Complex, No Common Names with 50+ Characters

"Choose password" > 123bob "Password must not contain common names & must be complex with at least 50 characters" > gameofthrones "OK"

— Terry F (@daemonic3) June 4, 2014

Grant

I went down a rabbit hole for no real reason, but stumbled across this document [PDF] about neighborhood grants available in Knoxville. The reason I found it interesting is that the awards could be used for ham radio training. Under project examples, the text reads:

Crime and Public Safety
—
Projects which reduce crime and increase public safety, such as establishment of a neighborhood watch program; creative alley lighting; National Night Out activities; and crime prevention, fire safety and emergency preparedness programs (including First Aid, CPR and Ham Radio training)

The grant process is competitive, so I suspect that ham radio training might not be as compelling to some as a park or program to benefit seniors or children.

Tech Fatigue

People are getting tried of keeping up with all the changes or maybe most things are good enough.

In the last year, I went from an old 42 inch HDTV LCD to a new, thin Vizio 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart TV. I upgraded to an iPhone 6. I've had an old iPad Mini for years that I rarely use. I don't have a smart watch. I've had my Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostats for a while. I'm not really interested in a drone.
I might upgrade my Garmin GPS running watch or add a fitness band. I geek out over the data, so I'd like to have the heart rate and sleep information that something like the Garmin Vivosmart HR would provide.

How Things Work VideosMechanical

A bunch of great videos showing how various mechanical devices work.

Videos of every mechanism ever (via @YouTube) https://t.co/1m210PdEzq pic.twitter.com/wQD0AwvOrm

— James Lewis (@baldengineer) January 5, 2016

Star Trek Floppy Disks

Gene Roddenberry left behind 200 floppy disks and the data has been recovered. No one is saying what is on the disks, but I think we finally find out that Captain "Red" Janeway and Pavel Chekov are cousins.

Alinco DJ-X11

Mike's got a new favorite - Alinco DJ-X11:

"The Alinco DJ-X11 is a wide-band all mode portable that has IQ output so it can be used as a limited sound card based SDR and it also has the option to output base-band audio also known as a discriminator tap the can be used with any app that needs unfiltered audio (PDW, Unitrunker)."

Smart Mirror

This project looks like way too much work and buying a monitor for it makes it expensive, too - but I like the idea of a Smart Mirror.

Pocket Whiteboard

I love whiteboards. They are a favorite tool of mine. Low tech, yes, but very effective.

Now I can have a whiteboard where ever I go... the Noteboard Pocket-Size Dry Erase-Board.

Skilman Introduction to Morse Code Giveaway

AmateurRadio.com and Skilman are giving away 10 copies of the Skilman Introduction to Morse Code.

Dishtronix - Ten-Tec

Matt at AmateurRadio.com wrote to Mike Dishop of Dishtronix, Ten Tec’s new owner. Click here for the full response, but a couple of key quotes are below:

"My vision is strictly long term. I have no plans to leave this business and will continue to operate Ten Tec as long as I am physically able to do so. I believe the Ten Tec transceivers to be some of the best transceivers available at any price and personally have been operating an Orion II until the first change of ownership." 

"Unfortunately I have had to make some tough decisions which were made for the long term health and viability of the company." 

"There has been some speculation if Ten Tec will move to Ohio. I do not plan to move anything at this time from the Sevierville – Knoxville area, but we may move within that area. 

If I could ask the ham community to do one thing, it would be to please be patient with us. Things like this take time."