Thursday 19 June 2014

Hamcom 2014


June brings the annual Hamcom hamfest to Dallas, which, as always clashed with the ARRL June VHF contest.

As in the last four years I volunteered to help man the Elecraft Booth, this year with Eric WA6HHQ and wife Lerma. Their plane got diverted from DFW to AUS as DFW closed for an hour due to bad weather so we didn't start setting up till 5pm Wednesday. 

The trade show exhibitors this year started earlier at 0800 and officially closed at 1800, making a long day. The new item this year was the PX3 Panadaptor for the KX3.
 The K3/0 mini was also in evidence, this time using the software from remotehams.com, to control a K3/KAT500/KPA500 in California. It was great fun on the Saturday afternoon listening to the 6m activity in California during the VHF contest.
 The outside flea market was not too exciting. The most interesting item was a Layafette tube tester without model number which I bought for $15, I was told that Lafayette often rebadged other companies products.
 I also got some tube bases, some tubes for my BBC studio-E receiver and a multiband whip for the 2m module

I did get to meet John Langridge. KB5NJD who also operates on LF as WG2XIQ and compare notes from WH2XES. Unfortunately I could not get to his talk on reusing "normal" HF antennas on 477kHz.

UPDATE: The Lafayette tube tester is a Accurate Instruments model 157 in disguise

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