Baofeng UV-3R: USB Programming Cable 2

You can get the USB programming cable on ebay now. RadioShop888 appears to be the first to market with it. I'm tempted to order one, but at $15 it is almost a third of the price of the radio.

Going back to School

I think I need to go back to school for an MBA - the LEGO Master Builder Academy!

Via Uncrate

Grrr. Arrgh. Blogger Broke.

Google broke their Blogger service. I couldn't make changes last night or this morning. It is back now, but they lost some of my posts. Never fear! I will attempt to rebuild them bigger, stronger, faster - the million dollor posts!

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 4 - My Holsters

I don't carry all the time, but when I do, odds are it is with the High Noon Hidden Alley IWB. I usually wear something that will cover the gun, but with this holster I have the option of using the "hidden ally" (see the fourth picture below) to tuck a shirt over it. I'm no expert, but the leather seems to be sturdy and is not too thick. The Kel-Tec takes two hands to get it holstered and fits snuggly - no security concerns. Definitely worth the $37 I paid for it.






For those occasions when IWB isn't appropriate or I want to leave it holstered, but not on my person, I use the DeSantis Nemesis Pocket Holster ($18).

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 3 - Brick's Thoughts

My impressions..

Ammunition and Shooting
I'm not a great shooter and this isn't a very forgiving gun. If I had a better, stronger grip, I suspect the gun would perform better. I've not tried a lot of different ammunition with it, but the Federal 115gr RN seems to work best. It really did not like the Sellier & Bellot JHP (also 115gr I think). The Winchester White Box is marginal, too. When I try the WWB and have any looseness in my grip, I get a fail to feed. Blame me, blame the ammo, but the net effect is the same. The good news is that I'm aware of this, so when I practice, I'm working really hard to build better habits.

I can't complain about the accuracy of the PF-9 as I'm sure I am the limiting factor. I never intend on shooting this at long ranges, but I am comfortably consistent with it at short distances.

Size, Weight, Form
The PF-9 excels when it comes to size and weight. I don't carry all the time, but I don't feel uncomfortable when I do. I've got a pocket holster and an IWB that I use depending on the season and other circumstances.

I do have one issue with the layout of the controls. It doesn't happen all the time, but I occasionally hit the magazine release. The magazine drops just enough to prevent the next round from feeding. If you watched the Hickok45 videos yesterday, you will know he had the same problem.

Quality and Service
After shooting a few hundred rounds, my firing pin jumped out, disappearing in a pile of brass at the range, never to be found again. Some quick research revealed that this is a common issue and a little Blue Loctite will prevent the ejector from coming loose and subsequently freeing the firing pin to fly away. Kel-Tec sent me a free replacement firing pin quickly, but I'm surprised that they've not addressed the issue. It seems a simple fix.


Overall
Despite some issues, I'm happy with the gun. As I get better, it gets better. With the right ammo and a good grip, the gun works consistently. I would be perfectly happy with it if I could figure what I'm doing to make the magazine drop unintentionally.

Tactial iPad Case

I got an iPad 2. I'm looking for a portfolio case for it - basically something that will protect it more than a SmartCover. I ran across the Tactical iPad Case (Tac-Pad) from County Comm and must admit it appeals the Mall Ninja in me. Not a bad deal at $16.50 plus shipping.

Baofeng UV-3R: Menu Options

As one reader has pointed out, my link to a Baofeng UV-3R manual is minimally useful. Here is the most current information I have on the list of menu options. Format is menu number, menu description, and settings. [UPDATE: I should have noted that older versions of the radio have fewer options.]

Menu #	Name	Description	Options
1	RXCODE	Receive Tone	Off, CTCSS, DCS
2	TXCODE	Transmit Tone	Off, CTCSS, DCS
3	SQL	Squelch	0-9
4	LIGHT	LCD Illumination	Off, On, Key
5	K TONE	Keypad Beep	Off, On
6	VOX	VOX/Handsfree	Off, 1-9
7	POWER	RF Output Power	High, Low
8	DW	Dual Watch/UHF & VHF	Off, On
9	STEP		12.5/25KHz
10	OFFSET		0-37.995, 0-69.995M
11	SHIFT		0,+,-
12	STE	Squelch Tone Elimination	Off, On
13	W/N		Wide/Narrow
14	SAVE	Battery Save
15	TOT	Timeout Timer
16	SCANM	Scan Memory
17	RELAYM	Relay Message
18	BCLO	Busy Channel Lock

Heard on the 940 Repeater

I like listening to the 146.940 WB4GBI repeater for the random bits of trivia, good natured ribbing, and general rag chewing.

For example, one unintended benefit of moving the squad car shotguns to the roof was that officers could no longer ash into the barrel.

Also, one ham has personal experience with Kevlar pants saving him from hospital visit when he tripped into a running chainsaw.

When a ham mentioned that he wasn't going to take a radio with him on a trip, he immediately was advised to at least throw an HT in the car. CTW said he always bragged to his wife that he could use his HF rig to contact Italy. Then she would point out that could reach across the globe, but he couldn't call the local AAA with it.

Baofeng UV-3R: Local Knowledge

My company has a manufacturing facility in China. I sent a message to the IT guy there and asked him if he knew anything about ham radio in general and Baofeng in particular. His response is below.

"I knew HAM from internet, and I use public-type walkie-talkie for spring outing sometime , but they don’t need license (so its power is lower to 0.5W).

In China, there is one official organization which is the radio association to manage China Radio users. Its website is: http://www.carms.org.cn/ (no English page on it now),

Wouxon and BaoFeng are two of popular brands in China Radio market. I saw HAM BBS has some articles to show its pictures and operations. I check Vero website, it seems Vero focus on foreign market (some of products is its logon, but produced by other OEMS(like BaoFeng did)). These radios equipments are easier to buy in electronic market (but once its power output is over 0.5.it needs license, it is illegal if use it without license, but no one will want to find you or publish you even though you use over 0.5 equipments except you activities are illegal to government).

And I remember that it is possible HAM users can connect even though they are away thousands of miles via relay station? Did you try this?

I check www.taobao.com (China B2C/C2C site), BaoFeng UV-3R, price range is from 200RMB ~ 300RMB, fyi"

I'm guessing that he uses GMRS-like radios when he is out hiking. For these low power radios, it doesn't sound like the rules are strictly enforced. Of course, strictly enforced may have a whole different meaning in China. Google says that the Chinese Radio Sports Association handles the licensing for amateur radio. So, I think he got the link wrong, but I can't confirm. I keep getting a website is forbidden error message. I wonder if you have to be in China to see that page. Strange.

He is familiar with Wouxun and Baofeng since they make other radios for the consumer market.

Lastly, he sees prices from $31 USD to $46 USD for the UV-3R which, on the high end, is what we can pay for them on ebay today (excluding shipping).

Skeet - Quick Report

As I mentioned, I was going to shoot skeet for the first time today. I had a lot of fun despite shooting 7 of 24 clays. I'll work up some more notes, but I wanted to post a pic of the gun that was loaned to me for the evening. It is just too pretty to wait for the full report.

It was a 20 gauge Beretta Silver Pigeon. (Insert wolf whistle here.)

I have a friend that says life is too short to shoot ugly guns. I know what he means.