WB0SMX

  IC-2720 Installation in 2012 Ram-1500 Filed in IC-2720 on Jan.02, 2022 I was reviewing my photos folder today, and ran across this project from 2016 that I never made a blog post on. Here is a brief overview of that installation. I’m not providing many details, as this was done several years ago, and I can’t remember many of them. Maybe it will be useful for others with this vintage of Dodge Ram pickups. I had been using magnetic mount antennas on my 2012 Dodge Ram pickup since the time I had bought it new. I was concerned with running RF coax near any airbags that might be in the side panels of the truck. It had some badges on the side panels indicating there might be some. After owning the truck for four years, I decided to take a chance on making my antenna connections more permanent. I started by removing the dome light from the roof. I don’t remember now if I had to remove screws or not to do this.   Remove Dome Light I used a Unibi...

  HW-8 Bargain Filed in Vintage Radio on Feb.13, 2019 I was up early on a Sunday morning last month, and saw a notice that a Heathkit HW-8 had been posted to Facebook late in the prior evening.  He wasn’t asking much for it, so I decided to shoot him a note and see if it was still available.  The owner wrote back, and I agreed to come look at it.   Heathkit HW-8 bargain The owner stated that it was working when he last used it, but I really wasn’t concerned at the price he was offering it for.  I snapped up the deal, which included the power cord and owner’s manual.  So now I have another project on the shelf, waiting for another round-to-it.   HW-8 front panel I was never very enamored with the Heathkit QRP rigs, but I know the HW-8 is probably the most modified rig out there, and am curious to see how it works.

  TS-430 Control Board: IC-1 Waveforms Filed in TS-430 on Dec.12, 2018 IC-1 is the main processor chip on the Control Board of the TS-430.  It is a uPD8049c.  This 40 pin chip runs at 5.74 Mhz, and interfaces with virtually every control integrated circuit (IC-2 through IC-6) on the board.  You can see that it is central to the radio’s operation.   8049c Pinout   Digital Control System   IC-1 Functions   Pin 1: Data Selector Input – Receives button/switch status from IC-4 and IC-5.     Pin 1: T0 Pins 2 & 3: Clock input – 5.74 MHz crystal oscillator   Pin 2: XTAL 1   Pin 3: XTAL 2 Pin 4: RESET   RESET (Low to reset)   Pin 5 – Single Step – enables single stepping through program. Not used. Tied High.     Pin 5: SS   Pin 6: INT – Interrupt Pin. Makes processor jump to a display update routine periodically, then return.   Pin 6: Interrupt   Pin 7: EA – External Access – Not Used. Tie...