Tytera MD-9600: Digital Mobile

BuyTwoRadios.com announces the Tytera MD-9600 as a follow-up to the MD-380 HT:

"The MD-380 was a game changer, and turned Tytera into respected brand in the DMR marketplace almost overnight. 

Now they are about to do it again. Get ready for the Tytera MD-9600 Digital Mobile Radio! 

Yes, that's right, the long-awaited announcement is here. Tytera has introduced a new mobile two way radio capable of operation in both digital and analog modes. 

According to Tytera, the MD-3900 operates on 400-480MHz frequencies at up to 45 watts (UHF model) or 136-174MHz VHF at up to 50 watts (VHF model). As a DMR radio, It uses Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) technology and is compatible with MotoTRBO Tier I and II."

No pricing yet, but expected release date is in May.

The product sheet can be found here (PDF).

(As a side note, I've probably not given the MD-380 as much attention as I should have.)

Baofeng Tech BF-F8HP and UV-82HP Promo

Baofeng Tech alerted me to a promo for BF-F8HP and UV-82HP that was posted on the Miklor site:

"Until the end of March 2016, by entering the promo code 82HPF8HP at Amazon checkout, the price of the Baofeng 82HP and F8HP will be reduced to $50."

BF-F8HP

UV-82HP

TSA Compliant

This is not the tool you are looking for...

My modified multitool made it through two airports today! It may help that I laser etched "TSA Compliant" on it. pic.twitter.com/eOXwCfzOsw

— John Edgar Park (@johnedgarpark) March 17, 2016

Via @travisgoodspeed

Ninja Training

I've been kicking around the idea of going for my Extra class license or maybe getting a technical cert related to work, but after seeing this ad (via Misfires And Light Strikes) I have committed to some Ninja training.

I hope it is even better than Diemon Dave's Ninja School.



It doesn't mention it, but practicing with the Ninja Glock would be a great bonus.



And I think Sun Tzu would agree that knowing the way of the Ninja could come in handy.

Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220: Programming from the Radio

Programming the Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220 without the software is a lot more time consuming, but definitely doable as this video demonstrates. If you plan on loading it up with lots channels, you'll want to use the software and get the FTDI USB Programming Cable.

Chapter 4 of the manual (PDF) has written instructions that walk you through the programming as well.

Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220: Programming from your PC

A how-to video for installing and programming your Baofeng Tech UV-2501+220. Grab the software here. You'll need a USB cable like the BTECH PC04 FTDI USB Programming Cable as well. (The process is the same for the Baofeng Tech UV-2501 and Baofeng Tech UV-5001 - simply download the appropriate software for those models.)

Some general comments about using programming software for radios:

If the you can't figure out which Comm Port the radio is using, go to the Device Manager in Windows. You can see which port is correct or if the cable isn't showing as installed properly. The latter is often the guess if you aren't using a genuine FTDI chip.

As a best practice, I always like to save a copy of the original configuration before I make any changes.

Knox Wars

"The ADDY Strikes Back" from Elastic Pictures on Vimeo.

128 GB Floppy Disk

Better than a Zip drive!

Morning Star: Book III of The Red Rising Trilogy

I'm killing two birds with one stone with this post.

First, you know I get rich (rich I tell you!) off the millions of dollars you spend using my Amazon links. Amazon announced a new feature where they provide an embed link for Kindle books, so I wanted to try it out. We'll see what it looks like below.

Secondly, I finished Morning Star: Book III of The Red Rising Trilogy. I'd give it four out of five stars. It was mostly satisfying as a conclusion to the series. I really, really enjoyed the first book - it was a (virtual) page turner. I think I may have gotten it for $0.99 at the time. (The first hit is free!) My hang-up is more of a general nature than specifically anything about this last book. I think I enjoy the stories where there are high stakes, but the scope is on a more personal level - not giant space battles or planets being destroyed. If you read the series, you'll know my favorite parts are while Darrow is at the Institute.

Baofeng Tech Programming Cable for Mobile Radios

I've been manually programming everything in to the UV-2501+220 and I plan on doing a short video tutorial of the process. However, I am really glad my BTECH PC04 FTDI USB Programming Cable arrived yesterday.