Just an update from the PA1JIM studio. I realize it is a bit quite on my blog lately. Not that there is nothing going on in the shack but I did not think it is post worthy. None the less I could put little things in one blog post.

Arduino CW keyer
I made some changes to the Arduino CW keyer, add a volume potentiometer to the speaker line and add a tx key line for the TS-590. Unfortunately the line seems closed and the rig is on tx all the time. Need to figure out what that problem is.

Mexican RTTY contest
First contest this year (for me)was a little one: the Mexican RTTY contest. I did not had a lot of time this weekend but I did manage to put some hours in. There were not a whole lot of participants, I only managed to make 50 Q’s. But it was great fun to do a RTTY-contest again. It reminded me I need to spend more time doing these.

Kenwood TL-922
This weekend is the most important contest for us Dutchies: PACC. Once every year we ‘100 watts and a wire’-HAM’s turn the tables and we will switch from Search & Pounce to Run and calling CQ.
If you are participating in a contest as calling station, you have other problems then when you are in S&P-modus. For instance: on a crowded band it is hard to hold a frequency, especially with only 100 watts. This year I borrowed a very beautiful classic linear amplifier from a good friend, a Kenwood TL-922. Before I can use it, I need to make a remote cable between my 590 and the amplifier.
Even if I got it up and running, I need to be very careful making too much RF. I’m in the middle of a residential area so there is a great change there will be RF interference. But none the less it is interesting to give it a try and see how it works. Will I be able to run my legal limit of 400 Watts without any problems?