Man, I kinda stumbled into ham radio almost by accident. One night, sleepless (as usual), I’m clicking around online and bam—n2zdb.com. A tiny site, but full of promise—like a dusty old radio ham’s journal whispering, “Hey, come on in.”
At first glance, it’s all low-key: a callsign lookup, maybe some GitHub configs, but then I dig deeper—Michael Trager from Mooresville, NC, callsign N2ZDB. Isn’t that wild? A real person, not just another avatar.
I read he’s tinkered with LED mod kits for the Kenwood TS‑2000 rig—swapping those old bulbs for super-bright LEDs. According to some reviews:
“Perfect Product… no regrets whatsoever. …include small‑diameter solder and wick… amazing look.”
— VE3TES “Very pleased. Directions were complete and I had the bulbs changed in a couple of hours.”
— AC7AI
That hit me—some tech nerd like me spent countless hours soldering tiny resistors under a dim lamp, and someone wrote it all up on n2zdb. That’s hands-on hobbyism, right?
Then there’s his GitHub page: basically one repo of config files—but what screams “obsessive hobbyist” more than a GitHub with a single repo just for personal setups?
Also, he apparently sells a pneumatic antenna launcher on eHam—Air Boss. One review from December 2023 says:
“Borrowed… to get a new OCFD up high in the trees! This product worked wonderfully :)” — Michael N2ZDB
A ham who sells gear and reviews his own product—quirky, humble, a bit awkward, kinda charming.
What you’ll find on n2zdb.com…
- 🔍 Callsign lookup info — a real‑world person behind the mic.
- 💡 LED mod kits for TS‑2000 — step‑by‑step how‑to with solder, resistors, that sorta thing.
- 🔧 Antenna gear reviews and DIY launcher tales.
- 🛠️ GitHub config files—proof of meticulous (or obsessive?) personal setup habits.
But what’s missing? A blog post on fiddling with SDR? Or a fail-story about botched mods? Or even a simple “I screwed it up, here’s how I fixed it”—that human messiness I’d pay to read.
Still, it’s charming in its bare‑bones rawness. No polished marketing speak—just a ham guy doing ham‑guy stuff, maybe too tired to proofread. And that’s okay.
Why you should poke around:
- 📘 It’s not a corporate tech blog—it’s someone’s night‑time tinkering journal.
- 🎯 If you own a TS‑2000, the LED mod is a legit upgrade (lots of positive reviews).
- 💡 Even if you don’t, it reminds you how great it feels to share random passion projects.
If you want to wander through the earnest, slightly chaotic world of a ham‑radio tinkerer—this tiny site is your gateway. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll inspire you to, I dunno, document your solder‑stained nights.
Anyway, that’s the vibe of n2zdb.com. A small corner of the internet where imperfect, heartfelt technical stories linger—untamed, unedited, and real.
— your fellow night‑owl tinker, (maybe with half a sentence missing somewhere here… oh well)
LED mod kit review
Michael’s GitHub repo
Air Boss antenna launcher review
