kc2ihx

ai6yr, 15 days ago to gardening

Interesting, saw someone selling rooted grape cuttings at the farmer's market at $30 each. (I have so many in pots in my backyard which I cannot give away, LOL). #gardening #grapes

douglasvb, 10 days ago to RaspberryPi

sigh I really need to come up with a reliable and inexpensive way to power cycle some equipment remotely.

My #raspberryPi is up and running but the two #SDR software defined radios aren't responding even after rebooting the computer. The computer was involuntarily power cycled twice yesterday when the power went out and when the backup generator transferred the house back to the grid after grid power was restored.

Or maybe the SDRs need to be reseated in their USB ports? 🤔

John, 8 days ago to random

Jeff Geerling did an interesting project with the raspberry pi 5, to be a set-top box(*), but his parts cost came to $110 which is dangerously close to that of an N100 mini PC. So unless you really want to stay inside the raspberry pi ecosystem, I don't recommend.

• • archaic naming. We can't balance things on top of tv sets anymore.

bud_t, 14 days ago to hamradio

Either I've ordered too many things from DXEngineering, or they've just given me too many stickers. Now- what to do with all of these?

#hamradio

kc2ihx, 7 months ago to Subaru

Cedar for a potting bench and cheap 2x4s for a flimsy work bench to put a couple of tools on. Took this photo because I was surprised how much wood I can fit in a #Subaru #Crosstrek without taking out the car seat.

Not pictured, my kid who came to help me pick out wood.

#woodworking

kc2ihx, 8 months ago (edited 8 months ago) to random

Something made me search online for my mom's name the other day.

The third hit was from a website with funeral home in the name, but not the one we used. It was a obit, clearly AI written, with details from the real obit, but also mixing up pronouns, and saying she was "survived by her late husband" and that she lived in my hometown her whole life (not true)

I don't get what the business model is here other than clicks for ads? Nothing to do about it, but it bugs me.

kc2ihx, 1 month ago to hamradio

Got a bunch of adapters from my SK neighbor's estate. A small sample pictured below, some of them are in better shape than others, quite a few are tarnished (see examples in middle and on the right). Is it worth cleaning these up, and with what?

Also, what is that one on the lower right? I have about a half dozen of them.

#HamRadio

kc2ihx, 10 months ago to hamradio

Okay. #HamRadio and electrical engineers out there. I have a mystery balun, maybe from when I was first licensed. It's label rubbed off and I am trying to figure out if it is a 4:1 or 1:1 with a NanoVNA.

Using an assortment of adapters, with either a BNC 50ohm terminator or dummy load, and the NanoVNA ch0 connected to the SO239, I get a SWR of 2:1 around 55mhz and very high everywhere else. Reversing it, with ch0 hooked to the terminals and the dummy load on the SO239, I get 1:1 there.

First test setup, probes hooked to a white PVC pipe balun and a blue coax out the bottom.
Second test setup with dummyload on the so239 and terminals leading to the NanoVNA.

kc2ihx, 5 months ago to woodworking

Making a stand for my kid's new electric piano. At 52" long, I am starting to see why some people want a bigger table saw surface.

Doing this in pine is a bit of a pain, but a good way to practice.

#woodworking

kc2ihx, 1 month ago to random

Finally got a chance to prove to myself that the $60 #QRM Eliminator I bought actually does something. Tuned to a local broadcast station with a harmonic on 3.960 that comes in S9+20, turning on the device, it completely disappears down to the S4 noise level that I am picking up across the band.

Only concern is that other than the power button, it seems completely insensitive to other settings.

kc2ihx, 6 months ago to hamradio

My cousin is considering putting up a 5G cell antenna on a chimney but worried about heat. Has anyone had issues with antenna components melting on a chimney mount?

I figure if you have it 10 or 15 feet up, the heat is mostly dissipated, but I have never put an antenna over an active chimney, and this is a pricy antenna.

#HamRadio

kc2ihx, 10 months ago to hamradio

going to call #cq around 14.280 for a little bit.

my 5yo kid wants to know what this #HamRadio thing is all about.

Edit: QRT, we have moved on to duplos and anticipating this afternoon's playdate.

ai6yr, 5 days ago to hamradio

Hmm, looks like it's going to be the year of the AI-generated Field Day T-Shirts. #hamradio

ai6yr, 4 days ago to Cybersecurity

#cybersecurity #arrl #hamradio

"On or around May 12, 2024, ARRL was the victim of a sophisticated network attack by a malicious international cyber group. ARRL immediately involved the FBI and engaged with third party experts to investigate.

This serious incident was extensive and categorized by the FBI as “unique,” compromising network devices, servers, cloud-based systems, and PCs...."

http://arrl.org/news/arrl-systems-service-disruption

kc2ihx, 11 months ago to random

Well that was fun, I just checked into #FediFridayWinlinkNet using HF #ARDOP to W7INL-10 (the Idaho National Labs ARC!)

It does feel a whole lot like sitting at my parent's office computer trying to get AOL to connect during the busy hours.

ARDOP doesn't seem to want to set the frequency on my radio, and then it took a few tries on a few stations before I finally posted my message. Since it took ~30 minutes to send a two line email, I'll be going back to VHF for next week!

kc2ihx, 5 months ago to vinyl

Today's #vinyl selection, this time from my collection, not my dad's.

#nowSpinning

kc2ihx, 1 month ago to random

But my wood scrap pile goes in a container, and if I can't fit a piece in it, I have a rule that something else has to come out. In theory that ensures my scrap pile will just get better and not bigger.

kc2ihx, 10 months ago to random

Has anyone here used U-Haul UBox service to move stuff recently? I am looking for the best way to get the last of my stuff from my mom's house in NJ to WA.

I used them about a decade ago to move here. It was a terrible experience, mostly because they had no tracking system. Unfortunately, they're very cost competitive for the amount I need to move and they service both ends of the move. Have they gotten any better since 2012?

kc2ihx, 5 months ago to hamradio

Okay #HamRadio folks, what's going on when I am listening to a fairly noisy band and all of the sudden, over the course of a few seconds, everything drops to near quiet?

It seems like maybe an issue with my ldg tuner. Hitting tune again brings noise right back to where it was before.

kc2ihx, 1 month ago to amateurradio

My ham neighbor, W7HGK, went SK last year; over the weekend his widow gave me a chance to take a few things from his shack before the local ham club helps disassemble the rest.

Besides a bunch of components for homebrew radios, I took a small selection of his packet gear. Not that I expect the books to be up-to-date, but I enjoy reading old technical books to see how much things have/haven't changed.

#AmateurRadio #packetRadio #aprs