Helmet Cam Videos

There are those who doubt that live video from helmet cams was transmitted back to the situation room during the raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. I say if the the Colonial Marines had access to helmet cam technology, then Seal Team Six would have as well.

Image by Gryffindor

Grrr. Arrgh. Blogger Broke 2

Here is the official word from Google about what happened to break Blogger.

"Here’s what happened: during scheduled maintenance work Wednesday night, we experienced some data corruption that impacted Blogger’s behavior."

That clears it right up.

Here is a short list of my posts that you might have missed (or you could just scroll down through the site):

Baofeng UV-3R: Local Knowledge

Heard on the 940 Repeater

Baofeng UV-3R Menu Options

Tactial iPad Case

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

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 3 - My Thoughts

And after clicking Publish Post, I am off to do a backup and go to bed.

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 5 - Links

Kel-Tec PF9 - link to the manufacturer's website

Matt G's detailed experience with the PF9 at Better and Better - His experience mirrored mine exactly. Firing pin, here today and gone after the next round.

"We struggled with ammo combinations, and this last qualification, noted that it didn't eject well, and then didn't fire. I looked at it, and found that the extractor spring retention screw had backed out, which accounted for the problems with extraction. It also served as the firing pin retention screw, which accounted for the fact that the firing pin and its spring were gone. Not Present. Well, this was fixable. A call to Kel-Tec, and they again sent the parts free of charge. The lady with tech support cautioned us wisely: "Whenever you turn that retention screw, be sure to put some LocTite red on it before putting it back together!" Excellent advice."

Shooting Illustrated's "Skinny to the Nines" - a simple review of the PF9 and other small 9mm pistols. Interesting that they comment that the mag release is right where it should be.

Oleg has some glamor shots of the PF-9 at his Volk Studio Blog. Very cool shots that are worth a two seconds for the page to load. The .22LR conversion he shows is from Twisted Industries. A taste of Oleg's work:

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