One Hundred Pushups

I took the test tonight and did 17 pushups without stopping. Let's see if this plan really works.

"If you're serious about increasing your strength, follow this six week training program and you'll soon be on your way to completing 100 consecutive push ups!"

I've never had a lot of upper body strength, so I thought I would give this a try.

Radio and Phones

I'll see your FM broadcast on your mobile phone and raise you UHF/VHF TX on your mobile phone.

Gun Owners are Diverse

From the Missed Connections on Craigslist:

"coal creek armory - m4m - 25

You are a really handsome guy. I thought we had a small moment when I checked out before you today and we candidly spoke about what gun i was holding. Tell me what gun it was and what stall you were in. id like to hang out sometime if your interested."

I'll make a joke about just about anything, so please don't take this as bashing his sexuality, but I bet the gun conversation would have been fun. Also, I suggest referring to lane numbers and not stalls.

Prepping

I like her style.

Mystery Dits

Tracking down a mystery signal reminds me of a book I read.

"According to the FCC, an amateur in Northern California had unintentionally left his keyboard too close to his keyer paddle, and the paddle somehow got pushed against the keyboard, making it send continuous dits."

Baofeng UV-3R: USB Programming Cable (G4ILO)

Julian's homemade programming cable for the UV-3R.

Nice Catch

via Yahoo Sports Shutdown Corner

China puts the US on ebay

Funny read... China puts the IS on ebay.

With no bidders in the first 24 hours on eBay, China admitted that it would be challenging to unload the US, but it still held out hope that a buyer would step forward: “We’ve got our fingers crossed for Zuckerberg.”

Happy SysAdmin Day!

Happy System Administrator Appreciation Day!!! I hope everything is running smoothly, so you can see this message.

BMW iSeries

Being a tree-hugging hippie, I need a "green" vehicle. I want the BMW i8.

Via Uncrate

Speaking of Macs

I was told by a co-worker at a sister company that Macs are impervious to viruses. Well, lah de dah!

His statement makes this all the more fun... Hacking Apple Laptop Batteries. Forget borking the software, let's get the hardware.

(After seeing this post, I hope to incorporate the phrase "lah de dah" into all of my posts.)

How to fix the Economy: Jobs

We just need more Jobs.

Baofeng UV-3R: VGC Website and Blog

I'm not sure how I've missed this, but in addition to the Vero Telecom site, there is a VGC site that shows all the radios. It even has a blog page, but no RSS feed unfortunately. Also, you may want to check out the neat on-line product catalog.

Baofeng UV-3R: Camouflage

Thanks to a tip in the comments, I see you can order the camouflage UV-3R. Of course, of all the colors, I wanted the yellow which I can't find yet.

Don't Trust the Government

I knew we shouldn't be trusting the government. Recently, the White House twitter account directed a citizen to this link: http://tinyurl.com/y8ufsnp.

Revolution now!

Via Business Insider

SMA Female to SO-239 Jumper for your Wouxun HT

The Comet SMA Female 18" coax adapter jumper to SO-239 for Wouxun Radios looks like a better option than the jumper I bought on ebay. It is actually cheaper (at $14) than the one I purchased on ebay and I would hope that this one would not have the problem of the sheath pulling away from the SMA connector.

Throwing Money at a Problem

A good reminder that simply throwing money at problem, even with the best of intentions, may have unintended consequences.

From When Capital Is Nowhere in View:

"In a scene early in the show set in this giant city after the earthquake, Bourdain and his crew stop to eat some local food from a vendor. He discusses its ingredients and samples some items. Crowds of hungry people begin to gather. They are doing more than gawking at the camera crews. They are waiting in the hope of getting something to eat."

It, of course, goes down hill from there. I can't help but think there is a lesson in here for the woes of our welfare programs.

Thanks to Slim for the link.

Bad City Councilman, Bad City Councilman

Mr. Alan Schulman (Canton City Council President):

If you aren't going to address the issue of a near homicidal police officer, then I don't think you need to be talking (or whining) about anything else. And I agree with WizardPC, I don't think there is a better time or place to carry.



After hearing more about this incident, it finally clicked. I've seen that police officer...

Bonus Link: Tam - That explains rather a lot, actually.

Via Snowflakes in Hell

Do you use your real name on-line?

Do you use your real name on-line?

No.

I don't want my hobbies or politics to mix with my work place or even my different groups of friends. I've not written about it, but this is one reason I think Google Plus might beat (or at least force a change at) Facebook. With Google Plus, you can decide which groups (Circles) of people can see what posts, pictures, etc.

Mad Men Streaming on Netflix starts today.

The wife will be very happy. Mad Men streaming on Netflix starts today.

YouTube Education

Every now and then I found out that a friend has missed a viral video or two. In case you happened to miss out as well, I present the following as a public service.

Happy National Scotch Day!

Happy National Scotch Day!

The link above has a few serving suggestions which go well beyond my usual "cut with a little water" concoction. (I don't always drink Scotch, but when I do...). The Smokey Scotsman looks interesting to me:

Created by Drew Z of Pour George

2 oz. The Macallan 10 Years Old
.5 oz Fresh lemon juice
3-5 Sage leaves

Method: Muddle, add ice, shake and dirty pour into double rocks glass

As always I recommend that you stick with the single malts.

30 Years Anniversary of the 145.470 Repeater System Picnic

From the 470 Amateur Radio Group...

"On September 17th of this year the 145.470 repeater will be 30 years old, in celebration of the 30th anniversary, Tim Berry WB4GBI and I spoke about having a picnic get together for all of those who use the 470."

Geek Cred

Old school geek cred... my Dungeons & Dragons collection from back in the day.

CircuitBee - Online Circuit Schematics Sharing

CircuitBee:

CircuitBee takes your schematic project files, converts them into its own internal format and then provides you with an embeddable version of the circuit, similar to Google Maps but for electronics schematics.

You can pan, zoom, go fullscreen, mouse over components to see what they are and we have plans for lots more features yet.

You can test out a sample right here. From a blogging perspective, it was trivial to embed the schematics below. It needs a feature to do more than import files - a simple, online tool to create and share basic schematics would be a great replacement for some of the drawings that hams create in MS Paint and post on the web.



Via Make

Baofeng UV-3R: CHIRP Now Available for Testing

You've got to love software with frequent builds...

Support is added in today's build:

http://trac.chirp.danplanet.com/chirp_daily/daily-07262011/

This is a first stab and only represents a couple hours of work, but it
seems to work for me. Feedback is appreciated, although I'd prefer it go
to the chirp_users list if possible. Future fixes and enhancement
announcements go to that list.


Thanks!

--
Dan Smith
www.danplanet.com
KK7DS

Via the UV-3R Yahoo Group

The First Step

The first step is admitting you have a problem.



Via eHam.net.

Baofeng UV-3R: CHIRP

Now that the UV-3R is Type 90 Accepted, it has been added to the queue to get support in the CHIRP software.

#127: Add support for Baofeng UV-3R
-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------
Reporter: tsr@… | Owner: kk7ds
Type: Feature | Status: accepted
Priority: Would be nice | Milestone:
Component: Memory Editor | Version:
Resolution: | Keywords:
Platform: Windows |
-----------------------------+----------------------------------------------
Changes (by kk7ds):

* owner: => kk7ds
* status: new => accepted

Via the UV-3R Yahoo Group.

KG-UV Commander 0.1.2 Beta

The KG-UV Commander 0.1.2 Beta is now available.

- Fixed crash when multiple decimals inadvertently entered in freq field
- Prevent entry of invalid Encode field
- Errors on CSV import reported with line number
- CSV header detection non-case sensitive
- Fixed mouse scroll wheel scrolling on settings tabs
- Fixed problems with welcome message ("black boxes" and problems in Wouxun software)
- Opened up welcome msg and single receive msg to whole ascii character set
- Fixed problem importing some TW files which imposed maximum tunable memory channel

Caliber Debate - Over

Nutnfancy has spoken.

Business Insider

Here is why I subscribe to the Business Insider newsletter - lots of fun tidbits.

Facebook Investor Roger McNamee Explains Why Social Is Over - an interesting take on the state of the technology union and its future.

Then And Now: The Most Visited Domains Of 1996 And Today - Quite a few surprises.

Netflix Unveils Its Monkey Army - I think I work with some of these guys.

REAL OR FAKE: These Computer Generated People Look So Real You Won't Be Able To Spot The Humans - Almost scary - We got rid of dramas/sitcoms because writers are too expensive and soon reality TV shows will be too expensive, so we'll just let the computers generate the shows for us.

How Men And Women Look At This Half Naked Woman Differently - Also known as, what do mean she was wearing shoes?

UMC Infant Baptism

I like the idea of infant baptism in the United Methodist Church. It is a commitment by the parents, but also by the church as a whole to raise the child in the faith. The congregational response:

"With God's help, we will so order our lives after the example of Christ that this child, surrounded by steadfast love, may be established in the faith and confirmed and strengthened in the way that leads to life eternal."

What an awesome responsibility and I am glad for the reminder every time we baptize a child.

Rules for Recruiting

As more information comes out about UT's NCAA woes (here, here, here), I have come up with the universal rules for recruiting.

1. Don't cheat.
2. If you cheat, don't get caught.
3. If you get caught, don't lie.

NASCAR Prayer

And thanks for my smoking hot wife.

Baofeng UV-3R: Around the World

Italy: IW0FFK - Italian Amateur Radio station - Mods for cheap FM dual band rig: Baofeng UV-3R

Holland*: Big Dutch Blog - Baofeng UV-3R

*Okay, he may actually be in the US, but he is Dutch and he has a Hello Kitty radio.

Atlas Shrugged IRL

A modern day Ellis Wyatt?

An Alabama business man says he could add 125 jobs to the local economy, but that he's fed up with the anti-business groups and is calling it quits instead.

Via Slim.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

I think this video of a police stop in Canton, Ohio has a few people upset. My evidence is below the video.

From Ohioans For Concealed Carry



Matt G.
David Hardy
Sebastian
Ambulance Driver
LawDog
Uncle
Caleb
Tam
ENDO
Shelley Rae


Those links represent a huge chunk of my RSS feed.

FCC Search

Here is where you can go to do your ham radio related searches at the FCC website. You can find some interesting documents and pictures of equipment.

Baofeng UV-3R: US Re-seller - NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC.

Well, I was wrong about who would be the first US re-seller. But we do have NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC. that looks to be filling that void. The web site is sparse - and reminds me of the original wouxun.us. (I guess Hawaii counts as a US re-seller.)

Baofeng UV-3R: FCC Type 90 Accepted

The Baofeng UV-3R is now Type 90 accepted by the FCC. Documents can be found here.



It helps to know the name of company that is making the application. In this case, it turns out to be FUJIAN NAN'AN BAOFENG ELECTRONICS CO.,LTD..



Via Baofeng-UV-3R.us on the UV-3R Yahoo Group.

NoteSlate - Vaporware

I knew it was probably too good to be true... a $99 digital e-ink legal pad replacement. So, I'm calling it - TOVD (Time of Vaporware Declaration) 5:45PM.

The last couple of tweets from NoteSlate have confirmed it for me - both on the price and technology fronts.

From today:

"We can´t hit the $99 end price for NoteSlate device... is going from low-tech vision to hi-tech reality.Sorry for our preliminary statement."

From July 14:

"We`re still solving prototype, firmware & legals for next web(v3.0) update - vision into reality. Lot of work on table. Sorry for delay."

Rubberized Telescopic Antenna for Hand-Held Radios

Kinda of a neat idea... a rubberized telescopic antenna might get you the best of both worlds - performance and size. I posted about Julian's review of various 2M antennas and that got me interested in the telescoping options.

Phil, G3YPQ, posted to the UV-3R Yahoo Group about an antenna he is selling:

"Now I must declare an interest here as I supply these replacement antennas, but they are ideal for the any Handie including the UV-3R.
Its a rubberised Telescopic that extends to 1/4 wave on 2m and can be used with low SWR on 70cms either Fully down or Fully up.
On the UV-3R the LED and its surround is close to the Antenna socket so for these I shave off the rubber a little and it fits fine. It out-performs the supplied antennas without the need to change, and folds up nicely. I've been into handhelds since the crystal controlled KP202 and this things good, you can set it to exact 1/4 wave on marine band by telescoping the top section down."

He is selling them on ebay for about $28 including shipping.

Here are his notes for the video:

"Replacement for supplied rubber-duck aerials. This has advantages of being able to 'tune' as 1/4 wave as well as to easily clip on an extension for lower frequency reception"

New County Comm Website

County Comm has a new website.

Do NOT go look. At best, you will waste a lot of time looking at all the cool little gadgets and gizmos that you think you need. At worst, you will add a bunch of $5 items and then realize you have a hundred bucks worth of stuff in your cart!

Bullet Tax

A mayoral candidate in Baltimore wants to charge a $1 per bullet tax to reduce crime. This is dumb on so many levels. The tax would just be in the city, so drive a few miles to save $50 in taxes on a $20 box of 50 rounds. Plus, I wonder how high the round count is for a typical criminal in a year - probably lower than a couple of trips to Coal Creek for me. Lastly, how many crooks are going to do budgeting... for a convenience store hold-up, I'll put six rounds in the magazine, but for the liquor store, I better go ahead and take a few extra even though it will cut into my robbery profits.

Via TNJEff.

Man Replaces Matrix Sound Effects with his Voice

Another video tonight, in case some of you aren't Rebecca Black fans.

I really didn't get it when I read ENDO's title of "The Matrix Acapella Gun Sounds Lobby Scene," but this guy has replaced all the sounds from the video clip with his own vocals - think Cadet Larvell Jones from "Police Academy."



Via ENDO

Wearable Health Monitor

I would like to try this wearable Jawbone health monitor. I am really digging the data from RunKeeper as I've mentioned before, but this would take monitoring to a whole new level.

Just over 26 miles for the month... not bad for an old man, that just started running again in June.

National Healthcare

Here is what happens when you nationalize healthcare... you end up trying to treat your own wart... with a shotgun.

Via Gun Pundit

Rebecca Black Redux

I can almost hear TNJeff squeal with excitement. I'm afraid he will be disappointed. It is no "Friday."

Baofeng UV-3R: Facebook

You know you've made it big time when you have a Facebook page: Baofeng Electronics.

Ringer

I really liked Sarah Michelle Gellar in Buffy. I'm glad to see she is back, but I don't have very high hopes for Ringer.

Tools of the Ham Radio Trade

You cannot call yourself a ham until you have the required tools for field day.

A portable inflatable antenna dish. Check.

Pneumatic antenna cannon. Check.

Campfire (Pan) USB Charger. Check.

Inflatable Antenna via AdaFruit
Pneumatic Antenna Cannon via ENDO
Campfire USB Chargers via No Silence Here

Tempted?

I would not be tempted. I wasn't paying attention and thought this was from one the religious blogs I follow - instead it comes from a budgeting/finance blog. Interesting.

Via The Simple Dollar.

146.730 Repeater

Tim, WB4GBI, announces that the 146.730 repeater should be rocking and rolling again after eliminating a tricky problem.

"The offending signal is actually produced when two UHF transmitters (there is another one involved) and the 146.73 transmitter are all “up” at the same time. How did I determine this? There several software programs out there in shareware and software land that will help you calculate all of the possibilities. I tabulated the frequency of EVERY transmitter on the tower and loaded them into a database. The software that I used showed a “fifth-order” intermodulation product caused by three transmitters that would cause a signal to be generated on 146.13 Mhz. Recognize that frequency? It’s the INPUT to 146.73."

An Armed Society is a Polite Society

And it works both ways... Another Benefit of Concealed Carry.

Via Say Uncle

Missing in Action

If I am missing in action over the next week, it is because I am in Westeros dancing with dragons.*

* Or maybe I am running. Or watching Harry Potter. Or at work.

Power Cord Splitter

Like I need one more thing in my laptop bag, but for those of you fighting for power* at an airport or a coffee shop, this power cord splitter could come in real handy.

* Electrical, not world domination type.

Via KK Cool Tools

Word of the Day: Wirearchy

Wirearchy is

"a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority based on information, knowledge, trust and credibility, enabled by interconnected people and technology."

Basically, the internet along with the wave of social apps is disrupting the old hierarchical command and control structures.

McMinn County Amateur Radio Club Hamfest (Athens, TN)

The McMinn County Amateur Radio Club (MCARC) will host its annual hamfest in Athens on Saturday, July 16 at Athens Regional Park. The hamfest is from 7:00 am to noon and is free if you aren't selling.

PSK31 (and Ham Apps for Droid)

For a while now, I've been thinking about playing around with the digital modes - specifically PSK31. Unfortunately, the Small Wonder Labs PSK31 kits have been discontinued:

"The PSK-series transceiver is discontinued effective immediately. There will be a successor- schedule is uncertain."

So that option is out for now. I came across several ham apps for the Droid phone by Wolphi LLC that included DroidPSK - PSK31 in addtion to others like a Morse code trainer, DX beacon, DX cluster, etc. I thought "Great! I can play with that." - until I saw that DroidPSK app was $5. I'm pretty cheap when it comes to nickel and dime stuff that I may not use very long.

That led me to another search that turned up K7AGE's "Introduction to PSK31 - Receiving." He makes it look really easy to start recieving - even without any special equipment. All you need is the DigiPan software, your computer, and your radio.



He also posted a video with some sample PSK31 signals, so you can test the DigiPan install without even needing a radio. As usual, hams come up with cheap ways to do ham stuff.

I still may shell out $100 bucks to get a SignaLink USB, so I can Tx. (I know, I know... I won't spend $5 on the app, but will spend $100 on the hardware. Does not compute. Does not compute.)

VALOUR-IT

My grandfather was in the Navy. That's as close as I got to military service. Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't be better off if you had to serve (may be even fight bugs) before being allowed to vote. I appreciate what those in the military have done and continue to do to serve our country.

I'm a geek. I love computers and can't image life with out the internet, e-mail, etc. I am amazed by the breadth and depth of options to communicate with family and friends. The information available now is almost limitless. I wouldn't want anyone or anything to take that away from me.

Put those things together and you can see why I can support a charity like Project Valour-IT that uses donations to get specialized laptops to wounded warriors.

Project Valour-IT helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Items supplied include:

-Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.
-Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).
-Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD

Consider giving if this resonates with you.

Via BlackFive

Software One for the Valentine One Radar Detector

I was looking at the KG-UV Commander software again for the previous post about CHIRP and I noticed KC8UNJ's link to his Software One application for the Valentine One Radar Detector. I don't even have a radar detector, but I still think that's pretty slick. If I were a programmer, I think I would have to learn how to work with serial communications - that stuff is everywhere. I would be all powerful if I could talk to machines through the serial port and do database selects, inserts, deletes, and updates on the back-end!

Universal Radio Programming Software - CHIRP

Instead of having a program to update the UV-3R and a program (or two!) to update the KG-UVD1P, how about a "one size fits most" application for programming radios. CHIRP will update, as of this writing, three Alinco, seventeen Icom, one Jetstream, seven Kenwood, nine Yaesu, and three Wouxun models. It will not do everything the radio specific software will do, but will update the basic memories for your favorite frequencies. You will still need the appropriate cable for your radio.

RunKeeper

I've been using the free version of RunKeeper for my Android phone. It uses the phone's GPS to track your progress during runs, rides, etc. It will announce your distance, time, and pace. You can adjust the frequency of the announcements. I like lots of feedback, so I get updates every quarter mile and every five minutes. It automatically uploads your data to the web where you can view it on the web page. Below is a sample of one of my activities. You can also connect with other RunKeeper users and share your activities and view theirs.

It is pretty slick for a free app. (There is a premium "Elite" version for $20/year.) Being able to easily track my runs and see what others are doing has really been a great motivator. RunKeeper gets a thumbs up from me.

Shooting 9mm in a .40

The right way to shoot 9mm in .40 involves making some hardware changes.

The wrong way involves failures by multiple parties. I'm going to keep claiming to be a new shooter as long as people will let me get away with it. When this happened, I think it was my third time shooting pistols, so definitely qualifying as new. The first time shooting pistols was with a friend on his family farm. The second time was the Basic Hand Gun course at Coal Creek Armory. One of the goals of the course is to teach you "how to select proper ammunition." You probably see where this is going now that I've set the stage.

I was feeling good about what I learned in the course, so I convinced a buddy to go with me to CCA to rent some guns and a lane. I don't remember exactly what we were shooting initially - Beretta PX4 Storm, Kahr CW9, and maybe something else - all in 9mm. We finished up the box of ammo and decided to try the Glock 22.

We swapped guns and took our new box of ammo out to the lane. I started loading the magazine and took the first turn with the gun. After a string of failures to fire and feed, our trouble-shooting quickly revealed we were shooting 9mm instead of .40 S&W. I have visions of the bullet tumbling through and bouncing around the barrel.

Shame on the CCA employee who gave us the wrong ammo when we switched guns. I expect them to have some level of expertise and pay attention to details.

Shame on me for not checking the ammo. Ultimately I was the last safety as I loaded the magazine, but since I did not look at the box or closely at the rounds I failed, too. While I didn't have the experience to recognize the ammo by size, shape, or feel; I could have easily seen what was printed on the box.

No one got hurt and they didn't make us pay the rental fee. Lesson learned.

Radio Cancer

K4NBC posted the following picture. Now I understand the link between mobile phones/RF and cancer. (And, yes, that is a red UV-3R in the pack.)

Solar Charger with USB

I like the Lady Ada/Adafruit kits. I've built the Minty Boost. I could try the USB, DC & Solar Lipoly charger and since it will do up to 1A, it would work with my fancy UV-3R USB cable.

Blogging

I know I am special - just like everyone else. But this post from the Simple Dollar mailbag got my britches in a bunch. Would I like to get rich blogging? Sure, but I'd like to become rich from winning the lottery, too. I figure my chances at becoming rich from blogging are about the same as winning the Powerball. My blog is less than a year-old, so I am really pleased that anyone reads my posts. I have seen modest increases month-over-month, but at this rate, I will be retired before it would make money. Back to the mailbag and my answers...

"Q2: Starting a blog
I have a great idea for a blog, one that no one at all is doing and i am in the process or being or trying to be an expert on this such topic.

I would be very surprised if someone wasn't already doing it. If no one is doing it then you may have such a niche that you couldn't expect to make enough money from this endeavor to replace your day job. Also, you might want to work on your grammar and proof-reading.

Problem is, time, i don’t have any or enough to do it. I went out and bought a website all gung ho to do it, and never got around to it.

I suggest a time-machine.

I was able to get a refund from the web-company for the service but not for the domain name. Which i believe i technically still own for a year, since i did pay for it.

Yes, you own the name until the term expires.

My question to you is, is there a way i can start up a blog that wont cost me anything or much at all, and then maybe one day move it all over to my own site.

Yes, a quick search should reveal that Blogger, Wordpress, and others are popular services.

Also, is there ways to make money blogging when your on or using a free blog site?

Yes, a quick search should reveal that many of the free services allow you to run ads.

I’m an IT professional and have been for 17 years so i know all the tech speak.

You are a what? And you can't come up with some of these answers on your own?

I’d really love to get out of this field and into a full time job of blogging such as you do. Its just really hard to find the time.

Assuming you were 18 when you started working, then you are 35 now. That makes you too old, I would have thought, to be part of the entitlement generation. Life is hard. There aren't enough hours in the day. Time to put in some effort if you want to make something happen.

Did you start out on a free blog spot?"
- Dennis

Funny choice of words - "free blog spot" considering you were asking if free services existed.

Enough venting from me... grumpy mode off. Back to the normal grind.

Nothing like being Open-minded

Now you see it and now you don't, courtesy of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

It's not like the guy was being a jerk. His post was well written and moderate in tone - especially compared to the original post - OMG PONIES!

Running

As I've mentioned, I've started running. I've been doing it for about two weeks and have racked up about 20 miles including participating in a 5K.

I stumbled across 10 Life Lessons from a Reluctant Runner and have to say that I agree with most everything she says.

1. The endorphinss really do make a difference - not only right after running, but I feel better all the time.
4. Last time I did any consistent running was about 7 years ago. After about 2/2.5 miles my knees would start hurting. I got some cool new kicks with the help of the guys at Runner's Market and have had almost no knee pain. It is amazing how much difference a shoe makes.

Space Shuttle

I've seen this movie. It stars Bruce Willis. Yippie Ki-yay!


Expensive. Bureaucratic. Even so, I can't help but romanticise NASA and the space prgram. Sixty cool pictures of the space shuttle's history here.

Jack FM 2 Meters

So I got all these repeaters programmed into my UV-3R this evening. Purely by chance, I left the radio set to 145.370 (W4KEV).

This is, by far, the funniest repeater I have heard. (Once again, I acknowledge that I have the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy.) I've heard two announcements so far...

The first is a woman's voice announcing the repeater's info by encouraging you to stop playing with your rubber duck and move out of your mother's house. She ends with the phrase "helping hams not be so gay."

The next is a woman's voice doing Morse code - dits and dahs. A man comes on and says nice dits.

If you visit the W4KEV page, you will notice he is associated with 95.7 Jack FM. And now it all makes sense.

Improv Everywhere - Carousel Horse Race

More good stuff from Improv Everywhere.



Via Rachel Held Evens Blog.

NKT-R3: UHF Micro Handheld

These VX-3R clones must be growing on trees. The NKT-R3 is a UHF 70cm only rig, but shares the popular micro HT form factor. One interesting note, it looks like the charger is made up of the wall wart and a USB cable. I would assume you can charge this radio via USB. I need to track down the power specs and see if the DC power plug is the same as the UV-3R. Like most of the Chinese handheld transceivers, this one includes an LED flashlight function or as they call it "LED ICLUMINATION".

Hongnanke Product Information
409 Shop
eHam Reviews
ALE.CX Review - almost didn't link because of the horrible background, but the information is good.

Cement Pond Ballistics Testing

You might be a redneck if you do your ballistics testing in your cement pond. Love it.

Repeater Websearch

It is tools like the Amateur-Radio.net repeater websearch that make me doubt the need for a dead tree list of the repeaters. Of course, if the lights go out, I'll might be real glad I have a list on paper.

Baofeng UV-3R: LCD Modification

On Tuesday, I discovered that you could order the UV-3R in blue or red. Today, I stumbled on a blue LCD modification for the UV-3R by tucsok50. I did not see anything about the parts he changed or the steps required, but now we know you can get a blue radio with a blue LCD. Here is a link to the original picture. (You have to me a member of the Yahoo Group to view it.)

Update 2011-07-13: Tucsok50 provided links in the comments, so I'm adding them here, so they are clickable by all.

http://gallery.site.hu/d/18036473-1/DSCF3090_v1.jpg
http://gallery.site.hu/d/18036476-1/DSCF3091_v1.jpg
http://gallery.site.hu/d/18036479-1/DSCF3092_v1.jpg
http://gallery.site.hu/d/18036484-2/DSCF3100_v1.jpg

My training kicked in... I called mommy.

This is a serious video, but the 12 year old in me couldn't resist posting about it when I read the comment by Gunfan50BMG:

"My training kicked in... I called mommy."

The comment will make more sense once you hear him tell what happened after the negligent discharge. Scary stuff. As others point out, it does help the argument for learning one system and sticking with it.

KYD NC-5H, KYD UV-5H: Availibility

Steve (K8SAR) e-mailed KYD about the availability of the UV-5H and was told it would be out at the end of July:

"The UV-5H will be ready at the end of this month. Once the goods is ready, you will be informed.
If you have any requirements for this item then, you could contact with me directly.

Hope to have a nice cooperation with you SOON.

Best regards,

Vicky Huang"

I will give the Chinese manufacturers credit. They are very good at responding to e-mails. I have always gotten a quick response from Vero Telecom - usually withing 12 business hours. That's especially good considering the time difference.

Baofeng UV-3R: Colors

Looks like some of the UV-3R colors are starting to become available directly at 409 Shop or via eBay.

Red
Blue

I still want a yellow one. Although these are pretty garish looking, so they might suffice.

Baofeng UV-3R: Car Charger

Some call it a battery eliminator and on my Wouxun it does replace the battery. For the UV-3R, it is just the same DC plug on one end and a cigarette lighter plug on the other. You can get them now from the 409 Shop or others though eBay.

KYD NC-5H, KYD UV-5H: Yahoo Group

That didn't take long... a Yahoo Group for the KYD NC-5H, KYD UV-5H.

What we know so far about the KYD NC-5H and KYD UV-5H.

Baofeng UV-3R: USB Charger

[ UPDATE and a WARNING: Luis points out that USB will only do up to 500mA. The wall charger pictured below is 1000mA. He says newer computers build in protection for this, but that he would not recommend trying this with older machines. USB power info on the Wikipedia page here. ]

Several people have said they built USB chargers for their UV-3R, so I thought I would give it a try. This worked for me, but I'm not an electronics expert, so proceed with caution - and I'm always open to suggestions/corrections.

The first thing to note is that the charger has non-standard wiring - the tip is negative and the sleeve is positive. TNJeff verified that with a meter, but it is printed on the label on my charger.


Next I cut the wire half-way between the wall wart and the plug. If you don't want to carve up your charger, you can order the 2.5 x 0.7mm plugs or even an extra charger on eBay.

After stripping the wire, I used the meter to figure out the tip was connected to the red wire and the sleeve was connected to the yellow. The opening in the tip is very small, so I had to work carefully to insert the probe and test continuity.

I took a spare USB cable and cut it in half. As you can see in the diagram below, black is ground and red is the 5V connection.

I connected USB black to plug red then USB red to plug yellow and then applied some electrical tape for my testing. (If you think the diagram below is ugly, you should see my actual cable. I'll get it dressed up and post some pictures then.) Make sure you have the USB logo on top, so that the ground is on the far left and the +5V is on the far right when you test your continuity.

You should be able to confirm continuity using your meter between the ground on the far left of the USB and the tip of the plug. Likewise, you should be able to confirm continuity between the +5V on the far right and the sleeve of the plug.



I plugged the USB connector into my laptop, inserted the plug into the UV-3R, and the radio began charging! I know this may be a super simple project for many, but I hope it is useful to someone.

A Good Week

I bought the running shoes and actually ran more than once... 3 runs for about 3 miles on average. The last run was probably the easiest despite the heat.

I went to Coal Creek today and shot about 150 rounds of 9mm in the CZ. The only good thing I have to say about that is that no one got hurt. Even a little practice makes a lot of difference. I need to figure out how to get to the range more often.