TYT MD-380: $109 at MTC

get your #DMR on for $109 (Dayton Pricing) https://t.co/WW73ps5CUE tell 'em I sent ya! @MainTrading

— HamRadio360 (@hamradio360) June 30, 2016

Honeywell Thermostat and Amazon Echo

I can adjust my thermostat from the app on my phone - which is nice, but the real advantage is being able to build the schedule without having to wade through the menus on the limited physical interface of the thermostat itself.

So, I'm not sure how much I would use the integration with the Amazon Echo, but it's cool to see it is an option:

"Amazon Echo can now control your Honeywell Total Connect Comfort Thermostat. Use Alexa, the voice service that powers Amazon Echo, to set the perfect temperature in your home by voice command. Simply say "Alexa, set my temperature to 72 degrees" and enjoy your home's comfort without having to lift a finger."

Also, you can get a cheap refurbished Amazon Echo today from Woot.

Baofeng Tech: UV-5001 and UV-2501+220

A couple of shots to show the relative size of the Baofeng Tech UV-5001 and the UV-2501+220. It's not that the UV-5001 is that big - the UV-2501+220 is amazingly compact.

Baofeng Tech UV-5001 Gen 3

Woo hoo! 50 Watts of dual mobile goodness - the Baofeng Tech UV-5001 Gen 3! I've got the programming cable, so it is ridiculously easy to get on the air. Power, antenna, and the microphone plus a minute to download the software and I'm hitting the 940 repeater.

Good News!

Yes!

Ping "emoji"

I'm so short-sighted... I never thought about emojis for server names.

NMAP totally chokes on scanning machines when the hostname is just emojis. 💩💩 pic.twitter.com/IITtxse462

— Jerry Gamblin (@JGamblin) June 18, 2016

Knoxville Hamfest Tomorrow

Knoxville Hamfest - go early as the boneyard seems to fade fast. (And you can avoid the heat.)

Wouxun KG-UV8E: Tri-band HT Overview

BuyTwoWayRadios:

"Fans of the 1.25 meter band rejoice! The Wouxun KG-UV8E Tri Band Radio is here! This variation of the KG-UV8D takes the advanced features of the KG-UV8D Plus and adds a third ham band for even greater versatility."

Assault Type Rifle Test

Four questions.

Carry Permit Holders at UT: Part 2

More on UT campus carry including specifics about the registration process and a map of the gun free zones...

June 16, 2016 

To: UT Faculty and Staff 

From: Troy Lane, associate vice chancellor for public safety 

Subject: Information for Faculty and Staff about Concealed Handgun Law 

This spring the General Assembly passed Public Chapter 1061. The law, which takes effect on July 1, allows generally all UT full-time employees with a valid handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun on UT property. To read the law, visit http://utpolice.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2016/06/pc1061.pdf. 

The university has adopted a new safety policy at http://policy.tennessee.edu/safety_policy/sa0875 concerning firearms and has posted a list of commonly asked questions at http://policy.tennessee.edu/sa0875-firearms-faq.
At 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 20, the University of Tennessee Police Department will begin registering full-time employees who intend to exercise their right to carry a concealed handgun on UT property on or after July 1. For a definition of full-time employees, visit http://policy.tennessee.edu/hr_policy/hr0105. 

To register, applicants are required to go to the UTPD office at 1101 Cumberland Avenue to complete the paperwork and sign the application in the presence of a sworn UTPD officer. Knoxville-area employees who intend to carry a concealed handgun on university property in the Knoxville area should come to UTPD to register. 

Applicants must bring their:
- Faculty/staff identification card
- Valid Tennessee driver s license
- Valid Tennessee handgun permit

The registration process requires applicants to acknowledge their responsibilities in carrying a handgun, which include their duty to secure and conceal it. UTPD will retain the list of registered permit holders, which can be shared only with other law enforcement agencies. 

Full-time employees are prohibited from carrying a concealed handgun into meetings about tenure and employee discipline. Full-time employees may not carry a handgun into any stadium, arena, or auditorium when university-sponsored events are under way. Other prohibited locations are hospitals and offices where medical and mental health services are the primary services provided: Student Health Center, Veterinary Medical Center, Early Learning Center, and the speech and hearing clinics. A map of all prohibited locations is available at http://utpolice.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2016/06/UT-Concealed-Carry-Map.pdf. 

This new law does not extend the right to carry a concealed handgun on campus to students. Therefore, full-time employees enrolled in a class or classes at UT are unable to carry a concealed handgun on UT property. 

UTPD will offer a voluntary training course that will cover firearm safety, reiteration of statutory requirements and limitations, a review of prohibited locations, personal liabilities, and other pertinent topics. Information on the classes will be provided to registrants. 

If you have questions, please contact UT Police at 865-974-3114.

LinkedIn and Microsoft

Here is the first result of the acquisition...

New #Windows BSOD leaked pic.twitter.com/eWzX9Bap1G

— Neil Studd (@neilstudd) June 13, 2016

Carry Permit Holders at UT

The following e-mail went out from the UT President:

New Safety Policy about Firearms on Campus On July 1, a new state law takes effect that allows Tennessee’s public colleges and universities’ full-time faculty and staff, who have handgun-carry permits, to carry handguns on campus. I want to share information about the law and the new safety policy we have adopted in response. Safety Policy 0875 addresses how UT applies the many different state laws regarding firearms and clarifies when an employee may and may not legally carry a handgun on University property. The policy, which also takes effect July 1, expands on the following key provisions of state law: Full-time UT employees with valid Tennessee handgun-carry permits may carry handguns on UT property, if: They are not enrolled as students; and They notify the law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over the UT property on which they will be carrying a handgun Employees must display their handgun-carry permits on request of law enforcement officers Employees must not: Carry a weapon other than a handgun Carry a handgun openly or in any other manner in which the handgun is visible to ordinary observation Carry a handgun at certain times and locations, such as: Stadiums, gymnasiums or auditoriums where University-sponsored events are in progress In meetings regarding disciplinary matters or tenure I encourage you to review the policy in its entirety and answers to frequently asked questions provided here. Additional information about implementation efforts will be shared soon by each campus and institute. Questions can be directed to the law enforcement contacts listed within the policy. I understand strong feelings exist regarding guns on campus and want to assure you of our unwavering commitment to the safety of our faculty, staff and students as we implement this change. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I appreciate everything you do for the University. All the best, Joe

Wouxun KG-D901 (DMR): BuyTwoWayRadios.com Unboxing

Hams have a good option in the TYT MD-380, but I'm excited to see the comparisons with the Wouxun KG-D901. If you are already in the Wouxun ecosystem, this may be an easy choice for you since the KG-D901 shares accessories with radios like the KG-UV9D.

Tennessine

Tennessine:

"One of the newest members of the periodic table will likely have a familiar sound to it, even if the spelling might be a bit off: Tennessine. 

Proposed as a nod to researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, and UT who helped confirm its existence, element 117 would be only the second to be named for a state. Since the name Tennessee has its origins in the name of the Cherokee village of Tanasi, it also becomes the first element with Native American roots."

Gadgets

Gadgets are dead. Long live the (cheap) gadgets.:

"Amazon doesn't need to make money on the Echo itself, as long as it drives more commerce to its retail business. Same with Google: as long as the Chromecast gets more people to watch YouTube videos and download more stuff from Google Play, they don't have to make money from the gadget itself." 

"This trend isn't going to kill off the smartphone, or the PC, or the tablet. But it means lower-cost gadgetry that lasts a lot longer. We're only seeing the early stages of this shift now, but it has a lot of potential to shake up how we think about and how we buy our devices."

Ugly Color

I'm thinking about adding some color to my blog.

Raise

I want a $10k/year raise for being a ham.

W9WSW: DMR for Beginners

A super-brief intro to DMR with a bunch of links to more info. https://t.co/YOWUDWvPoJ

— W9WSW (@w9wsw) June 9, 2016

Baofeng BF-F9: On Woot

At the end of May, Woot was selling the Baofeng BF-F9 for about $40. It generated quite a thread on the UV-5R Yahoo Group. There was some worry about unlicensed folks getting their hands on the radios, since they were promoted on Woot. I guess the thinking was that Woot has a diverse audience that might be interested in the cool toy/walkie talkie, but have no interest or knowledge of the licensing requirements to transmit. (Also, speculating here that this is different from Amazon or other web sites where people are more likely to be intentionally searching for radios instead of having one pop up on the page.)

k4rgn shared this note:

As someone who ordered a Baofeng from Woot yesterday before they sold out, I just received an email from Woot saying: 

"Dear Potential Hammie, So you bought the BaoFeng Ham Two-way Radio Transceiver from us very recently! Thank you! Listen to your hearts content! But we somehow forgot to offer a little reminder that HAM radio transmission requires a license! And if you send without it, you're gonna get in trouble with the FCC. Read here for more: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed . If you already knew all that, excellent! But if you didn't know that, we want to give you a chance to get a refund. Just email support@woot.com by June 3rd, 10 AM CST and say I CAN'T HAM-DLE IT! and we'll cancel the order and get you your money back, just like that. Or, of course, you could get that license and learn the wonderful and majestic world of HAM. Wouldn't that be fun? Huh? Wouldn't it? It's up to you, Woot.com" 

Congrats to whoever provoked Woot to send this.

I think it is nice that they sent the note, but I believe the obligation is with the buyer. I'm trying to think of analogies with cars or guns. I'm pretty sure I showed a license to purchase my last car, but that was more a piece of the financial transaction. It wasn't to prove I was permitted to drive. I'm pretty big on personal responsibility and since there is a real (however unlikely) case that the radio could be used as a receiver only, I have no problem with them being sold on Woot.

Hopefully, we'll add even more folks to the hobby.

Streaming DMR

Posting this again as it seems timely...

Hose Line:

"Hose line is an online streaming platform for the HAM radio Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Brandmeister network. The project is still under heavy development, so if you encounter bugs, please try again at a later stage."

Via @PD0ZRY

Wouxun KG-UV9D: KD2KOG Review

Mike reviews the Wouxun KG-UV9D.

Wrenches - Standard vs. Metric

Now I can distinguish my metric and SAE wrenches at a glance. @JimmyDiResta @iliketomakestuf @donttrythis pic.twitter.com/DVhwD0uhVg

— Randy Cox (@randykcox) June 5, 2016

Via @roteno

This, of course, reminds me of the joke about the different measurement systems:

There are two types of the countries... those who use metric and those who have been to the moon.

Hytera NDP-950

Hytera NDP-950 professional Intelligent Interphone https://t.co/hZHpzir1W6 pic.twitter.com/m2b5UzR4iQ

— HAM-DMR.NL (@HamDMRNL) June 4, 2016

Via @TravisGoodspeed

No More Headphones?

Great, but I want this solved for when I'm running...

Could headphones become obsolete? Learn what’s possible with steered sound #tech: https://t.co/kqcyn3SqDk pic.twitter.com/fMpJUIASfn

— Cisco (@Cisco) June 1, 2016

VolNet DMR

Guess I need the UHF version of whatever radio I pickup... VolNet DMR Repeaters.

Packet Pushers: From Engineer to Manager

The guys from Packet Pushers have @AmyEngineer on to talk about going from a technical role to a management position.

Some funny (paraphrased) quotes/thoughts:

You can't just wait for a maintenance window and patch people. 

It's hard to google error messages for people. 

Work-arounds can be tough.

HamRadio 360 Podcast: DMR

Don't listen to the HamRadio 360 Podcast about DMR. It will make you want to spend money.

Elecraft KX Series Yahoo Group

Another Yahoo Group update...

Elecraft KX models including the KX1, KX2, KX3, and all KX-series

Alinco DR-735

Announced at Dayton, the Alinco DR-735 is a dual-band mobile transceiver:

• Full-duplex receiver enables simultaneous TX/RX within 144/440MHz bands as well as V/V and U/U receiver capability.
• Features eight full RGB color LEDs enabling you to customize your display colors in the set mode.
• Fully independent frequency, audio level and squelch knobs for right and left VFOs make it seem more like operating two monoband radios rather than a dual band transceiver.
• Simply press the volume knob to select the VFO you wish to use for transmitting.
• Cross-band repeater function available on all DR-735T radios.(Be sure to observe all regulations applicable to cross-band operation.)
• Computer programmable with free software available for download at www.alinco.com
• "Set Mode" menus are divided into basic and advanced, allowing you to assign less frequently used modes such as auto power off or busy channel lockout to set and forget. That makes it easier to access the menus you use more often, such as scan mode and pager settings.
• Large heatsink and quiet fan for stability while operating
• Wide and narrow ceramic filters enable true narrow band operation
• Two speaker ports located on the back of the unit allow you to separate signals by both right and left sides or by internal or external speakers using audio from a single external source.
• Features manual shift and offset direction setting plus preset and programmable auto-repeater settings. Includes 4 tone-burst tones.
• Includes 1,000 memory channels in 10 banks, 100 right-only/100 left-only memories, 100 dual memories, 5 pairs of programmed-scan channels, and 2 call channels. All memory channels can hold output setting, tones, LCD display color selections and more.

Video above is from Gigaparts where they are taking reservations for $35, but Universal Radio is showing a price of $349.95.

Magazine Clip

I totally stole the title of the post from here. And I may have even LOL'd at the "Yo dog, I heard you like magazines" comment.

What's all the fuss about? This...


Via SayUncle

Game of Thrones Door Stop at IKEA

Funny:

View post on imgur.com

Via Winter is Coming.net

Lighter Soldering Iron

If MacGyver had to build a soldering iron...


Via a post to Ham Radio 360 on Facebook

Radio Bug

Here's the problem with all these fancy new SDR transceivers - bugs.

Google Home

Privacy issues aside (especially since Google knows everything about me anyway)... I'm happy to see Google Home applying pricing pressure to Amazon and it's Echo product.

CS760 Yahoo Group

A new Yahoo Group for the CS760 DMR radio coming from Connect Systems.

Happy Global Running Day

Like I need an excuse to go run.