It’s time for another episode of the K5ND Ham Shack Update. Not sure that it’s worthy of binge-watching from 1972 to 2023. Although, if you’re interested, you can check out those previous episodes on my Ham Shack Page. For this episode, it’s a new rig, a new computer, and new monitors.

New Rig — Icom IC-7100

I wrote about this at some length in my previous post, New Rig in the Ham Shack — Icom IC-7100. In short, I wanted a second rig primarily for contesting to operate on 6 and 2 meters simultaneously. I’d had that previously with an IC-910H and the IC-9100.

The IC-7100 offers a USB connection and a working PTT connection for the sequencer, LNA, and amplifier. I use it on 6 meters with an Airspy using SDR-Console software. So it doesn’t matter what the receiver is like.

I now use the IC-9100 for 2 meters, driving the amplifier directly and using the amp’s internal LNA. I also can use the IC-9100 for HF and the ARRL FMT.

As you can tell, I like Icom!

New Computer — Beelink SER5 PRO

I’m writing this blog post on my daily working computer, an Apple Mac mini. We also have two iPads, two Apple laptops, and an Apple Watch. Plus, a couple of Apple iPhones. Yes, my wife and I like Apple products and are willing to pay for them. But it’s much simpler to go with Windows when it comes to ham radio.

I’ve been using an HP laptop with Windows 10. It’s no longer capable of Windows updates and has been quite clunky for years. So I searched for another computer and found a great one on Amazon, the Beelink SER5 PRO. It measures roughly 5″ x 4″ x 2″ and boasts an 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 with 32GB memory and a 500GB solid-state hard drive. It has two HDMI outputs and several USB 3.0 connectors. It costs under $500 on Amazon and comes with Windows 11 Pro. It fits my requirements perfectly.

New Monitors — Acer CB272 27″

My existing 27″ monitor was growing long in the tooth and had suffered abuse in my rover outings. Plus, I wanted two monitors that matched. The prices these days on monitors are pretty extraordinary. I found the Acer CB272 27″ at $160 on Amazon. It has built-in speakers, along with height adjustments. They look great in action and provide enough real estate for both rigs’ software.

So that’s the 2023 episode. Bit by bit, or byte by byte, making the updates that I can afford and that make sense for my current operating interests.