My brief history and a new Kent Twin Paddle

    I am a Ham Radio operator in Eugene, OR. My interest in radio started in the day as a licensed CB user(KBPN-1418) and I went by 'Little John' (Paul means little and my middle name means John).  I was discouraged by the language and lack of courtesy though and wished for an alternative.  Ham radio was the ticket, although it was several years till I got around to studying for a license.  I was first licensed as KB7VIQ on June 6, 1993.  My Brother Cecil (KB7ZXH) and a group of Friends had a repeater for years but due to inactivity we took it down.  On March 14th 2007 my wife became KD7PJW and I (became K7VIQ) as we both  took and passed the General exam together.

 

   In 2019 we purchased an Icom 7300, LMR-440 coax, and an isotron antenna but have not gotten them to work(as of Oct 2020).  A good friend of mine encouraged me to study to pass the Extra on March 4, 2019.

  I joined LICW Club as member #266 on Dec 14, 2019 and re-upped to lifetime membership on Nov. 12, 2020.

  I had a MFJ straight key from childhood a brass Western Electric/ATT straight key and a couple plastic paddles(2019), and then bought a Chrome Bencher 2(2020),  

   From late 2019 I wanted to buy the Kent Double Paddle TP1-B kit but did not want to pay this much for a key when I was still learning code and had others I could use.  But the Kent key has always been a goal key for me. When I recently looked at it again, I found out the kit itself is no longer available directly from Kent and was at the time only available at WinMo, but with very high shipping rates. However all the parts individually can still be ordered from Kent with very reasonable shipping. 

    I could take it no longer.  I bought only the parts I needed to assemble a custom key for me.  Most notably, I did not purchase the black plastic paddles, but I already had the BamaTech burgundy anodized paddles sitting and waiting from its purchase in 2019 to add some color to the brass with two bright cherries that I had been hoping to mount to my future little reward.  It took 28 days from 28 Mar 2023 to receive them but I received and assembled on April 22, but had to order a 1/8 phono plug as I found I did not have one to finish the key and finally received it on May 1, 2023.  

   I still struggle when I practice, but now I have even more motivation to continue learning code, and it feels nice.

  My other keys are a MFJ straight, 2 plastic paddles, a Western Union/ATT Straight and a Bencher BY-2.  The collection has begun.  

    73, Paul

Experimenting with our Pi-2 and DMR Ham Radio

   To try somthing new and to use tech from our RC car we made we decided to add a MMDVM "hat" board to out PI 2.(Nicked as a 'hat' as it mounts on top of the Pi boards)  A MMDVM(Multi-Mode Digital Voice Modem) works with several ham digital modes to make a hot-spot.  A hot-spot is a link from a DMR radio to the internet that is linked to a worldwide ham radio DMR network.  It is thus possible with DMR to talk to other Ham operators around the world while both being on a mere handheld radio.  The mode we are interested in is DMR(Digital Mode Radio).   It is the least expensive mode to get into as its technology is well established for commercial radio communications.  Even so we will not be getting a DMR radio to use right away and will wait for a used or bargain model.

   Towards this effort we plan to add the MMDVM and a 2.4" Nextion resistive touch screen($16.40) to show freq, mode, power and tx/rx to our existing Pi 2.  We purchased a clear shell for our RC car and plan to try to mount the screen under its wind screen, thus using the RC car as a base for our hot-spot.

   Right now the plan is to make the hot-spot togather as a useful electronic project.  At a later point we will get a used DMR radio, yea we can get a new Baofeng for $49 but a used TYT MD-380(new $82) or similar model would be a better radio.  Patience gets the best deals, and we're still building the hotspot so are in no hurry.  Even more patience and saving an extra $30 would get us a new and better radio than the Baofeng.

   April 23, 2019 😕 I just saw a used TYT MD-380 for $69 on Ebay without the antenna or battery,  that could only sell to someone who already has an extra battery and antenna as the cost of buying battery and antenna would cost more than a new radio.  Personally we like most, would rather buy a new one for $13 more rather than a used one and missing parts. 😕

  The reason we need to use a hot spot is that in Eugene there is perhaps only one DMR repeater(kc7rjk) although I have not got a response from the owner.  DMR repeaters are usefully hooked up to regional or national networks(ie. PNW and Oregon DMR fb group) and thus limits communications of peer to peer or specific groups of people(called rooms) you may with to talk to (for 10 minute spans).  I have made Friends with a DMR group from Germany I would like to talk to without having to be at the mercy of the common networks.  So far we have only messaged members on Skype and talked via a phone PTT app and one phone call with a member.

   Update May 9, 2019  All done and seem to work and says Idle as expected, but  I would have thought the IP-Address would get past "Logging onto network and  "Initializing  wait" would change to the current IP address.  The real test is if we ever get a radio, but it was fum making somthing useful of the old car project anyway.

Here area few pics:

Old Pi-2 powered RC car with a new clear shell as a dust cover will
 house and show the 2.4 Nextion screen of the DMR MMDVR hotspot.
"Calling car K7VIQ...." 

DMR mode screen that I like and would like to see frequently.
Screen created by G0FEA

Idle mode. We will see a lot of this screen
 until we actually get a DMR radio.
Screen created and shared with other hams by G0FEA

Nextion screen with MMDVM hat board and
70cm antenna mounts to a Pi board.

Antenna MMDVM hat board and 70cm antenna

Kathy holding our previous car project,
the foundation for its new life.

The 1/18 scale shell we hope to use with our car for dust protection
and for the project to seem a bit more finished.

Not our car but the same shell painted to show detail.

GMRS Radio

  We have not been active with our ham radio hobby for years as we ran out of all but a couple locals to talk to and we could not afford all the equipment it takes to be on the HF bands that the Brothers use.  I did however just renew my HAM license that comes due soon.

GMRS - WQYS231

Whisky Quebec Yankee Sierra Two Three One

     Meanwhile, while I was renewing my HAM license that is coming due at the FCC site so I don't loose my HAM call,  I signed up for a General Mobile Radio Service license for the family.  I know it is not HAM radio, but the whole family can operate under one GMRS call with no skill learning required from non-HAM family members.  For 5 family members it comes to $14 for each of us.  While not HAM radio, GMRS is still useful in emergencies and perhaps for us, more so, as well as useful for our family's general mobile radio usage.  For Kathy and I, we are looking at getting a TALKABOUT T465 at a very excellent deal.  Paul, Kathy and Cecil and Earl already have FRS radios but there range is very limited.  These can be can be loaners to others I guess.  There have also been others in the congregation that have talked about using GMRS in emergency situations.  We look forward to having others to talk on radios again.

   I also updated our Ham Radio Page at our Family Web Site to include our new family GMRS call.