Saturday, December 31, 2011

   Hey Folks (All two of you!),

Looks like 2012 is just a few hours away.  I haven't uploaded anything lately, but I have a few things to share.  I just bought a 2012 Subaru STi Hatchback, what a fun car to drive!  I've already installed a Kartboy (www.kartboy.com) Short-Shifter and bushings as well as a new shift knob custom made for me by WCLathewerks (www.lathewerks.com).  I don't think I need to do anything performance related for a while as I have about 100 more horsepower than my last car, which seems to be plenty for me right now.  I currently have about 800 miles on the odometer, 200 more to go until the official break-in period is over. I am currently researching some options for noise abatement, as the car was built for speed and not so much for comfort.  Don at www.sounddeadenershowdown.com has been very helpful and I will probably order a few things from there soon.  I've also ordered a few interior items from www.superbrightleds.com as well as www.v-leds.com.  Once I receive the items and install them, I will take pictures and let you know how I like them.





   On the ham radio front I have been enjoying that hobby a little.  During our holiday trip I had the FT-857D in the Outback along with my HiQ antenna and made a few contacts.  When you are mobile and trying to make HF contacts you really have to be patient as the signals really vary (obviously) throughout the trip.  I got a little present from Cristine, a Digimater Pro + (http://www.g4zlp.co.uk/unified/DM_PRO_PLUS_complete.shtml) to hook up to the radio.  This basically allows me to explore the digital modes of operation on my radio.  There are a ton of different modes to use; Pactor, PSK31, RTTY to name a few.  Anyway, I've got this neat little box to play with!


   That's about it for now.  I will try to add more to the blog soon!  Thanks (or sorry) for reading...

Friday, January 14, 2011

A New Year!

It's been a little while since I've posted, the holidays were hectic as was getting back to work.
FYI, the SHOT Show is going to be next week and there should be plenty of neat gadgets to
check out.  If there is anything of interest, I will be sure to post about them.  Until then...