Harsh

Too cold & wet for greedy children to come out for free candy. Weather should be similar Tuesday. Democrats will have poor turnout.
— Tamara K. (@TamSlick) October 31, 2014

The Radios

I've updated the "The Radios" page. I'm sure I've missed some, but it is still a good list.

Xiegu X108: VE3FAL First Impressions

Fred has his hands on an Xiegu X108.

Xiegu X108: Owner's Manual

Ed (Import Communications) has posted an Owner's Manual for the Xiegu X108 (PDF).

Alinco DR-438H: Review by Hans

Hans takes a look at the Alinco DR-438 monoband UHF mobile. This is the radio that looks like a rebranded Anytone AT-588. Read his article for the details, but it sounds like Alinco took the time and effort to make sure their version had several improvements. The bottom line for Hans is a) that it is worth the extra money over an AT-588 and b) he likes it well enough that he's going to buy it.

Watching the Watchers

Target Blu Eye:

"The £999 system (plus £100-£200 for installation) monitors the frequencies of emergency services’ Tetra and Airwave radios and, according to the manufacturer, listens for the distinctive regular pulses sent by the radios every four seconds. These could be emitted by marked or unmarked vehicles; by radios worn by beat officers or mobile speed camera operators; or by radios in police helicopters. When a transmission is detected, the driver is alerted."

And I agree they really wouldn't like this if someone created a network of dectors and publicized their locations.

Via Slashdot

Dropbox Personal and Business

I had this in my queue before I just posted about the OneDrive unlimited space. I will note that I am already running my personal OneDrive account side by side with my OneDrive for Business.

Tip of the week: Connect your personal & work @Dropbox accts to keep everything in its place http://t.co/90RUzB8Kp7 pic.twitter.com/YseDKimq7E
— Dropbox for Business (@dropboxatwork) October 24, 2014

OneDrive - Unlimited Cloud Storage

Wow... Microsoft is going unlimited on its Office 365 OneDrive cloud storage.

G4ILO SK

One Foot in the Grave: 25 October Sad message:

"Julian died yesterday on 24 October in the presence of his wife Olga and two Hospice nurses at home at 19-45 peacefully and painlessly. He will be always loved and always remembered."

Julian was the first ham radio blogger that I started following. I remember reading his article about antennas in April of 2011. It was only a couple of months later that I read about his tumor. Prayers for all that will miss him, but especially his wife, Olga.

I'm not alone in offering condolences...

W2LJ
PA2OLD
G3XBM
PD0AC
PC4T
G4VXE

Bricking FTDI Driver Pulled

So the driver that bricks the fake chips is being pulled from Windows Update:

"As you are probably aware, the semiconductor industry is increasingly blighted by the issue of counterfeit chips and all semiconductor vendors are taking measures to protect their IP and the investment they make in developing innovative new technology. FTDI will continue to follow an active approach to deterring the counterfeiting of our devices, in order to ensure that our customers receive genuine FTDI product. Though our intentions were honourable, we acknowledge that our recent driver update has caused concern amongst our genuine customer base. I assure you, we value our customers highly and do not in any way wish to cause distress to them.

The recently release driver release has now been removed from Windows Update so that on-the-fly updating cannot occur. The driver is in the process of being updated and will be released next week. This will still uphold our stance against devices that are not genuine, but do so in a non-invasive way that means that there is no risk of end user’s hardware being directly affected."

Via Slashdot.org

FTDI Driver Update Bricks Fake Chips

This should be fun... expect the Yahoo Groups to blow up with the "I can't program my radio" posts. The new driver is available using Windows Update, so lots of people will never even realize they are getting a new version.

HackADay:

"This isn’t a case where fake FTDI chips won’t work if plugged into a machine running the newest FTDI driver; the latest driver bricks the fake chips, rendering them inoperable with any computer."

Via Slashdot.org

Power T

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is moving away from the UT System logo. The logo incorporates the image of the state.

They will start using the Power T in 2015. This is the same logo that athletics uses today. This seems to be a move to create more of a local, Knoxville identity.

But Coach Butch Jones has been preaching the idea of "One Tennessee" in an effort to lock up recruiting statewide.

Puxing PX-2R

At the 409Shop... Puxing PX-2R VHF Plus (VHF TX/RX) (UHF RX Only) Dual receive ($38.50):

"New version !!! Dual Receive Mini radio VHF 136-174Mhz (TX/RX) , UHF 400-470Mhz (RX Only)"

• CH 128 , All channel scan and priority channel scan
• Scan types :Carrier， time and search
• VOX sensitivity:0-9 levels adjustable
• Transmitter power：High power and low power switchable
• Squelch opening threshold: Receive field intensity should accurate (use the sq level to show the intensity)
• Led backlight: On/off/automatic
• Beep set: Beep on/off
• Keypad lock function: Manual/auto optional
• Transmit limited: off-270 optional
• Offset set:0-xxmhz optional (confirm the max offset according to the band after adjusting)
• CTCSS and DCS setting
  ． Receive only
  ． Transmit only
  ． 50 CTCSS and 104 DCS
• +/-offset:+/-frequency optional
• Offset step optional:12.5k/25k
• Use Dot Segment to display on LCD
• Select the LED/emergency call by programming software
• Volume control knob to turn on/off the power
• PC programming and store channel
• Can use car charger
• DC 3.7V single li-ion battery compatible with mobile phone battery
• MINI compact size 84*48*25 cm
• Output power: UHF 400-470mhz 2w
• With most competitive price

Not a Sub 2-Hour Marathon

So yesterday I posted a link about running a sub 2-hour marathon. One additional note for success is avoiding Beijing as the site of your run.

This is what it's like to run a marathon in Beijing http://t.co/2x9RgL4o02 pic.twitter.com/PIrconVTRU
— i100 (@thei100) October 19, 2014

Sub 2-Hour Marathon

What will it take to run a sub-two hour marathon? Someone faster than me.

Apple Surface Pro Clone?

So the question is, "Will Apple's next hit be a Microsoft Surface Pro clone?"

Sure, just slap a touch screen on the MacBook Air.

Anonabox - Poof!

And Kickstarter has killed the anonabox Tor router.

A Tale of Two Bags

For your review...

Larry, W2LJ, is using a Krevis tactical backpack for operating from a park or other remote location.

Linoge is using a Coleman Exponent Cortez Daypack for his nondescript, low-profile, nothing to see here get home bag.

I will also add that several of the guys where I am working are using Maxpedition backpacks.

So the Hams and network guys are moving around with tactical looking bags and the actual, tactical bag is trying to blend. If enough people will start carrying the "tactical" bags because of their practicality, then maybe going low-profile won't have to be a best practice.

And then we can all start wearing "shoot me" vests, too.

Harsh

See Your Folks

Anytone AT3318UV-E: Mini-review

A mini-review from Mike on the Anytone AT3318UV (A,B,C,D &E) Yahoo Group:

"I talked a friend into buying two of these tri-band handhelds because of the advertised FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum) feature, which turned out to be more of a random frequency trunking feature and probably a misunderstanding of the FHSS term by the Chinese manufacturer.

The radios were purchased from the exclusive US importer "Import Communications", who notified all buyers about the mistake with the FHSS option and offered a refund if so desired. 

So here I sat with my friends two otherwise good looking and great sounding 2m, 220MHZ and 440MHz plus part 90 certified handhelds as he mulled over keeping or returning the radios. After reading up on the manual, perusing the extensive programming software and living with these handhelds for a week I decided I can't live without it and and purchased one from my buddy who originally bought the pair.

These radios cover 136 to 174, 220 to 225 and 400 to 520MHz transmit and receive plus .52 to 30MHz AM HF (10KHz steps), 64 to 108MHz WBFM, 118 to 136MHz AM and 225 to about 260MHz FM receive only. The radio works surprisingly well in the AM broadcast and HF SW bands with an appropriate antenna and I did not detect any overload problems feeding it with a large G5RV type HF antenna.

The radios have a very extensive but fairly easy to navigate menu system unlike any Baofeng or Wouxun I have used and I love the various banks I can assign to memory channels to scan only specific banks if I want or I can scan the entire memory. There is also a quick talk around feature for your programmed repeater frequencies and all sorts of other nifty features that I don't see on other Chinese brands.

When using the AM/FM broadcast or SW feature, if you receive a call on whatever two way frequency is being monitored the broadcast band will temporarily mute during the call then pop back in about 5 seconds later. You can listen to music or local news and not miss a radio call. 

The receiver performance is also much better than Baofeng and Wouxun radios I've tested. I live in a very RF rich environment and was recently comparing a Baofeng UV-5R, a Wouxun UV8 plus a Yaesu VX-8R and FT-60 at a local hilltop about a half mile from a major repeater site with lots of RFI.

While listening to some simplex activity on 146.52 I noticed both Yaesu radios were hearing lots of things the Baofeng was not. Some of the signals that were almost full quieting on both Yaesu radios just did not exist on the Baofeng UV-5R. I was also playing with the cross band repeat on the new Wouxun KG-UV8D at the same location and noticed it was not repeating things that I could hear clearly on the input frequency on the Yaesu radios. 

I repeated the same tests with the new Anytone AT-3318UV-E and its on par with the Yaesu radios and could hear every weak signal the Yaesu's could in the heavy RF environment. The Anytone also cross band repeated weak signals very well under the same conditions.

I'm not knocking the inexpensive Baofeng radios, for the price they great little radios and they measure very sensitive on a service monitor. But put them in a busy RF environment and their shortcomings will show up. The Wouxun KG-UV8D is also a really nice radio and quite a leap from the first Wouxuns I played with. But the AT-3318UV-E performance is is better and you get 220MHz tx/rx and a lot more features for just a little more money.

Playing with the AT-3318UV-E menus its also apparent that Anytone engineers are familiar with how American commercial and amateur users interface with two way radio equipment. Other Chinese brands have odd and useless features and will not do many things that radio users are demanding. 

The transmit and receive audio is extremely good and better than most handhelds I own including many Motorola, Yaesu, Icom and the like. The receive audio is almost Hi-Fi and people who I know personally come out of the speaker sounding much more like themselves than any other handheld radio I have used in recent times. I also gets great unsolicited transmit audio reports.

The 3318UV-E is also more compact than a Wouxun KG-UV3 type or KG-UV8D, which I had just purchased and sold after playing with the Anytone. So far battery life is very good from the stock 1800mah pack and I can't say enough good things about this very modestly priced handheld, its just a winner all around, despite the misunderstood FHSS feature.

I think the closest competitor to the AT-3318UV-E model is probably the Kenwood TF6a, which runs about $190 more and is not FCC Part 90 compliant, although its HF receive is SSB capable. The TH6a is also a design from 10+ years ago.

So there is my story about a pair of radios purchased for a specific feature and when that feature did not pan out the radios turned out to be so good I couldn't send them back.

Mike"

Baofeng CT-3

Another day, another dollar, another radio... Baofeng CT-3:

GENERAL

Frequency Range:	136-174 / 400-520MHz
Memory channels:	Up to 128 channels
Frequency stability:	2.5ppm
Frequency step:	2.5/5/6.25/10/12.5/20/25kHz
Antenna impedance:	50Ω
Operating temperature:	-20°C to +60°C
Supply voltage:	Rechargeable Lithium-lon mAh 7.4V/1800
Consumption in standby:	380mA
Consumption in transmission	≤104A
Mode of operation:	Simplex or semi-duplex.
Duty cycle:	03/03/54 min. (RX/TX/Standby).
Dimensions:	58mm x 110mm x 32mm
Weight:	130g (approximate)

TRANSMITTER

RF power	5W/1W
Type of modulation	FM
Emission class	16KΦF3E/11KΦF3E (W/N)
Maximum deviation	≤±5 / ≤±2.5kHz (W/N)
Spurious emissions	＜-60dB

Connect Systems CS7000: Update

I've been following the development of the CS7000 (and the mobile CS8000), but not published much about it. Jerry sent this update a while back to the CS7000 Yahoo Group:

"I got some good new and bad news about the project. Being good or bad depends upon your perspective.

The good news is I will be able to put in full DMR capability fairly rapidly. The bad news is I had to take out the WiFi Capability in this version of the radio.

After speaking to some experts in the field of Software Defined Radios, it was determined that my existing hardware design had a small chance of ever doing DMR. The reason had to do with the Error correcting code of DMR verses the other formats. DMR uses a technology called "Turbo" while all the other formats use a technology called "Convolution". If I wanted to do DMR as a software defined radio I would either need a fast DSP processor or have a DMR baseband chip like what is used in the CS700.

The best solution to have a combination DMR and D-STAR radio was to add the DMR baseband chip like was used in the CS700 and change the hardware design so it looks very very close the existing CS700. While this approach is the more expensive approach, it will allow me to incorporate DMR into the CS700 very rapidly. Possibly even before the D-STAR. 

Because I had to add a fairly substantial size chip along with the AMBE 3000R, there was no more room for the WiFi module. Possibly in a future version of the CS7000 I will put back the WiFi module.

The hardware has now been redesigned and I submitted it to the manufacturer for review to make sure he can build it. The software is progressing smoothly although there is substantial work to take into account the new hardware design.

I will be able to put in the WiFi in future versions by a careful mechanical design of the electronics. Probably use Hybrid circuitry to reduce the size. I might at that time also incorporate Blue Tooth and GPS along with the WiFi if I can get the parts I need.

May also be able to do a multi band design. For now I am concentrating on getting the first version of the CS7000 finished with both D-STAR and DMR capability.

Jerry Wanger KK6LFS"

Routers

As is often the case, life seems to work in themes... since I've talking about the CWNP, I see a couple of articles about routers.

The first is a primer for buying a new router for your home.

[[[ UPDATE: Check out this reddit thread about the anonabox ]]]

Second is anonabox : a Tor hardware router:

"The anonabox easily encrypts Internet usage with a simple device that secures all web traffic, not just the traffic coming from one program. No software to download or configure, no login credentials, no registration, just plug it in and your network connection is encrypted. The anonabox also allows people to use programs over Tor that never supported it before or required complicated configuration like Skype, Safari and Filezilla, to name just a few. Also the default firewall configuration protects your computer or network from outside access."

Topsung TS-689: 10W, Triband

I waited a few days to do my regurgitating of Hans' discovery of the Topsung TS-689. I thought I might see what others thought as his posts usually get people chiming in if they have any experience with a particular radio. In this case, no one seems to have the 10 watt, tri-band handheld transceiver. I couldn't even find a different picture of the radio.

Description:Tri-band: 136-174MHz / 350-400MHz / 400-470MHz• Tri-band, dual display and stand-by• DTMF encode and decode• ANI function• 2 tone encode and decode functions• 1750Hz tone• CTCSS / DCS• 200 memory channels• FM radio• Torch light function• Reverse function• HI/MI/LO power selective, max.: 10W• Scrambler function

While 10W and a tri-bander might interest some, I agree that the extra 5W isn't worth much and there are better choices than 350 – 400 MHz.

Portable SDR

PortableSDR:

"The PSDR is a completely stand-alone (no computer needed), compact, Portable Software Defined Transceiver (hence the name, sorta). Originally designed for backpacking use by Ham Radio operators. It includes complete coverage up to about 30Mhz (plus 144Mhz), it has a 168Mhz ARM processor, color display, and an innovative interface. "

Via reddit

Standards

Not a joke! RT @rjek: Today is World Standards Day. Except in the US, which celebrates it on 23rd. http://t.co/ePc5KIvpIa
— Thomas Robitaille (@astrofrog) October 14, 2014

Leixen VV-898: Hans Reviews

Hans reviews the Leixen VV-898:

"The receiver is sensitive, very sensitive. With an average sensitivity of -127dBm the Leixen is amongst the most sensitive radios around. Sensitivity isn’t everything though; the capability to separate wanted signals from unwanted signals is much more important. 

That proved to be something the Leixen VV-898 can’t do at all. Even on a relatively deaf antenna, a Diamond discone, I heard mixer products and out-of-band signals all over VHF and UHF."

CWNP

I'm looking into the Certified Wireless Network Professional program for my next cert. CWNP is vendor agnostic. I've never formally done any training or studying on the wireless side, but after reading a couple of chapters, I'm excited about the (no surprise) overlap with ham radio topics. I spotted a ham calling "CQ" in the CWNP forum.

Wouxun KG-UV950P: 800 MHz Receive

BuyTwoWayRadios reminds us that the Wouxun KG-UV950P quad band radio will also receive from 700.000 to 985.000 MHz. The trick is to make sure you are using the "A" side of the radio to hear the 800 MHz band:

"To access the 800MHz band, simply press the A/B button and switch to A, Press the 2 Key (MHz), and enter a frequency from 700.000 MHZ to 985.000 MHz. Once entered, you can also scan the entire range of those frequencies on the A side by pressing the * (Scan) key for two seconds to initiate the scan."

409Shop Introduction Video

A little promo video about the 409Shop...

Baofeng UV-82: $29.99

You can get a Baofeng UV-82 for $29.99 at Radioddity.

DC Rainmaker's Handy Tools & Apps Page

A good list of various on-line tools for runners, cyclists, etc. For example, I've used this one to download all my Garmin data since there isn't a way to do a bulk backup of it from the Garmin Connect website. A foolish oversight if you ask me.

Alinco = AnyTone

Hans points out that Alinco is rebranding Anytone radios.

While the looks are still typical Alinco, inside it’s another story. The Alinco DR-138 and DR-438, two mono-band radios, are incarnations of the AnyTone AT-588 mono-band radios. The ‘all new’ DR-638 dual-band radio is an incarnation of the AnyTone AT-5888.

As I was posting this, I was going to add the Alinco label/tag and realized I had never used it before. Funny that I've made it four years without using it and now I add it because of Anytone.

TYT TH-9800: Version 2

Grapevine Amateur Radio sent out an e-mail about the updated TYT TH-9800 Quad band mobile. They have it for $279.99:

"We received a brand new shipment 2 days ago and have already sold several of these updated radios. This is the latest version of the TH-9800 Quad Bander, which contains a new PCB board and has the most up-to-date firmware."

I wish there was a little more detail in the message.

Because it is more likely?

Sex or space?

Organizational Announcement

Effective April 1, 2015, I will be splitting the website in to two blogs - Brick and O'Lore. I think this will better serve my customers. Plus all the cool kids are doing it.

Slow iOS 8 Adoption

If users are slow to adopt iOS 8 because of disk space issues, then maybe Apple will stop making 16 GB devices and go to 32 GB as the smallest. I know that flies in the face of their strategy to push everyone to iCloud, but 16 GB is definitely on the smallish size these days.

TYT DM-UVF10

Another day, another flavor... TYT DM-UVF10. Some posts about the DM-UFV10 mention GPS.

"DM-UVF10,a dualdisplay, dual standby two-way radio,adopts high-technology and novel designDM-UVF10 adopts humanism design,making it smart in shape, advanced in function and flexible in operation,with function of DTMF, voice scrambler and voice compander,will satisfy you and can hardly tear yourself away from it. More fantastic function,DM-UVF10 will take you to enjoy them"

• Digital dual-band

• dual display, dual standby

• VOX function

• Voice scrambler

• FM radio

Tethercell

I can't come up with a single application for this that would make me buy a Tethercell. I still think it is a cool idea.

Remove the AA battery.
Put a AAA battery in the Tethercell.
Place the Tethercell in the device.
Install the app.
Profit!


Via Uncrate

Baofeng UV-5R: Bugs

If you are having problems with your UV-5R where the receiver is muted, check out Miklor and the BuyTwoWayRadios pages for some common problems and fixes.

From the Miklor page, the affected radios are:

Some newer radios with N5R-20 and N5R-30 firmware.
This is a current firmware that will ship with ALL UV5R series radios. This includes all UV5R, RA, GT-3, BFF8, F8HP, etc.

The Stick

The last few months, I've developed some calf cramps during my runs. I tried using my big foam roller to work them out, but there is either too little pressure, too much pressure (if I cross my legs), or I can't hold myself up long enough to work out the cramp.

Many of my runner friends had recommended The Stick as a good tool to focus on a muscle area. I don't know why I didn't listen to them sooner! This thing is a miracle worker. I got mine at Runner's Market here in Knoxville. They recommended the firmer one saying it would last longer. (They had several versions of The Stick sitting around and the flexible ones were in much worse shape.) You can apply as much pressure as you are comfortable with and just roll it over the sore muscle 25-30 times. I've gotten immediate relief and had fewer problems since I started using it.

(I'll get my usual million dollar kick-back if you order one from Amazon, but I want to mention I am not otherwise getting compensated for making these glowing/gushing statements about The Stick. Sorry for the commercial, but I just like it that much!)

MatchStick

Mozilla announced Matchstick, a $25 Firefox OS HDMI dongle, to compete with Chromecast.

Via Slashdot.org

Ello invite

Anyone got an Ello invite they could spare?

Attic Antennas

A little surge of discussion about attic antennas on reddit here and here.

I've posted it a few time before, but my setup:

LTE Direct

Forget the goTenna or FireChat, the carriers are looking at providing direct phone to phone communications.* (Although, it looks like FireChat proved its usefulness in China.)



* Well, I think direct communication, but the more I read, the more it looks like a BLE alternative/beacon/marketing tool.


Via Slashdot.org

(H)Ello and Good-bye Orkut

Ello is going viral. Orkut is dead.

Vero Telecom: VR-6600PRO

Hans is back! And he confirms that the VR-6600P is dead and has been replaced by the VR-6600PRO.

The VR-6600PRO has some "super features":

1. The VR-6600P with the DOUBLE RF MOSFET MODULE, and can provide very smooth power from the V band to U band.
2. 8 colors LCD backlight to choose, you will be safer because you can freely adjust the brightness of the backlight and button light, as well as automatic backlight setting
3.The handsfree function is realized with the mini-microphone built in the panel.
4、Clear Voice.
The stereo speakers built in the panel helps the automatically identify the signal.Thespeaker sounds simultaneously when receive single signal,and it sounds respectively when receive dual signal.
5. With high performance and convenience, the turn 360°new suction cup mounting bracket can firmly suck on different rough plane, and makes it easy to remove without screws.
6.With the dual speaker installed, you can freely choose the microphone connectors whether on the mainframe or panel.
7.The mainframe is solid and break-resistant. Passive cooling adopted, the longevity of mainframe will not be affected by the dust absorbed on it.
8. A data jack is uniquely installed in the mainframe.
9.Three speaker system(two in panel and one in main frame ) allows you to have more options.
10. Multi-functional DTMF microphone is ergonomically designed, which makes you feel well and operate more conveniently. etc.

Blur Song 2 - BMW

Something made me think of Blur's "Song 2." And then my stream of consciousness led me to the series of mini-movies/commercials that BMW made. I remember downloading them - and they took forever - over our slow connections back in the day. This was was really funny: