Restomod for AllStarLink audio interface, two inexpensive multimeters, XHDATA radios, a simple inline switch solution, WisMesh Pocket replacement, and another Ten-Tec Scout 555 radio!
Tom - I love your restomod work on the Kenwood PC-1A.
I have a similar idea in mind and have been collecting (at least 8 to date) AEA PK-232 units that I see selling at hamfests for cheap. My offer has been to buy one that I see lingering on a table for $25 each, explaining that's all it's worth to ME because I'll be gutting it out and putting a Raspberry Pi based modem into it. I think the PK-232 has that gorgeous (to me and my vintage) 80's "blinkenlights" panel that can easily be driven from the Raspberry Pi's ample input / output pins, along with a potentiometer, tuning indicator LED bar graph, etc. Once I figure out how to do what I want to do, I figured I could create a "HAT" and "outsource to China" to have at least a small quantity built for ease of conversion, and maybe others would want to do the same. But that's a "at least a year out" priority on my long list of projects to tackle.
There is something magical about some of the older devices...some unquantifiable look and feel thing that I find attractive and a wee bit comforting, too. I'm looking forward to completing the build in a few weeks and getting it all documented in one place as a Random Wire page. Even if others don't want to use the case I selected, the assembly notes for the modules and wiring will be helpful.
Tom - I love your restomod work on the Kenwood PC-1A.
I have a similar idea in mind and have been collecting (at least 8 to date) AEA PK-232 units that I see selling at hamfests for cheap. My offer has been to buy one that I see lingering on a table for $25 each, explaining that's all it's worth to ME because I'll be gutting it out and putting a Raspberry Pi based modem into it. I think the PK-232 has that gorgeous (to me and my vintage) 80's "blinkenlights" panel that can easily be driven from the Raspberry Pi's ample input / output pins, along with a potentiometer, tuning indicator LED bar graph, etc. Once I figure out how to do what I want to do, I figured I could create a "HAT" and "outsource to China" to have at least a small quantity built for ease of conversion, and maybe others would want to do the same. But that's a "at least a year out" priority on my long list of projects to tackle.
There is something magical about some of the older devices...some unquantifiable look and feel thing that I find attractive and a wee bit comforting, too. I'm looking forward to completing the build in a few weeks and getting it all documented in one place as a Random Wire page. Even if others don't want to use the case I selected, the assembly notes for the modules and wiring will be helpful.