eBuild-A-Thon and BBQ

Saturday while cheesentoast and hollyqueen were out gallivanting around the city I drove to outer Monroe to attend Eldon's (WA0UWH) eBuild-A-Thon and BBQ. I built the MintyBoost from Adafruit. I had a blast and the thing worked on the first try!

There was a bit of an adventure getting to chez WA0UWH. First, I knew about the construction on I-405, so I mapped a route that took me along back roads. Following the steps from Google Maps, I crest the hill and expect to see my destination. Instead I saw a quarry on the right and a horse ranch on the right and a whole lot of nothing in the valley. I drove around a bit and was about to give up when I remembered my phone had maps and luckily I had added WA0UWH to my address book. The map should have had me turn off a mile early and take a different road. Backtracking I followed the map on my phone which led me down this country road. The map showed the road continuing on, but there wasn't a road. Just a gravel drive that looked like an access road for some power line poles in the distance. As I sat there thinking about what to do someone drove out of the access road. He told me there were a few houses back along the "access" road. So me and Zero headed down the road and I found Eldon's place just as described in his directions. The lesson today? Know how to read a map. :)

There are so many projects I haven't done because I didn't have tools or space, but now I have access to both. The problem isn't finding a project, it's picking which one should be next. Laser harp? Near space launch? Radio? Antenna? I am leaning towards a projects I saw in QST for an automatic power switch for a radio in my car. When you turn off the ignition it powers the radio for a few minutes before turning off. This allows any communications in progress to complete before losing power but I won't drain the battery if I forget and turn off the radio. I should also talk to Eldon about drilling a hole in the trunk of my car to mount an antenna.

Project Queue

I mentioned projects I wanted to build in my last post. I thought I would make a list of the projects I have been planning so I can start to prioritize them and gather all my notes in one place. In no particular order they are:

• ARES Boom Box
• Battery Box
• FlashTracker
• Lancer8800 - Install Yaesu FT-8800R in the Mitsubishi Lancer
• QRSS Beacon
• Laser Harp
• Near Space Exploration
• Portable CW QRP Station
• ARES Go Kit
• Ignition Switch Power Controller