Coming Soon!

Update 03/08/10: Thought you all might like to see what an unfinished preproduction StationPro II enclosure looks like. (The finished ones will be acid etched, powder coated and silkscreened.)Ten-Tec sent me this unfinished one to verify that all the sheet metal work is correct before ramping up production. There are 87 holes and cutouts in this enclosure, all of which are specified to a few thousandth's of inch. Fortunately, everything fits and lines up perfectly. Whew! (And aren't you glad you won't have to drill and file all these holes, yourself!)

Update 03/01/10: I've made a design change on the StationPro I to add an Amplifier Bypass switch on the front panel. Below is a hand-lettered prototype of the new design. (The custom enclosures, made for me by Ten-Tec, are still on target for a March 31 delivery date.) Also, meet Peggy and Tom, two Santa Fe friends who are wrapping circuit boards for me. Peggy weighs each completed packet of boards on a digital scale to make sure none has been left out.

Update 02/15/10: Printed circuit boards anyone? My first order of circuit boards arrived today and I've spent the afternoon checking them out. The boards are double-sided FR4 fiberglass with solder masks, silk-screens on both sides, milled edges, pre-tinned solder pads and integral ground planes. I'm very pleased with the quality, though the quantity is a bit daunting! The custom punched and silkscreened enclosures should arrive in about a month. Don't know where I'm going to put all this stuff.

Update 01/22/10: QST has has informed me that they intend to publish my StationPro article. The month hasn't been announced yet, but now that I have their go-ahead I'll order circuit boards and punched and silkscreened enclosures for builders. When the article appears, I'll also post a comprehensive StationPro builder website, where you can download firmware, circuit diagrams and descriptions, detailed assembly instructions, parts lists, lots of photos, and a bulletin board for builders to exchange comments. So I'm sorry for the wait, but I think you'll find the StationPro worth waiting for. Also, if you happen to be in Santa Fe, you're welcome to stop by and try one out at my QTH.

A number of folks have asked me if I plan to sell completed units, and unfortunately the answer is no. The StationPro is a project for homebrewers. It takes about 7-10 hours to build a StationPro I, and about twice that to build a StationPro II. If you've wired up kits before, you shouldn't have any trouble putting one together.

The StationPro I and StationPro II are easy-to-build master station controllers that will integrate all your HF rigs and amplifiers by automatically switching all your RF inputs and outputs, microphone, key, audio, data, etc. - up to 25 different control lines. The StationPro I is the inexpensive "basic" version of the controller, and the microprocessor-controlled StationPro II is the "deluxe" version. The basic version can be upgraded to the deluxe version as a user's needs evolve. CLICK HERE to see a video of W8ZR demonstrating the StationPro II's features and inner workings.