[TenTec] It's amazing how much fun you can have when stuff just works

[Mike Newell]

I've had a really good time on the radio this weekend. I spent most of 
my operating time on six meters, working band openings. But I've also 
operated the HF bands, from 40 up through 10 meters.

The one thing that contributed the most to the fun is that stuff just 
worked. That's a simple concept, and sometimes it seems difficult to 
achieve.

I use the N4PY software to control the radio and the amplifier. It also 
talks to my logging program and the HDSDR software that I use to run the 
software defined receiver that provides the panadapter display for the 
Omni VII.

So think about the various pieces of software that have to work 
together, and the hardware connected to the computer that has to work 
together, and all of the cables, coax, switches, paddles, power 
supplies, microphones, digital interface boxes, and everything else that 
makes up our stations, and how we can have ground loops, RF in the 
audio, sound card and other problems, and it  sometimes seems amazing 
that it works at all.

Sometimes it's the simple things that give us satisfaction or a good 
experience, and for me, this weekend, it was because stuff just worked 
the way it was supposed to work, without problems. It was a good weekend.

73,

Mike - WB4HUC
http://wb4huc.home.texas.net