Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.

Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.

But (and you know there had to be a “but”!

After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.

I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.

I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.

I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.

The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.

So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.

The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.

.

Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.

73bob

Anyone who has been with me for awhile knows that every now and again “Murphy” of Murphy’s Law fame comes for a visit.

Things here have been going fairly well (Ham Radio wise) recently. I have been able to some contacts (mostly 20m SSB) during the daytime and also in the evenings (mostly 40m SSB) and considering the band conditions I think that’s pretty good.

But (and you know there had to be a “but”!

After making some evening 40m ssb contacts last night I shut off the power supply and left the shack. I came back to the shack and turned on the power supply and the radio would not turn on.

I did a quick check and the power supply now had an output of 4v dc. Not what I was expecting as before I shut it down it was steady at 13.5v dc which is normal for this unit.

I then took the cover off and could not smell the “magic smoke” and there was no visible issues on the board itself. No burn marks on the board, everything attached and no signs of any thing out of the ordinary.

I did have a backup PS so I’m still on the air with a 25 amp unit rather than the 30 amp unit that now is a paperweight.

The replacement from “The Toronto Toystore” will set me back around $220.00 after shipping/taxes, so it won’t break the bank and they have one in stock so “fingers crossed”.

So, this morning I look out into my backyard and notice the counterweight attached to the end of my “Stealthy Inverted L” is laying on the ground. A quick check found that the wire itself was intact but…. (yup but again) the wire had slipped off on of the branches that support the horizontal section of the wire. This does happen every now and again so…. 30 minutes later I’m back on the air.

The plan now is to see if the band comes to life (the numbers are looking good) and I can get (more than) a few contacts in the log.

.

Ending on a positive note I was able to contact VE3FI Bill as he activated POTA CA-2376 as part of his cross Canada tour. I guess the antenna is working after all that.

73bob

This post although started a few days ago seems to fit right in with my previous posting….

I got the following in an email from (as I call them) the “Toy store in Toronto”….

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Join us May 4th!

 
We are thrilled to announce that this year marks a significant milestone for Radioworld – our 25th anniversary! It’s been a remarkable journey, and we owe much of our success to loyal customers like you. To express our gratitude, we invite you to join us for our anniversary celebration.

Date: May 4th

Location: Radioworld – 4335 Steeles Ave. West

Throughout the day our pro staff will be on site to help answer questions and offer first-hand advice. We’ll also offer a special gift with in-store purchases (while supplies last, of course), just a little something to take home with you.

For lunch, we’ll fire up the barbeque for some hot dogs and serve a variety of refreshing beverages. It’s our way of saying thank you for being an integral part of our story.

We hope you can make it, as we look back on 25 years of memories and forward to many more to come.

Thank you once again for your continued support.

---

Now no doubt the email was not sent to my mailbox only, but to the Amateurs who are on their Client List and those who asked to be put on their “mailing list”.

I would also like to mention that they did not solicit this post and I will receive NOTHING in return for making it.

But, here is my reasoning…. Radioworld in Toronto and GPS Central in Western Canada (I believe they are owned by Radioworld) are the last of a rare breed. A storefront that sells most of the major lines of Amateur Radio Equipment in Canada.

Yes we can order gear from Amazoon or from one of the Major US Retailers (DXE or HRO) among others, but for me at least there is something nice about supporting a Canadian Business that has been supporting our hobby for over 25 years.

There is a bit of an enjoyable “Human Touch” to be able to call them up on the phone and make a contact with a sales person rather than just clicking a mouse.

Get everything confirmed and be told it will ship tonight/tomorrow depending on if I ordered before the shipments go out for the day.

Now every retailer has a few “horror stories” but I can say I have nothing to share about them. The worst was at one time the delivery service they were using at the time could not find my address and it got returned to sender. A quick email to me to confirm my address and it was re-shipped with a different delivery service and was in my hands the next day.

So Happy Anniversary Radioworld, with the hope for many more….

73bob