Blogger's Poor Man's Backup

After the mishap with Blogger, I thought I might want to check out my backup options. I can manually download an XML file of the entire blog, but that depends on me to do something. I suspect there are cool tools to do a backup, but for now, I've just subscribed myself to the blog, so I get an e-mail with the current posts. That at least gets me the text, so I wouldn't have to rewrite a post.

Depending on Gmail, a Google service, to backup Blogger, a Google service, what could go wrong?

Baofeng UV-3R: Battery & AA Battery Case

Alternate Batteries
The UV-3R comes standard with a 1500 mAh battery with a stated run time of 10 hours. There are reports that this a common camera battery and you can use the NP60 and SLB1037 as a replacement. I will verify once I can lay my hands on the parts.

AA Battery Case
Some people have had good luck using an AA battery case for the Yaesu VX-3R, part #FBA-37, with their UV-3R. I've got the Yaesu part and have ordered another knock-off one from eBay. RPComms43 posted pictures indicating that a small modification had to be made to the plastic case before it would fit. Again, once I have the parts in place I will update and show how it worked for me.

I will once more suggest joining the UV-3R Yahoo Group. These guys are smarter than me and have been really great at getting answers to those that ask.

Maps and Character Locations

Obviously, I have been reading George RR Martin's Not a Blog today. He links to a Spanish site that includes a map of character location by episode. Pretty cool.

I had a similar idea when reading his A Song of Ice and Fire books, but was thinking more about locations based on the fictional date. Some of the chapters in the books overlap so chapters aren't perfect for defining a point in time either. Someone with a little technical savy and some time could map out the locations and then allow you to click "play" and watch them move around Westros. Given the number of characters and locations this would be a slick compliment to the books. You could even move back and forth through time to watch the relative movement of characters. Imagine using something like that to map out Heroes or Back to the Future.

As I mentioned before, the title scene does a good job of giving an overview of Westeros. If I was a good writer, I would have said it like this:

"From the spires of King's Landing and the godswood of Winterfell, to the frozen heights of The Wall and windy plains across the Narrow Sea, Elastic's thunderous cartographic flight through the Seven Kingdoms offers the uninitiated a sweeping education in all things Game of Thrones.

- Will Perkins, Contributing Author"

The above quote is from an article on the Game of Thrones intro at The Art of the Title Sequence. The article includes a video of the intro along with several good pictures of various components of the sequence.

And it sounds like my speculation that the intro would change based on the locations of the characters is correct. Plus one for me!

"At this point, we made a list of the locations we needed to build. Then we figured out how many different versions of the sequence we would need to create, the idea being that the opening title would show you all the places you would visit in each episode. And we boiled it down to four different sequences, each a subtle variation."

I'm loving the series. I can't believe we have seen five episodes already, but I'm glad we have several more and a whole second season!

Art of the Title Sequence info via Not a Blog

The Problem with Environmentalist Tree Hugging Hippies

[ SPOILER ALERT ]

[ SPOILER ALERT FOR GAME OF THRONES - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ]

[ SPOILER ALERT ]

Life imitates art again... George RR Martin discusses the response to the demise of one of his characters in the Game of Thrones series.

"It has come to my attention that a number of television viewers (mostly those who had not read my books and did not know what was coming)were shocked and upset by what befell Sansa's direwolf Lady at the end of the second episode of HBO's GAME OF THRONES.

Good. I mean, that was kind of the point.

But some people were reportedly so shocked and upset that they wrote angry blogs about it, and even declared that they would not continue watching the show.

Not so good. Obviously, I'm sorry to hear that.

I don't know if any of those people are reading my Not A Blog. But in case they are, perhaps it will make you feel a little better to know that Zunni, the Northern Inuit who played Lady, is alive and well, and has been adopted by Sophie Turner, the lovely young actress who plays Sansa in the show. We didn't really kill her."

But here is the kicker...

"(Rhodri Hosking, the young actor who played the butcher's boy Mycah, was not actually killed either, though oddly, no one seems quite so upset about him)."

How often do we hear about saving the tree/bird/unicorn, but with nary a word mentioned about the impact to people?

Bricks Power the Internet

Sites that generate the most referral traffic:
1. Google
2. The Drudge Report
3. Brick O'Lore

Baofeng UV-3R: The Specs

I've posted a lot about the Baofeng UV-3R, but I've been remiss in posting the technical specifications of the radio. The information may not be perfect. I have noticed differences in what others has posted and what Baofeng listed. For example, squelch may be 0-9 or 1-9.

Functions and Features
- LCD Menu Operations
- 50 CTCSS, 104 CDCSS
- 99 Channels (1 Emergency Channel)
- Time-out Timer (Off/30/60/90/120/150/180 secs)
- Key Tone/Keypad Beep (Off, On)
- FM Radio Built-in (87.0 - 108.0 MHz)
- Shift Frequency
- VOX (Off/1-9 Levels)
- Call Tone (1750 KHz)
- Squelch Set (1-9 Levels)
- Electronic Volume Adjusting (8 Levels)
- Keypad Lock
- Backlight (On/Off/Key)
- Tail Tone Elimination
- Battery Save
- Monitor
- Power Capacity Display (Off, On)
- Low Battery Alert
- Restore to Factory Default
- PC Programming
- FM Radio Channel Storage

Technical Specification - General
Frequency Range | 136-174/400-470 MHz
Channel Capacity | 99
Channel Spacing | 5/6.25/12.5/25 KHz
Operated Voltage | 3.8V
Standard Battery | 1500 mAh
Battery Life | 10 hours
Frequency Stability | 2.5ppm (-20°C to 60%degC)
Operating Tempature | -30°C to 60%degC
Antenna Impedance | 50 Ω
Dimensions | 1.9" x 3.2" X .9" (Approximate)
Weight | 140g

Technical Specification - Transmitter
RF Power Output | 2W
Modulation | F3E
Spurious Emission | 65 dB
FM Noise | 45 dB (N)/42 dB (W)
Audio Distortion | 5.00%
Adjacent Channel Power | 60 dB
Max Frequency Deviation | <= 2.5 KHz (N)/ <= 5.0 KHz (W)
Frequency Error | 500 Hz
Modulation Distortion | 0.1 KHz (300 - 3000 KHz)
Transmitting Current | <= 1.4 A

Technical Specification - Receiver
Sensitivity (12 dB SINAD) | 0.2 uV
Squelch Selectivity | 0.15 uV
Adjacent Channel Selectivity | >= 65 dB
Background Noice | <= 50 mV
Spurious Response Rejection | -60 dB
FM Ham and Noise | 48 dB (N) /48 dB (W)
Audio Power Output at 8 Ω | <= 1.7 V
Audio Distortion | <= 10%
Receiver Current | <= 400 mA
Standby Current | <= 75 mA

Source: Baofeng UV-3R Product Page

Baofeng UV-3R: Internals, Integrated Circuits

Fabrice, F4AVI, of France, was kind enough to share some pictures of the internal components of the UV-3R on the Yahoo Group. In addition, he's researched the chips. I've added the links and please note I had to guess about which version of RDA5802 is used.

"I have the old version, with 12 menu items and NO 1750Hz. I decided to open the rig, just to see inside.

I found the main CHIP is a RDA1846 which is an entirely integrated IC for portable radio. It's a true totally digital radio, with DSP inside for both receiving and transmitting.

The FM band IC, is a RDA 5802, similar to RDA 1846, but only for FM receiving.

There is a serial EEPROM 24C16 too, and I think I will try to read his content just to see if i can find something interesting.

The main processor is under the LCD display, but I didn't want to unmount it, as I'm scared for malfunction of the display after that."

For the rest of the pictures, sign up for the UV-3R Yahoo Group. It is a great resource for this rig.

Coal Creek Armory: Face Lift

I noticed the other day that they were painting at CCA and some things were shuffled around. Looks like they are getting a nip tuck.

On Target Training Center

I've used On Target Training Center for FFL transfers a couple of times. I get really cheap when I buy my guns and pinch every penny, so I look for the lowest cost transfer. (I've bought several guns from Bud's. They seem really hard to beat on price.) Doug was doing the transfers for $25, but has gone to $30. That's still better than other places since it includes the background check. Right now he is only open Monday through Thursday.

Kel-Tec PF-9 Week: Day 6 - KTOG

The Blogger problem got me rattled and I forgot to add the following to Day 5 - Links.

There is a plethora of great information on the Kel-Tec Owner's Group PF-9 forum. Seriously. A. Ton. Of. Information.

And Golden Loki Fluff N Buff - the "gold" standard for improving reliability of your PF-9.