[hpsdr] [OT] thanks to Dan Babcock N4XWE

[Ken N9VV]

I know that OpenHPSDR is really a big organization with many 
talented individuals all making this sophisticated project 
possible. I thank you all for sharing your skills and knowledge 
with us plain-vanilla Hams out here :-)

I want to shout out a special *THANK YOU* to Dan Babcock N4XWE who 
loaned me a Mercury + Ozy + Atlas so that I could get my feet wet 
and begin to understand the value of investing in an HPSDR setup. 
   Dan's generosity led me to Teamspeak one evening with Bill 
Tracey KD5TFD. Bill helped me work through the totally opaque 
world of using Ozy as a USBBlaster <g> Yikes! those were symptoms 
and error messages that I would never have recognized. Bill nailed 
it right away and set me on the right track to load a valid 
VID/PID into Mercury.

 From there on it was a matter of familiarizing myself with the 
amazing Java server/dspserver and jmonitor applications from John 
Melton in the UK. John was *very* patient with my stupid Linux 
questions and he encouraged me to move ahead at every bump in the 
road.

Then it was on to the four (4) beautiful GUI applications for 
controlling the Mercury in Windows and Linux.

Joe AB1DO has done an exceptional job with documentation. Dave 
KV0S has been master of ceremonies on Teamspeak. The whole HPSDR 
community has been just wonderfully helpful, patient, and positive 
about this project.

Tomorrow I will extend my adventure into the installation of a 
Penelope Tx board. This promises to be a giant leap forward to my 
first DDC/DUC QSO. For me this is a personal milestone. For HPSDR 
this is another happy experimenter with a lifetime of new 
technologies to look forward to.

Dayton 2010 is right around the corner (6 short weeks) and it 
promises to be a time of excitement and new announcements. Be sure 
to stay tuned to the Italian Modena Hamfest April 10/11 where you 
will be amazed at the SDR progress the talented Italian Engineers 
are making.  One rumor is about a new DUC transmitter that will 
blow your socks off :-)

*T-H-A-N-K  Y-O-U* Dan, Bill, Phil, Dave, Kevin, Scotty, George, 
Hank, and all the kind souls who helped me achieve this level of 
SDR fun.

Gods' many blessings for you all,
73 de Ken N9VV