Update: I now have a Rascal PSK interface for my Yaesu FT-817 rig too.
N9PUZ
Tim McDonough, Springfield, Illinois, USA
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My main HF rig is a Icom IC-718. The IC-718 is a basic 100 Watt transceiver. It's a great rig for the money and I've improved mine even more by adding the dual Collins mechanical filter modification from W4RT Electronics. The dual filter modification replaces the stock Murata ceramic IF filter with a heavy duty Collins mechanical SSB filter. Then, it adds a Collins 500 Hz filter for vastly improved CW operation. |
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Presently my backup station HF rig is a Kenwood TS-50S. I'm pleased with the smooth QSK for CW operation and I consistently get good signal and audio reports during SSB operation. The TS-50S is still sold by Kenwood and used examples in good condition turn up regularly. My experience is the TS-50 may not have all the features you'd like but it's reliable and although not light it's a nice small package to take out for temporary operations. |
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My CW is steadily improving since I discovered that I really want to use it. I found that switching from one set of paddles to another for home or portable operation was making things harder for me so I've settled on a really nice set of portable paddles from Doug Hauff at American Morse. They are reasonably priced, have a nice feel to them and are quite rugged. |
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I also operate a fair amount of PSK-31 on HF (and soon VHF.) When I decided to try
out the digital modes my junk box was a little sparse so I opted for the
Bux CommCo Rascal. I normally run the
DigiPan PSK-31 software but have also experimented with a few of the others. As
for the Rascal? Well, I plugged it in and it worked FB so I've never really messed with
it. It's one of the few gadgets I own that I haven't disassembled to see what's inside. Update: I now have a Rascal PSK interface for my Yaesu FT-817 rig too. |
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Antennas are a main stay of any ham radio station. I have two for HF operation. One is an inverted V cut for 80 Meter operation and the other is an all-band GAP Titan DX. The Titan has been up two years now and is a great DX performer. |