Kenwood KES-4 speaker heading my way (used, via eBay). This is the one that has has the weird 9-pin square plug that's on the Kenwood TK-790 2 meter radio.

The TK-790 radio also has a weird mic plug (round with pogo pins). I was able to confirm that everything was working last week with a brief QSO, but I didn't have a speaker on the radio so I tuned in via my SDR in the attic.

Thanks to #W8TAM for programming this rig. An eventual goal is to use it for 2m digital modes.

#tk790 #kenwood

New to me, a Hermes-Lite 2 SDR. Thanks to #W8TAM for the loaner. I promised I would write up my findings.

First plan, set it up as a receiver under OpenWebRX+ following the discussion on the wiki at https://github.com/jketterl/openwebrx/wiki/HPSDR-(including-Hermes-Lite-2)-device-notes

There's a Pi 5 on its way as well, so maybe everything eventually lands on that. Until then I'll use my Pi 400 which already has OpenWebRX+ running.

First antenna for this (receive only!!!) is my Youloop.

Transmit follows later.

#hermeslite2 #sdr #hpsdr #openwebrxplus

#hamtalk

Q2. Where does one go after beginning level? How does one break into the other side of the hobby?

A2. I think it's different for everyone, but for me:

Find an "Elmer" (is that right? or "Elsie"?) who is helpful and patient and knowledgable and ideally has some spare radios to borrow from time to time. I have been lucky to have had help from @kb6nu #W8TAM #K5HDL locally.

Attach the hobby to something you like - my #SDR helped by listening to #baseball

cc @ingalls
cc @themadcodger