First coat is on

I applied the first coat of yellow Rustoleum to the AA0ZZ Keyer housing tonight. It was a bit rainy outside; so I cheated by applying a coat in the basement, using an old pizza box as a spraying platform. I really should have waited until tomorrow morning to do this outdoors; but the weather looks questionable for the weekend; and I wanted to get a start.

I have a feeling that about three coats will be required for a nice smooth finish. I also got confirmation by e-mail that my decal paper is on the way. I am going to have to start playing around with decal designs. The OpenOffice suite offers a drawing program; so I will most likely use that.

Next on the lineup is the NE QRP SCAF filter. I've had this for a while; and really had no use for it, as both the K1 and K2 have excellent on board filtering capabilities. But I think this will prove to be an invaluable accessory for the PFR3A. I'm glad that I purchased it back when, even though I didn't have the need at the time. It may end up being a most fortuitous purchase.

I see on John AE5X's blog that Elecraft may be finally rolling out their 500 Watt amplifier soon. Not that I would be a customer; but this was rumored to be happening years ago. And I think they even rolled out a mock up or prototype one or two years ago at Dayton. It looks like Elecraft is seriously "diversifying" into the QRO market. I hope they never forget their QRP roots!

Next weekend is QRPTTF. I am hoping for good weather. I want to operate from the same park as last year - only this time closer to the fountain that was built via the WPA projects during the Great Depression. This time I also want to get some photos to post.

This coming Sunday night is the monthly Run For the Bacon Sprint, sponsored by the Flying Pigs. I hope to use that as a "shake down" run for PFR3A - to get a little more accustomed to being behind the wheel and getting a better feel for how to use this rig under Sprint conditions.

72 de Larry W2LJ