Draw a Stickman

Just what it says... http://www.drawastickman.com. It is a neat little time waster.

Leap Motion Controller

If I wasn't such a cheapskate, I would spend $80 to try the Leap Motion Controller. I use the keyboard a lot more than the mouse (short-cuts are king!), so I don't think I would want to move my hands off the keyboard for the Leap anymore than I would for the mouse.



Via Robb

Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse & Ham Radio

Recently, I read Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse* as an apparent attempt to push myself into a state of depression. I've seen it billed as a how to manual for preppers with a story slapped on top of it. (It made me think of The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement* - a story about a plant manager who implements several changes related to the Theory of Constraints.) It is not a manual for preparedness by any stretch, but it does try to present various scenarios for one to consider. One of the more interesting parts for me was toward the end when a character was getting a lesson in Communications Security from Edgar, the communications expert:

"My goal today is to first let you know what sort of equipment is out there -- friendly, enemy, captured enemy, and to teach you ComSec in a nutshell, so you won't get yourself killed or give the enemy valuable intelligence."

Edgar covers a lot of ground over the next few pages:

• HF
• VHF
• signals propagating, bouncing off the ionosphere
• sunspot cycle
• sky wave
• ground wave
• direction finding
• near vertical incidence
• line of sight
• 2M HTs
• modifying radios that could transmit 118 to 180 megahertz, but limited by FCC to 144 to 148, so they opened them up to 140 - 170
• frequency agile radios
• mods to CBs
• SWR
• antennas

He recommends trying to find a particular radio:

"Speaking of CBs, you should try to and locate a Uniden President HR2510. This is a ham radio that you can modify to transmit and receive in the citizen's band range. You can open this model up all the way from 26 to 30 megs. It has a frequency counter that you can finetune down to 10 kilohertz."

He then continues the lesson talking about:

• modifying cellular telephones
• working split
• Kenwood TH-79A
• cross-band operating
• operating AM on typical FM frequencies

As a ham, it was a fun chapter to read. It also made me interested in the Uniden President HR2510, so I had to look it up. I found this site with a long list of tip and tricks for modifying the HR2510.

* Links via my Amazon Associate account. You don't pay any extra, but I get "rich" if you buy through the link.

Hero of the Day

What is your probable cause?

Am I being detained?

Am I free to go?


My favorite part is here at the end.

Via Uncle

Tactical Flask

Okay, it isn't branded as a "tactical" flask, but all it is missing is a rail.

"The Flask" from McAllen and Oakley is not something that I would normally associate with fine Scotch. Oakley's influence is strong as seen in both the design and the video below. You can buy your own, but hurry as they are only making 100 of these £600 (GBP) flasks.

Wouxun - Baofeng HT Coaxial Pigtail Giveaway

3-Foot Wouxun - Baofeng HT Coaxial Pigtail giveaway at American Radio Supply. Enter by liking the page and leaving your call sign by March 2.

Anytone AT-5888UV: INTEK HR-2040

A little information and a minor rant...
A post in the Anytone AT-588 Yahoo Group (that was deleted) pointed out the AT-5888UV is being sold as the INTEK HR-2040 at MoonRaker for £200 (GBP). INTEK has the radio listed on their site as well.

Now for the rant...

The owner of the Anytone AT-588 Yahoo Group closed the topic saying that it wasn't "a place to advertise other radios."

He goes on to say:

"And it could be a counterfeit which is not uncommon. I know there are counterfeit Wouxun handhelds out their that look and feel like the real thing. Anyway the less chatter about other brands in here the better."

And:

"Certainly looks like the AT5888UV. Start your own Yahoo group called Intek_HR2040 and go talk about it there."

To me this is all a little heavy handed. Based on his other posts, he has a relationship with Anytone and I suspect that he does not want to jeopardize that - thus the "advertise other radios" remark. However, I think it is of interest to owners (and potential owners) of this radio what versions of the unit are floating around out there. If the HR-2040 is actually a re-branded AT-588(8)UV, then Anytone should be happy for any sales of the radios. If they are completely different radios internally and are only cosmetically similar, that's important, too. We've already seen different versions of the 588(8), so I think is reasonable to want to know how the HR-2040 compares. If we discover it is a horrible counterfeit, it would be a great service to make that information known.

Chromebook Pixel

Sexy, probably impractical for what I do, expensive, but I'd love to play with one.

googlechrome Introducing the #Chromebook Pixel: goo.gl/9Tc2L Thu, Feb 21 14:05:54 from web retweeted by google

Baofeng BF-F9: Black Inverse LCD Display

A comment on my original  BF-F9 post points to this "exclusive" offering of a version with a "black inverse LCD display" by TokoRadio.com.  If my conversion is correct, it is about $75 USD. I looked for the BF-F9, but did not find it on the Baofeng web site, but they do have the BF-F8+ that has the same screen as the one in the image below. (It looks like they are the same image with the exception of the label at the bottom with the model number.) We've been teased by some pretty screens that have and haven't show up (I'm looking at you TYT), but maybe this one will - the Indonesian site says it is available, but if I click BUY, it says a "color selection is required" and I can't see any way to pick a color.

Time for a New Car

I think it is time for a new car:

"Information about how to purchase these vehicles will be shared at a later date."

Twitter Funnies

LoneNutVolFan How does a person's life go so horribly wrong that they conclude "I really want to be an auditor for a living"?Thu, Feb 21 08:49:43 from Twitter for iPhone

Southrngirl77 Since Obama started pushing for a ban on guns, over 65 million have been sold. Maybe he should push for a ban on electric cars.Thu, Feb 21 09:05:50 from web retweeted by LoneNutVolFan

Kitten Wars All the Time

Don't steal this guy's wifi.

SMP SMP698: For Sale at Kight Radio

Kight Radio now has the SMP698 for sale for $349.95 (USD). He updated his original post with the following comments:

"This radio is available now. We found the price to be a little high however the quality seems to be above average. Retail price will be $349.00."

Anyone going to roll the dice?

Shanghai Motorola - SMP

I just posted about the SMP698 Dual Band Mobile. Here is a little more about SMP from their website.

"Motorola Solutions (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. (“Shanghai Motorola”) is a global communications product provider powered by a passion to invent and an unceasing commitment to advancing the way the world connects. Shanghai Motorola was established in 1995. It is a joint venture between Motorola Inc. and China Putian Eastern Communications Company Limited. Shanghai Motorola is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

Shanghai Motorola designs, and produces various consumer and commercial telecommunication products. Current available products including Walkie Talkie FRS radio and SMP brand of two-way radios. Shanghai Motorola markets its products globally, and provides technical support and after sales service in the countries where it has business and operation. At the same time, Shanghai Motorola is actively developing advanced communication products that can promote the rapid growth of Internet of Thing (IOT), foster the new generation of economic and industrial network, and improve the communications in the new generation of network."

So we have Motorola Solutions (Shanghai) aka Shanghai Motorola aka SMP. I found this link to be a little more helpful in understanding the relationship with Motorola (emphasis mine):

"SMP or Shanghai Motorola Telecom Product Trading Company (“Shanghai Motorola”) is a global communications product provider powered by a passion to invent and an unceasing commitment to advancing the way the world connects. Shanghai Motorola was established in 1995. It is a joint venture between Motorola Inc. and China Putian Eastern Communications Company Limited. Shanghai Motorola is headquartered in Shanghai, China."

Best I can tell, China Putian Eastern Communications is a holding company.

SMP SMP968: Dual Band Mobile

Kight Radio stumbled across the SMP968 dual band mobile:

"It was a total surprise when I ran across this Dual Band Mobile today. I had no idea SMP was working on a mobile. The manual is in english and they made no Chinese manual for it. Perhaps their plan was to market it in the USA. I am trying to purchase some of these now, I will have more details soon."

He's got a picture at the link above. I found a PDF brochure at here. I didn't see anything about it at the SMP site.

HAVA Fundraiser and Giveaway

Linoge has kicked off his annual fundraising event. This year he is raising money for Honored American Veterans Afield:

"As the number of injured men and women returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan grew, members of the firearms industry initiated a non-profit partnership called HAVA to aid disabled soldiers as they transition to their lives back in the United States. The ultimate goal is to increase their confidence and hope for the future by reconnecting with their love of the outdoors and the American traditions of hunting and firearms."

As usual, in addition to knowing you are contributing to a worthy cause, you have the change to win stuff!!!

Click here to view the rules and prizes!

Ammo Availability

Speaking of buying ammo, a reader sent me this link to a simple app that checks the availability and pricing of ammo - http://www.gunbot.net/. You can search by caliber and it has a nice feature that gives you a pricing benchmark:

"Current climate "good deal" threshold (red text) = 60 cents per round"

Current climate being key there.

Praise God and Pass the Ammunition

So, I was splitting a case of 9mm with some of my buddies at church. Since I paid for the ammo and took delivery at church, it was literally "Praise God and Pass the Ammunition!"

Running Data - Now with Weather Data

I've been saying for a while that it would be nice if the Garmin (or RunKeeper) would add some additional information to your run history. I noticed yesterday that they have added weather information, so you can know what the conditions were during your run. The data has been added going back to December, 2012. It looks like this:

I still think they need to add a shoe database - it would be nice data for the runners, but it would be a goldmine for Garmin. I would think that Nike, Adidas, ASICS, and all the shoe companies would buy access to that data set.

Bring the Cat

A funny distraction - nothing to do with radios or any of the other usual topics.

Lasers III

I had a follow-up exam and now I am 20/20 in both eyes. Maybe by the next exam, I will be 20/15.

AnyTone AT-5888UV: Moleculo Review

Moleculo has started his review of the AnyTone AT-5888UV over at the Worldwide Radio Forum. He does good stuff. Nothing really new in his review so far (he updates over time), but there are some nice pictures.

Not Just Radios

NutnFancy looks at some Chinese (CTS XM-18 - $85 USD and Inron MY803 - $17 USD) knockoffs of some high-end knives.



Bonus - KnifeRating.com  (via Maddened Fowl)

RigPix Database - Radio Reference Site

I like The RigPix Database as a quick reference for a lot of different radios - including some of our Chinese favorites in the Other ham radios section. It doesn't have every radio, but it has a bunch and we all know how hard it is to keep up with the Anyfangun KG-UV5R$-5888P releases.

(I was sure I had posted about this site before, but I didn't see anything with a quick search.)

Baofeng UV-B5: First eHam Review

Actually, the review is of the UV-B6, but in any case, he really doesn't like the receiver - which doesn't match the other reviews we are seeing.

Antenna Company Going Out of Business

Maybe they will have a sale.

Lasers II

My LASIK procedure went really well. The actual surgery was a none event - painless (some pressure), quick, and routine. I had a follow-up exam the next morning. One eye was 20/25 and the other was 20/20. That's significantly better than the 20/400 jumping off point. Hopefully, it will get even better as the healing continues.

Typical Ham

I know I just had eye surgery, but this does not look like the hams I know. Well, the stuff behind her looks typical.

HopeLNicholson This is what your average ham-radio enthusiast looks like right? Follow my friend Dayne at facebook.com/daynethemodel pic.twitter.com/N3mhrWYwSat, Feb 09 19:58:33 from web retweeted by 73s

---

Name: Hope L Nicholson

Location: Toronto, ON

Web: http://facebook.com/lostheroesmovie

Bio: Lost Heroes Associate Producer Canadian Superheroes, Comics, TV, and Film

Following: 524 Followers: 743 Updates: 5070

---

Radio Giveaways

Ham City: Sangean H201 AM/FM PLL Digital Tuning Water Proof Radio and Yaesu Hat

American Radio Supply - Baofeng UV-5R 

Lasers

Blogging will be lite for a couple of days... I've having LASIK done in the morning. Wish me luck.

(This probably means Baofeng will announce their quad band mobile tomorrow.)

More Ham

marksenk The three countries with the most licensed radio amateurs are Japan, United States and Thailand. #hamr factoidFri, Jan 25 08:00:06 from The Visitor Widget

Open Source Death Star

Resistance is futile.

arrington Open Source Death Star Hits Kickstarter After Government Foolishly Refuses To Build One techcrunch.com/2013/02/05/ope… via @techcrunchTue, Feb 05 15:58:39 from Tweet Button

Knoxville

So we like to read books (#11 in the US) including the Bible (#1 in the US), but we are also the most romantic (#1 in the US).

It is a shame our football team is so bad.

Baofeng UV-B5: Test Mode Code

No one has found anything exciting about it, but to unlock the UV-B5 test mode in the software, try code KT511.

I'm putting this tidbit out here so, hopefully, someone will discover the undocumented phaser feature.

Hat tip to Walter and Hans (PD0AC) for mentioning it in the comments.

Supply and Demand of Guns and Ammo

Nice to be on the supply side of the equation right now.

Via Of Arms and the Law

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Radios

I think someone has a problem - 20 handheld transceivers. That's two per finger!

At least my small collection has some color.

Bandwidth vs. Latency

FedEx vs. The Internet.

I think bandwidth is important, but I think the real magic will happen when we have batteries for our mobile devices that last for weeks or months or even years.

Biggest Websites in the US

I did not make the list this year.