Vibroplex and Inrad

With the uncertain long term future of Ten-Tec, I'm happy to see more ham radio businesses coming to East Tennessee - and Knoxville in particular.

From the Vibroplex Facebook page:

"October 6, 2015 – Vibroplex LLC of Knoxville, TN announces the acquisition of International Radio Corporation of Aptos, CA. The sale was finalized on September 23. International Radio, commonly referred to as “Inrad”, is the leading manufacturer of aftermarket and OEM crystal filters for Amateur Radio transceivers and receivers with some 250 different models currently available for present day equipment and obsolete gear dating as far back as the 1950's. Inrad is presently the OEM roofing filter supplier for the popular Elecraft K3/K3S series of HF transceivers. The last day of operations in California was September 22. Inrad is now up and running at the Vibroplex offices in Tennessee but the backlog of present orders on hand will take several more days to fill. The former and new owners say thank you to the Amateur Radio community for more than 40 years of Inrad business. Inquiries about Inrad can be directed to the main Vibroplex email address at vibroplex@vibroplex.com or sales@inrad.net"

Previously, Vibroplex acquires Bencher.

Also, Vibroplex.com.

Runner's High

Dude, let's go for a run...

To Your Brain, A Runner’s High Looks A Lot Like Smoking Weed

Baofeng or Pofung

The BaofengTech guys make sense of the introduction of the Pofung brand:

"It was simple exploitation of the trademark system. Way back in 2012; right after the US introduction of BaoFeng radios; an individual realized that the ‘BaoFeng’ name had not received a US trademark. The individual applied for the trademark and in January of 2014; was granted the trademark."

As Paul Harvey would say, "And now you know the rest of the story."

Going downhill and gaining speed

The end of civilization will be captured in a selfie. https://t.co/XtORAa7VDr

— LNVF (@LoneNutVolFan) October 1, 2015

And he's referring to...

Hey girls, if you hadn't noticed, there's a game going on https://t.co/7pxeSDYafH

— The Sports Quotient (@SportsQuotient) October 1, 2015

Two Wrongs

Black Lives Matter protesters to block finish line at the Twin Cities Marathon.

I don't think this will help bring support to their cause. Attention, yes. Support, no. I'd be most upset if this happened to me.

Yanton Radios

Another brand to check out... Yanton.

Walt Disney World Repeaters

I didn't realize the Walt Disney World (WD4WDW) repeaters existed. Some responses to the original question about them on reddit below.

jonny290:

"I hear they used to be populated with a bunch of prince charmings, but then a couple of dumbos got goofy with it and now all the regulars went back to SSB transmitters and AM receivers 

p.s. if you do go you'll notice the best coverage over in the water parks -the little mermaid section is renowned for its aerial"

_Bitwise_

"Hm, no idea but it's interesting to note that that call is registered as Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service. 

I don't reckon that actually restricts use of the repeaters to emergencies only."

Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service = Disney EARS! Ha!

The club website is here.

Wired's Ghost Gun

I Made an Untraceable AR-15 ‘Ghost Gun’ in My Office—And It Was Easy:

"I looked down at the fully built rifle and something in my brain shifted. I realized that the abstracted parts I’d been fiddling with had turned into an object capable of killing someone. My lower receiver had transformed from a “gun” in a legal sense to a “gun” in a very practical sense."

Abstracted parts... an object capable of killing someone... that could be said of many things. I'm not sure why guns seem to have some magical power that makes them so different from other tools - from hammers to cars - that can be used to hurt or kill someone.

Blackbox Base Station Unboxing

From the guys at BuyTwoWayRadios... the Blackbox Base station that I've posted about a couple of times.

Baojie BJ-218: Manufacturer's Web Site

A link to the manufacturer's page for the Baojie BJ-218. There is a download section, but it only contains a brochure and a spec sheet at the moment - no software. And nothing on their download pages either.

The 409Shop does have a download link [.rar], but I like to see if the manufacturer has something different.