Hello. This is Walter, kd7dny. That’s my Amateur Radio call sign issued by the FCC here in the USA. I have my story to tell, as many people do of theirs. It has to start somewhere, so here it is, my blog. It’s focused on my interest in electronics and computers, with an emphasis on amateur radio, amateur satellites and software defined radio (SDR).
I love to create, design and build stuff. Every hear of the Maker Movement? Do you read Make: Magazine? I do! How about Nuts & Volts? QST Amateur Radio Magazine? The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and Maker scenes are where I’m at. If you’re not there, don’t be square, make it ’round and run with it! Or in other words, “Keep Moving Forward.”
How does that fit with Kenwood hybrid radios? To know where you are going you sometimes need an anchor from the past, a way point on your map, showing where you were (and what was current back then, a baseline). These classic radios are examples of fantastic, analog technology – part of the current-culture when I was a young man. Back then in college, I laughed at the idea of SDR, what could be done on an IBM PC running at 4.77 MHz? Moving forward, computing power has enabled SDR in a big way and is a technology to embrace, in my opinion. And satellites? When Sputnik was launched, it became a wake up call to this nation to step it up. Look at the space program and all the benefits that have derived from it! The Cubesat scene is blossoming right now. Ever think we would have a geostationary amateur radio satellite? Es’HailSat-2, a communication satellite, has done that. It provides two transponders for amateur use, launched in November 2018!
There is a convergence of radio, satellites and software. Will you be part of it? As Walt said, “…keep moving forward…” See you there!
Navigating This Website
There are two major themes to this website. The first is the blogging aspect where I “tell my story” (about various things related to hybrid radios or other aspects of my amateur radio life). Most of the right-hand column is for navigating through those pages.
The second theme is the shopping aspect of what I offer for sale (or data to download). That is on the ‘Shop’ page. Look at the navigation bar along the top edge of the page or use the ‘PAGES’ widget in the right-hand column to find a link to the desired page whether it be for blogging or shopping.
Need parts for your Kenwood Hybrid radio? Look at the ‘Kenwood Hybrids‘ page to start with or go directly to the ‘Shop‘ page.
My email address is shown on the ‘Contact‘ page and here on my business card:
