Happy New Year! I hope 2011 was a good year for all of you, and I hope that 2012 will be even better. I want to thank every one of you for helping to make the past few years very interesting and enjoyable.
Looking back on 2011, it was a pretty good year for HamGadgets. The UKA-2 kit was retired and replaced by the UKA-3, which people seem to like. I was able to start offering custom cases for the PicoKeyer-Plus and UKA-2, thanks to the addition of a CNC machine to the workshop. There were a couple of firmware updates to the MK-1 and ID-O-Matic II, which continues to be a very popular kit. If there was a low point to the year, it would have to have been Dayton — but we’ll just leave that alone for now.
2012 will see some changes as well. I’m working on a couple of new projects that you will see announced as they get closer to being ready to offer as kits or assembled products. There will also be updates to some existing kits. The PK-RM chip is about to get a major overhaul, its first in several years, to being it up to date and more in line with the PicoKeyer-Plus’ features. I’ve been working on a new repeater controller for a while now, and I’m hoping to be able to offer that later in the year. It is my intent to offer a ready-to-go cabinet for every new kit added to the lineup — most people seem to like having that option.
And speaking of assembled products… I know that some folks really enjoy kit building, while others would prefer not to have to heat up the soldering iron. I simply do not have the time to assemble kits, except in very rare cases. But there is hope for those of you who don’t like soldering or no longer are able to. I do have a very small number of PK-Plus kits assembled and in the cases, and will list those on the web site in a few days. For ID-O-Matic II kits, there are two sources from whom you can buy completely assembled and tested boards. One is Radio Dan (www.radiodan.com); the other is W5TXR Labs (www.w5txrlabs.com).
We’ll be out of town for a week or so beginning the 14th of January. As usual you can place your orders at any time, and we’ll get them shipped as soon as possible when we return from our trip.
Again, I’d like to thank all of the people who helped to make 2011 a good year, and I hope I can continue to provide the kits and products you like for years to come. And remember — if you like your kit or your MK-1, please take a few minutes to let others know. If you don’t think it deserves a 5/5 rating, then please tell me and let me see if we can fix that. If you do think it’s better than sliced bread and Mom’s apple pie, a positive product review on the EHAM web site (www.eham.net/reviews) will reach a lot of hams — and it really helps me out as well, of course.
Thanks again and have a GREAT 2012!
73 de Dale, N0XAS
