WOOO - I am taken

Well, I have been for quite some time now, but my pic was recently taken.

Here I am logging contacts for Field Day as WBØWSE works 15- and 20-meters.

Again, thanks all for the fun during Field Day.  I am looking forward to next year.

OH NO!

Everything was shaping up to be a great week and weekend.  The wife and I were planning on going up to Durango, IA with some friends to watch fireworks on the 2nd and then our annual trek to Bellevue on the 4th to watch some more.

I noticed on 6/27 that when the volume on my rig was turned up above 50%, I got a strange hum with sound.  This I attributed to the speaker being old and possibly torn.  As the week progressed, it got worse and soon became if the volume was turned up above 25% I would get the hum.

Friday fireworks were awesome and the food was great.  Saturday, I cleaned up the truck and installed a speaker inside the headliner, above the driver seat.  I ran a few other cables for future (web cam USB cable to inside rear view mirror for storm chasing and USB within the dash for my GPS dongle), buttoned up the cab of the truck and powered up the 2m...

No light, no display, no sound.  What did I do?  Retraced my steps and still nothing, so took out the multimeter, found voltage at the radio and decided that it was within the radio.  Back to W0SAT to have him look at the radio.

On Sunday, I met up with W0SAT and we benched the radio.  Me with my laptop loaded with the service manual and Jerry with his multimeter and we traced down a transistor that was bad.  Because of how late in the day it was and obligations with our respective spouses, it was decided that Jerry would replace the transistor later that evening or the next day and I would then get it back in the truck on Monday.

Reinstalled, the radio seems to be working great.  The speaker placement within the headliner does need a little adjustment to it's location, but works for the most part.  I am still looking for a more permanent install point for the radio, but for now it works where it is, so that is where it will ride.  At least until I get my multibander and figure the location to install it.

Anyone want to donate an IComm IC-7000 for a long-term ride in my truck?  :)