NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC

A quick plug for NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC (Hawaii's Ham Radio Store)... I've mentioned them before as a supplier of the Baofeng UV-3R, but the reason for this post is their RSS feed. If you aren't familiar with RSS feeds, they allow you to subscribe to a web site and have updates delivered to you. I manage my subscriptions in Google Reader. When you follow a lot of web sites, it makes the task much easier. My recent Reader stats:

From your 140 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 4,710 items, clicked 194 items,starred 339 items, and emailed 0 items.

Back to my point, NH7QH's site has an RSS feed, so I know when he's added new products to this store. It is an easy way for me to keep tabs on what he's got going on.

For example, he recently added Speaker Mic for the Baofeng UV-3R Mark II, announced his Black Friday Sale (Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner for those that are interested!), offers a USB to Serial Adapter, and has a new Mini Dualband SMA Antenna.

I wish other sites would do the same.

Google News

Google Reader is getting a new design and some Google+ features. GMail is getting an overhaul, too. And Google+ will allow pseudonyms (or at least nicknames).

Amazon - New Kindles Touch and Fire

So I'm all about the tablets right now... I was like a kid at Christmas watching two live blogs (here and here) yesterday as they covered the announcements from Amazon. I'd been reading all the predictions about how great this new tablet was going to be and then in the 48 hours leading up to the announcement, opinions seemed to become much more negative. The tablet was going to be a hack job and would be replaced with something different in Q1 2012. And what did we get... not only the color tablet we expected, but several new models of the Kindle - including a $79 low-end ebook reader and new touch screen models.

My take... I'm not sure I need anything beyond my Android Nook Color, but I think the future is very exciting! I don't think Amazon is trying to attack Apple directly. Others have said that the Kindle is not a book, but a bookstore. The Fire is a bookstore, movie studio, and a TV network - and maybe a data mine (one view - Amazon attacks Apple... and Google!)


Via Technologizer

Kindle - Nook - iPad Comparison (image from This is My Next)


The Kindle Fire competes with...
Hands on with the Kindle Fire
Amazon makes $199 challenge to iPad
Apple is no longer the only tablet maker that matters.
Playing With Fire: Amazon Launches $200 Tablet, Slashes Kindle Prices
Broken Models - Syncing and Backups
The new browser - SILK
What is old is new - SILK and Opera Mini
Slashdot's Rob worries about Privacy and Security



And again... why SILK and the new browser model means Amazon attacks Apple... and Google!

And when will the Kindle be free?

Bonus Link - you aren't getting a TouchPad.

Nook Color Android

So I've been playing with my Nook Color Android tablet. My reference points are an iPad2 (the gold standard for tablets) and my Droid Pro phone (running Android). My first impressions were favorable and that has not changed.

I like the 7" form factor. It is very usable and takes up less space in my bag than does the iPad.

The battery life doesn't seem to be as good as the iPad. I've not done any specific testing, but my gut says I'm charging it more often with roughly equivalent usage. I don't think this is a Nook issue - more of an Android problem. My Droid Pro has mysterious battery sucking apps running that fix themselves.

Unlike the Droid Pro, some applications (Google Reader for one) occasionally blow up and have to be restarted on the Nook Color Android. This doesn't happen very frequently, but I've almost never seen it on the Droid Pro.

Overall, a few hiccups but a great value at half the price of an iPad.

Nook Color & Nook 2 Android

I really like our iPad. The three of us seem to share it pretty well, but I was already thinking we could really be a two or three tablet family. My uncle is trying out a Nook Color, the Barnes & Noble ebook reader along with a little hack to run the Android OS via a bootable microSD card from Nook 2 Android.

You can pick up a new Nook Color for $250. I got a refurb on Buy.com for $180. You can then order the a Nook 2 Android 8 GB card for $35. So on the cheap side, you can get an Android tablet for $215 plus shipping.

I'm excited about this as I really wanted a tablet and I think this will be a great device. I want it to be my portable documentation repository and library. Dropbox plus some PDFs. YouVersion for multiple versions of the Bible. Add Google Reader for my RSS feeds and I am all set!

Blogger's Dead Man Switch

I read most of my favorite blogs and web sites using a RSS reader. One blogger I read is in poor health. He must have scheduled a good-bye post that he would continually update and push the date out. Except one time he must have forgotten or otherwise been unable to move the date.

I saw the post in my RSS feed, but when I checked his site, the entry had been pulled. It was eerie, sad, and beautiful all as the same time.

I am happy to report that he was still posting last week.

Baofeng UV-3R: Menu Options

As one reader has pointed out, my link to a Baofeng UV-3R manual is minimally useful. Here is the most current information I have on the list of menu options. Format is menu number, menu description, and settings. [UPDATE: I should have noted that older versions of the radio have fewer options.]

Menu #	Name	Description	Options
1	RXCODE	Receive Tone	Off, CTCSS, DCS
2	TXCODE	Transmit Tone	Off, CTCSS, DCS
3	SQL	Squelch	0-9
4	LIGHT	LCD Illumination	Off, On, Key
5	K TONE	Keypad Beep	Off, On
6	VOX	VOX/Handsfree	Off, 1-9
7	POWER	RF Output Power	High, Low
8	DW	Dual Watch/UHF & VHF	Off, On
9	STEP		12.5/25KHz
10	OFFSET		0-37.995, 0-69.995M
11	SHIFT		0,+,-
12	STE	Squelch Tone Elimination	Off, On
13	W/N		Wide/Narrow
14	SAVE	Battery Save
15	TOT	Timeout Timer
16	SCANM	Scan Memory
17	RELAYM	Relay Message
18	BCLO	Busy Channel Lock

For me it is my RSS Reader

... and with that I am going to bed.

Google +1 and Cloud Picker

More noise about Google's social app and file storage product... I'm a big fan of the apps and love the integration of all the Google tools. For my personal needs, I use Blogger, YouTube, Gmail, Reader, and Docs. (Of course, integration is the same reason I use the Microsoft products for my global, corporate enterprise.)

Google +1

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