KG-UV920R: Forever

I cannot find the message anymore, so I am guessing it got deleted from the thread, but I thought this was a pretty funny comparison:

This radio is going to end up being the "Duke Nukem Forever" of radios.
Most of you will have no idea what that means. There was a computer game
released in 1996 called "Duke Nukem 3D". The sequel to that was suppose to
be "Duke Nukem Forever". There are screenshots and videos of development
versions of that game going back to 1997. It was released this year after
the original development studio ran out of funds to continue development.
As the years went out, they added more and more things that other games had
come out with. Mostly graphics technology. All due to the main guy in
charge going on a perfection bender.

Maybe this radio won't be just like that. But it is very much past due and
that's reminding me of the game. The "Forever" in the title was a joke for
more than a decade. When it finally did come out? Complete junk. I wouldn't
play it unless they paid *me*.

Keisha also makes an appearance to assure us that the radio is real.

Battery Powered Gloves

Speaking of gloves, how about a set of gloves with a built in heating capability. A little steep at $400, but you have to start somewhere.

Glock Talk Raffle

While it isn't for a great cause, you can try your luck at the Glock Talk Forum Fundraiser. Ten bucks gets you a chance at an M1, several Glocks, and various other prizes. Details here.

Baofeng UV-3R: Speaker Mic

I briefly mentioned it in the previous post, but NH7QH Radio Supplies, LLC has a speaker mic for sale that will work with the Baofeng UV-3R Mark II. The critical note is that it only works with the Mark II. If you read through the UV-3R Yahoo Group archives, you will see a) lots of people asking why you need a speaker mic for the UV-3R and eventually b) no one having an answer for one that works well with the original UV-3R.

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.

What rig for my wife's car?

Matt (W1MST) of AmateurRadio.com did me a favor and posed a question about what rig to put in my wife's car. Here is what I asked:

"I'd like to add a 2M mobile rig in my wife's car. Sounds simple enough, but the trick is that I need something that is as small as possible and will have a really neat installation. I'd prefer to have a mobile rig that I can wire in (power and an antenna) and see the display (versus cobbling together something with an HT). A detachable  faceplate/remote would be fine. I want 2M to hit the repeaters - any other bands or advanced features would be a bonus, but not required. The car is a 7 year-old Audi A4 and there is very little room in the footwells. It does have a neat feature - a drawer under each of the front seats. So what's small and installs such that it will score well on the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) scale?"

If you have some thoughts, please hop on over to AmateurRadio.com and join the discussion. Thanks!

The Downside to Tactical

Linoge has an excellent post on what I am calling the downside to tactical. He takes a look at a CZ750 that is striking fear into the hearts of non-gunnys and then he strips away the new tactical-hotness to see what remains. You might be surprised.

And I do think the CZ750 looks dang sexy.

Repercussions for Winning

So you beat a younger, smaller, less talented basketball team by 98 points...

What are some potential lessons for the winners?

• Don't try too hard.
• Using your talents is unfair.
• Aim for the lowest common denominator.
• Don't be too good or people won't like you.
• Life isn't fair.

For the losers?

• Work harder! (Or not!)
• Practice and try again next year!
• How to assign blame - it is the fault of the coach or the administrators.
• If you can't beat them, then get a really good job and buy an NBA team.
• Life isn't fair.

Via No Silence Here

Ham Radio Deluxe State of the Union

If you happen to be around Tampa in early December, you can get an update on HRD - straight from the horse's mouth.

"An exciting last minute addition to the Tampa Bay Hamfest forum schedule. An overview of Ham Radio Deluxe, where it is today and where it is going will be given by Rick Ruhl W4PC. Rick is the President of W4PC Software and Managing Director, HRD Software, LLC, FL. They are the new owners of the software package."

The Thirty-Sixth Annual (2011) Tampa Bay Hamfest
December 3rd & 4th, 2011
Manatee Civic Center - Palmetto, Florida

Batman Begins with a Glove

We all thought it was the belt that made him so effective, but if he had a crime fighting armored glove* he wouldn't have needed Robin or Batgirl.

* U.S. Department of Justice Tested and Kevin Costner Approved!


Via MJM