The smell of hot soldering irons wafted through the corridors of Oswego High School on Saturday the 12th of January as twenty FRRL club members participated in a digital workshop. Denny, W9HI, a teacher at OHS graciously offered the electronics lab to host the workshop. Mike, K9FE organized the event which was a follow up to his earlier seminar on sound card digital modes held at the Prisco Center.

Several club members who attended showed their support for the event by assisting those who assembled a Buxcomm Rascal interface kit. Denny started the workshop by reviewing soldering basics and safety. Using a television camera system, he was able to demonstrate correct soldering techniques. The electronics lab provided several work stations where soldering irons and small hand tools were available. Many of the club members had not assembled a kit before, so the experience proved to be quite rewarding.

The Rascal kit includes several electronic parts, a pc board, interface cables and an enclosure. A disk of digital mode software programs was also included. Each part was inserted into the pc board and properly soldered. Audio and computer cables were prepared and also attached to the interface board.

As each of the kits were assembled, a final inspection was completed and then tested. John AG9D demonstrated how the interface was used with various software programs. He inserted each of the completed units inline between the OHS Icom 746 and a Windows XP computer system. Several digital contacts, mostly PSK31, were made which provided the highlight of the event.

The FRRL continues to promote and encourage its members to try new operating modes. A Wednesday evening digital net is being held at 7:30 on 10 meters, 28.125 to give those who wish to test their digital mode capabilities. John AG9D is the net control for the Wednesday evening net.