The station is ready
Although my new antenna is still growing in the field down in Mississippi, the rest of my station is taking form. Yesterday I realized that certain cables were missing, so with a good night’s rest, I emptied my mail bag of assorted wires and connectors. Within minutes I had located a wallwart, a proper serial cable and some other odds and ends. Let the setup begin.
The TNC hasn’t been in use for about a decade, but when I found a computer in the house that still had a serial connector, started a terminal session and hit return a couple of times to trigger autobaud, all came back as it should. My callsign was still in memory, even if the clock had lost its time. Not bad for a little box that many denigrate as poorly designed and obsolete. I’m also poorly designed and… we won’t go there right now.
The desk that I’m putting into service now has a pair of powerbars mounted permanently underneath, and I found enough copper grounding straps to tie the various components together. Power supply, transceiver, antenna tuner; all at the same potential. This has to be a good thing. The other power supply is attached to the VHF portion of the station, and will remain apart.
I’ve got things set up almost the way I want. Unless I find a chair, most operating will be done in a kneeling position, which may lead the rest of the family to believe I now pray to the great god of DX. Not (quite) so. When (this is said knowing that snow may interfere at any moment) the new HF antenna is finally standing tall and straight, I will be ready to send out my CQ with authority.
