G4ILO SK

One Foot in the Grave: 25 October Sad message:

"Julian died yesterday on 24 October in the presence of his wife Olga and two Hospice nurses at home at 19-45 peacefully and painlessly. He will be always loved and always remembered."

Julian was the first ham radio blogger that I started following. I remember reading his article about antennas in April of 2011. It was only a couple of months later that I read about his tumor. Prayers for all that will miss him, but especially his wife, Olga.

I'm not alone in offering condolences...

W2LJ
PA2OLD
G3XBM
PD0AC
PC4T
G4VXE

Bricking FTDI Driver Pulled

So the driver that bricks the fake chips is being pulled from Windows Update:

"As you are probably aware, the semiconductor industry is increasingly blighted by the issue of counterfeit chips and all semiconductor vendors are taking measures to protect their IP and the investment they make in developing innovative new technology. FTDI will continue to follow an active approach to deterring the counterfeiting of our devices, in order to ensure that our customers receive genuine FTDI product. Though our intentions were honourable, we acknowledge that our recent driver update has caused concern amongst our genuine customer base. I assure you, we value our customers highly and do not in any way wish to cause distress to them.

The recently release driver release has now been removed from Windows Update so that on-the-fly updating cannot occur. The driver is in the process of being updated and will be released next week. This will still uphold our stance against devices that are not genuine, but do so in a non-invasive way that means that there is no risk of end user’s hardware being directly affected."

Via Slashdot.org

FTDI Driver Update Bricks Fake Chips

This should be fun... expect the Yahoo Groups to blow up with the "I can't program my radio" posts. The new driver is available using Windows Update, so lots of people will never even realize they are getting a new version.

HackADay:

"This isn’t a case where fake FTDI chips won’t work if plugged into a machine running the newest FTDI driver; the latest driver bricks the fake chips, rendering them inoperable with any computer."

Via Slashdot.org

Power T

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is moving away from the UT System logo. The logo incorporates the image of the state.

They will start using the Power T in 2015. This is the same logo that athletics uses today. This seems to be a move to create more of a local, Knoxville identity.

But Coach Butch Jones has been preaching the idea of "One Tennessee" in an effort to lock up recruiting statewide.

Puxing PX-2R

At the 409Shop... Puxing PX-2R VHF Plus (VHF TX/RX) (UHF RX Only) Dual receive ($38.50):

"New version !!! Dual Receive Mini radio VHF 136-174Mhz (TX/RX) , UHF 400-470Mhz (RX Only)"

• CH 128 , All channel scan and priority channel scan
• Scan types :Carrier， time and search
• VOX sensitivity:0-9 levels adjustable
• Transmitter power：High power and low power switchable
• Squelch opening threshold: Receive field intensity should accurate (use the sq level to show the intensity)
• Led backlight: On/off/automatic
• Beep set: Beep on/off
• Keypad lock function: Manual/auto optional
• Transmit limited: off-270 optional
• Offset set:0-xxmhz optional (confirm the max offset according to the band after adjusting)
• CTCSS and DCS setting
  ． Receive only
  ． Transmit only
  ． 50 CTCSS and 104 DCS
• +/-offset:+/-frequency optional
• Offset step optional:12.5k/25k
• Use Dot Segment to display on LCD
• Select the LED/emergency call by programming software
• Volume control knob to turn on/off the power
• PC programming and store channel
• Can use car charger
• DC 3.7V single li-ion battery compatible with mobile phone battery
• MINI compact size 84*48*25 cm
• Output power: UHF 400-470mhz 2w
• With most competitive price

Not a Sub 2-Hour Marathon

So yesterday I posted a link about running a sub 2-hour marathon. One additional note for success is avoiding Beijing as the site of your run.

This is what it's like to run a marathon in Beijing http://t.co/2x9RgL4o02 pic.twitter.com/PIrconVTRU
— i100 (@thei100) October 19, 2014

Sub 2-Hour Marathon

What will it take to run a sub-two hour marathon? Someone faster than me.

Apple Surface Pro Clone?

So the question is, "Will Apple's next hit be a Microsoft Surface Pro clone?"

Sure, just slap a touch screen on the MacBook Air.

Anonabox - Poof!

And Kickstarter has killed the anonabox Tor router.

A Tale of Two Bags

For your review...

Larry, W2LJ, is using a Krevis tactical backpack for operating from a park or other remote location.

Linoge is using a Coleman Exponent Cortez Daypack for his nondescript, low-profile, nothing to see here get home bag.

I will also add that several of the guys where I am working are using Maxpedition backpacks.

So the Hams and network guys are moving around with tactical looking bags and the actual, tactical bag is trying to blend. If enough people will start carrying the "tactical" bags because of their practicality, then maybe going low-profile won't have to be a best practice.

And then we can all start wearing "shoot me" vests, too.