Baofeng UV-3R: Colors on Sale, UV-3R Mark II in stock

Chris, NH7QH, is now showing the UV-3R Mark II in stock at NH7QH Radio Supplies. Also, he's got the color versions on sale for $55 to $57.

Qwikster - We Barely Knew You

msuster lol “@ConanOBrien: Just spent 5 hours organizing my Qwikster queue. Really starting to love this new site! #qwikster4life”Mon, Oct 10 16:16:05 from Twitter for iPhone

I think I need to follow @ConanOBrien

Jobs, Cash, Hope.

makower Someone just sent this: 10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash & Bob Hope. Today we have no Jobs, Cash, or Hope.Mon, Oct 10 23:24:41 from TweetDeck retweeted by sarahcuda

Boafeng UV-3R: Remote Control for Hand Driers

This little radio does it all... UHF, VHF, FM broadcast, communicate via satellite, start hand driers in the bathroom, etc.

From the Baofeng UV-3R Yahoo Group:

"when I press the ptt around 144.0 and 145.0 the "hand driers" at my work toilets start to work, then stop when Ptt is released. 

I am standing in a different room, around 6 to 8 meters away."

Those Chinese engineers think of everything!

Ten-Tec 539 QRP Transceiver: Q&A with Ten-Tec

Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, of QRPer has an interview with the Ten-Tec team regarding the 539 where several questions about the rig are answered. Some notes that struck me... it might get 160M, probably less than $1000, and can be computer controlled via USB. There is also some information about the Model 418 Amplifier.

Tablets R Us

Why buy something besides an iPad? (I'm listing this link first - if you read only one, make it this one.)

"The Kindle Fire is interesting because it’s the first one with a good answer: it’s much cheaper, Amazon offers a digital content ecosystem that rivals Apple’s (fewer apps, more books), and millions of people already use and enjoy Kindle hardware. The e-ink Kindles are to the Kindle Fire what the music-playing iPods were to the iPhone, and what the iPhone was to the iPad — traction in the mass market based on trust and loyalty.

Amazon built an alternative to the iPad, rather than a direct competitor. It’s a different market segment. As Steve Jobs explained back in 2010 at the introduction of the original iPad, there’s unexplored territory between smartphones and laptops."

And:

"The iPad and Kindle Fire are emblematic of their makers. Apple’s primary business is selling devices for a healthy profit, and they back that up with a side business of selling digital content for those devices. Amazon’s primary business is as a retailer, including as a retailer of digital content. They back that up with a side business of low-cost digital devices that are optimized for on-the-fly purchasing of anything and everything Amazon sells. The Kindles are to Amazon what the printed catalog was to Sears a century ago."

The X-Ray feature might tip the scale and give me a reason to pay a premium of an e-book.

"All the new e-ink Kindles have an innovative feature called X-Ray. When you download a book on an e-ink Kindle you automatically receive a second file with information about the characters and settings of the book. The sources include Wikipedia and an Amazon-owned company book-related social service called Shelfari. It’s a welcome means to quickly figure out whether an unfamiliar character had appeared a few chapters earlier."

If I buy a Kindle, I will get the version that is ad supported, because you can change your mind later and pay to opt out of the adds with no penalty.

Amazon to buy Palm? Speaking of old school, maybe somebody should snap up BeOS, too.

Some iPad alternatives

I've finally decided what my next tablet will be: The Sabre Pyramid

iPhone 4S... point and shoot camera killer?

What is the difference between a smartphone and tablet? Very similar to my thoughts on which tablets are competitors? It depends on the use case.

edbott Whatever Happened to the iPad Rivals of 2010? A long, sad list http://t.co/7NCEBnqD via @technologizerMon, Oct 03 08:26:01 from Tweet Button retweeted by asymco

WIREDInsider The top 10 new features of iOS5: http://t.co/xGVTuecV (via @gizmodo)Wed, Oct 05 10:33:38 from SocialOomph

WIREDInsider Today's infographic: Every iPhone 5 rumor to date: http://t.co/8dGRL2aUTue, Oct 04 16:36:46 from SocialOomph

WIREDInsider Delving deeper into the iPhone 4s camera: http://t.co/Qebhe89g (via @wired)Wed, Oct 05 12:33:45 from SocialOomph

Ten-Tec 539 QRP Transceiver

I missed the Ten-Tec hamfest this year, so I also missed the preview of the 539 QRP Transceiver. Speculation is that the 10W unit will also have an optional amplifier to take it to 100W. Check the links at the bottom of this post for more info. I'd like to own a piece of Ten-Tec equipment, just because they are local. This might be it.

Ten-Tec Model 539 10W QRP Transceiver

• Bands: 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15 10 meters
• AM, USB, LSB, CW Modes built-in
• Tricolor backlight internally adjustable
• Several features and hardware in common with Eagle Model 599
• 3 Crystal filter slots
• Same DSP as used in the 599
• Noise Reduction, Noise Blanker, Selectable Fast/Med/Slow AGC, RIT, PreAmp, 100 Memories, etc.
• Legendary TenTec CW Performance
• Two VFO Displays (single receiver)
• Estimated product availability Mid-2012

(Picture from QRPer.)

As with all things ham, there is a Yahoo Group: Ten-Tec 539 Yahoo Group

Looks like this won't be ready for Christmas.

Via QRPer via VA3STL

Baofeng UV-3R and Wouxun KG-UV6D

Looks like Hawaii Radio Sales (aka NH7QH Radio Supplies aka Baofeng-UV3R.us) will soon have the Baofeng UV-3R Mark II. They have added it to their web site and listed it at $60.00.

Wouxun.us also has a couple of updates:

KG-UV6D with 2.5 tuning steps and other new features in stock in mid October.  Special introductory price announced soon.

New Baofeng UV-3R with Dual Display will begin shipping October 11, order now.  All colors available.  Colored shells also available.

Looks like we'll have plenty of items to pick from for Christmas!

First Radio for a Ham? A Scanner.

Not a bad idea... you can save some wear and tear on the nicer equipment. From Ron Hashiro:

"So, the initial temptation might be to get a transmitter or a combination transmitter-receiver called a transceiver. But, you might underbuy or overbuy on your equipment. So, it makes sense to try it out on a comparatively inexpensive solution. Get a "police" scanner first.

Scanners can go through a number of frequencies very quickly. You can monitor all the popular repeaters and simplex frequencies in a matter of about one or two seconds. I listen to the local frequencies with a scanner, and when I hear someone that I want to talk with, I turn on my radio (if it's not on) and make a contact."

Via the 470 ARG

New Tag Line

I'm thinking about a new tag line:

"Too Dumb To Fail"

Maybe I can jazz it up and do:

"2D2F"