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FIBERGLASS REINFORCED FILLED NYLON PROVIDING STRENGTH TO THE
COMPONENTS.  THE MAST IS OVAL SHAPED, WHICH PREVENTS IT FROM
TWISTING.  THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SYSTEM IS THAT IT WEIGHS ONLY 14R8
POUNDS FOR THE 23 FOOT MODEL, WHICH COLLAPSES DOWN TO 4 FEET.  IT
FITS INTO THE SPORTUBE OR IN ITS CARRY BAG.  IT ALSO HAS A HAND
CRANK, WHICH IS UNIQUE, BECAUSE IT ALLOWS ROTATION OF THE MAST.  A
BUILT IN BUBBLE LEVEL ENSURES A PROPER SETUP.  INCLUDED IN THE HIGH
QUALITY CARRY BAG IS AN UPPER AND L FOR EXAMPLE, Q1 SELECTS QRSS3 OR
3 SECOND DITS, AND Q4 SELECTS 60 SECOND DITS.  ALTHOUGH ITS POSSIBLE
TO SEND QRSS DIRECTLY FROM THE KEYBOARD BY ENTERING A COMMAND BEFORE
A STRING, THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF QRSS IS TO FORMAT A SPECIFC QRSS
MESSAGE.  RTTY THE K45 CAN BE CONFGURED TO OPERATE IN RTTY TRANSMIT
MODE.  RECEIVE RTTY IS NOT INCLUDED.  THE FORMAT IS FIXED TO BAUDOT
FSK WITH MANY OPTIONS.  TWO MENUS OF CHOICES ARE PROVIDED BY A
KEYBOARD COMMAND ESC R.  MESSAGE STORAGE AND EDITING ARE ALSO USED,
AS WITH STRAIGHT CW.  MOST COMMON RTTY FUNCTIONS REVERSE, DIDDLING,
AND CR/LF HANDLING CAN BE SELECTED.  THE K45 PROVIDES FSK OUTPUT,
WHICH DIRECTLY DRIVES A TRANSCEIVERS FSK INPUT ASSUMING THE
TRANSCEIVER HAS THIS CAPABILITY.  WHEN RTTY IS FIRST ENABLED,
TRANSMITTER FSK OUTPUT IS ASSIGNED TO THE RING OF THE OUTPUT JACK,
WHILE TRANSMITTER KEY OUTPUT IS ASSIGNED TO THE TIP.  THESE CAN BE
CHANGED BY COMMAND.  IN SUMMARY THERE IS A LARGE SET OF CAPABILITIES
IN THE K45 THAT YOU CAN SELECT, MODIFY, USE, OR NOT USE.  IT IS
ADAPTABLE TO JUST ABOUT EVERY SORT OF CW OPERATION BECAUSE IT DOES
NOT NEED A PC.  GENERALLY, ANY SORT OF USB SUPPLY WILL POWER IT TO
FULL ABILITY.  DURING THIS TEST, THE UNIT ADDED QUITE A BIT OF
INTEREST AND FUN TO MY CW OPERATING.  IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE THE
LETTERS AND WORDS APPEAR ON THE LCD SCREEN AS I COMPARED THEM WITH
THE ONES I COPIED IN MY HEAD.  I AM NOT A VERY GOOD TYPIST WHEN I
GOT TIRED OF USING THE KEYBOARD, I MOVED MY RIGHT HAND OVER TO MY
BENCHER PADDLES AND I WAS BACK IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY.  BRIEF STORED
MESSAGES WERE NOTHING NEW HERE, BUT THE MAPPED LETTER CAPABILITY WAS
A NICE FEATURE.  BUDDIPOLE BUDDIHEX PORTABLE HEXAGONAL BEAM ANTENNA
REVIEWED BY JOHN LEONARDELLI, VE3IPS VE3IPS GMAIL.  COM WHEN I WAS A
TEENAGER, I MADE MY FIRST DX CONTACT FROM A LOCAL SCHOOLYARD USING A
CITIZENS BAND CB WALKIE TALKIE.  IT WAS THEN THAT MY FASCINATION
WITH HAM RADIO STARTED.  ONCE I OBTAINED MY AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE, I
GOT MUCH SATISFACTION FROM OPERATING FROM PARKS OR OUT IN THE FIELD
USING BATTERY POWER AND PORTABLE ANTENNAS TO RECREATE THE THRILL OF
MY FIRST DX CONTACT.  OVER THE YEARS, MY BUDDIPOLE AND BUDDISTICK
ANTENNAS SERVED ME WELL, BUT IT BECAME TIME TO ADD A YAGI ANTENNA TO
MY DEPLOYMENT KIT.  MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO USE A THREE ELEMENT
YAGI, BUT THE WEIGHT AND THE INABILITY TO TRANSPORT IT IN AN EASY
MANNER HAD ME LOOKING AT ALTERNATE ANTENNAS.  ALSO, THE YAGI WOULD
COVER ONLY THREE BANDS, AND I WANTED A SOLUTION FOR 17 AND 6 METERS.
IT WAS AROUND THIS TIME THAT CHRIS DRUMMOND,

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