Progress

davepell Instead of having one card with which I can pay anywhere, I'll soon have a separate app to use for every store. Progress!Thu, Aug 16 17:16:06 from Twitter for Mac retweeted by harrymccracken

Running Trivia - Wow

wesrucker247 Each nation is allowed to send three marathon runners to the Olympics. Kenya had 278 guys with qualifying times.Sun, Aug 12 16:00:18 from TweetDeck

(And, yes, I am cleaning up some old drafts.)

Scams

Interesting thoughts on scams moving from e-mail to social networks. I generally agree with their reasoning, but the point below once applied to e-mails. Now we are suspicious of e-mails from our grandmother.

"They’re endorsed by your friends. You’re seeing people you know like and share these scams as that’s a condition of their “entry”. They have credibility."

TYT TH-UVF9: No Tri Band

I was just wondering around and thought I would check on the TYT TH-UVF9 that Radio-Mart was looking at modifying to be a tri-band radio. They've updated their page with the following:

"We managed to have had a prototype we were playing with that we managed "ok" results on the 1.2 band however it is not cost effective and we have found time consuming to offer this as an option and as I understand it if we sell a modified transceiver then it will itself need to be tested to see if it meets FCC approval so bottom line, sorry it does not seem worth it at this time."

Wouxun KG-UV920R: KG-UV920P

Hans got the new sample and his first tests for the version P (KG-UV920P) has got him excited - no problems with second or third harmonics on 2M or 440 and the rotary encoder problems are gone.

It is such a shame that these things start out so bad. I think the marketing teams get too far a head of engineering and manufacturing.

Extra Class Study Guide

Here is another gift idea. KB6NU has just released the Extra Class version of his No-Nonsense Study Guide. It is available in various formats (PDF, Nook, Kindle) for about $8.

Ten-Tec Holiday Specials

And via the QRPer, Ten-Tec is having some specials:

"Ten-Tec is discounting their 1380 and 1330 QRP kits for the holiday season. They’ve also extended their discount on the R4030 QRP tranceiver (details [here])."

Christmas Shopping for your favorite Ham

Here are some "neat" ham radio items that you can use to create a list for yourself or decide what to get your favorite ham.

Runbo X5: Android Mobile with UHF

Thanks to an anonymous comment on this post about the Android HT, I present the Runbo X5. The Runbo X5 is a ruggedized Android mobile phone with a built-in UHF (400 - 470 MHz) radio. Clearly, this goes well beyond the basic Android HT we were considering given the mobile phone, IP67 rating, etc. and the price goes up accordingly, but now we have an example of one Android HT implementation.

My Russian is as poor as my Chinese, but I think this post may be correct - the antenna is for the UHF radio, not the mobile phone functionality.

Here is some translated commentary from a review of the previous model, but I think we get the gist of the UHF "intercom" capability:

"Intercom function is a feature of the Runbo X3, no cell phone, no cell phone card case, within a distance of 3 to 5 km, free flowing intercom, the signal is clear, open distance greater than 10 km . The intercom function is all free, ALICE can freely travel are between the timely sharing the joy of the journey."

Ham Radio Black Friday / Holiday Sale

Ham Radio Outlet has started their Black Friday deals. Some of the deals are one-day only, so head over and check them out.

Cheap Ham has some deals as well including two Wouxun packages:

Wouxun Dual Band KG-UV6D COMMERCIAL HT - VALUE PACKAGE for $184.95
This package includes our famous Wouxun Dual Band KG-UV6D Commercial HT - 2.5K step and TX/RX 137-174, 420-520 with the latest firmware and enhancements. Included with the HT you will receive the following:

2 1700mAh Li-ion battery packs
1 AA Battery case
1 Dual Slot Drop-in Desk Charger
1 USB Programming Cable
1 Speaker/Mic
1 Earphone
1 Battery Eliminator
3 Belt Clips
Dual-Band Antenna
Owner's Manual

Wouxun Dual Band KG-UVD1P HT - 2 Mtr/70cm (UHF) VALUE PACKAGE for $144.95
This package includes our famous Wouxun Dual Band KG-UVD1P HT - 2 Mtr/70cm (UHF) with the latest firmware and enhancements. Included with the HT you will receive the following:

2 1700mAh Li-ion battery packs
1 AA Battery case
1 Dual Slot Drop-in Desk Charger
1 USB Programming Cable
1 Speaker/Mic
1 Earphone
1 Battery Eliminator
3 Belt Clips
Dual-Band Antenna
Owner's Manual