The Field Day launcher batch did go out before FD and another is planned soon. Get on the notification list to be emailed when it happens.
We had a good Field Day and Pneumatic Antenna Launching was effective at getting our triband yagi and wire antennas up into the trees.
The current project is a Ham License Study Tool program. A friend is working on upgrading to extra class so I decided to see what I could do with Python and ChatGPT to help. It has been a whirlwind journey to make a program to efficiently focus study on the question pool. ChatGPT was very helpful in many respects but failed to be able to get the logic correct so at the end of the day some human logic and debugging was required to make it work properly. Then I expanded it to cover all three license classes so now we have a tool that can be helpful for anyone who wants to pass a US license test.
This is different from any program I’ve seen in that it focusses on the question pool and not a sample exam, and it contains explanations for every question and answers. It learns which questions you have mastered and concentrates on the questions you are having trouble with.
I’m going to give this software away for free a a contribution to the future of Ham Radio.
After returning from a cold and windy Quartzfest we are looking into the leaking launchers from the last manufacturing batch. So far we have found multiple problems including bad pressure safety valves and inadequate thread sealing. On this batch we tried following the manufacturer’s instructions on the sealant which indicates applying it only to the male threads. This technique is apparently not reliable and we are going back to what has worked for us in the past – applying sealant to the female threads (which is more time consuming). We have to work through each one and use immersion to find the multiple leaks and reseal them. If you are working on a leaky launcher take care to not get the pressure gauge dial wet as the gauge cardboard is not waterproof and will be stained.
We are expecting a Prusa Core One 3D printer very soon which will facilitate the use of higher quality materials requiring chamber temperature control during printing. We have already been moving to PETG for most launcher parts, this may allow even more durable and temperature resistant materials to be used. Most all of our launcher parts have been printed on Prusa MK3 and MK4 printers while a few have been printed on Vorons. The multiple printhead Prusa XL has been used for the two color struts whereas in the past a manual filament change was required.
Anyone wanting to be notified of our next batch of launchers should contact us via email and request to get on the notification list as the batches fill quickly so the ordering availability window may be brief.
Thanks to all for your patience as we get this late batch finished up.
I delayed my departure for Quartzfest to ship the remaining assembled launchers from the current batch which were nearing completion. Unfortunately they all failed pressure testing and it will require more time to remedy than I have now so it will be addressed after I return from the trip. It appears that the latest batch of pressure relief valves is leaking. I’ve never had such a high failure rate for pressure testing. The kits in this batch which were already sent out used safety valves from previous inventory which did not have the problem. The pressure relief valves can be disassembled and cleaned and we have some instructions for doing that online if you find a similar problem. Hopefully a cleaning will work here, otherwise they will all have to be re-ordered and replaced.
I hope to be at Quartzfest in a couple of days, it is a long drive. Hope to see you there!
My apologies for the lateness of this batch, it has stretched out longer than expected. We plan to start another batch later next month. They fill up fast so make sure you are on the notification email list. Drop me an email if you need to be added to the email list.
