Trying to work K5D

I am not as active on the Radio as I should be.

I spend more time helping people with Hamtests.co.uk & hamradioforum.net than my own pursuits of that next elusive DXCC.

So have spent some time (and money) this week, trying to work K5D. But boy has it been tough.

To start with finding a place on the bands I can hear K5D. Usually I get static. The one time I can hear him he is working numbers. 5, 6, 7, 8 and that’s about an hour gone.

I also made a few purchases in case can try to work data as my setup wasn’t complete. From G4ZLP I ordered a Icom lead for my DigiMaster Comport, an Icom CI-V lead and a USB soundcard. All working great now, and good value at £31.47 ($45.50 approx) for the 3 items including delivery.

So hopefully with a few days left still of the K5D operation, I am still hopeful.

I also ordered (but not arrived) and CW key for my FT-817 & CW PC interface from BullDog iambic keys.

Finally sorted the blog out as an upgrade left the theme not working. Also my HRD (Ham Radio Deluxe) text thing stopped working.

This is now uploaded to my mini Linux server and the one file is served from there. It’s now proudly on display at the top of the page above the header image.

Ways to avoid debt

As I come to the end of over 7 years of paying back money on debts, I thought I would make a list of ways to avoid problems as a reminder for me and maybe others who read this.

  • Do Not use Credit Cards
    • Possibly get a pre-pay one
  • Do Not get Personal Loans without a goal
    • Buying a Car for example fine, but just to have money or to clear debt no.
  • Do Not have an overdraft
    • Especially, do not live in your overdraft
  • Do Not use check cashing services
    • The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) could be near 1,500% mark (not a typo)
  • Start a saving account, maybe an ISA
  • Pay for things with Cash
    • This is also a way to avoid problems with possible credit card fraud

I may add more items to this in the future, and please feel free to add your tips.

I want to avoid future debt.

Facts you should know

1. Money isn’t made out of paper; it’s made out of cotton.
2. The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottle represents the varieties of pickles the company once had.
3. Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks-other wise it will digest itself.
4. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
5. The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle.
6. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.
7. Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.
8. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why.
9. 40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
10. Every person has a unique tongue print.
11. The ‘spot’ on 7UP comes from its inventor who had red eyes. He was albino.
12. 315 entries in Webster’s 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
13. During the chariot scene in ‘Ben Hur’ a small red car can be seen in the distance.
14. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.
15. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
16. Chocolate affects a dog’s heart and nervous system; a few ounces will kill a small sized dog.
17. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
18. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark’s stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.
19. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.
20. Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.
21. Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.
22. American Airlines saved $40,000 in ’87 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
23. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.
24. Upper and lower case letters are named ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the ‘upper case’ letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, ‘lower case’ letters.
25. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
26. There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and silver.
27. The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan, there was never a recorded Wendy before.
28. Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.
29. If you pour a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
30. If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.
31. The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was a Captain Kirk mask painted white.
32. The phrase “rule of thumb” is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
33. The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.
34. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can’t sink in quicksand.
35. Celery has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It’s the same with apples.
36. Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.
37. The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
38. Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a space suit damages them. (sorta obvious)

(I make no statement that any of these are true)