Tag: radio

Time to Upgrade My Windows Machine

On By JohnIn techLeave a comment

I keep an older but suitably-well-performing Windows XP machine in the house for my ham radio and general radio stuff. But, it looks like MS is finally going to pull the plug on XP support one year from now: read.

**sigh** Looks like I’ll either need to really crank down its security or, if I want regular updates, look into a Win 7 license for the machine.

Real Ham Radio Operators…

On By JohnIn uncategorizedLeave a comment

Real Ham radio operators aren’t afraid to drill some holes in a vehicle as evidenced by today’s project: drilled a hole in the roof of The Little Pathfinder That Could. Yes, it’s a real pain in the butt to get the headliner out far enough to drill. But I got it out, drilled, installed the new NMO mount and dual band antenna, and ran the coax to my FT-1900 in about three hours.

Next weekend, I think maybe I’ll swap out my FT-1900R for my FTM-10SR. Or maybe I’ll just add the FTM-10 instead of replacing and come up with a better mounting option for my FT-1900.

Oh, the other day at HRO, I realized another thing a real ham would do: they have no qualms putting $15,000 worth of electronics, accessories, and antennas into and through a $1,500 minivan.

Things I Learned from The Walking Dead

On By JohnIn uncategorizedLeave a comment

I did Mantracker, so here’s The Walking Dead. First, though, a few disclaimers: this is based on the first two or three episodes of the show, then I stopped watching it. Not that I didn’t want to, but because Dish Network, for reasons known only to their marketing department, dropped  AMC from my lineup.

On to the list, in no particular order:

  • Use the stereotyped racist guy as bait. A few problems solved.

  • Box vans don’t have seat belts in back–drive slowly. No need to rush.

  • Car alarms don’t keep going and going and going and going.

  • Handguns aren’t cannons. Have a clue how to use them.

  • Rifles do kick a bit.

  • No need to waste ammunition.

  • CB radios (handheld especially) are worthless for anything more than a few miles. Become a Ham and have a clue. :-).

  • Have a knife — it is quite possibly the most useful tool you can possess at any time, anywhere.

  • In the Zombie Apocalypse, everyone on the team should be armed.

  • Teams? Travel in them.

  • Have some useful skills to contribute to the team.

  • Have a plan.

  • Have a backup plan.

  • Don’t take chances if you don’t need to.

  • Only engage if you have superior numbers.

  • Drama? Avoid it. There are enough things to worry about without engaging in drama.

    • Okay, some of those are a bit petty. Some really only applicable to the impossibility of Zombie Apocalypse. Fun to ponder, nonetheless.