SDR WEBSITES

SDR (Software Defined Radio) radios are all the rage now, from $30 receive-only-to-very-expensive transceivers. In the very beginning many folks said that SDR wasn't a "Real" radio, but times have changed.

With a small monetary purchase you can buy one of the lesser expensive receive units found on Amazon, Ebay, (and just about anywhere else you'd find radio equipment for sale), but you can also get a feel for what SDR is all about through several Internet locations around the country / world.

I found several sites just by Googling "SDR Internet", and now keep them in my favorites for quick access. Why would you be interested in "Receive Only"? Well, besides trying it out, when band conditions are rather dead I enjoy listening to QSO's and Nets while doing something else in the shack, or, on my tablet while on the couch.

Once, while checking in on a 14.300 net I had a hard time making the Net controls audio due to local interference, but was able to hear him via one of my SDR Web-links easily.

To save you a Google search, here are a couple links:

K3FEF WebSDR in NE Pennsylvania - This was the first one I linked up with. You'll hear 160-17 meter coverage, CW-AM-AMnrw-USB-LSB-FM, with the ability to save certain frequencies and modes so that they'll be easily accessible later.

 

 

Northern Utah WebSDR #2 - This site covers 20-6m with a link to the other location which will give you coverage up to 2 meters!

 

 

 

Aside from that you may find that catching up with Nets that were once local to you is fun, and sometimes you run across QSO's that tend to take on a life of their own, day-after-day, and if you've caught any of these on WebSDR's before you may already know where I'm headed - 3885 AM "Late Afternoons w/Clark and friends". (a smorgasbord of topics).

 

It is no coincidence that several WebSDR sites default to 3885 on AM, with one site in particular giving you a listen, and a chatroom just for that - WebSDR - Radio Engineering, located in Townsend, MA and run by Steve, WA1QIX.

 

Enjoy your SDR listening!

 

 

 



A DETOUR FROM RADIO TO:

"THE BLUES"

20 yr. old Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - Outside Of This Town

SHORT POST
















( BELOW - VIA YouTube, VIA "SDR_PLAY" blog, from 2017):

"Testing to see how bad powerline internet connections can be for HF reception.

These devices allow you to use your house power cables as a convenient Ethernet connection for sharing the internet. However they are extremely noisy and can wipe out the entire HF band. Also known as powerline networking and powerline communications (PLC).

Using a TP-Link Powerline Adapter, Wellbrook Loop Antenna and Airspy R2 with SpyVerter to show the spectrum. The last part of the video shows a 20 MHz view in the wide band viewing software SpectrumSpy.

Interestingly it appears that the amateur radio (ham) frequencies are actually carefully notched out and those frequencies remain relatively clean. But international shortwave radio is still wiped out which is bad news for SWL hobbyists. In the video you can see where the ham bands are by the red marking blocks in SDR#.

It doesn't seem that the device is designed poorly, but rather that it simply just uses those shortwave frequencies to transmit the network data."

SUN FORECAST MAY 15-17

 

DO YOU NEED A NEW / LARGER BATTERY

 

FOR YOUR BAOFENG?

 

I happened upon a "Sale" today regarding a heavy-duty battery replacement for certain Baofeng HT's (like the BF-8HP).  I don't when it ends, but I decided to order one for my BF-8+ because...it was so cheap!

It is $16.89 on AMAZON, and there is a $5 coupon. If you click on the coupon before checking out, the cost is only $11.89 +tax (and in my case, being a Prime member, no shipping charge).


I've owned Baofeng HT's for at least 7 years or so. Every time I think about getting rid of it and buying an HT from the "Big 3" I force myself to remember that I really don't use HT's much at all, so I would truly be wasting money on something that had Fusion or D-star.

Just click (above) on Amazon for the link.

20M CONTESTS ARE "AFOOT"....














Popped into the shack briefly to check email when I heard activity on 20 meters. I took a few minutes to make a few contacts  calling for the "New England QSO Party".

The first contact was made by tuning the MLA by ear. Afterwards, I was surprised to find that due to being mistuned my output was really only a couple watts (vs. 15).

I decided to tune the antenna properly, then made one more quick contact before writing this post. AA1ON is really doing a sustained 57-59 as I'm typing!

Thank you Payton, and Martin, for the returned call.

 

 

 

A QUICK NOTE...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm working on my antenna "sojourn" blogpost which has quickly become plural, making them "blogposts".

 

When I started to write the article I realized that I should start at the beginning of my search for an indoor antenna, then work my way to the conclusion (my MLA). Hopefully I'll get PART ONE posted in the next week -

 

 

73,

 

Woody

 



 

Recently I've been acutely aware of certain descriptions and methods when selling HAM gear online. I'll start with the most glaring offense - TYPING IN ALL CAPS. Perhaps there is a good explanation as to why certain people list items for sale using lengthy "ALL CAP" text, but from a viewers perspective it's easy for your eyes to get fatigued to the point the ad has to be read several times just to get the specifics about the item, or even to find the price ($$$).

Like those trick images you find on the web that hold a hidden object, you have defocus your eyes to delve into the mysteries of that ad. I mentioned this to another Ham-friend of mine and we both agreed that it's easier to just skip an "ALL CAP" ad than spend more time than necessary in reading all of the block letters...

Another pet peeve of mine is how some items are described, for example:

"Gently used xxxxx"

 

"Gorgeous xxxx"

 

"Lovingly used xxxx"

 

(I wonder what XYL's have to say about those relationships?)

 

A borderline description might be "lightly used xxx". Not bad for a rig only a few years old, but many times applied to equipment that is 20-30 years of age. Lightly used or not, it is still ancient, and more than likely impossible to obtain parts for (read - Finals).

 

Other 'peeves' that I've pondered on would be -

 

"Pictures available on request", ???, put the photo(s) up to begin with, along with "I don't have a digital camera to take pictures", ???, use your cellphone, borrow a phone or camera from a friend or family member, and ditch that excuse.

 

Regarding the payment. "NO PAYPAL" is written in a good deal of advertisements. Jeez...YOU may love getting  a money order (or cash) in the mail, but it's a pain in the butt to get one and mail it out vs. just clicking "PAY NOW" in Paypal. The Paypal fee? Just include the 3.9% in the price, or add to the sale total.

 

Returns. Too many "This is a no return sale due to dishonest Hams", or "No returns due to parts swappers". If I believed that everyone who puts this in their ad had been rooked at least once, I'd only buy new. Just tell it like it is: 'I don't take items back for any reason'. No one likes to give refunds, but I'm not sure how many "dishonest, Part-swapping" Hams there are out there (or if they are always lurking in the background).

 

Finally, unless you are really set on buying the item, refrain from asking them a question via email! I've been curious a time or two and have had sellers "haunt" me with exuberant zeal either wanting to know if I'm going to buy it or, that it's still available for sale (weeks after the ad was placed). Exception being ads on QRZ, where all messages are posted within the advert.



NEW SUBJECT #1 - MLA

 

 

 

Living in a severely limiting HOA I've started to experiment with MLA's (Magnetic Loop Antennas). I must have watched nearly every YouTube video on them, as well as scoured many (MANY) websites devoted to the subject before dipping my toe in the magnetic waters, so to speak. I'm not ready to lend any opinions one way or the other yet because I'm still learning.  I'll try and devote an entire blog post about them in the future!

 

NEW SUBJECT #2 - Power Supplies

Not having a local Amateur radio store has it's complications, especially when you're in the market for these two items, power supplies and speakers. I used up too many hours/days while researching them. Time I won't get back. It was a grueling, mind-numbing experience and anyone who has recently purchased the same know what I'm talking about.

My Kenwood PS-30 power supply is over 35 years old and I figured it was time to get another power supply now, rather than wait until the Kenwood stopped spitting out DC. I went to eHam's website and read countless reviews, along with the pro's and con's of each supply. While I'm sure that switching power supplies have come a long way, I still had memories of injected noise and other nasties from switching supplies of years past, so I decided to go "old school" and look at the options I had with linear power supplies. I ended up getting Yaesu's FP-1030.

The 1030 does 25 amps continuous, and 30 amps peak. It is (as far as power supplies go) a nice looking addition to the shack, with its dual meters and various connections. The initial experience I had was with the 25a connections. The two studs (Red/Black) were threaded but I soon found out that the circular caps did not screw off completely, so, a crimped ring connector would not work. I tried several local stores (EPO and FRY's) but neither had an open forked connector for that particular size stud, or rated amperage. Online I found possibilities, but nothing that said "Buy me, I will fit".

Off to Home Depot and...'nada. Being stubborn, I went to Lowes and...they had exactly what I needed, as well, the aisles were arranged much-much better than the Depot's aisles. I found the forked spades within 5 minutes after walking thru the door.

The only other aspect of the power supply that needed attention were the two meters, which were not lit. I will remedy that very soon with a couple of inexpensive "grain-of-wheat" bulbs, the kind you might use for your model train or H.O. slot-car layout.

NEW SUBJECT #3 - Speakers

"external speakers also cost an arm and a leg"

How do you pick an external speaker for your rig if you can't hear what it will sound like? Read a bunch of reviews! The internal speaker of the Yaesu FT-991A really sucks. It has no range and can't handle too much audio without crackling. But, external speakers also cost an arm and a leg and I wasn't prepared to spend 1/4th of the cost of the rig on...an external speaker.

From the reviews, I got a pretty good idea of what I wanted to get (used), and what I wanted to avoid,  (i.e.- SP-10). 

What did I pick after all of that research? Nothing. I went into the garage and pulled my old Yaesu SP-901P (P=patch), which no one paid attention to at a recent ham fest, and plugged it in. I will purchase something newer sometime this year, but it will be used and at the right price.

SIDE NOTES

If you're into SOTA or POTA, (or maybe you are just a "prepper") I've discovered an excellent You Tube channel that you should check out!

It belongs to OH8STN , and he hosts a variety of topics including comparisons between one brand or another. I have gained a lot of knowledge from him, and perhaps you may too!

'Nuff Said,

Woody

 

FALL BELTON REPORT

10-04-2014

The weather was good - a weak front had just passed through leaving temperatures in the low 80's with low humidity. We had a couple tables way in the back corner [not too far from Houston Amateur Radio Supply], and the parking lot was packed. After unloading the truck I drove outside to find a spot to park, which turned out to be a good stretch from the entrance, but before parking Robin called me about the prices on a Transoceanic and some other items. By the time I got back inside they were sold.

And that's the way it went the whole time we were there; a few moments to collect our thoughts and then the next wave of buyers were upon us. No complaints, but there weren't a lot of potential buyers walking around unlike other years.

I can remember aisles packed so full people could hardly stop to take a look at an item, but I also remember those times weren't especially productive - many "Tire Kickers" and few buyers whereas this past weekend had less tire kickers and more buyers than in recent years.

I meant to go outside and see the "Friz" but I couldn't get away from our tables, nor did I see Val or Steve this year, although it could have been that we were too busy to look up and see who was 50 or 100ft. away from our area.

One thing I did notice was the Belton group only had one of the large front openings open, and all of the side doors were closed creating a stagnant trap of air without the benefit of the breeze from outside. I heard it was because they were trying to keep people from sneaking inside without paying, but it made for some discomfort amongst those of us stuck behind our tables.

If you were there, I hope you had a good time...

'Nuff Said,
Woody

THE TEXAS STATE OF HAM RADIO STORES

SHRINKING

In Texas, dedicated CB shops, for the most part are gone. It's not that popularity has dropped so much in the past few decades, but Truck stops have taken over a lot that territory AND Internet sales [thus avoiding sales tax].

HAM radio stores took a sharp hit several decades ago when Madison Electronics in downtown Houston went under. It was not only a store selling gear, but an informal meeting place for local area HAM radio operators. They had stuff packed from floor to ceiling, with many accessories left over from bygone eras.

That left Austin Amateur Radio, Texas Towers, as well as Houston Amateur Radio Supply. The "Grapevine" has been fluttering as of late with word that both Austin Amateur Radio and Texas Towers will close shortly, leaving Houston Amateur Radio in the North Houston/Spring area, and MTC in Paris Texas.

Or does it...?

[ed. - yeah, it kinda sounds like something you'd hear just before the commercial break on the latest murder mystery being shown on the news show "Dateline"]


"Instead of going to Houston Amateur Radio and getting the benefit of the owner's decades-long knowledge , experience, and advise only to buy it online the sale of the equipment will stay where you got all of that help and knowledge so they can continue to grow."

Moving into Texas Towers backyard is HRO [Ham Radio Outlet], the "Walmart" of Amateur radio with multi-store buying power, it will be curious to see how things play out. The Texas store is not listed yet on their website, but a visitor from that area stopped by Houston Amateur Radio recently and said that he thought it looked open, but HRO's official press release puts the opening around the first quarter of 2015.

The biggest impact of Amateur Radio operators here in Texas was the advantage of buying from HRO out-of-state and benefitting from no sales tax. This will be a benefit Hams will no longer have.

For large purchases this eliminates any tax free bliss, but it also gives the remaining Amateur Radio stores in Texas the ability to play on an even terms [ed. - yep, there are still other HAM radio stores where you can buy equipment tax free, but HRO, being one of the largest in the U.S. sucked a lot of $$$ from your local HAM radio store's income].

Instead of going to Houston Amateur Radio and checking out the latest gear, getting the benefit of the owner's decades-long knowledge, experience, and advice, only to leave and purchase it from HRO to save on sales tax, perhaps now the equipment purchase will stay where you got all of that help and knowledge so they can continue to grow.

Previously, if you were looking at a rig that sold for $1449, you would save about $120 in sales tax by purchasing it online from HRO, but now the field is level PLUS you'll get instant gratification by walking out of your local HAM radio store with your new rig under your arm rather than biting off your finger nails waiting for it to arrive.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HAM RADIO STORE

Houston Amateur Radio Supply is located at: 2558 E. FM1960, Houston Texas 77073 [not far from their old location on Cypresswood].

PHOTO: COURTESY HARS WEBSITE

'Nuff Said,
Woody

DO YOU LIVE IN A SUB-DIVISION WITH DEED RESTRICTIONS AGAINST ANTENNAS?

THEN START CALLING, EMAILING AND WRITING YOUR REP IN WASHINGTON!!

From the ARRL news [in part]:

A bill with bipartisan support has been introduced in the US House of Representatives that calls on the FCC to apply the “reasonable accommodation” three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions.

 “There is a strong federal interest in the effective performance of Amateur Radio stations established at the residences of licensees,” the bill states. “Such stations have been shown to be frequently and increasingly precluded by unreasonable private land-use restrictions, including restrictive covenants.”

Go to the ARRL website to read full story - then start making noise so this thing gets passed...

'Nuff Said,
Woody

TEXAS HAM FORFEITS LICENSE

FROM THE ARRL NEWS...

Texas Radio Amateur Gives Up License As Part of Enforcement Action Settlement

A Texas radio amateur has agreed to turn in his Amateur Extra class license as part of an agreement with the FCC to settle an enforcement action against him. The FCC earlier this year issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) to James R. Winstead, KD5OZY, of Coleman, Texas, after determining that Winstead “apparently willfully violated” FCC rules by interfering with Amateur Radio communications. The Commission had proposed a $7000 fine. The action was in response other radio amateurs’ complaints of intentional interference on 7.195 MHz.

“Mr Winstead has admitted that his actions violated the Commission’s rules and agreed to voluntarily relinquish his amateur license and make a $1000 voluntary contribution to resolve the [Enforcement] Bureau’s investigation,” the FCC said in an Order released April 22. The Order adopted a Consent Decree between the Enforcement Bureau and Winstead that spells out the details of the settlement.

According to the Consent Decree, Winstead will make his “voluntary contribution” to the US Treasury in 12 installments. He also agreed to relinquish his Amateur Radio license, prior to signing the Consent Decree. Such agreements between the FCC and violators have become more common recently in both Amateur Radio and non-Amateur Radio cases.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, gave kudos to the Enforcement Bureau “for bringing the matter to a prompt conclusion.”

Last January 21 an agent from the Commission’s Dallas Office used direction-finding techniques to positively identify the source of interfering transmissions as Winstead’s address. After monitoring the transmissions from the station for about a half-hour, the agent heard Winstead “replay multiple times short sentences or conversations that had just been transmitted, and occasionally speak the word ‘George.’” 

“Mr Winstead replayed recorded conversations so frequently that other licensees were unable to complete their conversations,” the NAL stated. The agent estimated that Winstead disrupted approximately 20 minutes of conversation over a 30 minute period by making up to 15 minutes of short transmissions. The agent subsequently inspected Winstead’s station, observing that his radio equipment was tuned to 7.195 MHz.

“During the inspection, Mr Winstead showed the agent how he recorded and retransmitted other amateur licensees’ communications,” the FCC said. “He also admitted that he intentionally interfered with amateur communications on 7.195 MHz and had an ongoing disagreement with another amateur licensee named George.”

The FCC said the evidence in the case was sufficient to establish that Winstead had violated Section 333 of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 97.101(d) of the FCC Amateur Service rules.

As part of the Consent Decree, the Enforcement Bureau, “to avoid further expenditure of public resources,” agreed to terminate its investigation and not to use facts developed in its investigation to institute any new proceeding against Winstead “concerning the matters that were the subject of the investigation.”

Ed. - It never fails to amaze me how someone will climb the license ladder and make it up to an Extra class license, then allow the dumb-ass in themselves to prevail...

'Nuff Said,
Brian

CREEPY THOUGHT NO.9

FOR ANY CONSPIRACY THEORIST

If you've been keeping up with the news for the last couple months, you've been reading a list of NSA leaked data via Mr. Snowden. One of news stories caught my attention regarding how computers destined for certain locations or people were re-routed to an undisclosed location and a secret NSA chip was put on the Motherboard.

Back in the early 90's we'd always hear stories of how some people or agencies could activate the microphones in computers to listen in on conversations. No one believed it was possible back then, but today? Definitely.

Today, the majority of electronics (two-way radios, CB, and other) are made in China. It wouldn't be a big hardship for them to install a chip that killed the radio when a certain frequency signal was broadcast. Instant "Dead Air". If you add this feature to all of the routers, switches, and computers that are made in China, you have instant "Dead Wire" - what better way to cripple a nation?

I'm sure this has been already thought of before, and I'm just a late bloomer, but except for certain circumstances I still prefer to buy radios manufactured in Japan. It's getting harder to get some HAM gear and impossible to buy a new CB with "MADE IN JAPAN" on it, which is why I picked one model mobile am/ssb CB made in Japan in the 70's to stock up on.

Thus ends my crazy rant....

'Nuff Said,
Woody
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OLDIE BBC SHOW

TONY HANCOCK: "THE RADIO HAM"

EVEN IN A GAME THE XYL GIVES HIM HELL

VIDEO ALA "YOUTUBE"

OLD BUT INTERESTING

VACUUM TUBE AMPLIFIER HISTORY

ANOTHER SK

A COMPANY NAME WE ALL RECOGNIZE...

Palomar Engineers President John E.Althouse, K6NY, of San Diego, California, died September 15 after suffering a massive stroke. He was 90.

Throughout the decades Palomar managed to remain relevant with whatever decades current equipment needs were.

The Escondido company he operated, may no longer be around as well. A message on the company’s website says Palomar Engineers is “temporarily closed”.

WAYNE GREEN, SK

WAYNE GREEN, FORMER PUBLISHER OF "73" MAGAZINE, SK

Man, it's been a long - REALLY long time since I've thought about Wayne Green. Back in the day there were 3 HAM magazines (that I knew about) to choose from:

1. QST
2. CQ, and
3. 73

CQ didn't (and still doesn't) interest me, but then I'm not into contesting; QST had a lot of advertisement support, plus by joining ARRL you received the magazine, and then there was 73 and Wayne Green. I bought 73 now and then just so I read his lengthy editorials which were often written with his talent for egging on a company, country, or another magazine. He was to HAM radio what John Dvorak has been to PC Magazine - sharp wit, with a sense of the future that often hit close to home.

It's sad that I hadn't thought of him in years, making it even sadder now that he is a silent key. RIP Wayne.


'Nuff Said,
Woody

WiPRY UPDATE

BUY THE ACCESSORY KIT...





Having done a variety of tests with the WiPry I figured out that having the ability of connecting a Directional antenna vs. the omnidirectional antenna nub it ships with could come in handy if you were trying to identify the general location from where a signal source was coming from.

I tried EPO (Electronic Parts Outlet), and they had a short (2") wire with a small connector to fit the WiPry's antenna jack and at the other end, a larger SMA connector, the wrong gender to connect antennas to, and they were out of gender-benders.

Frys was my next stop and their connector/adaptor area was a mess, with no apparent logical scheme on how it should be arranged, forcing you to look at each hook, row, column, and hopefully you could find what you wanted. At this point, I'm down $3 + tax, and gas used to get to EPO and back. I had the wire in my pocket and found several adapters which looked like I could form a stupid-looking, yet functional way to attach the antenna.

At home I realized I missed one key ingredient, making that trip a $10 + tax and gas money flop. Yeah, I know that I could have gone back and returned the adapters and connectors, but one thing I learned from being a CBer, then HAM operator over the years was that it never hurt to have something in your parts drawers that seemed useless then, but down-the-road a necessity.

So I went back to Oscium's website and looked closer at the kit and could see they had 3 connection adapters included. I ordered it, 2 days later received it, and yup, my directional beam antenna was connected and working. I also had several additions to my parts drawers, and it's always fun walking up and down the aisles at EPO to check out what's new.

CONDUCTED MEASUREMENT KIT

ALSO AVAILABLE

iPHONE 5 CONNECTOR ADAPTER

38" EXTENSION CABLE

'Nuff Said,
Woody

WHERE CAN YOU BUY A NEW AM/SSB CB IN THE HOUSTON AREA?

THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

IF YOU WATCH TV YOU'VE HEARD THAT SAID MANY TIMES







It's surprising how often this is true. If you're in the IT or electronics field there are some great apps that will help you with your job or hobby, but the one I'm about to tell you about requires more than the app.

There is a company called OSCIUM that is making waves with it's devices that (sorry Android) work along with your iPhone or iPad. The one I bought was the WiPry-Combo which sells for $199.95, and for that amount of money you really should have use for it. I didn't want to spend the bux,so I waited, and waited, until finally on the ThinkGeek website they had a special sale (about 50% off) so it finally became affordable. We both realize I haven't even told you what this device is, or does - First, the device, which plugs into the charging jack.

WiPry Combo

The WiPry Combo is a Spectrum Analyzer and Dynamic Power Meter combo. The spectrum it analyzes is the 2.4Ghz WiFi band. You can walk into a client's business or residence and determine what sort of noise level and signals may be causing problems with their WiFi network. You can isolate it by channel to find the least affected frequency, then set their router to that channel. I recently tested this at a local veterinarian's clinic and found when certain instruments were used the noise level was almost even with their wireless network signals, which would cause spotty performance.  

 From their website:

Portable, Award-Winning

With Oscium's WiPry-Combo peak power meter and spectrum analyzer, you can pry into the power, spectral, and time characteristics of your signals using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod. WiPry-Combo is the emerging standard in portable RF test equipment for cellular communication planners, RF engineers, wireless network technicians and avid electronics hobbyists. 
Product highlights:

• Enables iPhone, iPad, iPod to make power and frequency measurements
• Fits in the palm of your hand
• Measures rise and fall time, duty cycle and peak power with the precision power meter 
• Visualizes Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth and remote sensor networks using spectral mode
• Awarded Most Innovative & Best Customer Value
• Compatible with Lightning and 30 pin connectors (with adapter, works with iPhone 5 & iPad Mini)

 They also have several other products that work with the iPhone and iPad:

MIXED SIGNAL O-SCOPE

 

Product Specs:

• iMSO-104 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope Hardware
• 1x/10x Analog Probe
• Logic Harness (4 Digital + 1 Ground) 
• SMD Grabbers (5 pieces)
• Bandwidth 5 MHz
• Max sample rate 12 MS/s
• Screwdriver for Analog Compensation Adjustment
• Analog tip covers (2 pieces)
• Compatible with Lightning and 30 pin connectors (with adapter, works with iPhone 5 & iPad Mini)

A CHANNEL LOGIC ANALYZER

 

LogiScope transforms an iPhone, iPad or iPod into a 100MHz, 16 channel logic analyzer. Not only is it the most intuitive logic analyzer available, the triggering is so powerful you'll be able to count the hair on your bug (tap product picture on right to watch a short video). Download LogiScope in the App Store and test drive the interface or watch the tutorials below. 
Product Highlights:

• 100 MHz, 16 channel logic analyzer
• Two logic harnesses (each with 8 digital, 1 ground)
• Protocol decoding: I²C, SPI, UART, Parallel
• Works with 2.0v, 2.5v, 3.3v & 5.0v systems
• Portable: goes where you go
• Input voltage -0.5v to +7v
• Advanced triggering
• Compatible with Lightning and 30 pin connectors (with adapter, works with iPhone 5 & iPad Mini)

Their website can be found HERE.

 

'Nuff Said,

Woody
 Email

OBITUARIES

BRIEFLY SPEAKING...







Yep, this will be a brief Blog post, but there aren't any rules that say that posts have to have a certain number of words before you can publish them.

What prompted me to write this one, is about something I saw on my customized Yahoo home page. I have a variety of news items selected so I can catch up with things each morning.

One of my selections is the ARRL feed which adds new content as it occurs. This week seemed to be a particularly downer week as it looked more like the obituaries then usual. Each morning it I would find another SK (silent key) listed. Older hams seem to be dropping like flies.

As far as CBer's go, there isn't an organization like the ARRL for them, so usually you find out who died via a CB radio based chat board, or word of mouth. Nonetheless it is depressing either way. As far as the ARRL feed is concerned, whatever they post is a drop in the bucket compared to SK's that are in the ARRL publication "QST". I hope both services are recruiting enough newbies to replace those that have gone onto the other side of that long wave -

'Nuff Said,
Brian

WHAT RIG AM I USING?

Every now and then I get an email wondering what rig I'm talking on in this picture, some even mistaking it for one of those small form factor Cb's.

What I was using in the photo was my Yaesu FT-817ND HAM portable, which is probably one of my "TOP TEN" HAM rigs of all time (of course I liked them a lot better when you could find them NIB for about $500).

Somewhere in one of my many posts I listed my top ten favorite HAM rigs, so I'm going to list them again, and when I have the time, track down the first list to see what changed (if anything). So, in 2013, here are my top ten Amateur radio rigs, listed in no particular order:

1. Yaesu FT-817ND
2. Kenwood TS-2000
3. Kenwood TS-850AT
4. Yaesu 450AT
5. Yaesu FT-530
6. Yaesu FT-101 series
7. Yaesu FT-650
8. Icom IC-751A
9. Icom IC-207a

I know I did the same thing with Cb's, so here is my 2013 "Top Ten" list -

1. Stoner Pro40 w/accessories
2. Uniden Grant (original, 1st series 40ch line)
3. Uniden PC-122
4. Cobra 138-XLR (still use one every day in the truck, and keep a back up or two just in case)
5. SBE Super Console
6. Midland 13-880/885
7. Realistic TRC-100B
8. Realistic TRC-457
9. SBE Console VI
10. General Super MC-11



HOUSTON AMATEUR RADIO SUPPLY SELLS AMATEUR RADIOS, CB RADIOS LIKE THE UNIDEN 980



I don't believe I did one with microphones, and I'm not sure I'll hit 10, but I'll give it a go -

1. Turner Super Sidekick
2. Turner +3 desk microphone
3. Turner +3 hand microphone
4. Turner +2 desk microphone
5. Icom SM-10
6. Yaesu MD-200A8X
7. Astatic 636 Noise cancelling microphone
8. Astatic D-104 stand w/10DA microphone head
9. Astatic D-104M6
10. Astatic 575

That's it for this exciting post. Ah, I almost forgot - it your PC is crippled with viruses and trojans, or just plain slow, call Dave at Houston Amateur Radio supply to arrange and appointment!

'Nuff Said,
Woody

I'm sure you heard of this, read about them (possibly from here), or this is your first time learning about scams found usually on social media sites like...Facebook.



They are usually posted by a friend who finds the item interesting enough to pass along to their circles of friends, who find it as interesting and pass it along to their friends, much like a chain-letter-email.

WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS YOU HAVE TO QUESTION IT

Why should you? It came from a friend? [ed. - and I'll make it clear upfront that I don't know if this is, or isn't, but it caught my attention]

•Usually an ad like this would have the monitor on display, perhaps in front of the box.

•Just by looking at where they took the photo is odd - on the floor, with a crummy background (waste basket or maybe a paper shredder on right edge of photo and what appear to be kitchen doors in the background)

•And the last line "Some of last weeks winners we're Roy Smith & Andy Whitehead".


You would think someone would have done a spell check on this, or maybe they were just in a hurry. I just used the word "were" properly. In the ad above they use "we're", as in we are.

Once again, I don't if this is a real ad, or a phishing expedition (yes, phishing is a word used in the security world), but be careful when giving out info and always doubt the ad.

'Nuff Said,

Woody