready to rock without user intervention. The flash based programming utilitiy is rather straight forward to use and it has a numbre of nice features. You can set a static beacon rate or a dynamic beacon rate. I figured out a 1 minute becon with a 1 watt transmitter can drain my battery when I’m not driving. Even though I don’t make use of it, the gps output of the TT3 features a 5v output. This can come in handy with some units such as the DeLorme Tripmate (after modifications). I also can’t complain about the support. Usually within a day I get the technical advice I need.

Cons: There is no emergency beacon mode. A push-button emergency mode would be a nifty feature to have. Having to remove the TT3 and bring it to a computer for reprogramming can be troublesome and annoying, especially when fine tuning.

Overall, I’m rather happy with the unit. It takes my position and sends it to my radio for broadcasting. I really couldn’t ask for much more. I give this a 4 out of 5.

Grounding an antenna installation is quite important. Especially when it’s mobile. My first attempt at permi-mounting an nmo based antenna wasn’t the best due to a dodgy grounding system. I went and modified the original design. What you see is the silicone sealant on the outside to keep water out and the bottom of the mount.

What you may not see is that the bottom is elaborate. I first polished the roof of the truck to remove any pant or anything else that could prevent grounding contact. I have a small washer with “teeth” that gets up and close with the roof. For added support and grounding contact, I polished off a steel washer and put that under the previous washer along with some corrosion protector/contact cleaner for a little extra electrical contact. I then have a nut to hold it all together with a tight pressure fit with the roof of the truck. I laced the top of the truck around the antenna mount with a generous helping of silicone sealant. Less would be just fine, and you could smooth it out to make it look more appealing, but I like the Red Green (old tv series) or indistrual look. If my truck ever goes under water, the antenna will be the last thing to leak

My first attempt at this yielded a lot of static from a poorly designed ground system. This time I went all out and couldn’t be happier. I get a Q-5 from a HUGE radius on only 5 watts. Remember that grounding your antenna is important, especially with a mobile setup.

After the neighborhood was vandalized and my truck fell victum to some punks, I decided to permi-mount my high gain dual band antenna.

During the vandalism, the punks tried to remove my broadcast fm antenna; tried to rip off my rear windshield wiper assembly (its lose and needs to be re-mounted inside the hatch); they successfully removed and stole my remote start antenna; and they removed my high gain dual band antenna. Thankfully the antenna was ungodly large and they decided to just leave it lay behind my vehicle. It did sustain some damage, I think the kids decided to sword fight with it, but they still left it. Phew.

I got a base nmo mount and broke out the drill to make more holes. I had to scrape out the silicone sealant that I used to fill the existing hole before I widened it for the nmo mount… I don’t think I have a very good ground because my signal to Madison is rather scratchy from where I’m at. I also need to solder the pl-259 at the end of the coax. And before I forget, I need to return the SWR after those kids messed with the antenna.

I’m thinking of using some steel braid and making a trounding screw in one of the other silicone filled holes. A bolt, large washers, steel braid and solder.. Mmm…

Speaking of holes, my new lightbar required ALOT of holes. The mounts were rusted to hell so I ended up screwing the side mounts to the chassis and the pair of 8 gauge wire wouldn’t pinch in the door. That required a hefty hole and plenty of silicone sealant. If anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday… A cauking gun and tubes of silicone. LoL but seriously.

What’s funny is that in downtown (and even the ghetto of) Madison, I never had trouble with anyone messing with my truck. I had to move to a town with 5 people in it in order to get vandalized. Ironic I think.

After much thought, I’ve decided to take a different approach to my website. I hope you like it. If not, well I really don’t care. This will contain updates and information related to myself and the activities I participate in and projects. There isn’t much now, but give it time.