Baofeng UV-5R: Giveaway at American Radio Supply

Win a Baofeng UV-5R at American Radio Supply.

Via AmateurRadio.com

Options

I like having options. This gives you several.

First Computers

Lifehacker asks "what was your first computer?"

My uncle loaned us a Kaypro of some flavor. I remember playing a lot of an ASCII Donkey Kong clone. (About this time, a friend has a Commodore VIC-20 that we played with as well.)

We then bought an IBM PCjr. I saved my pennies and we bought the BASIC cartridge, so I could do some simple programming.

When I went off to college, I bought a new computer. I think it may have been an AT&T branded 286. I remember connecting it via a null modem cable to the computer of the guy in the dorm room next door, so we could play a submarine game together.

A few years later, I bought a Radio Shack 486. It had a modem and I could dial up to various BBS. I think I had an AOL account then, too.

My wife claims I fell for her only because when we met, she had just taken delivery of her new Pentium Gateway computer.

The next one, I built using an Intel Celeron 300A - that was easily over-clocked to 450 MHz by changing the FSB to 100 MHz in the BIOS. Toss in a 3D video card along with my ISDN connection and I had an awesome Quake II gaming rig!

Puxing PX-888K: Follow-Up 2

Good things come to those who wait... Hans has completed his full review of the Puxing PX-888K. He's taken the original post and expanded on it. He still gives it a thumbs up:

"I like the Puxing PX-888K, but the radio is not without flaws. Phase noise is generally low, but the signal is not entirely clean. TX audio is muffled. The jacks for connecting programming cables and headsets can give you trouble later in time. Harmonic suppression is fine though, and the receiver is quite good. RX audio is brilliant – the most beautiful sounding audio to date. 

In spite of the price I can still recommend this radio, but using a good speaker/microphone is recommended."

Having never used one or even seen it in person, my contribution to the discuss of the PX-888K is: I like the green color. It has cool retro feel to it.

I did just check CHIRP again and did not seen other notes about adding support for the PX-888K.

Magpul iPhone 5 Case

Coming soon a Magpul case for my iPhone 5! Hopefully, they will continue to have it in orange!

Excel Pins Disappearing

I have a problem. Every once in a while, my Excel 2010 "Pinned" and "Recent" documents disappear from the Jump List in the Start Menu. I'm an Excel junkie, so I like to keep my favorites pinned and access my most recently used files with the Jump List.

Others have had this or similar problems, too. (here, here, and here.)

I have a guess about why mine disappear. I use a dual monitor setup at work. Sometimes I need a second instance of Excel running, so that I can compare files using both displays. So, after opening one Excel file, I click on the Start Menu and type "Excel" to start a second instance.

When the second Excel instance starts, I get a "File in Use" messagebox. It says:

"PERSONAL.XLSB is locked for editing 

by %Username%.

Open  'Read-Only or click 'Notify' to open read-only and receive notification when the document is no longer in use.

The buttons give me the options of Read Only, Notify, or Cancel.

I've not gone through and documented each case, but I can replicate the problem where it will delete the "Pinned" items and only the last files I was using show up in the "Recent" list. All it takes is opening the second instance of Excel and then closing them in a certain order. It may also require that changes be made and saved to one or both files. I don't have a fix yet, but at least I know how to avoid the problem.

This does not affect the files that are pinned inside the Excel application under File | Recent. In fact, that is where I go to recover my Jump List pins. I scan the list and open the files I want to re-pin.

Smarter

Some sites I read for amusement or information. I read Althouse, because I often feel smarter after reading a post. Do I agree all the time? No, but my beliefs are challenged or reinforced and I am better for it.

Here is a good example of why it is one of my favorite sites centering around a word - "the".

Cost Savings

While the price of rifles and ammo goes up, Magpul is trying to make their training programs more affordable:

News from Magpul Dynamics 

With the state of the industry right now, the Dynamics crew is making some accommodations....

Magpul Dynamics Pricing and Ammunition Requirement Update

In an effort to make training more accessible in these times of increased prices and reduced availability, Magpul Dynamics has updated their pricing structure, round counts, and acceptable calibers for the 2013 training year.

Effective immediately, all three-day classes are reduced to $600 per student, and two-day classes are reduced to $450 per student. In addition, the curriculum has been revised for all pistol/carbine courses based on the changes occurring over the past year to allow for maximum training value at a slightly reduced round count. Also, we are temporarily allowing the use of pistol-caliber carbines and 22LR AR-15 pattern training rifles in the carbine classes. Please understand that there are many drawbacks to training with 22LR as opposed to normal rifle platforms, but significant training value will still exist. We expect a full return to allowing rifle-caliber rounds only in the future as the ammunition supply catches up with current demand and ammunition prices return to a reasonable level. However, we understand the financial burden placed on students with the current state of the economy and the rapid rise in retail pricing in the ammunition industry. We firmly believe in the value of quality firearms training and are committed to providing quality products and services at a fair price.

Duane, Steve, Jon, and Caylen

It is nice to see that people get it - and I bet it helps their business. They (deservedly) look good and probably get a few customers they wouldn't have before the changes.

I believe in letting the markets work, so the prices are what the prices are for rifles, pistols, and ammunition. If you don't like the price, let it go. If others do the same, the prices will come back down. Heck, if the Constitution isn't totally torn up, there might even be some deals to be had when things normalize.

Boafeng UV-5R: New Models

marksenk Just wondering when the 2014 Baofeng UV-5R model will start being sold - "2013 model" appeared in UV-5R ebay descriptions 5 months ago!Sun, Jan 13 04:04:21 from web

They will be available as soon as the Baofeng marketing guy sees a drop in sales. Here is a reminder about the differences between the models from October:

"We receive many emails asking if we have different UV-5 models. We were also asked if we have the New 2013 latest UV-5 Baofeng has taken the standard UV-5R and packaged it on many different cases. ALL of these new model numbers are the SAME RADIO, no different from one to another but just a different name. There are no 2013 models unless you have a time machine, They talk about extended freq coverage, that change is made in the new software they released, not in the radio. So, pick the case design you like and go with that, your getting the same radio. Hong Kong and Chinese sellers like to confuse you and make you think your getting something different but your not. Better buy from a US Seller that will back the warranty in the USA."

The Nones

"This week, Morning Edition explores the "nones" — Americans who say they don't identify with any religion. Demographers have given them this name because when asked to identify their religion, that's their answer: "none."

I wonder if the "nones" have replaced their need for connectedness and community with technology - Facebook or any other social site. You don't have to go down to the Wednesday night meal at church to learn what is happening to your friends. You just check your smartphone and you know what they are up to.