Friday, July 21, 2006
Latest addition to the shack
Well I have added another scanner to the collection. I have been watching the swap groups and web portals that have classified sections for some time now thinking about getting another Uniden BC-780XLT. They seem to be at a premium value though for some reason owners not wanting to part with them.One popped up on a mailing list the other day at a VERY REASONABLE price and I jumped on it. It was one of those items that sounded almost too good to be true. Having a little faith though I sent off a cashiers check for the amount requested and the radio arrived yesterday priority mail professionally packed and in like brand new condition. The only thing not contained in the package was the the mobile mounting bracket which the owner said he had accidentally discarded with the original box. That was offset by the fact that included was the latest version of Butel's excellent ARC780 software. Overall I'm very pleased with my find.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
“Ham” & eggs for breakfast
I guess it is the same with all hobbies and activities but it just seems more prevalent to me in amateur radio. Any get together always seems to involve food! Now I could be overly sensitive to this phenomenon being one of those Americans that is over weight and fighting the battle of the bulge with an every increasing fervor. Be that as it may, there are a number of local groups and individual hams that gather on a regular basis to share a meal and converse about our favorite hobby.
Once such group meets each Saturday morning, usually between 07:00 and 07:30 local time, at theEat'N'Park restaurant in Monroeville at the intersection of Stroshein Road and Monroeville Boulevard. My lovely room mate Linda was attending a scrapbook and rubber stamp convention this Saturday morning so after I dropped her off at the Expo Mart I decided to see who had gathered not far from there for breakfast. I was a little late due to following Linda's schedule and not mine but fortunately so was Jerry, K3FKI, who I linked up with on the 146.730 repeater. I managed to meet Jerry at the door where we joined Carl, K3KWH, and Ed, N3YNC, for some food and good conversation. Most of the talk was of course about ham radio but we also delved into solving some of the other problems in the world this weekend. I had a good time and this is not the first time I have joined this group for breakfast and I'm sure it won't be the last. If you would like to join in some Saturday morning just stop out and introduce yourself to the group. They are a great bunch of guys.
