I started to get ready for the morse code class which is going to be taught using Skype. I installed a ⅛” audio jack on the keyer so I can feed the output into a two channel mixer. The second audio input is a microphone so I can talk. The mixer is USB connected to the computer and the audio input is set to USB. I’ll need to test the set-up as the class begins around the beginning of April. This is the same setup that I used to record the session at the Internet2 meeting last October. The question is how well it works with that wonderful Microsoft product, Skype.
its always good to keep the mind occupied, when I get bored I start getting "ideas", which usually cost me money and don't go very far or as expected. :)
ReplyDeleteThose “ideas” could be dangerous. Learning morse code is supposed to be one of those activities that exercise your mind. I can use all the exercise I can find...
DeleteLet's hope that tomorrow we will see spring flowers and at least 40 degrees!
ReplyDeletePoking up through the snow?
DeleteDamn, that is cold. You need to visit family. It was 70˚ here yesterday afternoon. Of course it is raining today, but a far cry from 2˚.
ReplyDeleteWe are visiting family. Though not where it's 70°!
DeleteNice!! It will be spring before you know it! I like the sounds of the Morse setup. Do you already have your HAM license? This is the next step up?
ReplyDeleteI'm betting that the truck and trailer are going to have some interesting gadgets by the end of winter. :)
Optimist on spring!
DeleteYes, I already have my license. Advanced Extra class, so no more upgrades. Call sign AL6T. As there is no morse code requirement, I'm interested in learning. When it was a requirement, it was a barrier to taking the test. I was thinking that ham radio may be something to do while traveling.
KF6RLG was my ham handle when I was off sailing. Never sued Morse Code and it is all forgotten. All I can say is I love GPS and Satellite phones because if I go out of cell range thats my technology of choice, not an amateur radio. I found I never had anything much to say to someone in Palau or Argentina.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that these days of sat and mobile phones have relegated amateur radio to just a past time. I hear that the marine nets still get quite a bit of traffic since it's free and adds a bit of socialization. And sat phones are still expensive to use.
DeleteAs Dom suggested, keeping the mind occupied is a good thing. Since I've retired last July I'm trying to keep my brain engaged. Am finishing up one of the classes not from MasterClass.com. A writing course. Great online experience.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was a kid that my uncle was a ham radio operator and for a short time I was obsessed with getting my own shortwave setup. Poured through the Allied Electronics catalogs looking at setups and hoping my parents would buy me one. But it went the way of minibikes, bb guns and go karts....
That sounds familiar. What convinced me to go ahead and get my license was the elimination of the morse code test, free testing in Fairbanks (no longer free now), and the sale of dirt cheap dual band (2m 7cm) radios from China. After that, I started to look into morse code.
DeleteThe spring switch to DST is brutal, but once acclimated, I sure do enjoy the longer light in the evening.
ReplyDelete