BaoFeng Tech X-Series Mobiles

I'm way behind on the BaoFeng Tech mobiles, so I'm spending some time looking at them. Who all grabbed one of these? Comments? The UV-25X4 has the highest ratings on Amazon - averaging 4.6 stars over 21 reviews.

The X-Series:

"The X-Series Mobiles introduce our new fully customizable Multi-Color LCD display screen. You can adjust the complete display to be exactly as you want it (with 9 available colors across 10 display elements). Beyond the display, you can fully customize your channels to display their alpha-numeric names or frequency settings.

The X-Series Mobiles also introduces our new dual sync mode! With this option, you can single or dual sync two different channels and display both their frequency and name simultaneously. If you prefer instead to monitor up to four channels; you can single line display a channel's name or frequency. Additionally, as a new feature added: you can even monitor both VFO (frequency) and channel modes simultaneously.

Another feature introduced in the X-Series mobiles is the ability to edit your channel preferences without needing to program a new channel! You can edit tones, additional squelch information, and even add or remove it from your scanning list anytime!

Scanning channels and frequencies has now gotten even easier! A new menu allows you to select scanning resume methods. You can set the radio to start scanning immediately during reboot, resume scanning if you interrupt scanning to transmit, or start scanning soon as it powers on."

BTECH UV-25X2 - 25 watt dual band mobile
BaoFeng Tech link
Amazon link ($114.89)

BTECH UV-25X4 - 25 watt quad band mobile

BaoFeng Tech link
Amazon link ($128.86)

BTECH UV-50X2 - 50 watt dual band mobile
BaoFeng Tech link
Amazon link ($159.89)

TYT MD-2017: Pricing

BuyTwoWayRadios: $219

Grapevine: $219 (Use coupon GARMD2017 for $40 off.)

Which leads me to this article on pricing on the MD-2017.

Drones

Drones:

"Smartphones sales are cooling, tablets are sinking, and PCs are stagnant — but demand for drones just keeps on growing. As this chart from Statista shows, consumer drone sales in the US have increased sharply over the past few years, and are expected to keep growing."

And you won't have to register them with the FAA anymore.

Doom!

It's everywhere!

You can play "Doom" on a thermostat because of course you can https://t.co/tql3kdXQpX pic.twitter.com/P2Ob7fy1xD

— Motherboard (@motherboard) May 23, 2017

Look, I'm not saying ATMs are trivial to hack, just that lots of them seem to run Doom okay. Infer what you will 😏 pic.twitter.com/PNPPj4L4Tp

— covfefe||oɥɔsɐp (@da5ch0) March 6, 2017

TYT MD-2017: Menu Options

TYT MD-446: MD380Tools

#MD380Tools now with full support of MD-446 keyb layout - just finished @travisgoodspeed @PD0ZRY @ailunce PR and new builds available soon pic.twitter.com/u1fEVyvJpL

— DL2MF (@DL2MF) May 24, 2017

Looks like I've not posted previously about the MD-446, so it gets a link.

Hytera's One Device to Rule Them all

Update: we're previewing our forthcoming dual mode device, offering LTE, TETRA or DMR and POC functionality in one smart handset! #CCE pic.twitter.com/QaptAViPrd

— Hytera UK (@Hytera_UK) February 8, 2017

Via @travisgoodspeed

TYT MD-2017: Unboxing at BuyTwoWayRadios.com

Unboxing the TYT MD-2017 at BuyTwoRadios.com:

Compaq

I enjoyed listening to the How I Built This story about Compaq. We ran a lot of Compaq hardware back in the day, but I really didn't understand the bigger picture of what was going on. I did like my 575 desktops!

Cameras

I'm thinking about picking up this camera solution - Arlo Pro Security System with Siren – 3 Rechargeable Wire-Free HD Cameras with Audio, Indoor/Outdoor, Night Vision (VMS4330).

One key feature of these cameras is that they are battery powered/wireless. It makes for an easy deployment since you don't have to run wires everywhere. (Obviously you will have to periodically charge the batteries, but I have a friend that has been very pleased with the battery life.)

The system includes 7 days of cloud storage, so you don't have to worry about local storage. The software seems pretty slick, too.