FYI!

    Yes, that's right! Time for a new FYI. We just got back from MUD in Philly.  We had a great time back home so to speak. The presentations were all  excellent and informing and Sandy and I enjoyed talking to everyone at the conference we ran into. If you missed it, next years event will be in Minneapolis MN.  We will be there and hope to see you all there too. 

    So, just a couple of brief notes to mention. We are back home and will be for the most part here until the Dayton Hamvention next May.  Yes, we will be at the Southeastern VHF conference in April but that is just down the road along with the Orlando Hamcation in Feb. What this means is we will be knuckling down to finish some projects  and will be busy shipping product that is on order.  We have many products in some sort of re-design because of component availability  or obsolescence.  They will all be finished soon and will be announced as completed on the web site. The 10 GHz transverter will be first followed by the 5760 version.  These redesigns were done to tweak the circuit boards for the new Power MMIC's we will be using in both designs.  Check the products descriptions after their announcement.

    Next is E-Mail!  So far its working great.   " tekboy@downeastmicrowave.com"  is working for all technical questions and repairs.  Do not ask for  price quotes, availability  or attempt to place an order at this address. I will attempt to answer all tech question  at least once per day.  Remember my real job is at the RF bench and not at the Internet terminal.  If you need a faster answer, use the Phone. 

    We experimented with the " temp@downeastmicrowave.com "  E-mail  for price quotes, availability, and shipping cost of a product before you placed an order.  This has worked out so well  we have created a new permanent E-mail " info @ downeastmicrowave.com "  This is a direct connection to Sandra and she will check it often.  Use this E-mail for everything but technical info and placing an order.  For placing an order use  the phone or  the "secured website".  Please understand that there is just the two of us here that can answer the questions at both E-mails . If they get jammed up with non-related issues and/or abused, we will shut them down. We want to help you in every way we can but getting "Bogged Down"  on e-mail doesn't get product out the door. 

    Our new custom assembly department is open for any inquiry for a product not found in our catalog that may be considered a "One of a Kind" assembly based on or derived from our product line. We have dedicated assembly and test personal to work on special projects.  If you have something that you may want us to manufacture for you not found in our catalog, drop us a line at custom@downeastmicrowave.com.  

    The big news for me personally is the 2008 Southeastern VHF Society conference, www.svhfs.org,  will be  April 25th and 26th  in  Orlando  FL at the Holiday Inn / University Central Florida and will be sponsored by the Florida Weak Signal Society, www.flwss.net   Final details are on both web sites.   I  have volunteered to be the Technical Program Chairman for the conference.  So!  Be careful!!  I will be pestering you to publish a paper for the proceedings and to  make a presentation at  the conference. There is an e-mail address,  svhfs2008@downeastmicrowave.com   for anyone that desires to give  a presentation or publish a paper in the conference  proceedings.  Please drop me a line  and participate if you can.      

    Then, at the 2008 SVHFS conference, we have plans of expanding the design contest which has been sponsored by the SVHFS and Mini Circuits in the past.  This has been a little known "Big Buck" award providing the 1st place winner $2500 of prizes in the past.  So far everything is on track with the past to provide the same level of prizes but we hope to have a little more promotion and competition to make it a very special event.  We plan on tweaking the rules a bit but for now have a look at last years rules published at www.svhfs.org/design_award.htm to get an idea.   All entries will go through me (Steve) and I will  use the e-mail of design@downeastmicrowave.com  to communicate with anyone wishing to participate in the contest.   So for now, get the "Hardware" working and some "rough drafts" written.  We will get heavy with the details in November and remember, its a hobby! 

    And a last note. Remember, we no longer have a dedicated FAX line for ordering and communicating with us. Phone lines are scarce out here in the sticks!  BUT- we believe this service has gone past its usefulness. All faxable documents can be handled by e-mail. 

    As always, we will fill you in as we know more.  Thanks for reading, thanks for your patience, thanks for the past patronage and hope to serve you and your hobby in the years to come! 

73,

Steve and Sandra, DEMI