Yaesu FT-818: Update

Almost 6 years since this post... maybe the FT-818 is real.

Thanks to Razvan for the heads up.

Ham Radio for the Win

Some good press...

Dummies

409Shop Dummy Loads

Pioneer Rayz Plus - 1st World Earbud Problem

One complaint about the elimination of the headphone jack on the iPhone was that you couldn't charge the phone and use wired headphones at the same time. The Pioneer Rayz Plus solves that problem. It's billed as noise cancelling, Lightning - Talk & Charge, Smart Earbuds. For a mere $129, you get all the fancy, app controlled sound tweaks along with the ability to charge your phone. I'm clearly not their target audience. I'd rather grab a set of cheap wireless Bluetooth earbuds and a battery pack.

Review here.

Home Network

I mentioned I was changing my network at home - getting my own cable modem (NETGEAR CM500-1AZNAS) and trying to decide what to do for wireless. I ended up ordering the ASUS RT-AC3200.

The specs look great and I'm optimistic that I can move it to a slightly more central location. The combination of the two changes should get me great coverage throughout the house. (And, if that's not perfect, I could look at the ASUS mesh networking - AiMesh.)

Also, I'm a fan the WRT software and like the ASUSWRT version as well. You can play around with an on-line demo of the software here.

Hopefully I can get everything moved to the new setup over the week-end. I already announced a scheduled network maintenance/outage for Sunday. Guess folks may have to read a book or something for a few minutes.

The House That Spied on Me

The House That Spied on Me:

"Thanks to the Internet of Things, I could live in my very own tech-mediated Downton Abbey. That’s the appeal of smart homes for most people, and why they are supposed to be a $27 billion market by 2021. But that wasn’t my primary motivation. The reason I smartened up my house was to find out whether it would betray me."

And, oh, Certified Refurbished Amazon Echo Dots (and devices) are on-sale.

The Radios

Wow... it has been probably a year since I updated the list. I bet I added 40-50 to The Radios page.

Look for the Helpers

A tweet thread about Mr. Rogers - worth reading.

50 years ... I have a story to tell about this man. https://t.co/4MtEIcrdZE

— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) May 23, 2017

Radioddity Baofeng RD-5R: Software Update

Radioddity released an update for the software for the RD-5R.

National Signing Day

Funny...

Local Ham Signs With Yaesu https://t.co/Yu9urfI3Lj #NationalSigningDay pic.twitter.com/L8EwiDNemz

— Ham Hijinks (@HamHijinks) February 7, 2018

Ham in a Can

I post a lot about Alexa and other similar devices, but I had not thought about adding one to the ham shack.

Kingkiller Chronicle

So the Kingkiller Chronicles might end up as a series on Showtime. This could be a great option for The Game of Thrones fans. Of course, the author (Patrick Rothfuss) works like George R.R. Martin - we have been waiting about 7 years for book 3 in the trilogy.

I'm re-reading the first book: The Wise Man's Fear.

I love the stories within stories. I'm reading it with a little more care as I try to come up with some theories for the last book.

Radioddity Baofeng RD-5R: $75

Radioddity posted the RD-5R on their site and you can order it for $75.

Crouching Tiger Really Hidden Dragon

How to spot a Dragon using an illusion spell. #dnd #rpg #tabletop pic.twitter.com/cw33WhcAKq

— Grand DM (@Grand_DM) January 31, 2018

Netgear Orbi

I dropped my Comcast Triple Play down to a Double Play - no more phone. This means I don't need their cable modem any more. I ordered the NETGEAR CM500-1AZNAS and it's on it s way. (I figure by the time I need something beyond DOCSIS 3.0, I'll be able to get it cheaply.)

The bigger question is what to do for wireless since I won't be using the Comcast modem/router/wireless device. I very tempted by the NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Mesh WiFi System with Tri-band system. Lots of reviews are very positive and I like that both units have Ethernet ports on them.

S&W M&P Shield 2.0

I'm seeing lots of folks (online and in the real world) talking about the new version of the S&W M&P Shield. Lasers, flashlights, suppressors - oh my!

Smart Dumbbells

Of course they are... Bowflex SelectTech 560 Dumbbell (Pair), 5 lb - 60 lb:

"Integrated Bluetooth Smart technology syncs and records sets, reps, and weight
Free app with over 70 exercises, 6 week Challenge, journal, and more"

Unfortunately they aren't Alexa compatible, so you can't ask her to do your overhead presses.

Radioddity Baofeng RD-5R: DMR HT

Based on the UV-5R form factor, Radioddity is releasing a new DMR HT... the RD-5R:

As the first Radioddity-Baofeng co-produced DMR, RD-5R is featured with solid quality and affordable price. The FM radio function, LED flashlight and built in VFO mode make it stands out from other DMRs.
Sticked with classical design of the 5R family, this time RD-5R is a true dual band dual time slot DMR.

Fingers crossed that this will be a better radio than the DM-5R. Projected price is approximately $70 USD. In the comments, they note that the "RD-5R share pretty much the same CPS with GD-77 and hopefully this will make it a lot easier" to program and thus it will have all the GD-77 DMR functionality.

Streaming Services

Interesting viewing patterns in the big 3 streaming services...

OneDrive: Files Restores

Ignoring the awkward name, I'm always happy to see new features being released for the OneDrive service. OneDrive has stored revisions for a while, but Files Restores includes some neat enhancements - like the histogram so you can see the volume of changes.

I love the cloud and features like the Files Restores, but I still buy a USB hard drive every few years to do my own back up. That reminds me... I need to take my year-end snap shot and get the drive to the safe deposit box at my bank.