Geocaching video

Some creative ways to hide a geocache...

Coffee shop menu in Amsterdam

Elbonia

Satellite Earth Station System in 1963 Explained very well.

Quite interesting film from the 60's, showing in quite good detail, how the earth station in Goonhilly works.
The MASER had to be refilled with liquid helium, every 15 hours!
Satellite Operating Beacon was centered on 4080MHz.

Enjoy!

IC-92AD or IC-E92D After Mod

These pictures prove that the modification shown in this blog, works fine!
Peeling back the black plastic label underneath the battery, and removing the silver colored diode marked 'MU', enables TX from 137-174MHz and 400-470MHz.



Stewie asks about Brian's Novel - Family Guy

Google Unveils It's New Nexus S Android Phone with NFC (RFID reader)

Google has made its second bid for a slice of the mobile phone market, with the launch of its Nexus S phone.

The Samsung-built device comes less than 12 months after the launch of the firm's Nexus One, built by HTC, which failed to win over many consumers.

The Nexus S will initially be launched in the UK and US, and will be available "from the end of the month" (December).

It is the first phone to feature the latest version of Google's Android operating system known as Gingerbread.

It also comes with new hardware such as Near Field Communications (NFC).

This short-range wireless technology is used predominantly in places like Japan and allows people to use their phone as a travel ticket, make small payments and scan their phone over adverts, for example, to get more information about a product.

"NFC allows the Nexus S to read smart objects" said David Burke of Google's mobile division.

These objects must have a small, unpowered NFC chip in them that is activated when the phone is held near.

"When you put the phone on top, it energises the circuit," explained Mr Burke. "It can echo information back to the phone and the phone can send information to the chip.

"So, you can swipe a movie poster and watch the trailer automatically," he said.

NFC is a growing trend in mobiles and will start to become more pervasive in the New Year, said Shaun Collins, managing director of research firm CCS Insight.

"NFC is going to be the technology of 2011, in my opinion," he told BBC News. "Most of the BlackBerries will have it and a big swathe of mid to high-level Nokias will have it."

The next version of the iPhone is also rumoured to contain the technology.

Net calls

The Nexus S was first shown off by Google boss Eric Schmidt at the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco in November.

The 16GB, touchscreen device has been built in cooperation with Samsung and is part of its Galaxy S family of phones and tablets.

Mr Collins said it would compete with other "flagship devices" such as Nokia's N8, the BlackBerry Torch and the HTC Desire HD.

This is great news for Samsung," said Mr Collins. "It becomes the de-facto flagship product for Android."

The search giant dismissed claims that it was showing any favouritism towards Samsung or that it was going into competition with other handset manufacturers that produce phones using Android.

"Our objective is not to compete with partners," said Mr Burke. "Our goal is to push the mobile ecosystem forward."

Mr Collins said that Samsung's window of opportunity with the device was small.

The phone claims to have the "world's first" 4in (10cm) curved display and has front and rear-facing cameras.

Inside it has the same processor as the Nexus One, but with increased memory bandwidth to make it more responsive, according to Mr Burke.

The phone is also the first handset to introduce the latest version of Android - known as Gingerbread.

The software is the fifth major revision of the firm's software and will be rolled out to most Android phones in the "coming weeks or months", said Mr Burke.

It includes a new user interface, support for new hardware such as gyroscope - used for gaming, for example, and internet calling.

This allows anyone to set up a VOIP account that can be used to place and receive calls over the internet.

The phone can be configured to use this feature as soon as it is in range of a wi-fi hotspot, allowing people to by pass the network operators.

Mr Burke said that he didn't expect any resistance to this feature from the networks, particularly as many of them customise the android software and could " remove the feature if they want to".

Phone promise

The phone also has a greater emphasis on voice control.

"In the US, one in four searches done on Android devices is done with voice," said Mr Burke.

The phone comes with existing software that allows people to control navigation on the phone with their voice as well as conduct searches.

A new set of commands also allows people to send text messages, e-mails and set alarms on their phone, amongst other things.

These will initially only be available in the US, whilst the firm build the voice models needed for its software to cope with other regional accents.

The phone will initially offered for sale by Carphone Warehouse in the UK and Best Buy in the US. It will not have its own Google web store like the Nexus One, which was shut after less than 5 months after Google admitted that it "remained a niche channel for early adopters".

"That didn't work out for Google," said Mr Collins. "But Carphone Warehouse is a different ball game - they have the distribution, brand and presence."

Mr Collins said that Carphone Warehouse was "setting themselves up as the place to go to for Android".

"They see that the operating system is increasingly becoming the differentiating factor for consumers and they are aligning themselves with Android," he said.

Mr Burke admitted the firm was "going for volume" by partnering with Carphone Warehouse.

In the UK, the Nexus S will come free with £35 per month contracts or will be offered unlocked - to be used on any carrier - for £549.

The Google blog said it would be available after 16 December in the US and 20 December in the UK.

However, a spokesperson for Carphone Warehouse said that it would take pre-orders from 1600 GMT today, but it would not be on sale "until later in the month".

The firm said it was still negotiating contracts with "all of the UK operators" and could not say when a phone ordered today would be delivered.

"We don't want to promise anything to customers that we can't deliver," she said.

Yaesu VX-7r Service Mode Setup

If you are fairly competent, AND have the correct test gear (spectrum analyzer etc), it is quite a straightforward task to put the Yaesu VX-7r into 'Service Mode', to make any adjustments.
From the service menu, you are able to make adjustments to power levels, modulation levels, deviation levels and several others.
When the service menu first appears, the window will show 'PLL REF'.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU CHANGE THIS VALUE! -
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

If you intend to make any changes to default levels on your VX-7r, it goes without saying that you MUST write down ALL settings BEFORE adjusting them!

A quite common complaint of VX-7r users, is the CTCSS, or rather it's nasty habit of being slightly overdeviated, appearing as an annoying hum on TX.
This value can easily be set in the service menu.
If you feel that the low power setting is too high or low, you can adjust the setting for all 4 power levels, band by band.

Service menu includes :

PLL reference frequency

Squelch Hysteresis Adjustment

Squelch Preset Threshold

Squelch Preset Tight

SMeter

s1 adjustment

S meter full scale adjustment (S9)

Wide FM S meter S1 adjustment

Wide FM SMeter

full scale adjustment (S9)

TX power levels, all 4 bands

******TX DEVIATION ADJUSTMENT**** which is, by the way,

set at the factory to 4.2 kHz for the USA and to 4.5kHz

everywhere else

CTCSS TX level adjustments

DCS TX level adjustments

Picture courtesy of XU7ADQ

Picture courtesy of XU7ADQ

REMEMBER TO WRITE DOWN ALL THE SETTINGS BEFORE CHANGING THE VALUES!

DO NOT CHANGE THE 'PLL REF'

I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY PERFORMING THE ABOVE PROCEDURE

FREEBAND/WIDEBAND/MARS-CAP MOD FOR YAESU VX-7r

If you own a Yaesu VX-7r and feel the need to enable wideband TX/RX - Here's how!
Please note that there are several different models on the market, and you will need to choose which mod suits the model you have.
After modification, the VX-7r has a VERY wide TX range, and therefore it is up to you to display common sense to ensure that you don't transmit on bands for which you are not authorized!
Also note that the modifications will take the radio well outside of it's specification, and may put the finals under significant stress, especially if transmitting into an untuned antenna (eg. the stock rubber-duck is no use at 150+ or 455+MHz).

You undertake the following mods at YOUR OWN RISK!

That said, I have done the mod to my own VX7r with no problems at all

Picture courtesy of XU7ADQ Flickr

Picture courtesy of XU7ADQ on Flickr

VX-7r (USA Version)

Author: Rick Jones -

1. Remove the battery pack.
   
    
2. Remove the sticker/cover seal for the pressure sensing unit (SU-1), in the battery compartment. This is the black strip above cellular warning label and is where the SU-1 option goes (see XU7ADQ's pictures above).
   
    
3. Locate row of eight jumpers. They are numbered.
   
    
4. For Mars/Cap, remove solder jumper 5.
   
    
5. For Freeband, remove solder jumper 4 and 5.
   
    
6. Reset microprocessor. (Press and hold in the 4, band, and v/m keys while turning the radio on. (alternative reset method is shown below)
   
    
7. ENJOY

TX Frequencies:
Freeband: 40-224.995Mhz and 300-579.995Mhz
Mars/Cap: 50Mhz-54Mhz, 140Mhz-174Mhz, 222Mhz-225Mhz, and 420Mhz-470Mhz. 

EUROPEAN/EXPORT (B1 VERSION)

This is to inform you about the European version VX-7R modification. I own the B1 European/Export version (Label outside the box indicates DST:EXP / TYP:B1). Prior to any modifications the transceiver’s jumpers was soldered on positions 2,4,5,7 (factory setting) and the unit was capable of working on the following frequencies ONLY!
- 50-52MHz (RX ONLY, NO TX Possible!)
- 144-146MHz (RX/TX)
- 430-440MHz (RX/TX)
Reception was NOT possible anywhere outside these limits!

In order to modify it you should:
- Unsolder every jumper
- Reset the transceiver by holding down MON/F + HM/RV + Internet Key and power up the transceiver. This will display the Vertex Standard logo instead of Yaesu. Bear in mind that resetting the transceiver by using the method for the USA version (holding down 4 + BAND + V/M and powering up the transceiver) WON’T work! It will just enter a curious set up:
- RX on all bands
- No WX Channels
- Menu Item Misc Setup 20: BEAT SQL (Instead of WX Alert)
- Menu Item Special Memory 6: JR (Instead of Marine)
- Menu Item Misc Setup 17: Japanese (Instead of English)
- Transmission on 40-224.995Mhz and 300-579.995Mhz

After the aforementioned modification you will have continues RX coverage from 504KHz up to 999MHz (including analogue cellular frequencies - NO GAPS!)

Many thanks to Simeon Leriou, SV2GNM for his patience and his will.

73’s to all.

Icom IC-92AD Wideband Mod

Here's a modification that allows the IC-92AD to TX from 137-174MHz VHF and 420-470MHz UHF.
Please note that I am NOT the author of this mod, and therefore, cannot be held responsible for any damage caused while performing the modification.
In simple terms - YOU DO THIS MOD AT YOUR OWN RISK!

That said, the author claims that he has done the mod, and has had NO PROBLEMS!

Enjoy 'freebanding' responsibly (is that a contradiction in terms)?

Zombie thread back from the dead

Police being charged 2 quid PER SECOND for Airwave use!

Police officers in Dorset are being encouraged to send text messages instead of talking on their radios.

The force says it wants officers to text routine messages such as "returning to base" to free-up control room staff and cut costs.
The radio service is provided by a private operator, and each year a price is set for a certain amount of air time. Any excess costs £2 per second.
Dorset Police is spending £50,000 a year on the excess.
Messages would also include updates such as: "I'm on patrol" and "I'm having a break".
Andy Bennington, head of information services at Dorset Police, said despite the £50,000 excess charges, the texts would mostly help increase efficiency in the control room instead.
"It may reduce costs slightly, but overall I don't think it will, it's more about being efficient in our control room, and not having control room staff tied up trying to update the duties of officers," he said.
'Extortionate'
"Officers can directly do that themselves very quickly and easily [by text] from the radio."
Clive Chamberlain, the head of Dorset Police Federation, which represents the force's officers up to and including chief inspectors, said the current cost to Dorset Police from the excess charge was too high.
He said: "Particularly if you have a major incident or a normal Friday or Saturday night, we're going to use the radios quite a lot.
"If they go over the estimated level then a surcharge kicks in, that's £2 a second, which I think is extortionate - especially at a time when people in the police service are losing their jobs."

Huge Antenna Launched into Space

A US satellite carrying the biggest commercial antenna reflector ever put in space has been launched successfully from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

The mesh structure on the Skyterra-1 spacecraft is 22m (72ft) across.

It will relay signals for a new 4G-LTE mobile phone and data system for North America run by Lightsquared.

Callers whose networks are tied into the system will be automatically switched to a satellite if they are out of range of a terrestrial mast.

Lightsquared is the latest effort to try to establish a hybrid satellite-terrestrial system in the US.

Two previous ventures ran into financial problems. Both Terrestar and DBSD North America had to seek legal protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules while they sought to restructure enormous debts built up as they rolled out their systems.

LightSquared has promised a different approach. It says its business will be wholesale only. It will be selling capacity to carriers who wish to offer go-anywhere connectivity to their consumers, be they phone or data users.

The system will be capable of supporting smartphone-sized devices, it says.

Under a schedule approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the company has to have a ground network of terrestrial stations in place to serve 90% of the US population by the end of 2015.

The Skyterra-1 satellite was launched from Baikonur on a Proton rocket at 2329 local time on Sunday (1729 GMT)

The 5.4-tonne satellite will be located at 101.3 degrees West longitude and is expected to have a service life of 15 years.

The launch was the 10th Proton flight of 2010, and the seventh organised by International Launch Services, the company that sells the Russian rocket to commercial operators who need to get satellites into orbit.

The 22m-antenna on Skyterra-1 should be deployed by the end of the month. A second satellite, Skyterra-2, will follow in 2011.

Hearing Aid 1920's

Kentucky Law regarding 'Freeband' Transceivers

Kentucky Revised Statutes (2002)
Title XL - Crimes and Punishments
Chapter 432 - Offenses Against the State and Public Justice
§ 432.570 
432.570 Possession or use of radio capable of sending or receiving
police messages restricted; Penalty; Enforcement

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person except a member of a police
department or police force or an official with written
authorization from the head of a department which regularly
maintains a police radio system authorized or licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission, to have in his or her
possession, or in an automobile or other vehicle, or t o equip
or install in or on any automobile or other vehicle, any mobile
radio set or apparatus capable of either receiving or
transmitting radio or other messages or signals within the
wavelength or channel now or which may hereafter be allocated
by the Federal Communications Commission, or its successor, for
the purpose of police radios, or which may in any way intercept
or interfere with the transmission of radio messages by any
police or other peace officers and it shall be unlawful for any
car, automobile, or other vehicle other than one publicly owned
and entitled to an official license plate issued by the state
issuing a license to a said car, to have, or be equipped with
the sets or apparatus even though said car is owned by an
officer. This Section shall not apply to any automobile or
vehicle owned or operated by a member of a Sheriff's Department
authorized by the fiscal court to operate a radio
communications system that is licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission or other federal a gency having the
authority to license same. Nothing in this Section shall
preclude a probation and parole officer employed by the
Department of Corrections from carrying on his person or in a
private vehicle while conducting his official duties an
authorized, state-issued portable radio apparatus capable of
transmitting or receiving signals.

(2) Any person guilty of violating any of the provisions of this
Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction,
shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars
($50) and not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or
imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or both so fined
and imprisoned.

(3) It shall be the duty of any and all peace officers to seize and
hold for evidence any and all equipment had or used in
violation of the provisions of this Section, and, upon
conviction of the person having, equipping or using such
equipment, it shall be the duty of the trial court to order
such equipment or apparatus destroyed, forfeited, or escheated
to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and said property may be
ordered destroyed, forfeited, or escheated as above provided
without a conviction of the person charged with violating this
Section.

(4) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the possession
of a radio by:

(a) An individual who is a retailer or wholesaler and in the
ordinary course of his business offers such radios for sale
or resale;

(b) A commercial or educational radio or television station,
licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, at its
place of business; or

(c) An individual who possesses such a radio, provided it is
capable of receiving radio transmissions only and is not
capable of sending or transmitting radio messages, at his
place of residence; licensed commercial auto towing trucks;
newspaper reporters and photographers; emergency management
agency personnel authorized in writing by the Director of
Division of Emergency Management (for state personnel) or
Chief Executive of the city or county (for thier respective
personnel); a person holding a valid license issued by the
Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio
Service; peace officers authorized in writing by the head
of thier law enforcement agency, Commonwealth's attorneys
and thier assistants, county attorneys and thier
assistants, except that it shall be unlawful to use such
radio to facilitate any criminal activity or to avoid
apprehension by law enforcement officers. Violation of
this Section shall, in addition to any other penalty
prescribed by law, result in a forfeiture to the local law
enforcement agency of such radio.

(5) The Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet is
hereby empowered by issuance of a Secretary's Order to exempt
from the prohibitions and penalties of this Section the
possession and use of any and all radio communication equipment
that he finds is necessary to be owned and used by members of
the general public and other nonpolice persons for utilization
in the N.O.A.A. weather radio system.

HISTORY: 1998 c 226, § 111, eff. 7-15-98
1994 c 418, § 9, eff. 7-15-94; 1992 c 110, § 1, eff. 7-14-92
1986 c 241, § 1; 1980 c 137, § 1; 1978 c 435, § 1; 1976 ex s, c
14, § 443; 1976 c 166, § 1; 1942 c66

IB4TL

Spiders!!

How to cross the border without getting caught!

How to cross border without getting caught

934 MHz rigs

Grammar Police

Spelling Police

Give a fuck-o-meter

Cat Deely screams at audience - funny as fuck!

PETA

Wouxun KG-UVD1P

Taking the piss

Wouxun KG-UV920R Mobile Dual-Band Transceiver

talk to the hand

IBTL (In before the locked thread)

808 Car keys camera #3 version set clock easily (no typing)

For anyone who uses the '808' Car Keys Camera, version #3 or #6, and wants to set the clock.

Follow the link to download the CLOCK-SET program. It is a very small (54kB) program.
This is a Windows only zip program with .exe program, and works better if you send to the MicroSD Card in a reader.

VERY simple and doesn't need explaining, but works perfectly!

Enjoy...

http://www.software-schlosser.de/index.php?nav=808setclock_en

YAESU FT245 CB 245MHz

245MHz CB in Thailand

IRESC BADGE

Ham Radio

ARES Poster

Ham Radio Whacker Badge