Just so you'all don't think this exercise is a lonely pursuit, I thought
I'd share one of the email messages that is typical of what goes on behind
the scenes in the Debugger Contest. I get (and I know Larry got, because
he forwarded them to me) lots of email from other contestants, previous
debugger Larry, and other knowledgeable people. All of it is extremely
helpful. It just points out how cooperative the people involved here are.
Even 'competitors' go out of their way to help another competitor.
With Larry's permission:
Hi Larry --
The farther I go, the more I appreciate all the work you did. There is
something unfair about it. If you only had a few more days....
>
> Ah yes... Forgot to make a note about that final mounting
> situation. There was a mica washer in there somewhere...
> When I test positioned the PA to see how it was going to fit,
> the mounting flange touched the back of the case when
> lined up with the case mounting hole!!!...The hole in the
> mica washer missed aligning with the case hole by between
> 1/16 and 1/8 th of an inch...
>
Yes, I understand.
> So as you can see, I hogged out the mounting hole in the
> box so that the mica washer alignment would keep the
> PA away from the rear of the case....
>
Saw that. It was clear that the designer/kitter didn't think this through
too well.
> The mounting kit was in a little plastic sack and had a
> mica washer, plastic or nylon shoulder washer, and a metal
> screw and nut....Don't see them around here..(but then again
> I can't find lots of stuff that I know I have some where here.. :-) )
>
Couldn't find it. Might have lost it in the packaging. Oops. Probably a
good thing, though. I have a roll of Kapton tape, used for the high-priced
insulators. It's only a few mils thick, but withstands 10KV. I've used it
for mounting transistors used in 1000 V circuits. That and nylon hardware
did the trick. The nice thing about the tape is that I could wrap it up
the back wall of the case, eliminating the interference problem with the
washer.
> The other thing that I thought was classic was the way
> the board was right up against the back of the case...
> and they said to run the wires under the board....:-)
>
Puzzled me thoroughly. Back of the case AND the sides are completely cut
off. I kept thinking, "Sounds good, but how?" I just routed stuff off the
top.
> Wonder what you use to strip the teflon wire?? My old
> 'use the dikes' technique really messes up stranded teflon
> covered wire....Need one of those fancy 'push pull click click'
> pro strippers I guess.....
I've got a pair (actually two pair) of those $.98 adjustable wire
strippers. Look like a pair of really cheap pliers with a triangular nick
ground in the center of the jaws. Just squeeze until you think you might
be hitting the wire in the middle and pull. One step up from 'use the
dikes'. Works just fine on the teflon.
>
> Continued good luck....make some QSOs... :-)
Thanks. Tried this AM for a few minutes, but the band was lousy. Will try
again this evening.
Thanks,
Mike K1MG
> Larry
>
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