Brick O'Lore

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Ham PDFs

You can never have enough hamradio pdf-files ! -- https://t.co/YoB7DR4TWe with courtesy from N5DUX ##Hamr #HamTwitter #schematics #pdf :-)
— PA3DMI (@PA3DMI) February 15, 2017

Zero, One, or Infinity

An interesting tidbit from a NANOG/DNS post:

"But needing “multiple” DNS Root Zone Servers and coming up with the number 13 appears to be somewhat curious. It seems such an odd limitation in the number of root servers given that a common rule of thumb in computer software design is Willem van der Poel’s Zero, One or Infinity Rule, which states a principle that either an action or resource should not be permitted (zero), should happen uniquely (one) or have no arbitrary limit at all (infinity). For root servers, it appears that we would like more than one root server. But why set that number to 13?"

Leading to:

"The desire in the design of the DNS priming query and response was to provide the longest possible list of root name servers and addresses in the priming response, but at the same time ensure that the response was capable of being passed in the DNS using UDP. The largest possible set of names that could be packed in a 512 octet DNS response in this manner was 13 such names and their IPv4 addresses - so there are at most 13 distinct root name servers to comply with this limit."

Radioddity R1

Looks like Radioddity has a custom branded WLN KD-C1.

NEW: Radioddity R1 UHF Walkie Talkie. This is super thin, USB rechargeable, and very suitable for camping & hiking. https://t.co/Qx2zFYL06G pic.twitter.com/zbJPRyq3Yp
— Radioddity (@radioddity) February 16, 2017

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Universal Radio Hacker

Universal Radio Hacker: Investigate wireless protocols like a bosshttps://t.co/BeQKoMFsIH https://t.co/AvVKQFcPi2 pic.twitter.com/3xjpVc5TuF
— r͈͓͍̞̗̰ ̙̟̙3l0 (@r3l0z) February 11, 2017

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Google Trends - Radios

Google Trends for Baofeng, Wouxun, Anytone, Yaesu, and Icom

Google Trends for Baofeng, Wouxun, and Anytone

Nuance for Novelty

I was listening to the Freakonomics podcast on "grit" and this really struck a chord with me:

"But I will say this: it is human nature to get bored of things and to seek the novel. And I think that one of the skills that one must develop in life, if one cares not to be a dilettante, if it’s a goal of yours to become expert in something, one of the skills is to learn to substitute nuance for novelty."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day, my dearest. I look forward to working you tonight. #hamentine
— Ham Hijinks (@HamHijinks) February 14, 2017

Monday, February 13, 2017

Xiegu X5105: Updates

Some updates on the Xiegu X5105 HF rig at hamradioreviews.eu including images and videos:

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Stupid But Constitutional

@Popehat Actual Scalia stamp: pic.twitter.com/AqOTDt525U
— Charlie Eastaugh (@inapposite) February 3, 2017

Via odverlawyered.com

Friday, February 10, 2017

Dragon Magazine

I saw this post at the Ace of Spades and it reminded me of my younger days reading Dragon Magazine.

And, of course, I had to Google "Dragon Magazine" and I found this site, rpg.net which has all the covers and details of each issue. It is unreal the information they've cataloged there for each issue.

What Could Go Wrong?

Can't help but feel we're playing with fire here. pic.twitter.com/dqbYSmwLkx
— Niall Gooch (@niall_gooch) December 19, 2016

I may have posted this earlier - that's what happens when you get so far behind.

TID TD-9800 DMR HT: Miklor Review

Miklor reviews the TID TD-9800 Tier 2 DMR HT.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Needs Another Stamp

Not me personally, but have you heard the 500-mile email problem? https://t.co/dHHPqjQffR https://t.co/qkfkKu7Djo
— Andrei Badea (@0xabadea) January 20, 2017

Novice License Coming Back?

ARRL Seeks Opinions Concerning Possible New Entry Level License:

"An Entry Level License Committee was established by the ARRL Board of Directors and appointed in September 2016. As part of its ongoing work, the committee is gathering member input and will make recommendations to the Board for possible rules changes to submit to the FCC.

The result could mean changes to the Technician license, but it could also be an additional, but simpler, license with privileges that would give a newcomer a taste of most facets of ham radio from HF to VHF and UHF.

The committee has created an online member survey. Please complete and submit the survey no later than April 7, 2017. Survey results will be published."

Via W2LJ

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Baofeng Tech UV-5X3: KD8DVR Review

John, KD8DVR, reviews the BTECH UV-5X3 HT. Read the whole thing at the link, but to cut to the chase:

"All in all, a great radio. Most of the issues have been resolved that plague Baofengs. All I'd improve, I covered in the "sucky stuff" section. None of that is really a deal breaker. The lack of an FCC ID makes me a little hinky; but, hopefully this will be resolved.Personally, I recommend the radio. It is a great way to get three band capability at a budget cost. You add this to their level of customer service and wow.... perfect combination!BTECH made a winner."

Get one at Amazon or the BTECH website.