New Station Layout

I have been playing around with Ham Radio Deluxe here and finally got it running on my laptop through the USB to Serial port adapter cable I have. I also got a monitor from my brother (minus the cables, who knows where those went).

I had some cables that ended up working with the monitor so I plugged it in and got rid of the huge monster CRT I had before. I also figured out how to set each monitor (laptop and external) for two different things. So I put HRD on the laptop and now I can use the external monitor as my main screen! Here's a picture:



I can even set the HRD control screen on one monitor and use the other one for logging, DX spotting, etc. It really is a handy setup. I can even use the HRD spotting system to take my radio to the same frequency and mode as whatever spot I click on - no band switching, no tuning the VFO, no changing modes. All I do is click and I'm there!

Here is what the station looked like before:



I am using a mini USB keyboard and wireless laser mouse I got from Microcenter. The keyboard is a Windows Mini USB Keyboard from IPSG ($9.99) and the mouse is a wireless laser mouse from Gear Head (model LM5000CWU). I couldn't find the item on Microcenter's website, however the store I was in had a whole rack full of them for $19.99.

The keyboard and mouse will take some getting used to. The keyboard is a bit small and the backspace button is the same size as all the other keys which makes hitting it a challenge if you type without looking at the board. I am sure I will get used to where it is though. The mouse is really comfortable but it is very sensitive. I am also used to picking up a mouse to reset where it is on the pad, but with this one being a laser it senses movement even when you pick it up off the pad.