Glory Days

Add a little DMB and it would be just like college.

Baofeng UV-5R: Ship Times

I ordered my UV-5R the night I heard it was available. It took longer than other shipments from 409Shop. I much prefer ordering from the US suppliers just because of the shipping uncertainty alone when coming direct from China. I would have done it again, but I was anxious to try the UV-5R out. I can't believe it took nine days to get to Knoxville from New York.

2012-02-22 Ordered
2012-02-28 Order Confirm with tracking - indicated that it shipped on 2/29
2012-03-02 Processed at sort facility in Hong Kong
2012-03-03 Processed at sort facility in New York
2012-03-12 Delivered to Knoxville

Baofeng UV-5R: Stock Antenna

I had only been listening to my UV-5R sporadically and, for the most part, I just left it on the desk. This afternoon I was showing it to a fellow ham and was holding it in my hand. There was an awful lot of noise/interference that I hadn't noticed earlier. I quickly realized that the problem only occurred while I was holding the radio. If I set it down, the problem went away. I don't get the best signal on any of my HTs inside my office, so I went outside and the problem still existed if I had it in my hand.

I was extremely disappointed by this discovery. What good is a handy talkie if you can't hold it?

I was comparing it to my Wouxun and my buddy suggested trying the antenna from the KG-UVD1P. Voila! Using the Wouxun antenna solved the problem. Even without any fancy equipment and testing, I'm thinking I may look for a replacement for the stock radio based on this problem alone.

Wouxun KG-UVD1P: Alternative Manual

For a streamlined KG-UVD1P manual, click here.

Baofeng UV-5R: Size Comparison

On the left is my Baofeng UV-3R. In the middle is the Baofeng UV-5R. On the right is a Wouxun KG-UVD1P.

Baofeng UV-5R: Alphatags

We saw it in the software...

And now that I have the radio, I've seen it on the display, too. I should add that I had to do the alphatags via the software and that my programming cable from my Wouxun KG-UVD1P worked.

Baofeng UV-3R: Original, Mark II, and + Plus Video Comparison

From Chris, 2E0CTH, a video comparing the original UV-3R, the Mark II, and the + Plus model.

Smart Zombies

ConanOBrien Michigan State has a new course on surviving a zombie apocalypse. I think it’s a trap because the perquisites are English 101 and Brrrains.Mon, Mar 12 13:06:43 from web

Coming Home?

hysteria has hit? @ClayTravisBGID are you sure? twitter.com/hmize/status/1…
— Hunter Mize (@hmize) March 12, 2012

Mostly Dead

I'd like to be more than mostly dead when they harvest my organs.