The Ham Shack

Since I got back into the Ham Radio last November, my wife said that I needed to partition off part of her building that we have for her coupon items.  The building is 12 ft X 40ft, my stuff will be in the front part.  I have most of the electrical run already,  still need to finish the insulation.   In one of the photos below, I started installing 1 X 6 tongue & groove pine for the walls.

Fly Tying

A year ago or so, I was at a Bass Pro Shop in Shreveport looking at bait.  I have always seen the fly section and in my mind, it was a special trade that I thought had to be taught.  I got to looking at some fly tying starter kits and I thought, for less than $100 I could get this and if I could make some jigs, maybe I wouldn't need need to buy any.  The reason for this weird thought:  An old man on the river gave me 3 jigs that he made and I always had good luck catching fish on them.  I purchased that kit and later I was talking to some guys that told me about an old man that had a fly shop in town.  I looked the address up and went to visit this shop.  The old man there was as nice as he could be, he spotted my Masonic necklace and instantly invited us in the back, made a fresh pot of coffee and showed me some basics of tying. I now enjoy tying my own stuff, now if I could just get the fish to jump on the hook, it would be all good.

The Kenwood Two Meter Radio

I recently purchased and received a Kenwood TM-281A two meter amateur mobile radio transceiver.  I was able to hook it up last time I was home and only used it long enough to participate in the weekly ARES net.  Now that I am home again and I have had some time to play with it, I have some thoughts on this radio:  This is a very nice rig with clear audio, fairly easy to use functions, and a very sensitive receive.

Over the years, I’ve owned two other major radio manufacturers for a 2 meter mobile radio: Icom and Yaesu.  This is my first Kenwood, I decided on it thanks to a friend who suggested Kenwood.  The Icom and the Yaesu both have their differences, but with every company  putting out great quality products, I guess it really comes down to features and capabilities. Also, a matter of what you like and feel comfortable with.  For example, my first new dual band radio was a Yaesu FT-8000R, I loved this radio until the transmit side went out on 2M.  I hooked it up the other day to power it up after 10 years sitting in a box, it just felt comfortable to use.

The Kenwood TM-281A 2M transceiver is a great little radio.  This radio is packed with features.  One thing about this radio that I knew when I purchased it was the fact that it only has 6 buttons on the unit itself, which means sub-menu's, and a lot of them.  Luckily, the instruction manual is detailed enough to figure out the radio.

The build quality is great and the front firing speaker is loud but clear.  I do like the heat sink is placed in the back and the bottom.  I have an Icom IC-2100H in my truck and it's heat sink is mainly on top, which does fill with dust.  The TM-261A radio only has 2 power output settings, 65W and 25W.  I thought that having a radio with low power of 25W was kind of strange, I don't think that I have run across another with such a high power setting for "low" power.  Talk on it for 10 minutes and I think I could light a fire cracker with it.

There were only a few things that I didn't care for on this radio:  the "low power" output of 25W, the sub-menu's which most all radios are going to, and the very sensitive receive of this radio.  Overall, I would recommend this radio to someone that is looking for an affordable radio to get started in Ham Radio.  I think once you have all of the frequencies programmed in, you would be set.  

The Close Shave

Trying something different with shaving.  Going old School:  A cup, brush, & a Parker 99R Safety Razor.  While in Kauai, I picked up some shaving soap, mainly because I liked the wooden bowl that it was in.  When I got home, I realized that I didn't have a bowl or a brush, so I had to locate a store that actually sold some.  I used the shaving soap and realized that it was the closest shave that I have had in a while.  I then went to the next level and got a safety razor.  Still a close shave but it takes some getting use to, the angle of the cut is much different than a Mach 3.  The good thing was it cost me $10 for 100 razors.