HamGadgets News

I know everyone is waiting for ID-O-Matic IIs, but not yet.  However, I do have UKA-2 boards available, assembled and tested.  Just pick that option (there’s a drop-down box at the bottom of the item page) when ordering.

Of course I also have PicoKeyer-Plus kits available assembled and tested.  Oh, and I fixed a problem with the comments so you can post comments again, sorry for the broken link.

Things have been crazy busy around here for a few weeks now. I’m trying to keep caught up on shipping orders, but to be honest I am frequently falling a couple of days behind – so if your order doesn’t ship immediately, I apologize in advance.

I will soon be shipping Rev B of the ID-O-Matic II. No big changes, just a couple of component values are different and a couple of minor PCB errors corrected. I’ve also started introducing pre-assembled kits, beginning with the PicoKeyer-Plus. I plan to add the UKA-2 and ID-O-Matic II in the near future.

And lastly, one of the reasons we’ve been so busy: Say hello to Burke Thomas Wissman, our first grandchild!  He was born this afternoon.  Mom and baby are doing fine, but everyone involved (including grandparents) are exhausted.  Now, I’m going to grab a quick nap and finish a couple of furniture refinishing projects so the nursery can be ready!

Ain't he cute?

Well, it was a very good trip to Dayton this year.  Our new booth location was much better than last year, and attendance (especially Saturday) was very good.  Our products were well received and we were happy to be able to meet and talk with so many new and existing customers.  All in all, we’re tired, worn out and in need of some good coffee but it was a good trip.

I should have PicoKeyer-Plus kits back in stock within a week or so at most, and I’ll be spending the next day or two catching up on the web orders that came in while we were away.  Happy hamming!

What a day!  I would have to say that after last year, the Hamvention is definitely looking healthier.  We’re certainly busier, due in part to a much better booth location.  And hams seem to be in a buying mood; conversations are more upbeat and attitudes are more positive.  All in all it feels like it’s a good sign for ham radio and the economy in general.

We sold out of PicoKeyer-Plus kits a little after lunch time today, but still have plenty of UKA-2 and ID-O-Matic II kits left.  We’ve got a few MasterKeyers that I hope to sell before we pack up tomorrow.

I’ve now met both the present and former owners of Vibroplex, as well as a few other people I had hoped to see here.  I still haven’t seen most of the Hamvention, though, and haven’t even been out to the flea market once during either trip!  Some day I’ll have to do that…

We’ll be leaving for Dayton the morning of 5/12 (Wednesday), so no orders will be shipped from 5/12 through at least 5/16.  I’ll start shipping again the 17th.

I will have the entire remaining stock of PicoKeyer-Plus kits with me in Dayton, and will probably sell out there.  It will be mid-June before I have more.   A new batch of circuit boards is on order, but I didn’t anticipate a recent bulk order and it looks like we’ll be out of stock for a few weeks after these are gone.  So, if you want a PK-Plus kit you should put your order in before 5/12.

We will be in booth 482 in Dayton, so if you plan to be there please stop by and see us.

Just some quick news regarding some of the kits…

• The PicoKeyer-Plus kit is in stock, doing well, and I anticipate carrying it for some time to come.  I may make a couple of PCB refinements to make assembly even easier.
• The ID-O-Matic is in stock, with plenty left.  I hope to have a minor firmware update available in the next couple of months.  No big feature changes, mostly just a couple of new functions for otherwise unused pins on the PIC.  There are a couple of indicators people have asked for to make it easier to implement links and repeaters in some EU countries.
• The jury is out on the USB interface kit.  Right now I’m running low on PCBs and will be making the decision soon whether to have another run made, or discontinue the kit.  Watch this news blog for updates as I get closer to the decision.  I’ll for sure sell the remainder of what I have here, as soon as I get a chance to mount the SMT parts.