Recently, I won an auction for a Grundig Classic International AM/FM/SW Stereo Table Radio Model 960. The price was right at $51 + $5 shipping. That puts the cost a bit lower than similar items I’ve seen on eBay.
This isn’t a tube radio. It’s a circa 2000 reproduction by Grundig of the Classic 960. My guess is this means it is more likely to work than an older original. It is also likely to be safer to operate. Reviews are often not positive about this radio but the only way to know is to try it. For the price, it is unlikely I’ll lose much on this deal.
What isn’t working right now is shipping. Although the auction closed last week, the radio still hasn’t been shipped. The selling Goodwill store says:
We are currently experiencing a shipping delay. Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this issue.
I’m hoping it is waiting for me when we get back from Wichita.
1.2 Heathkit HM-11 Reflected Power Meter
Also last week was the report of receiving a piece of vintage Heathkit gear, the HM-11 Reflected Power Meter. What I have in mind is not well formed, but I’ve been noodling on an all-in-one AllStarLink node with a Raspberry Pi inside the HM-11 case. I think for now, this one goes on the shelf where I can see it and think about it from time to time.
The Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone was a Goodwill auction purchase. I got this for $31 plus $12 for shipping and handling. I’ve been using an Audio-Technica AT2005USB microphone with a pre-amplifier for the Random Wire Reflections podcast. For $43 total, the AT2020 seemed like an affordable upgrade.
New, this microphone is $99 on Amazon. Purchasers on Amazon give it a 4.7 of 5 stars rating. They like the:
Sound quality
Value for money
Functionality
Quality
Looks
Ease of use
Liked somewhat less by buyers are microphone quality and cable quality.
As long as it hasn’t been abused, it should be a good upgrade. The AT2020 is a condenser microphone so I expect it will be more sensitive than the dynamic AT2005USB microphone has been. The AT2020 will arrive sometime during our two-week trip to Wichita so it will be a few weeks before I get to test it.
The TIDRADIO TD-H3 handie talkie arrived just before I left for my trip last week to Omak, Washington. I’ve had time to charge it but I haven’t turned it on yet.
I bought this in the most obnoxious green color you can imagine. I should be able to include a photo of it in this newsletter. I don’t think I’ll lose it in the sea of black HTs I already have.
I wear a men’s size medium glove and this radio fits my hand just right. I’ll be reviewing some basic information on YouTube to help me get started with this handie talkie.
2.2 muziWORKS H2T Meshtastic device
It turns out there is a Bluetooth problem with the muziWORKS H2T Heltec T114 development board. The symptom is: Bluetooth connections to your phone don’t always persist.
There are many threads on this issue, for example:
Meshtastic pulled the firmware for the T114 from their flasher.meshtastic.org page this week, making it a bit more difficult to flash T114 devices. I already have a couple of the firmware files, though, and I understand the firmware files are still available on Github.
I temporarily solved my problem by flashing the newest available firmware but that’s not a long-term fix for the problem. In response to some reports, I’ve also turned down the power output on the LoRa radio as some users think there is interference between the LoRa radio antenna lead and the Bluetooth antenna.
I am confident that Heltec and muziWORKS will get this figured out soon. It is a new development board, after all, and there are bound to be some bugs.
This tri-mag mount seems sturdy enough. Each magnet is covered with a rubber-like boot to help protect your vehicle’s finish. Warning: these rubber booties are easily lost. I’ll be using some pieces of tape to make sure they stay together.
The base coil is bigger than I expected. It’s a chunk. I cannot attest to the strength of this assembly, though. Some reviewers felt the antenna was a bit fragile.
My first challenge with the antenna was assembling the antenna segments. The center coil (?) uses two set screws on the bottom. One of the two set screws had been screwed all the way into the antenna aerial channel. The set screw had rotated off axis and was jammed in the channel. It took me about 30 minutes with a dental pick, magnet, and Allen key to get the screw rotated and extracted from the aerial channel. Once that challenge was overcome, the assembly process went smoothly.
Per the instructions included with the antenna, it looks like the SWR might be good enough to use this antenna without a tuner on some bands, specifically:
6 meters (50.0-54.0 MHz)
10 meters (28.0-29.7 MHz)
12 meters (24.89-24.99 Mhz)
15 meters (21.0-21.45 Mhz)
17 meters (18.068-18.168 Mhz)
20 meters (14.0-14.35 Mhz)
30 meters (10.1-10.15 Mhz)
The VSWR in the 20 and 30-meter bands is floating between 1.5 and around 2 which is probably the highest most folks might be willing to go. A tuner is recommended, if only to provide an additional margin of safety for the radio.
I haven’t used the antenna yet. My plan is to use it for HF with the tri-mag mount, portable, not mobile. Fingers crossed.
3.4 Magic carpet for groundplane
I also picked up some Faraday cloth to use with the 17-foot telescoping aerial antenna:
I consider myself to be a somewhat lazy ham, so the idea of tossing a sheet of fabric on the ground with a few rocks to hold it in place is more appealing than spreading various wires around.
3.5 Other trip preparations
3.5.1 Extra microSD cards
I bought some extra Sandisk microSD cards so I can put repeaters in different states on the cards. I have my Oregon and Washington repeater set already on a microSD card. I’ll add Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Wichita to some cards. This will make it relatively easy to switch repeater sets in the Yaesu FTM-300DR mobile radio.
I’ve purchased this set three times and have not had any trouble with the microSD cards:
For $66, this is a great deal. The first one I bought has worked very well in the Insta360 Ace. Having a spare will help me enjoy the trip a bit more.
3.5.3 Camera tripod and primary lens
The Insta360 Ace action camera and my Canon mirrorless camera will both benefit from a tripod. I can’t afford a professional quality tripod so I read reviews for a couple of hours and settled on this one:
The K&F tripod has enough weight capacity to easily hold either of my two cameras. Having a cellphone clip also means I can use this in a pinch for podcasting, vlogging, and Zoom meetings.
In a fit of nostalgia, I bought an old Optimus 8R white gas camp stove on eBay. It looked to be in very good condition. Upon opening the box, I was pleased to find it is in slightly used condition, which for its age, means it is in fine shape.
Optimus 8R stove
You might note the metal match container sitting in the open lid of the stove. It came with matches just as old as the stove! When I removed the tank cap, the odor of white gas was evident.
Other views:
I wonder how many of us used one of the standard stoves of the day way back in the 1970s: the Svea 123, the Optimus 8R, or the Bluet butane stove. Great memories are attached to all of these, I’m sure.
For my road trip, I'm going to have long days and lots of photo opportunities. I’ll have my mobile radio (Yaesu FTM-300DR) operating on FM and running on 144.39 MHz (APRS) as KJ7T-9.
Good health and safe journeys to all, always, and 73,
Note: I’ve been on the road most of this week. Thursday dinner did not sit well for my wife or me and we were awake much of the night. The usual and customary time of publication of the Random Wire — Friday morning — slipped by as we scrambled to get out of our hotel room and make the 500-mile drive home. Today is Saturday and I’m tying a ribbon around issue 108 a day late.
Recently, I won an auction for a Grundig Classic International AM/FM/SW Stero Table Radio Model 960. The price was right at $51 + $5 shipping. That puts the cost a bit lower than similar items I’ve seen on eBay. (The real savings is in the shipping cost as sometimes these items cost $50 or more for shipping alone!)
But I didn’t snag this on eBay. I found it on ShopGoodwill.com. If you search on the word “radio” you’ll get about 40 pages of hits and most of what you’ll see are older consumer radios for AM and FM listening. Most of what you’ll see is not very desirable. But there are treasures to be found. Searching on different terms can help reveal them. For example:
Icom: This search finds an Icom 726 radio for sale.
Heathkit: When I ran this search, a Heathkit fish spotter in the case was listed. Also, there was a Heathkit HW-101 SSB transceiver.
Behringer: Numerous Behringer-brand items are listed, including a number of mixers.
If you are searching using general terms (example: podcasting) and get few hits, try using a shorter version of the word (example: podcast). The difference in what you’ll see can be extraordinary.
A cautionary note is that Goodwill doesn’t really have the time or expertise to test the electronic equipment donated to it. You take a chance, but when the condition of the item is very good and the price is low, it can be hard not to roll the dice.
My rule of thumb is: unless it looks to be in very good condition, I don’t proceed . . . unless I really want it, of course! In general, photos don’t depict the exact condition of the entire item, so expect to be a little disappointed when the item arrives. Electronics are even more chancy to buy used, online. The movable parts often go bad first, but I’ve seen wrong power cords, blown capacitors, and other oddities with electronics.
Nevertheless, it’s always exciting to open the package, pull out your new treasure, open it up to see if anything obvious is wrong, and then . . . plug it in!
Front: Grundig Classic International Model 960
It has an external antenna jack, leading me to think for just a moment that this could be the Anniversary Edition…but it’s not. It turns out the regular 960 and the Anniversary 960 both have external antenna connections.
Rear: Grundig Classic International Model 960
Frequencies:
Frequencies: Grundig Classic International Model 960
Hopefully the speaker isn’t blown, capacitors are good, the push buttons work, and the tuning mechanism is perfect!
While I was at it, I bid on an Audio-Technica AT2020 microphone. New, this is a $100 microphone. I won the auction at $31 + $12 for shipping and handling. The mic looks new, at least in the auction photos. Getting a $100 mic for less than half price seems like a great deal . . . as long as it works well!
I picked up this Heathkit HM-11 on eBay, thinking there is plenty of room inside for a Raspberry Pi and an AllStarLink audio interface…and there is. After looking at it, I may try to use this as an SWR meter. It covers 6 to 160 meters and can be configured for 50 ohm or 75 ohm cable.
It needs a bit of cleanup and the FORWARD/REFLECTED function knob is cracked. If it works as an SWR meter, it seems a shame to alter it now.
One of the interesting things about buying old radio gear on eBay is being surprised. It’s always a gamble. Sometimes the item has an odor. Sometimes it is so pristine it seems it was caught in a time warp. Sometimes the packaging is atrocious. And sometimes, you catch a tiny glimpse into the seller’s life when they use local newspapers for packing material, or in this case, when they use an old box that used to house something else!
I bought my Heltec T114 with a case from Heltec. It did not come with a battery. I then purchased a battery from Amazon, using the part number I found on a Heltec T114 package available from muzi WORKS. That battery number is 803048.
muzi WORKS responded to my inquiry and explained the battery connection this way:
The battery side is a male connector and the board side is the female connector. Both are 1.25 pitch, sometimes referred to as JST but actually it's a Molex picoblade.
More about the battery . . . The 803048 battery I purchased from Amazon has a different connector, and in my ignorance, I just assumed it was the same as used by Muzi Works. The Amazon listing describes the connector as “JST PH2.0mm” but the key fact is it doesn’t fit the T114 connector. The exterior dimensions of the battery are 8 x 30 x 48mm.
I feel comfortable recommending the muzi WORKS kit. They have been responsive on every item I’ve purchased from them. If you buy a Meshtastic node from Muzi Works, you can be confident it will work properly. They now offer a Heltec T114 fully built Meshtastic node for $99, including GPS and battery. This seems like a great upgrade from Heltec V3 devices. I like this so much I ordered one!
The battery does fit — barely. I had to press it firmly into place. I can’t imagine it being larger in any dimension and still fitting inside the case.
Battery installed into T114 case
I let the unit run for three days without recharging the battery and it still had 32% battery left. Color me impressed. The Heltec V3 eats through a battery in a day while the T114 stretches battery life to multiple days.
3.2 muzi WORKS H2T, another T114 device
My muzi WORKS order for their H2T device was placed on September 13 and was shipped on September 16. Just like with my previous orders from muzi WORKS, shipping occurred soon after ordering and I am kept informed as the shipment travels to me.
When I arrived home late Friday evening, September 20, the H2T was waiting for me, along with easy-to-follow directions and a couple of nice stickers.
H2T quick start instructions
This is a palm-sized device in a 3D-printed case.
The muzi WORKS H2T
It came with Meshtastic 2.4.2 loaded. The text on the screen was quite small but upgrading to Meshtastic 2.5.0 fixed that problem. The instructions provided with the unit made this easy.
Comparing the two T114 devices
In the photos above and below are the Heltec T114 device I assembled (blue) and the muzi WORKs H2T device (tan).
Side-by-side: two Heltec T114 devices
I’m very pleased with the H2T. I’ll it on the trip to Kansas to see how it H2T performs over time. The H2T is nicely put together, works out of the box, and has everything I need in a Meshtastic device. So far, I think it’s going to get a Random Wire Recommended thumbs-up from me!
I woke up on Saturday to find my wired network was offline. Wireless networking was working fine. Internet access: check. But it looked like everything connected to my power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switch was no longer connected to the network.
(This was a bit more upsetting than normal as I had planned on attending an amateur radio club meeting, but since others in the family depend on the network, I stayed home to diagnose and solve the problem.)
My PoE switch has failed before and I’m tempted to jump to a conclusion, but I need to guard against that. What I need to do is — as those of us of a certain again will remember from the early NASA years — work the problem.
Here’s the problem: everything connected to my PoE switch is no longer networked but devices are still receiving power. That’s just odd. The last time the PoE switch failed, it passed no network traffic and provided no downstream power to devices.
To work the problem, I started at the internet connection.
Is the cable in the house firmly connecting to the outlet? Yes.
Is the internet to the house “up”? Yes.
Is the modem operating? Yes.
Is the router on? Yes.
Does the router see wireless devices? Yes.
Does the router see wired devices? No.
This could mean the Ethernet port on the router has failed. Test that by using a different Ethernet port. Did that fix it? No.
Reboot the router. Did that fix it? Yes.
It turns out my router lost connection with the PoE switch. While my initial thoughts were that the PoE switch had failed (again), that was not the case. My GL.iNet GL-MT6000 Flint 2 router was already running the latest firmware but I went ahead and installed a beta version of an upcoming upgrade. That went smoothly.
After rebooting, the new firmware is working well.
Load on the router
I had the transmit power on the router’s wireless radios turned down a bit because I have a history of burning out router radios. With the beta upgrade, I see the power setting has been returned to max. I turned that down. On my router with both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz radios, both have to be changed (changing one does not affect the other).
Also:
AdGuard runs on my router to help protect us from excessive spammy advertising. That is still running after the beta upgrade. DNS queries from clients inside the network are routed through the AdGuard DNS system.
Tailscale is still running on the router (this allows me to safely access the router while away from home).
It looks like all of my custom port forwarding settings were also retained after the upgrade.
I have no idea what caused the router to lose the connection to wired clients. The PoE switch is wired directly from a LAN port on the router to the switch, so when the connection was lost, everything connected to the switch also lost connection to the network. When it comes to networking, I usually find that working the problem helps to zero in on what is not working correctly.
I’m not a big fan of action cameras because the physical format of the device makes it feel like an awkward toy, not a real camera. Nevertheless, I bought a well-rate off brand camera that ended up not working. That camera has been returned and I’m expecting a replacement to arrive any day.
In the meantime, I purchased a different brand camera: the Insta360 Ace. It was on sale and the reviews suggested it would be more than adequate for my needs.
What needs, you might wonder? I wanted a camera I could mount on the pickup truck, especially as we drove through some places we have lived before, and when we travel through Moab, Utah. The Insta360 seemed like a solid choice.
I’ve used it on the motorcycle where the bouncing of the bike really put the image stabilization to the test. I don’t have the stabilization set at the highest setting and the results are acceptable, but for riding the bike, I’ll need to increase the image stabilization level.
The Insta360 seems heavy for its size and that can create issues on the motorcycle. If the mounts are not tightened down very firmly, the camera is going to move at attachment points or at hinge points. I also noticed when I mounted the camera to the side of my windscreen, it oscillated alarmingly in the wind. I can mount it at the top of the windscreen but in that spot it sits right int he center of my sightline. I have a mount for the rear view mirror arm that I’ll try next.
In the pickup truck, what is working well for me is a bean bag mount on the dash. It has been stable on rough roads and on turns. Since it is easily moved, when we park I can simply pick the camera up and put it down on the floor, pretty much out of sight.
I was having trouble with video that seemed to jump and skip, but when I replaced the supplied 512 Gb microSD card with a new card (Silicon Power 1 Tb microSD for an amazing $65.99), that problem went away.
I did find the Insta360 Ace becomes unhappy if it sits in the sun. On a motorcycle or helmet or other outdoor mounting where air flow can keep the unit cool, this probably isn’t a problem. The dashboard of my pickup truck is not cool and breezy. The camera shut down on me a couple of times on Friday as we drove into the sun. Once I changed the air conditioning to vent on the windshield, we had no more problems due to temperature.
Arriving very soon (probably before we leave on our Omak, Washington trip) is a vintage Heathkit hybrid radio patch HD-15. Find some details about this device at https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/heath_hd_15_hd1.html
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. At first I thought I would put it on top of my Heathkit HS-1661 speaker, but the HD-15 is a little wider than the speaker. I just really like the looks of it.
The HD-15 did arrive and there are some lessons here. My first observation is: this is not the correct way to pack ham radio equipment:
Fortunately, this is a pretty rugged piece of amateur radio gear. The outside looks as I expected it would. There is no obvious damage from being packaged so poorly.
A loose screw in the box was the hint to take the lid off the unit. I discovered loose items: two lock washers, a nut, a wire, and a loose transformer. I also found a nut and washer that were not tightened and the nut feels like it was cross-threaded during assembly; the threads are very clean as if a nut has never passed that way.
I reattached the transformer using the loose screw, lock washers, and nut. I can’t turn the nut that was never cinched down, at least not with my fingers. I need to dig out my fine needle-nose pliers for this. If I might rip out the internals, then I can wait to tighten that nut. It did survive being shipped to Portland, Oregon from Pennsylvania.
I am left with one loose wire. Huh. It’s not part of a paper clip as it bends too easily for that. It feels like a transistor lead wire but I did not see any transistor missing a wire. It’s possible it was a soldered jumper that came loose or it may be that this has been a loose item since the item was first purchased.
The loose wire from inside the case
The construction manual for the HD-15 does refer to a single piece of hookup wire but I did not find anywhere in the manual that shows where that wire is used. It’s a mystery!
I bought this in the most obnoxious green color you can imagine. I should be able to include a photo of it in this newsletter. I don’t think I’ll lose it in the sea of black HTs I already have.
For $36, this is worth a gamble. Reviews among users on Reddit and Facebook have been pretty positive. I like the idea of being able to charge, and program, using a USB-C cable. I also like the idea of being able to control the radio over Bluetooth with an app. It has NOAA weather radio.
You know, as I look at having two ham bands available, plus air, plus weather, it seems like this could be a viable emergency radio or go-bag radio. There are issues reported by other users, including zero water resistance.
This issue of the Random Wire Review comes to you while I’m traveling. We spent a few days in Omak, Washington, and Friday we traveled through the Waterville Plateau and saw some great glacial erratics. Here is geology professor Nick Zentner on these glacial erratics:
Next week we set off on a two-week road trip from Portland, Oregon to Wichita, Kansas. On the way, we’ll stop for a few days in Moab, a place we really enjoy. As we pass through southern Colorado, we’ll visit friends.
Radios for this trip:
I will be running my Yaesu FTM-300DR C4FM mobile radio with APRS running (find me as KJ7T-9 on https://aprs.fi).
I’ll also be running a Meshtastic node as a tracker as I want to compare that against running APRS.
I might also take a Ten-Tec Scout or my Yaesu FT-891 and a telescoping aerial for a bit of HF work but we’ll be driving long distances so I expect the HF radio will stay in the case most of the time.
I know I’ll take an AllStarLink node with me (probably the 588417 SHARI node) pre-configured to connect to my travel router or cellular hotspot.
The new Heltec T114 arrived from Heltec Automation. It’s a cute little thing.
Unfortunately, it arrived with no battery. In hindsight, I should have bought the offering from Muzi Works that includes the battery. However, Muzi Works shows the battery number and Amazon had one for only $7.99 so the proper battery will arrive in a week. (UPDATE: The battery connector does not fit. I’m investigating!)
No instructions come with the device when ordered from Heltec, not even a link to product documentation. Not to worry, though, Heltec has a thorough page about the T114 at https://heltec.org/project/mesh-node-t114/
1.1 Assembly
I assembled the unit without looking at the instructions. The hole in the case for the external antenna is not quite large enough so instead I used the included coil antenna and left it inside the case. The GPS antenna only goes one way so that was easy to slot into place. The GPS wiring harness only goes into the socket one way so that, too, was easy.
1.2 Installing Meshtastic
When I plugged it into power (USB-C) the device came alive but obviously Meshtastic was not installed on it. Here’s where it gets particularly easy to get Meshtastic running on the T114:
Plug a USB-C data cable (many are power-only cables so be sure to use one that also transfers data) into the T114 and into your computer.
Press the green blinking reset button twice in quick succession.
You should then see the T114 on your computer as a separate device.
Download the correct .uf2 file from Heltec, then drag-and-drop that file into the device folder on your computer. You can find it on the Heltec T114 page way down near the bottom in the Docs & Resource section. Once in that section, click the Related Resources link then download the file named nrf-meshtastic-V242.uf2.
Wait a few moments until the device reboots, at which point you should see Meshtastic 2.4.2 running.
You’ll still need to pair it with your smartphone, so go to Bluetooth on your smart device and find the T114. Click that to begin pairing. The T114 will show a six-digit code on the screen and you’ll get a popup on your smart device where you enter the six-digit number.
Then open the Meshtastic app and find and tap your new node. Once it is recognized by the app, change the Region setting to US. At this point, it should automatically reboot. And that’s it unless you want to fiddle with other settings.
My new node shows up on MeshMap.net
1.3 Running on a power bank
I confess that I did not wait for the internal battery to arrive from Amazon before trying the node in my vehicle. To do this, I used a power bank, a USB cable, and a strip of blue painter tape to temporarily hold the pieces together.
Temporary node power
Surprisingly, it didn’t work for more than a few minutes. My power bank has a feature that causes the bank to shut off if insufficient draw is detected. The T114 did not draw enough power to keep the power bank turned on. This is probably a very good indication that the T114 is going to be miserly when it comes to power consumption!
I did test the unit while driving between Portland, Oregon and Olympia, Washington using a very sophisticated setup:
Temporary placement of T114 in truck
With no battery, the T114 stays very cool.
1.4 Changing the antenna
Later, I changed the antenna from the internal coil to the external stubby. The small wire coil inside the case, resting against the PCB, didn’t seem very sensitive.
I thought the SMA jack did not fit through the pre-drilled hole in the case but I was wrong. Upon closer inspection, there is a flat milled into the jack and the hole has a matching profile. The two little buttons are free-floating in the case cover holes so they get a bit fiddly when putting the case back together. Blue painter tape to the rescue!
In the photo with the blue tape, you can see how I routed the antenna wire inside the case. Also, there is a design flaw in that the USB-C port on the case is too close to the antenna mount. Antennas with larger bases interfere with charging.
I suppose an additional design question mark is why the GPS antenna is on the opposite end of the case from the 915 MHz antenna. Most of us are going to carry this thing with the stubby antenna pointing up and that puts the GPS antenna at the base of the device. However, I’m not really complaining because in the car, this will sit on the back (the side opposite the display) where both antennas will be relatively unimpeded.
There is no lanyard hole. A device this small would be easy to carry on a neck lanyard if configured for this. Also, there is no way to access the tiny reset button on the board without disassembling the case.
Overall, I quite like this little unit. Adding the battery will improve it.
UPDATE: The battery arrived just as I was putting issue 107 to bed. The JST connector on the battery does not fit the 1.25x2P-LiPO connector (a smaller JST connector) on the T114 board. I’ve reached out to a vendor for clarification.
As long as I had some Meshtastic devices out on the “bench” (my desk), I went ahead and updated the software for two nodes. Both are Heltec V3 devices. I chose to flash them to the latest stable version 2.4.2.5b45303 Beta. This note about flashing Meshtastic refers to other nodes, not the T114!
To do this, I connect my node to a USB port on my personal computer, then open https://flasher.meshtastic.org. A prerequisite of this is installing a serial driver for your COM port that matches the type of device you’ll be flashing. I had already done this so I just had to select the correct COM port.
The screen looks like this:
Then select the Flash button. You’ll get a popup that describes the firmware. Select the Continue button at the end of the description. Additional instructions follow:
I left items 1 and 2 at the default settings. For item 3, I did not select “Full Erase and Install” as I wanted to retain my settings. After clicking the Update bar/button, it took a few minutes for the firmware to install and then the node restarted.
The Radxa device I heard about on Liliputing arrived a week ago and I’ve just started to play with it. With 2 Gb of RAM and 16 Gb of eMMC storage, my hope is to load AllStarLink onto this machine. It can run Debian Bullseye so I’m hoping this could work, but we’ll see. In my first attempt, I’m going to try to get Bullseye loaded and then follow the steps outlined by David Gleason NR9V in an AllStarLink.org community forum post.
The operating system can be loaded onto a microSD card or into the built-in eMMC storage. I very much prefer running from eMMC so I’ll try loading it there first. Note that there is no display port on this little box. All interactions occur over TCP/IP in a browser of your choice.
This is a solid little thing. It weighs about the same as a USB charger of the same size; it’s a bit lighter in weight than a 16.9 fluid ounce bottle of water or soda. Find the overview and specs on the Radxa site.
BEARS is the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society. I was deeply impressed by the level of experience and expertise present in the meeting. Lots of knowledge in this group of amateurs.
I learned some new things from Bill’s presentation. He is clearly far more knowledgeable about Winlink than I am! You can see his presentation at this link: https://tinyurl.com/Intro-Winlink-N6NBN
During the presentation, I emailed Bill over Winlink and it didn’t take long for him to respond:
When I remoted into my home server to see if any software updates were needed, I also restarted WIRES-X. That might have been a mistake because when it came back up, I got the dreaded "Not Found the Audio device for the WIRES-X use" message for my Portable Digital Node.
What did I do?
I crawled around on the floor to check that the audio cables that connect to the SCU-58 cable set were in the soundcard holes (it’s an old soundcard with different colored ports).
I checked the connections for my audio extension cables (because the server is several feet away from the radio).
I unplugged the SCU-58 cable from the microphone jack and plugged in an old set of earbuds (kept on hand for this purpose) into that jack. (When that didn’t work, I reverted to having the SCU-58 cable in the mic jack.)
I unplugged the SCU-58 from the back of the radio and plugged it back in.
I restarted the radio.
Nope, no joy. Still had the error. And then I remembered I had written about this very problem back in June. Reviewing that note reminded me I had to reboot the server.
Usually, I can reboot the server and immediately connect over Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). I run the server headless, meaning it operates with no monitor, keyboard, or mouse directly connected to it. That generally works fine. When it doesn’t work, it usually means an operating system update got installed that monkeyed with one of the interfaces.
OK, no worries. Break out the small keyboard and mouse I keep handy for just this purpose and temporarily plug the HDMI cable into my desktop monitor. Sure enough, Windows 11 was showing me the welcome screen to set up a new system. (Note: I find that operating system updates often mess with firmware.) I skipped all the prompts and got the server up. Then I restarted WIRES-X and the “not found” error for the audio device was gone.
Second reminder to myself: next time, just reboot the server!
One of the nice things about being a ham is learning to improvise. I have an older power station (circa 2021 is now “old” in power station years!) missing the charger. When I searched online for the Aukey PowerZeus, I found very little information available. I searched by model number, I searched for a manual.
Home Backup Power: Provides pure sine wave 110V AC just like the outlet at home. 518Wh huge capacity provides 16 extra hours of drone flying, 24 more hours of phone video recording, 18 hours of professional lighting, or an extra 10 hours of continuous live streaming from a remote location. Great for hiking, camping, RV travel, and hunting
But no charger.
Fortunately, the charger input is a barrel jack for up to 3 amps of input power. When I saw the jack and the 3A specification, I immediately wondered if my 12VDC charger that I use for some Dell Wyse 3040 thin clients and for my Behringer MIC500USB pre-amplifier might fit. It did! I charged the power station for a few minutes but the draw made the wall wart very, very warm.
So, I ordered a heavier duty 12V 3A charger from Amazon with a 5.5mm x 2.5mm barrel connector. For just $9.99, this seemed like an easy experiment. The charger was delivered the next day and the power station has been pulling about 31 watts in. It just finished charging up to 100%.
Score one for this amateur radio operator. We’ll take this power station on our road trip to Kansas, giving us plenty of capacity to keep our phones and tablets charged.
While I was wandering around the QRZ website, I stumbled across another amateur radio blog that has some interesting content. Below are three items I found of particular interest by Dave Jensen W7DGJ.
Next week I’m on the road Tuesday through Friday (Portland, Oregon to Omak, Washington) so the Random Wire content will undoubtedly be light. The week after that we set off on our two-week road trip from Portland, Oregon to Wichita, Kansas (with a stop in Moab) and back. I won’t be doing any building while I’m traveling but I hope to do some radio operating. I’m sure I’ll have some stories from the road to share!
I will be running my Yaesu FTM-300DR C4FM mobile radio with APRS running (find me as KJ7T-9 on https://aprs.fi). I’ll also be running a Meshtastic node as a tracker as I want to compare that against running APRS. I might also take a Ten-Tec Scout or my Yaesu FT-891 and a telescoping aerial for a bit of HF work but we’ll be driving long distances so I expect the HF radio will stay in the case most of the time. I know I’ll take an AllStarLink node with me (probably the 588417 SHARI node) pre-configured to connect to my travel router or cellular hotspot.
Wishing you a wonderful transition from summer to fall!
The Random Wire newsletter and podcast are going to be a little light this week. In fact, I’m going to skip the podcast. We spent several days visiting with family over the Labor Day weekend and that is when I would usually be writing and preparing for the audio version of the newsletter. No project build information in this issue; hopefully I’ll have some next week.
I listened to a very interesting early morning conversation the other day. The topic was identifying one’s station while using a digital voice mode like C4FM or DMR. One amateur radio operator said he was told “years ago” that he didn’t need to identify because his callsign was embedded in his digital transmission.
That statement really set me back because I had learned that you always had to identify, either by voice or by CW, depending on the mode you were using.
(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.
In part (b), 97.119 goes on to say “The call sign must be transmitted with an emission authorized for the transmitting channel in one of the following ways:”
(1) By a CW emission. When keyed by an automatic device used only for identification, the speed must not exceed 20 words per minute;
(2) By a phone emission in the English language. Use of a phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is encouraged;
(3) By a RTTY emission using a specified digital code when all or part of the communications are transmitted by a RTTY or data emission;
(4) By an image emission conforming to the applicable transmission standards, either color or monochrome, of § 73.682(a) of the FCC Rules when all or part of the communications are transmitted in the same image emission.
Nowhere in 97.119 does it say that using digital voice means you do not need to identify, and that means you do have to identify “at least every 10 minutes during a communication.”
I think I understand where that operator was coming from. When you see that your callsign is part of the transmission being received by other stations, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to also state your callsign by voice. However, those of us who use digital modes have seen instances where a callsign is mangled, or missing, or shown as “unknown.” This point alone suggests that best practice is to identify by voice.
On top of this, not all stations listening to the digital voice conversation may be on the same system. You may be participating in a C4FM conversation but someone else may be bridged into C4FM from another mode or system. It is unlikely the person coming in from outside can see your callsign. Amateur radio is a public communication medium and we never really know who is listening. Stating your callsign serves to identify to everyone, not just the people you think you are conversing with.
Additionally, here are some points to keep in mind in the "bigger picture" of things. 1. Some of our fellow operators are blind or have vision trouble and are unable to read a screen. 2. Some operators are not next to the radio to read the display. 3. Some are using devices that convey the audio in its digital form, but it does not ID the call sign if that is in the data stream.
It seems like identifying is not only required, it’s also a darn good practice.
That was quick! I am surprised by how quickly the M17 board arrived.
M17 audio board
This is a nice-looking board. This appears to be the rev 0.1d/e board. (The rev 1.0 board has an OHIS connector on it!) The potentiometer is not an on-off type. There is a DB9 connector attached and the power in jack looks to be a standard barrel connector. There is a USB-C port between the DB9 and barrel connectors.
I’m looking forward to seeing what I might be able to do with the M17 board.
In issue 104, I mentioned I was “snakebit with RAK-based Meshtastic devices.” I’ve sent back my third failed device for evaluation. In my Google searches on RAK-based node failures, I have run across several instances that seem to involve power to the node. I’m wondering if power regulation is not working right for these nodes, or maybe some USB chargers are just too hot for them. Hopefully, I learn more in the days and weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to receiving the Heltec T114 node. This hardware looks to be more power efficient than the Heltec 3 boards in most of my nodes. My fingers are crossed that the T114 will be a good way to move forward with efficient nodes.
It will be a while, though, before I see the T114. On August 26, I received a notice that my order had shipped…and it must be coming on a ship, because at the top of the notice it says:
The whole mailing process may last about 20~40 days. Please be patient.
You’ll hear some abrupt transients in the time announcement. It’s been that way since I enabled those announcements. The SkywarnPlus audio alerts are clearer. Audio was recorded on my smartphone sitting in front of the Cisco SPA525G phone I use to monitor node 588411.
4.2 A Brief Tale of Not Preparing Well
This is a tale of not preparing well for my three-day Labor Day weekend with family. I decided I would take my tiny SHARI node and a handie talkie along for this trip, figuring I would connect my node to my sister’s wifi network to enjoy some AllStarLink traffic. I failed on two fronts.
First, I forgot that I would have to configure the SHARI node to access my sister’s network. Most of my other devices have already visited her network so logging on is automatic. The SHARI node has not been on her network before. What I failed to bring was the micro USB-to-Ethernet adapter. The SHARI PiZero from Kits4Hams is built around a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W which only has micro USB ports on it. To plug into a wired network, you need an adapter. I didn’t bring it.
Second, I could have (and should have) configured the SHARI node to connect to my travel router. I did not do that, either. A couple of my AllStarLink nodes have already been set up to log into my travel router but it turns out I had not done this for the SHARI PiZero node.
Meanwhile, I’ve ordered a USB transfer cable to see if I can use it to directly network the PiZero with my Windows laptop. (UPDATE: The cable I ordered won’t work as it requires software on both machines and no RaspberryPi version is available.) I’ve not done this before so the jury is out on whether this has a snowball’s chance of working. Lastly, I found the USB-to-Ethernet adapter and put it into the travel bag that is set aside for the PiZero. Had I done that earlier, I would have avoided much frustration.
Another odd behavior was my SHARI node was not announcing its IP address. At least, that seemed strange until I realized that I had not configured the node to connect to my sister’s network, so it was not getting an IP address. When I got back home, it worked perfectly.
I abhor being a single point of failure…but that’s exactly what I am when it comes to the two domain names for my home amateur radio club. I just renewed mc-arc.org and n7sk.org for another year. I need to find someone else in the club to serve as backup for these two domains!
I wonder how other clubs handle their website domain names. Is there only one person who manages the domains? Do they share a login for the domain registrar? My home club can’t be the only one that has some single points of failure, especially when you consider domain names, web hosting accounts, a group email system like Groups.io, financial accounting, repeater maintenance and repair…and the list goes on and on.
This point was driven home rather starkly for me this week when I talked to an amateur operator who is heavily involved in maintaining a radio club’s repeater. He has learned of some potentially significant health issues, bringing the whole single-point-of-failure discussion into brighter focus.
The big tent question is: what can we do to make our club operations more resilient?
I went shopping for an action camera to use while motorcycling and for my Portland-to-Wichita trip at the end of the month. After reading many reviews, I purchased an Akaso Brave 7 package. The reviews were good and the capabilities of the camera met my needs. A key factor was the ability to connect an external microphone, meaning I could clip a lavalier microphone inside my motorcycle helmet and narrate some audio while riding.
Alas, the Brave 7 failed to function properly. I could not get it to reliably connect to my smartphone and the included remote control did not work. When I asked Amazon for return instructions, I was directed to contact the manufacturer. I found the customer support experience surprisingly poor. The maker asked me to perform several steps, over and over. I uninstalled and reinstalled software. I updated firmware. I did these things in all different sequences, as asked.
And then the maker asked me to make a video of the steps I was following “to help improve customer support for other customers.” At this point, I objected. This was a bit over the top. I did make the video but under protest. After sending them the video, they issued an RMA (return merchandise authorization) and I shipped the entire package to them for replacement.
6.2 Insta360 Ace
I’m not confident that the replacement Brave 7 camera will work, or even if it will arrive in time for my trip, so I went a different direction by purchasing an Insta360 Ace (affiliate link). The Insta360 is on sale right now directly from Insta360 but I note that today, the price on Amazon is the same.
Insta360 Ace action camera
Once charged, the camera connected to the Insta360 app on my smartphone easily after I disabled my VPN. Without reading the manual, I took a few photos and transferred them to my phone. I noted that the touchscreen on the Insta360 worked much better than the one on the Akaso Brave 7. On the Brave camera, I had to repeatedly poke the screen with some vigor for my finger presses to register. In contrast, the Insta360 Ace touchscreen worked perfectly. Touchscreen commands seem much more intuitive on the Insta360.
These two photos in original format are 4000 x 3000 pixels. I’ve downsized them to 1440 x 1080 to save space. No editing has been done on these images. I think the quality is acceptable.
The Insta360 Ace is reported to not work as well as the Ace Pro in low-light situations. I’ll have to see how that goes. I’m ordering a windshield mount (wow, only $9.99) today for inside the Honda pickup truck and will test that to see if glass reflections are a problem. If they are, I can put a flexible sticky mount on the roof of the truck. I also ordered a nifty camera mount that clamps onto the top edge of my motorcycle windscreen.
Since I haven’t been able to use the Akaso Brave 7, that device gets a zero score. The Insta360 worked right out of the box (after charging the battery and after installing the app on my smartphone). I was able to complete those steps and use the camera without reading the manual. For now, the Insta360 gets full points. We’ll see if I change my mind after putting it through its paces!
It’s been a crazy busy week, partly because it is shorter due to the Labor Day weekend and partly due to my state association workload increasing. We are deep into planning multiple meetings in October and our statewide annual meeting that occurs right after Thanksgiving. I am very busy in September, October, and November! December sees a lighter schedule which means I can try to catch up on things, then the Legislature convenes in January and I remain busier until April or so.
I’ve got a long road trip coming up at the end of September: Portland, Oregon to Wichita, Kansas. Currently installed in the pickup truck is a Yaesu FTM-300DR transceiver with a Comet SS680SB antenna attached to the roof rack. This is a 1/2-wave antenna for 2 meters and 5/8-wave on 70 centimeters. This combination has worked well for me. I hope to have enough time on the return trip to Visit Santa Fe, NM or Moab, UT again.
Map source: openstreetmap.org
Mounting an antenna on my Honda Ridgeline is a challenge. I don’t want to punch a hole in the roof. A mag-mount antenna would be okay but I know I’ll hit some very windy spots while driving, so a mag-mount is not preferred. I think the most likely would be a modified stake mount of some kind, with the mounting plate slipping underneath the tonneau cover that covers the truck bed…except unlike other light trucks, the Ridgeline doesn’t have stake pockets! I may have to use a carrier bar mount like I do with the Comet antenna.
I see there are several C4FM repeaters between Portland and Wichita, and since I like C4FM, I plan to use the FTM-300DR for this trip. (I’ll certainly need to add the Colorado Digital C4FM repeaters to the FMT-300DR.) I also run APRS while I travel.
My question is: what other radios/bands should I consider taking with me?
Eventually, I do want to move into DMR mobile radio but I have so much piled up on my “to do” list that I don’t think I can give a new DMR radio the attention it needs before the trip.
I like 6 meters but there are not as many 6-meter repeaters as there used to be. I’d consider adding a 6-meter rig for the trip. I do have a Yaesu FT-891 transceiver and would consider taking that to work 6 meters and some HF. I would like to mount an HF antenna on the truck and would prefer that it be adjustable while driving (i.e., an antenna for mobile use, not just portable use).
I’m intrigued by the GRA-750B antenna, even with the “interesting” comments about it on the Amazon listing. I’m not a big fan of putting a screwdriver antenna out in the weather, year-round (it rains a lot in Portland!). The GRA-750B has no moving parts and requires a tuner. The manufacturer rates it for up to 120 watts on SSB and 40 watts on FM. It looks like it would fit on a stake hole antenna mount. You know, it might make an acceptable POTA antenna on a strong mag-mount or a tripod. Hmmm…
For a POTA antenna that I could mount on a tripod or on a hitch adapter on the truck, I’m liking a less-than-full-size delta loop antenna, the EAntenna HF Rotatable Antennas 17826.11B. Similarly, I’ve often wondered if I could build a poor man’s delta loop with a couple of 17-foot telescoping aerials with a wire clipped to the top of each aerial!
For the last several Random Wire Reflections podcasts, I’ve recorded audio using a Behringer C-1 condenser microphone running through a Behringer MIC500USB pre-amplifier. This week, I’m using an Audio-Technica AT2005USB dynamic microphone through the MIC500USB pre-amp. The AT2005USB also has an XLR connector and I’m using an XLR line to move sound from the mic to the pre-amp. The pre-amp has a USB out so that’s how audio gets to Audacity. I save the sound file as a project and edit audio in Audacity.
The AT2005USB has a cardiod pattern that does reject more background sounds than the C-1 condenser mic, at least when the sound is behind the mic. I think the sound with the AT2005USB mic through the pre-amp is just a little bit cleaner than I was getting with the C-1 mic.
I tested the sound and posted the results on the Random Wire:
3. News: A New ASL Audio Interface Under Development by NR9V
David Gleason NR9V is creating a new audio interface board on a single PCB, called the UCI120 USB Communications Interface. This device will be suitable for use as an audio interface for an AllStarLink node. I am really excited about David’s project! His board will greatly reduce the time and frustration in building your own high-quality AllStarLink node. Impressive work by NR9V!
Find his software for AllStarLink nodes at https://allscan.info. When the UCI120 becomes available, I assume that’s where he will also publish product information. In the meantime, David is keeping interested folks informed via his Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/allscan.
About the UCI120, David writes:
The AGC/dynamics section will have a switch supporting 3 attack/release timing settings, a bypass switch enabling external mic-preamps/channel-strips/line ins to be used, a switch to support electret (e.g. headset) mics, and a jumper to bypass the low-cut filter, as well as to the mic gain adjust knob and 0/10/20dB mic boost switch. With these options the UCI120 will support pretty much every type of mic and line input, while also supporting many other applications e.g. recording, podcasting, remote rig control, and use as a standard PC USB audio interface.
Considering that the UCI120 “will also be available as the PCB only without enclosure so it can be used in comms speakers, phone patches, etc.” I’m tempted to delay my Kenwood PC-1A audio interface project! Since I already have my parts on hand, and because I want to extend my learning, I’ll carry on with the PC-1A build. However, when David’s UCI120 comes out, I’ll be one of the first in line to try it!
My project parts box is not at all fancy — it’s a Plano tackle box that I picked up at a thrift store for a couple of bucks! I find it helps to keep the little bits and pieces together as I work on a project over several weeks.
PC-1ASL project box
4.2 Wiring
Below, I describe my thinking on how to connect the components together. I don’t have a good circuit design program so if a drawing shows up here, I probably did it on the back of an envelope in pencil, with lots of erasures! If there is no drawing, well, that means the pieces are still trying to come together in my mind.
This project revolves around the Masters Communications RL-20 audio board:
RL-20 board DB9 pinout from Masters Communications
For the PC1ASL project, here are the pin numbers and connections I think is correct:
not used (it would be for right-channel audio but I am only using the left-channel)
Audio out (left channel) to5KΩ potentiometer center
COS tomicrophone jack PTT pin 2
not used
not used
Audio input from MAX9814 audio amplifier (level controlled by 5KΩ potentiometer)
not used
Ground
not used
4.2.2 Microphone jack
For the microphone jack wiring, I pulled information from the great allscan.info instructions for building your own AllStarLink node.
8-pin microphone jack
Pin number and connection:
Microphone audio through a 5KΩ potentiometer to MAX9814 to RL-20 DB9 pin 6
PTT to RL-20 DB9 pin 3
not used
not used
+5VDC in from the RL-20 MIC +5VDC pad
not used
Microphone ground toRL-20 DB9 pin 8
Ground toRL-20 DB9 pin 8
4.2.3 Audio amplifiers
PAM3806 audio amplifier board
The PAM3806 audio amplifier is used for volume out to a mono earphone/headphone or external speaker.
Audio from RL-20 DB9 pin 2 is fed to the PAM3806 amplifier.
Audio from the PAM3806 (left channel only) goes through a 5K potentiometer to a 1/8” TRS stereo jack on the back of the PC-1A case.
The MAX9814 amplifier is used to condition audio (AGC) and control audio gain (volume in) being fed to the RL-20 board.
Microphone audio comes in through a 5K potentiometer to MAX9814 to RL-20 DB9 pin 6
4.2.4 Capacitors
Am I going to need capacitors? I think I’ll need to use at least one. The Alinco EMS-57 hand microphone can sound harsh when unkeying the mic. A capacitor between MIC pin 5 and MIC pin 8 might soften that hard-sounding attack.
This week I took a closer look at a radio sent to me for review. The XHDATA D-220 radio is a shirt-pocket-friendly lightweight radio for casual listening. Lack of contrast on the tuning dial may make it more difficult for some people to use. This is a separate article on the Random Wire site.
My high school senior class incorporated as a 501c7 nonprofit social club to help maintain knowledge about reunion planning and to protect the people handling funds for the class. We needed a simple way to communicate that hid email addresses but allowed a classmate to reach out to another classmate. We found a good solution in Gaggle Mail.
The free version of this email list service allows up to 1,000 subscribers. Multiple people can serve as administrators and an incognito mode protects email addresses. The interface is relatively modern and attractive.
Simple and Modern Listserv Replacement. Hosted entirely in the cloud, Gaggle Mail allows you to create, set up and run group email discussion lists with ease. Whether you’re a casual group of 10 or a professional organization of 10,000 — Gaggle Mail has you covered.
I did look at Google Groups and Groups.io but both of those services have some drawbacks. Both are a bit confusing to configure and administer. As my classmates continue to get older, simpler approaches are usually better choices. The free version of Groups.io is limited to 100 subscribers; with several hundred classmates, 100 was not sufficient.
Random Wire℠ subscribers know I’m a fan of Steve Stroh’s excellent Zero Retries newsletter. His issue 0166 is chock-a-block full of great stuff. The items I liked the most include:
But there is much, much more to the Zero Retries newsletter. I always find something of interest in Steve’s content. Subscribing is Random Wire Recommended!
ASL has a built-in ability to run a script on the connection or disconnection of one node to another node. Many node owners use this functionality as a notification method to know when someone connects/disconnects to their system. This is done via either email or text message, depending on how the owner has the script set up.
I envision setting this up with Pushover to get real-time messages sent to my Android phone. This sounds ideal for monitoring a remote node I rarely use!
UPDATE: To install ASLNotify, one must install python3 and phyton3-pip. No problem there as these are already present in my Vultr.com instance. However, the install routine failed when I ran pip3 install -r requirements.txt. Apparently, pip3 is running outside of my Vultr.com space and I don’t have administrator control over it. I may reach out to the Vultr support folks to see if there is a workaround.
This device is based on a Raspberry Pi 4 single-board computer running HamVoIP in an Argon Neo aluminum case. If you were looking for an elegant looking setup, this checks that box. One of the great features of this build is the safe shutdown button on the case.
Here’s the description from the eBay listing (I corrected some grammar):
Compact Asterisk "Neo II" UHF portable low power (mW) Asterisk node. Suitable for connection to Hubnet, Echolink and many other systems on the Allstar networks. It's a very good reason to dig out your old UHF FM radio and give it a new lease of life. Using a Pi-4B SBC, it comes mounted in an Argon Neo Aluminium case. This gives a very strong and durable enclosure which is very easy to dismantle and replace if damaged. Also, a front mounted safe shutdown button and a external UHF SMA female antenna connector, TX, RX, 5V power and LAN activity LEDs are all visible externally on the case. The DAC CM119A modified sound-card is hard wired which prevents any future whining due to contact oxidization. You can run it with either a direct hard wired RG45 LAN cable connection, or on the in-built Wi-Fi connection. The node is fully tested and runs with Hamvoip RPI2-3 Hamvoip V1.7.1-04. and can be controlled with transmitted DTMF commands, or with Allmon2, Supermon, Supermon2 and Allscan v0.78 HTML dashboards. Setup also includes for the use of the admin dashboard via SSH direct access. Along with both Node remote and DVSwitch mobile IAX2 android apps. The unit requires a suitable quality PI4 rated 5V 2.5A DC type C USB power supply. or a suitably rated power bank (both not supplied).
The approximately $211 price plus about $36 shipping seems pretty reasonable for such a spiffy looking node.
Not to dwell on an obvious pun, but this sounds like an incredibly risky shot in the dark. I’ll be following the topic of asteroid mining because, well, it is just so bizarre!
The blade is Nitro-V steel and 2.83” long. I’m a big fan of good micarta knife scales; the handle of this knife is an understated, relatively smooth, green canvas micarta. The Sendy has a deep-carry pocket clip and the knife action is silky smooth. Bonus points for the metal tweezers and toothpick hidden in the handle.
I find the Nitro-V blade easy to resharpen with a ceramic sharpener. Says CIVIVI:
Nitro-V is a type of stainless steel that is designed specifically for use in the manufacturing of high-quality knives. It is a relatively new steel, first introduced in 2017, and is rapidly gaining popularity among knife makers and enthusiasts.
A few weeks ago, while shopping in Cabela’s, I got to talking with a Cabela’s associate in the knife section. It turned out that he had just bought a CIVIVI knife, too. We swapped knives for a few minutes and checked out the two different models. He really liked the Sendy and I was glad to get it back from him!
8.5 Wirecutter recommends walkie talkies
If you happen to be in the market for walkie talkies for yourself or for family members (hint: hunting season is coming up), the New York Times recommends two models in their Wirecutter section:
Both models are license-free FRS radios. The Mountain Radio appears to be more water resistant while the X-TALKER has NOAA weather radio built in.
I like the rugged build of the Mountain Radio but I’m not sure I could stomach $220 for a pair of them. I could buy 7 pairs of the Midland radio for that amount of money!
8.6 Wedding Anniversary
This week, my spouse and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary. It seems a bit surreal, really. We’ve lived many places and traveled the world together, raised a family, and continue to enjoy our ever-changing life together. What an amazing journey, with more adventures sure to come.
The audio version of Random Wire Review issue 105 is called Random Wire Reflections. You can find it on my podcast page and on most podcast streaming services — just search for Random Wire Reflections.
Featured content in this edition of the Random Wire Reflections podcast focuses on choosing the radio package for a long road trip, information about a new microphone-preamplifier setup for podcasting, a new AllStarLink audio board underdevelopment, and the ASL “restomod” audio interface project.
Topics in Issue 105
1. What Radio(s) for Upcoming Road Trip?
2. Podcast Recording Combination
3. News: A New ASL Audio Interface Under Development by NR9V
D220 Portable Radio AM FM SW Shortwave Radio Receiver Pocket Radio, 2 AA Battery Operated, Transistor Radio
The body of the radio is rounded and comfortable. There are no sharp edges here to poke you or introduce wear to your pocket or bag. (Note: the Sangean shortwave antenna shown below is not included with the radio.)
XHDATA D-220 radio (Sangean antenna not included)
This very lightweight radio is sized to carry in a pocket or purse without weighing you down. It fits in a typical men’s shirt pocket.
D-220 fits in a pocket
Tuning and markings
The tuning dial is, to my eyes, a little hard to see. There is not a lot of contrast between the band labels and frequencies compared to the dark background. Similarly, the tuning indicator is an orange color against an orange background. In the daylight, I can make this out. In the dark when the dial is backlit with the same orange color, the frequency indicator is hard to see.
D-220 band, frequency, and tuning display
While the band selection markings on the side of the radio have good contrast, the selection switch lacks a dark indicator line to help see the selected band at a glance. The headphone jack is clearly marked.
Band selector and headphone jack
Frequency ranges for the bands are displayed on the back of the radio. The radio also has a convenient stand that pops out to prop up the radio at an angle. However, the telescoping antenna is not articulated at the base so for marginal stations, you’ll have to move the radio around to find the best reception.
Frequency ranges are shown on the back of the radio
Batteries
The battery compartment is easy to open. Power is provided by two AA batteries. No ribbon is installed to help with removing the batteries. A piece of foam is affixed to the inside of the battery compartment door to keep batteries in place.
The battery compartment is easily accessed
Audio samples
FM radio sample
I tried the radio with the telescoping antenna extended and with a Sangean portable shortwave antenna I had on hand. FM reception was very good for this type of radio.
Shortwave radio sample
Shortwave tuning is a bit fiddly. Only very slight pressure on the tuning control caused the tuned frequency to change. I found this to be difficult in a crowded part of the band. There is no fine-tuning control so finding just the right spot to pick up the station you want without hearing nearby stations is difficult if the band id crowded.
My home has pretty bad radio frequency interference (RFI) and some of that comes through as static in the recorded shortwave audio.
Conclusions
This radio will be easy for most people to use. I would not hesitate to take it to a baseball game to listen to the radio broadcast of the game. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed as long as you remember this is an inexpensive radio.
For people with eyes that don’t work as well as they used to, the D-220 requires a bit more concentration to see the tuning dial. If your fine motor skills are not great, tuning a shortwave station in a crowded part of the dial may be a challenge. Getting the best signal involves moving the radio since it doesn’t have a movable telescoping aerial.
What appeals about this little radio? It is lightweight, easy to carry in a pocket or purse, and provides good coverage of AM, FM, and SW bands. Sound quality on FM was very good for a pocket radio. It is easy to replace the AA batteries.
If you have a young person wanting to listen to shortwave stations, this might be a great introductory radio. It is simple and might be just the ticket to cause the young listener to want to continue in shortwave listening. As noted above, the D-220 by XHDATA is going with me to the next baseball game!
Audio was recorded directly into Audacity and exported as a .wav file in mono. I then uploaded the .wav file to Auphonic.com for additional processing. Auphonic output the final file in .mp3 format.
Filtering/Processing
In the first test (microphone test 1) no background noise is filtered out. You’ll hear my WIRES-X radio in the background as a conversation on the Kansas City Wide network is taking place. In the second test, the same source file is used but I enabled Noise Reducation as shown in the screenshot below:
Auphonic settings for microphone test 2
The only difference in processing between test 1 and test 2 was enabling the Noise Reduction setting for test 2. The .mp3 files for test 1 and test 2 were uploaded to Soundcloud so that I could post links to the files here.
By the way, I mistakenly state the microphone is an Audio-Technica 2020. Wrong. That was stuck in my mind because I had just been looking at the AT2020 microphones. The mic I used for this test is the AT2005USB, not the AT2020 model.
Audio
Microphone test 1 (no noise reduction)
Nothing special done to this sound clip.
Microphone test 2 (with noise reduction)
Auphonic’s standard noise reduction filter is applied, set to “keep speech and music, remove everything else.”
Microphone test 3 (with noise reduction)
This is the same as microphone test 2 except I left the section in the middle where the unaltered recording has background sounds. In the filtered test 3 audio, you don’t hear any of the background. A new filter to remove breathing sounds was used at the 6 dB level.
This is the same as test 3 except I used a beta filter called Voice AutoEQ. This clip also has “Remove Breathings” enabled at the 6 dB level. I think I like this audio best of the four included in the test. It is slightly richer in tonal quality than the test 3 audio.
Auphonic settings for test #4
Conclusion
I’m liking the Audio-Technica AT2005USB mic in combination with the Behringer MIC500USB pre-amp. The audio sounds really good to me: slightly warm and little to no background noise or hiss. This is a natural sounding combination for my voice.
I think this combo is a keeper for my podcast recordings!
The audio version of issue 104 was published a few days ago and is available on several podcast streaming services as well as right here on The Random Wire at https://www.randomwire.us/podcast.
Support
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It’s time to start thinking about how to wire the bits and pieces together in my conversion of a Kenwood PC-1A phone patch controller to serve as an AllStarLink radio-less node audio interface. What follows is my thinking so far. I do not claim that my understanding is accurate or complete! The process I’m following is educating me on circuit design and wiring basics. Your questions and suggestions will not only be welcome, they will help me learn!
There are four places on the Master Communications RL-20 board for connections. Power will come in via the USB port from the device running AllStarLink 3.3
For the audio amplifier that will power the speaker/earphone jack (audio out), there are a couple of special solder points on the board labeled AUDIO AMP. For sending 5VDC to a DTMF microphone, there are two other special solder points on the board.
RL-20 Pin 2
At one end of the RL-20 board is a DB9 solder pad. Pin 2 is audio out (left channel) so that will feed a 5KΩ potentiometer before the signal goes through a PAM3806 audio amplifier.
RL-20 Pin 3
Pin 3 is connected to the 8-pin mic connector pin 2 and carries the push-to-talk (PTT) COS. (COS means “carrier operated switch” and is synonymous with COR “carrier operated relay.” Says the AllStarLink wiki: “The purpose of the COR signal is to change state when there is a signal being received by the receiver.”)
RL-20 Pin 6
Pin 6 is for audio input. But I’ll want to be able to change the audio input before it reaches the RL-20 board, and for that I’ll run the audio through a 5KΩ potentiometer and MAX9814 audio amplifier before sending the signal on to RL-20 Pin 6. The MAX9814 with onboard automatic gain control will also serve as an audio conditioner.
1.2 Microphone connections
The 8-pin round connector on the Kenwood PC-1A panel works with my Kenwood MC-60A and Alinco EMS-57 microphones. On the 8-pin round connector, pins 1 through 8 are used like this:
Pin 1: microphone to a 5KΩ potentiometer (left pad on the pot) for controlling mic gain.
Pin 2: this is the PTT COS that connects to RL-20 Pin 3. Kevin at Master Communications knew I was going to use the RL-20 for a radio-less node so he reversed LED1 and LED3 so that PTT will activate the red LED in the LED3 position.
Pin 3:
Pin 4:
Pin 5: this sends audio to the MAX9814 U+ pin position.
My AllStarLink (ASL) node 588411 runs in a VirtualBox virtual machine on my home network. Node 588411 is based on ASL 3 in a Debian 12 machine.
(While I work on this, I’m listening to the Puget Sound Repeater Group 9 AM net [node 2462] on my 588417 SHARI machine and a Retevis handie-talkie. Whenever another node connects, 588417 announces it privately to me. I see I need to change the telemetry configuration on 588417 to fix that!)
Updating and upgrading follow the usual two-step “apt dance” as in:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
2.1 Find what is upgradable
To find what is upgradable (and I always synchronize my repositories first by issuing the sudo apt update command) you would issue this command in the terminal:
sudo apt list --upgradable
2.2 Find what you just upgraded
But what if you want to see what packages were upgraded after you run sudo apt upgrade? If you haven’t logged out of your session, just tail the log file:
cd /var/log/apt
tail term.log
Want to make a record of it?
tail term.log > upgraded.txt
Want to send that to another machine via Tailscale? For example, sending upgraded.txt from 588411 to my local machine named tombee looks like this:
tailscale file cp upgraded.txt tombee:
(Note that wildcards are supported. I transferred several screenshots in PNG format by issuing “tailscale file cp *.png tombee:” and it worked fine.)
Now what if you want to find what was upgraded and you’ve already logged out of the machine? No problem. Log back in and issue this in the terminal:
The output of the two commands looks a bit different but you’ll be able to glean the pertinent information without trouble. For example, the upgraded.txt file reports this for the upgrade I ran Sunday on my virtual machine node 588411:
Setting up libavdevice59:amd64 (7:5.1.6-0+deb12u1) ...
Setting up asl3-asterisk (2:20.9.1+asl3-3.0.4-1.deb12) ...
Setting up ffmpeg (7:5.1.6-0+deb12u1) ...
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.26-1) ...
Processing triggers for hicolor-icon-theme (0.17-2) ...
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.36-9+deb12u7) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.11.2-2) ...
Processing triggers for dbus (1.14.10-1~deb12u1) ...
Processing triggers for mailcap (3.70+nmu1) ...
Log ended: 2024-08-18 09:27:52
The history.log file is a bit longer because it captures the actual commands that are sent to the machine. Just scroll to the end of the file to find content that is similar to what we see in the upgraded.txt file.
By the way, you might want to confirm what release of Debian you are running. Here are four different commands that will give you important information about your system:
cat /etc/os-release
lsb_release -a
hostnamectl
uname -r
2.4 Find your Asterisk/ASL version
What version of Asterisk/ASL are you running? The easiest way is through the AllStarLink Main Menu. In the terminal, enter:
asl-menu
In AllStarLink 3.0.4, the third and fourth menu choices are good places to start. Simplest is menu option 4 Show System Version Numbers:
You can also select 3 Enter the Asterisk CLI. Once in the CLI, enter:
core show version
The result looks like this:
You can also select option 5 Diagnostics Menu and then option 3 Show Asterisk Version (“ASL Main Menu —> Diagnostics Menu —> Show Asterisk version”). This method gives you the same information as using the Asterisk CLI:
As I mentioned last week, buying used radio equipment on eBay is a gamble. I received a Ten-Tec Scout 555 HF radio this week and it is in slightly worse condition than I expected…but overall, it isn’t as bad as it could be. Last week, I said the front and rear panels appeared to be “relatively pristine.” For a radio that was manufactured circa 1993 (about 30 years ago) I expected some wear. This radio has some wear!
The front panel looks about as I expected and the back panel is clean enough. The top of the case is a bit filthy but that is easily cleaned. The dirt, though, caused me to crack open the case to see if the interior components were similarly dirty. (The photos above were taken outside in direct sunlight.)
The photo above shows the front panel in indoor light.
The photos above were taken indoors. You can see the wear on the bottom of the case. On the front panel, you can see dirt in crevices and the once-white plastic indicators have yellowed. Dirt is in the threads of the SO-239 adapter, too. This level of grime is not unexpected.
The interior photos show less dirt than I expected. I’ll use compressed air to clear out the small amount of dust that has accumulated inside the case. I also bought a new can of DeoxIT D5 (affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3AB7AME) to “freshen up” a few of the connections.
No time this week to raise the antenna and power up this Scout 555. Soon though!
I renewed my QRZ Premium subscription this week. I’m hoping to get more time on HF in the next 12 months! Hope is not a plan, though, so let me restate this: I plan to get on HF more over the next 12 months.
All paid QRZ subscribers receive“unlimited daily callsign lookups, PLUS enables our Web Contact Log which lets visitors to your page leave simple messages that let you know they were there, and to give their wishes, congratulations, etc.”
I also appreciate having direct access to QRZ’s XML Data Port which is available to “popular logging programs like Ham Radio Deluxe, Amateur Contact Log, Win-EQF, LOGic7, and ProLog2K, just to name a few.”
4.2 Should have been writing
I ran across a trove of great old music CDs at a local Goodwill and brought home a bag of them. Rather than writing on Sunday, I spent part of the day ripping the CDs to my digital music folder.
To do this, I’m using a program called fre:ac which stands for free audio converter. This open source program uses the LAME encoder to convert the music files on the CD to MP3 files on my computer. The interface is a bit dated but after using it once, it feels like an old friend. The best part: it just works.
What Lloyd wrote supports my belief that digital modes have a valuable place in the spectrum of resources that can be applied in emergency situations.
Traditionally, we’ve leaned on RF-based communications first, with other modes occupying second place if they were considered at all. I wonder: is this an artifact of the pre-digital era when RF is what we had? Considering the clarity and speed of digital comms, perhaps digital modes should be the first solution we turn to, with RF serving as the last resort when all else fails.
4.4 Heltec mesh node T114 first look
From the YouTube summary:
So Heltec have updated their popular LoRa 32 ESP32 node to this nice little device called the T114 Mesh Node with a host of improvements including colour TFT screen, low power consumption and plug and play GPS. Join me in this video where we unbox, test and try Meshtastic firmware on this cool new device.
Update: I purchased one (see topic 4.5 below!).
Total with shipping ($4.25 via YANWEN) and handling ($2.80) is $48.75. (NOTE: If you order through the Heltec site, it wants you to set up an account. When you do, your email address will not work as your user name! The error message I received was unhelpful so it took several tries before I figured this out.)
Three RAK-based Meshtastic nodes from two vendors. Three system failures. In other words, every RAK-based device I own has failed within 24 hours of startup.
I have no idea why. I thought maybe my powerful USB charger was cooking the devices, so with the third, I very intentionally used a low power USB charger. That didn’t solve the problem. Nevertheless — and without any real proof — I lean toward poor voltage regulation as the culprit. The most recent vendor has sent a return label for the failed device so they can figure this out.
I am not alone in experiencing failed RAK devices:
I think for now, I’d better steer away from RAK-based devices. Perhaps the new Heltec T114 will provide the lower power consumption I’m looking for while also being more reliable than RAK-based nodes.
4.6 Module 17 developments
I like open source stuff. As noted in previous issues of The Random Wire, I’m kinda sorta following along on Module 17 (M17) developments.
The M17 Project“is developing open source hardware, software, and offers a complete digital radio protocol for data and voice, made by and for amateur radio operators.”
If you’re interested in getting started with M17 on the hardware side, check out the STM32 M17 Modem Board from LILYGO. The cost with a screen is $39.13 US. It is designed to work with radios that support a 9600 baud data transfer rate. I’m just guessing but I’ll bet this would also work with a PC (or Raspberry Pi) running a modern soundcard emulator like Direwolf and maybe UZ7HO.
I like the looks of that M17 modem from LILYGO, so much so that I ordered one ($47.13 with standard shipping). This will be interesting to fiddle with.
The ROCK is definitely a tiny, cute computer! The processor is a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 and the ROCK has a separate GPU. Memory is LPDDR4 and an eMMC is used for storage. It has a microSD slot, two USB-C ports (one is for power), and a USB-A port. Radxa claims it supports the Debian operating system.
From the Liliputing article:
You can buy the Radxa E20C from ARACE or AliExpress. Prices are a little lower at ARACE, but models with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage are only available from AliExpress.
I ordered the 2 Gb RAM, 16 Gb eMMC configuration for $35 plus $12 shipping. Once it arrives, I’m going to try to load Debian and AllStarLink onto this little thing. Fingers crossed for luck.
4.9 ARRL News on your AllStarLink node
Many of us with AllStarLink nodes know that we can hear the ARRL News over our ASL node, but I’m sure some newer ASL users aren’t aware of this.
Allstar nodes may connect to Allstar node 516229 in monitor mode to hear ARRL Audio news. The first node to connect starts the audio news playback. Additional nodes connecting after the first node starts playback may hear only the later part of the audio news. Any node that transmits to 516229 will automatically be disconnected, since muting incoming connections is not provided by Allstar. Connecting in monitor mode will avoid disconnects during playback.
I tested this on Wednesday and it works fine. You can listen to the ARRL News at your convenience by connecting to node 516229 in monitor mode. I’ve saved 516229 as a favorite in my list of nodes.
4.10 Dynamic microphone with pre-amp
I was disappointed when I tried the Audio-Technica AT2005USB microphone* (the asterisk means this is an affiliate link) back in June. It is a dynamic mic that features USB and XLR connections. I just couldn’t get enough sound out of it.
Recently, I’ve been using a Behringer MIC500USB Audiophile Vacuum Tube Preamplifier* with a Behringer condenser microphone. That combination sounds a bit warmer and more natural to me. What if, I wondered, I tried the AT2005USB mic with the Behringer pre-amp? I did that yesterday and was very pleased with the sound.
I still had to boost the input gain on the pre-amp quite a bit but the sound samples I recorded sounded every bit as good as with the Behringer mic, and perhaps a bit cleaner. (By cleaner I mean a bit less background hiss.) I tested by speaking close to the mic with the foam windscreen. Since it’s a dynamic mic with a cardiod pattern, it should have better rejection of some background sounds. I asked my spouse to talk while I was recording some clips and for the most part, the mic rejected everything but my voice.
I think I’ll try this arrangement for the next Random Wire Reflections podcast!
You can contact me in various ways. When I am at my Portland desk, AllStarLink node 588412 is always on. I often have 588411 (the one running on a virtual machine and connected to my Cisco desk phone) going. You can also call my Hamshack Hotline number (6101280) and if I don’t pick up, you can leave a message there.
By the way, thank you to Andrew WA4MTP for leaving me a voice message on Hamshack Hotline! HH sends me an audio file of the message, making it very easy to stay caught up.
I do work full time managing a statewide nonprofit association so I may not be able to respond immediately, but I will get back to you.
Special thanks to a radio friend for inviting me to coffee last Friday. It was incredibly refreshing and fulfilling to just talk radio for two solid hours. I had a great time.
Finally, a big thank you to each and every subscriber for supporting The Random Wire newsletter. 73 to all!
Featured content in this edition of the Random Wire Reflections podcast focuses on AllStarlink and includes the audio interface project being built into a Kenwood PC-1A phone patch controller box and how to determine what you just upgraded in your AllStarLink node.
Following are the topics currently planned for The Random Wire issue 104 publishing early on Friday, August 23, 2024.
Also, please note that links below ending with an asterisk are affiliate links. Purchasing through those links doesn’t cost you more and I get a tiny amount to help offset some of my costs in crafting The Random Wire newsletter and podcast for you. I appreciate your support.
First, let me describe what I mean by the word restomod? Resto refers to restoration, implying older, vintage equipment. Mod is for modification, but also think “modern.” Restomodding is the process of converting an old piece of equipment so that it has modern capabilities, making it function like something new while retaining the outward appearance of the original.
Restomod: Classic cars that combine original exterior styling with modern applied technologies (such as new suspension, wheels, transmission) or modern interior features (multimedia, etc.) for comfortable everyday use.
For this amateur radio project, I am restomodding a Kenwood PC-1A Phone Patch Controller case to function as a modern AllStarLink radio-less audio interface.
1.2 Parts
There are some new parts added to the list previously described in Random Wire Review issue 102. Listed below are the parts and supplies for this build...so far! (If there is an asterisk beside a link, that means it is an affiliate link.)
So far, I’ve removed the following items from the PC-1A case: the original board from the PC-1A, a front panel switch, a real panel plate, and the power cord. Still left mounted are: the 8-pin microphone connector, a VU meter, two potentiometers on the front panel, a sliding switch on the back panel, and another potentiometer on the back panel.
Amplifiers
I did find a few of these items in my parts bins. The LOSC-brand PAM8406 board is one I picked up a few years ago. And it turns out I have a baggy full of XL6009 buck boosters.
Quarter for scale, buck booster (middle), PAM8406 board (right)
The PAM8406 board can be configured as a Class D amplifier or a Class AB amp. The defaults on the board are (a) Class D amp, (b) shutdown disable, and (c) mute disable. All those are fine so I won’t have to change the defaults. The marks that look like fingerprints on the bottom of the board? That’s how it came from the overseas vendor!
As I started to fiddle with how the PAM8406 board would fit, I discovered that the board is so long that it interferes with the second potentiometer hole in the front of the case. Instead of using the board I already have, I ordered a couple of these small units: NOYITO PAM8406 Digital Amplifier Board 5W 5W Dual Channel Stereo Audio Module*
These smaller PAM8406 amps arrived yesterday. Here are two photos:
Size comparison: LOSC PAM8406 VS. NOYITO PAM8406
Closeup of NOYITO PAM8406
I have to confess that the LOSC-brand board looks stouter than the tiny NOYITO board. Maybe it’s the two electrolytic capacitors on the LOSC board that give this impression. Looking at the lack of those caps on the NOYITO board makes me think I might need to consider electrolytic capacitors with the NOYITO board.
Potentiometers
This should give me room to use two 5KΩ potentiometers on the front panel. A fallback would be to put one of the potentiometers on the back panel and use that location for adjusting microphone gain, but that is less convenient than having it on the front panel.
5K ohm potentiometers
I think it makes the most sense to put the potentiometer for the PAM8406 amp in the RX GAIN position. This would control volume to the external speaker. The TX GAIN position would have the other potentiometer to allow microphone gain to be boosted through the MAX9814 board.
At this point, I removed the original pots from the PC-1A front panel to make it easier to see the positions I’m describing: RX for external speaker volume and TX for microphone gain.
PC-1A front panel
The original potentiometer knobs fit the modern pots well enough so I’ll try to use them to help maintain the illusion of an original device. The new 5K pots fit well in these two holes.
Capacitors
I’m out of electrolytic capacitors. I could use one on the 8-pin microphone connector and another on the feed to the VU meter. Capacitors should help smooth out the operation of these devices. I ordered an assortment so I won’t run dry:
Capacitor assortment
I haven’t yet sketched out how to put all the pieces together but I’ve been making audio notes while I drive. Talking about it helps me think through how the components will work together.
2. Tools
2.1 Two inexpensive multimeters purchased
I think my halfway decent multimeter is in storage somewhere so I did the unthinkable — I drove to my local Harbor Freight and bought a new multimeter. Why would I do such a thing? Convenience, pure and simple.
The Ames Dm1000 looks durable and comes with a case. For my general use (household and vehicles) it is probably more meter than I need. For amateur radio work, it should be sufficient for most tasks, even if measurements prove to be a bit off.
Could I have done better? Certainly. Was there a convenient place to just pop in and buy a reasonable multimeter? Not really. Harbor Freight met my requirements today.
I’m sure I’ll hear some comments about trusting anything from Harbor Freight. I’ve certainly had that opinion in the past. Today, though, as I examine this device, I feel like the overall quality is a bit better than in years past, at least with some thoughtful examination of the products by the shopper.
Unlike the Ames multimeter, the Kaiweets device does not come with a case.
Kaiweets box contents
2.2 Comparing the two multimeters
Let’s take a look at the physical characteristics of the two devices: the more expensive Ames DM1000 ($70) and the cheaper Kaiweets HT118A ($40). I’m not equipped to opine on the accuracy, precision, or reliability of the units.
The Kaiweets unit takes two AA batteries, accessible through a panel on the back of the device. A single screw secures the door to the battery compartment. The Ames device is similar except it takes a single 9-volt battery.
Side by side: Kaiweets and Ames multimeters
The form factor and size are similar for the Kaiweets HT118A and the Ames DM1000 devices. However, the Ames device weighs more than (half again as much?) as the Kaiweets. Frankly, the Ames meter feels solid and the Kaiweets feels cheaper, as in lighter in weight and more “plasticky.”
The wire leads for the probes are not the kind that seem to adhere to each other. Leads that stick together drive me nuts. The insulation on the Ames probe leads feels a little more rubbery and substantial than with the Kaiweets device. Both sets of leads are adequate. Both devices also come with a temperature measuring probe.
The main dial control functions fine on both units, but the dial on the Ames device is simpler and less crowded. To my eyes, the dial on the Ames meter is easier to read.
Displays on
The displays are quite readable for both devices.
Displays backlit, multimeters propped up on integrated stands
Here the devices have backlighting turned on and both are propped up using the integrated leg stand that pops out from the back of the device.
Both devices claim to be true RMS devices. Both boast max voltages of 1000V CAT III and 600V CAT IV. Both have a max 600mA fuse. Both claim to have 6000 count accuracy.
Interestingly, both devices have a non-contact voltage detection (NCV) feature. The two devices differ in how they display NCV detections. The Kaiweets device is simpler: turn the dial to the “NCV Live” position and hold the sensor at the top of the device near the suspected circuit. In the gallery below, you see that the light switch in the OFF position generated a different response (green indicator on the meter and L on the display) than when the light switch was ON (red indicator and H on the display).
For the Ames device, the NCV procedure was a bit less clear: turn the dial to any position and hold down the NCV button. The meter did not differentiate between the light switch in the OFF position and when it was in the ON position. In both instances, the meter displayed a red indicator light.
The Kaiweets device seems a bit more intuitive in actual use because the dial includes the NCV setting and because it has a small nubbin on the top of the meter to indicate where the sensor is. I think the difference between the green light and the red light on the HT118A NCV detector is this: the green light is indicating a circuit is present and the red light indicates electricity is flowing through the circuit. This is an interpretation on my part as this is not described well in the small manual. (Someone please correct me on this.) For homeowners checking residential circuits, the Kaiweets HT118A meter seems a bit easier to use.
Of the two, the more expensive Ames meter feels heavier and more solid, the main dial is less “clicky,” and the probe leads are slightly more substantial. Still, for a toolbox meter for the household or vehicle, the Kaiweets may represent good value. Just be sure to put it into a case of some kind to protect it and to keep the parts together!
I’ll give the overall nod to the Ames DM1000 multimeter. It feels more substantial overall, the dial feels and sounds not too “clicky,” the leads are more substantial, and it comes with a case. The Ames unit feels like it might survive a drop or two, compared to the Kaiweets device. (No drop tests were performed to examine this conclusion!) I feel like I can trust the Ames DM1000 meter more than the Kaiweets meter.
I didn’t expect to have three XHDATA radios. I thought I’d just try one (the D-808) but then XHDATA offered the D-608WB and the D-200 for me to review. The D-808 satisfies my desire for airband coverage.
D-808 beside D-608WB
Overall, I’m liking the D-808 and D-608WB radios. While the D-808 is not quite the same as a Tecsun-brand radio, it is comparable and perfectly fine for listening to the bands I want. (My Tecsun radio lives in the camp trailer where we depend on it for information when cell coverage is poor.) The D-808 was well reviewed on SWLing.com.
The D-608WB radio is actually a fine unit. This type of household emergency radio is intended to be kept on hand for weather alerts and receiving information over commercial radio frequencies. As such, the radio needs an alternate means of charging, a flashlight, and reasonable performance on AM and FM bands. NOAA weather alert is a must and shortwave reception is a plus.
The D-608WB checks all these boxes and more. Charge it over a USB-C connection, or with a hand crank on the back, or with the solar panel on top. It uses a standard 18650-size battery so it’s easy to keep a spare on hand. It has the obligatory flashlight but also has a variable output LED light underneath the solar panel, good for area lighting in a tent or for late night reading. By the way, the solar panel tilts to help you capture the most energy from the sun.
You can pick up a D-608WB from Amazon* for not a whole lot of money. This unit feels solid, performs well, and has all the features I want in an emergency radio. I like this little unit more than any other emergency radio I’ve tried. It’s a keeper.
I’m listening to it while I write this. I have a microSD card with dozens of my favorite albums inserted into the radio and it is playing in the background for my wife and me. Unlike many small radios, it has a bass port on the back of the radio body that makes it more pleasant to listen to.
I’m still reviewing the D-220 so more on that to come.
4. Random Observations
4.1 Hams talk about their equipment
We hams are a funny bunch. When friends call each other on the phone, they don’t lapse into descriptions of their gear: “I’m calling on a Samsung model SM-G781U via my home wifi, using a headset that’s a bit of a homebrew.” People just don’t do that, but we hams do exactly this when we talk to each other on the radio. That, and report on our local weather and compare health issues.
4.2 Cell phones, automatic gain control, and audio quality
I also note that cell phone manufacturers have done a tremendous job with what I’ll call automatic gain control (AGC). AGC automatically adjusts the strength of an input. On the smartphones I’ve used, one can talk close to a microphone or several inches from it, and on the receiving end, it can be hard to tell if the talker is close to the microphone or not. Not so with our amateur radio gear! Distance from a microphone makes a huge difference in audio quality. I routinely hear stations with audio that is distorted because the person speaking their lips up to the microphone and is speaking loudly.
Checking our own audio using a Parrot ought to be part of our regular radio practice, even if only once a year. I tried a parrot on WIRES-X at 41619 but got no response. I’m looking for other WIRES-X parrots. Suggestions are welcome!
Will the 0.0.0.0 Day bug affect AllStarLink nodes? This thought surfaced as I was reading a security article titled 0.0.0.0 Day: Exploiting Localhost APIs From the Browser. In the configuration of AllStarLink nodes, sometimes we use 0.0.0.0 as the IP address in a configuration file. For example, my manager.conf file has this set in the [general] setting:
bindaddr = 0.0.0.0
Binding the IP to 0.0.0.0 provides no additional security beyond the username and password for the node. I’m not particularly worried about this on my home node because (a) I’m operating inside my local network and (b) I use a VPN to reach the node from outside the network. Setting the bind address to 0.0.0.0 is a convenience for me.
Is there risk in doing this? I suppose there is but I deem it an acceptable risk for my use case.
5.2 Multilayered attacks
Recently, an entity I work with was affected by bad actors. In popular parlance, they got hacked and lost a chunk of money.
The attack vector started out as you might expect — someone clicked a link they should not have clicked — but it escalated from there to a much more sophisticated operation. I’m still gathering information on this but wanted to get this warning out to my subscribers: be careful what you click! Bad actors are becoming more surgical in their approach and more convincing in their interactions.
If you have not yet enabled multi-factor authentication (MFA) now is the time. I resisted doing this for quite a long time because having to enter something more than my username and password seemed like too much bother. Considering the potential for harm, though, it really isn’t too much bother. If nothing else, you should have MFA enabled for your email and banking/investing services.
I now use random passwords, MFA, and USB security keys to help protect my assets.
6. Miscellaneous
6.1 Inline switch (DC)
The Behringer mic (C-1 medium diaphragm condenser microphone*) and pre-amp (MIC500USB audiophile vacuum tube preamplifier*) combo I bought from a seller on Amazon came with a power supply that did not work. (That might be why I got it for such a great price!) Fortunately, I already had a suitable power supply for one of my Dell Wyse 3040 thin client units that worked perfectly with the Behringer package.
However, to power up the pre-amp you plug the 2.1mm plug into the receptacle on the back of the pre-amp. Alternatively, you can keep that plugged in and plug in (and remove) the wall wart from the 120V socket. Neither method is convenient and both introduce wear on these components.
Instead of manually plugging and unplugging things, I bought a package of inexpensive inline switches. I gambled that the 5.5mm x 2.1mm plugs on the switch would work with the Behringer unit, and it works great.
5.5mm x 2.1mm inline switch
This lets me keep the Behringer pre-amp plugged in at all times. When I need to use it, I power it up. When I don’t need it, I power it off. I don’t know if this introduces noise into the audio circuit but so far, it’s been fine. The podcast for this issue was recorded with the Behringer mic and pre-amp package using this little switch. This is my kind of solution: simple and effective!
Here’s another plus: this switch (there were four in the package) fits some of my Dell Wyse 3040 thin client devices, too.
6.2 Replacement WisMesh Pocket received
On Tuesday, I received a replacement WisMesh Pocket device from Rokland Tech. I reported on the original unit in issue 100.The one point in common with the two RAK-based Meshtastic devices that have failed is my USB-C charger. For the new WisMesh Pocket device, I’m charging on a very low-powered charger. We’ll see if that makes a difference.
Kudos to Rokland Tech for their help. The replacement device worked right out of the box. It shows up on the MeshMap.
TomS node on MeshMap SE of Portland
6.3 New-to-me Ten-Tec Scout 555 on the way
Buying something off eBay is always a bit of a crap shoot. I rolled the dice and purchased a well-used Ten-Tec Scout 555 transceiver. (I do like a simple radio!) In the photos, the case looks a bit rugged in spots but the front panel, display, knobs, and rear panel look reasonably pristine. I have another old Scout 555 (reported in issue 96) that may not be working quite right so what is in a side-by-side comparison. If there is actually a distinct difference between the transceivers, I might do a bit of mix-and-matching to make one good working machine.
In this issue of the Random Wire Review, I’m linking the podcast for this content right here. By doing this, I can still offer the podcast version of the newsletter without sending a separate email each week to your inbox.
The podcast was recorded through a Behringer C-1 condenser microphone and a Behringer MIC500USB pre-amp, straight into Audacity. I adjusted the decibel levels in Audacity to avoid clipping and the audio was exported as a mono .WAV file. That file was then uploaded to Auphonic where the audio was leveled and some constant background static was removed. The file as processed by Auphonic is what you hear in the final production.
While I’m not thrilled that the Behringer C-1/MIC500USB package has a bit of fuzz to it, I think my voice sounds warmer than with any of my other microphones. Since Auphonic removed that very slight background noise, I’m pleased with how the final audio file sounds.
I found the 6 Wire quick connector I wanted on a site called The Custom Saber Shop. That sounds a bit odd until you realize the sabers are light sabers with lots of electronics in them (jump to their sabers here if you’re into this kind of thing).
In general, I’m following the thinking demonstrated by David Gleason NR9V in his wiring diagrams at https://allscan.info/docs/radioless-node.php#wiring-diagram. However, since I’m using the Master Communications RL-20 board, I’ll also be digging into the guidance available for that board:
In the back of my mind is the possibility of putting a Raspberry Pi Zero into the PC-1A case…someday. There will be plenty of room for it, but I don’t really like the idea of the RPi inside the same case as the audio interface. Keeping them separate for now is how I plan to proceed, at least for this phase of the project.
1.3 Plan
RL-20 board
I’ve removed the PC-1A board from the case and the rear panel with screw connections. You can see below that the RL-20 board fits with room to spare in the PC-1A case. I’ve temporarily secured the board with one screw and have short standoffs underneath it to “air gap” it from the metal case.
A USB cable will connect the RL-20 board to the AllStarLink node (either the Dell Wyse 3040 thin client or the Beelink mini PC).
I have no plan for the open rectangle on the back of the case. I could leave it open for cooling or put the screw connector plate back in to fill that space. Or I could pass the USB cable through that nice, big opening.
On the front of the case, I’d like to find a small piece of frosted plexiglass to place there. I think that would allow light from the LEDs to show without being terribly distracting.
Quick disconnect
Then I’ll figure out the wiring for the 8-pin round mic connector on the front panel and where those wires are supposed to go on the RL-20 board. However, I’m going to wire the 8-pin round connector to one-half of the 6-pin quick disconnect. The other half of the quick disconnect will get connected to the RL-20 board and the potentiometer I use for volume control.
You can see the 6-wire disconnect in a build by W07T.
6-wire disconnect
Audio amp for volume
To provide volume control, I’ll use a PAM8406 amp mounted to the front panel next to the meter, and wired to a rear speaker jack on the PC-1A. This device is intended to control audio volume out to an external speaker via a 3.5mm plug. It’s a little confusing to try to visualize this because there is a 3.5mm plug on the PAM8406 board, but that is for audio in, not audio out. The audio out comes off the block of four screw connectors.
I’m picturing the PAM8406 going between the 8-pin microphone jack and the RL-20 board. Can I wire it such that the two channels are combined into a single output channel? I don’t think so. I think the simple approach is to only use one channel. The earphone jack on the board is for audio input. The screw block on the left is for left and right channel stereo output.
In the WO7T build, it looks like audio out is only from the left channel. (The smaller screw block on the right is for power to the board.) He wrote:
The PAM8406 amp is a stereo amp, but only makes use of the left channel input and output since all Allstar audio is mono. The input to this amp, coming from the Pin2 of RL-20 is plugged in via a 3.5mm stereo plug, and wired to the tip of such plug. As always ground is the shield of the plug.
I’m not sure how to “lock in” the PAM8406 where it mounts through the front panel. Perhaps some Locktite where it goes through the panel would secure it well enough to keep it stable. I can also mount a few standoffs in the corners of the board to help keep it positioned against the base of the case. I have a feeling that standoffs and hot glue are going to be my friends in this build!
I would love to know how to wire in the front needle display to show volume in some way. If not, I’ll just leave it there because I like how it looks.
I have no clear idea of what to put in the second rheostat space. Perhaps that’s a good location for some frosted plexi as it will be closer to the actual LEDs on the RL-20 board. I should be able to see the TX and RX LEDs through that small window.
Boost for different microphones
If I can figure out what David NR9V did to allow different microphones to function well in his AllStarLink audio adapter device, I’ll use a MAX9814 and a switch to provide this functionality. However, for now, I may skip this and consider wiring it in at a later time. My Kenwood MC-60 desk mic won’t need the MAX9814.
Your ideas are welcome! I don’t do this kind of thing very often so I could use some help thinking this through.
Buck booster
I have no real need for the XL6009 buck booster module but wanted to have a couple in my parts bin. I can see the possibility of using a 12-volt wall wart to power the audio interface. In that scenario, I’d use the buck booster to convert 12VDC to 5VDC. This isn’t in my plan — it’s just a remotely possible scenario.
I like my older Synology DS-220+ network-attached storage (NAS) device. Synology now makes a more friendly device called the BeeStation. I’ve mentioned this 4-terabyte device before.
The BeeStation’s best feature is how it makes good backup habits automatic. Within a couple of weeks of setting it up, I had both my and my spouse’s Drive and Dropbox accounts synced and regularly backed up; my older music, movie, and miscellaneous files stashed away; and our photos regularly backed up from our phones. All this was then backed up to Synology’s cloud servers every week (for an add-on cost), and everything was accessible remotely and on the local network.
If you dive into that article and read the comments (203 at the time I wrote this) you’ll find a lot of folks who think of themselves as more knowledgeable and sophisticated than the audience the BeeStation is aimed at: home users.
“If you're not ready for full-on NAS gear, consider this clever little drive.”
Take the pontificating and sense of superiority that comes through in the article with a grain of salt. The best backup can be the one you don’t have to think about. The BeeStation can provide that peace of mind and ease of use.
…adding a Telemetry module to your existing Heltec V3 Lora ESP32 Meshtastic Node is a straightforward process that enhances the functionality of your device. The chosen hardware components, including the BME280 Module and header pins, provide a reliable and readily available solution.
2.3 Desk microphone for the Yaesu FTM-300DR
I wonder if any subscribers have thoughts on whether the Yaesu M-70 Desktop Microphone would work as a desk mic for the Yaesu FTM-300DR. That radio is not one that Yaesu shows as compatible with the M-70 microphone, but it appears the microphone uses the same modular plug. There might be a power issue (as in: power to the microphone) with the FTM-300DR.
I’ve been excitedly waiting for my new WisMesh Pocket device from Rokland Tech. It arrived a few days ago and setup was quick and easy. However, I seem to be snakebit when it comes to these RAK-based devices as this is the second one (from a different vendor!) that worked for part of a day and then went dark.
I can access it via a serial connection (USB-C) but I can’t configure it. The bootloader is up to date. I updated the firmware but that did not resolve the problem. The upshot of this is: Rokland Tech is sending me a replacement.
Meanwhile, let’s look at photos of the device. The unit looks good and feels solid. Inside, the interior layout is pretty clean. I think the ten photos below will give you an accurate impression of this Meshtastic device.
Basic directions are on the package
I appreciated the very basic instructions on the outside of the package. My other device (from a different vendor) came with no instructions at all, and also had an incorrect part installed. (I’m still working on fixing that device.)
Front of the device is simple and clean
Note the shaped corners to prevent nuts from turning
Inside the unit
Power switch (top left), GPS antenna, main antenna, Bluetooth antenna
Information sticker on top by SMA antenna connector
I’m on the reunion planning committee for the 50th anniversary of our high school graduation. I also run the class website and publish the class newsletter. Along the way we decided to incorporate the reunion group so we’d be more likely to retain experienced reunion planners. We formed a 501(c)(7) nonprofit social club and incorporated in Washington State. All this adds up to: Tom has been busy.
Last weekend is when the work of the past year came to fruition with reunion events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday was a tour of the high school, a golf tournament, and a no-host social in our old home town. Saturday was the reunion event where I got pressed into service taking photos. I collected more than 800 digital pictures and logged more than 6,600 steps. Sunday was a potluck picnic at a classmate’s country home.
As I write this section, it is Tuesday evening and I’m still tired!
While I’m sure the title of this featured content will raise some eyebrows in the amateur radio community, it’s an important topic and it does affect many aspects of our amateur radio hobby. This came to mind as I thought about the short report in issue 100 about a group of hams that spoke of amateur radio as having no place in emergency communications. As I was thinking of that, I was also reading that Oregon is the top priority in the the country (a dubious distinction, at best) for wildfires.
Let’s take a look the intersection of changing weather patterns and amateur radio.
1.1 Let’s not call it climate change
It is very unfortunate that the term “climate change” has become a trigger word for many people, causing them to immediately deny that any changes are happening. The reality is: weather patterns are changing. This conclusion is based on evidence gathered from long-term observations of weather. The planet is getting warmer. We are seeing the timing of precipitation events change, and the amount of precipitation received in some regions has also changed. More climate-related energy is driving bigger storms.
If you’re a farmer or a forester or a wildland firefighter, you probably already recognize that the weather you’re seeing in recent years isn’t like the weather your parents or grandparents experienced. NASA claims the “rate of change is extremely unusual” when compared to paleoclimate data. NASA says “the rate of change since the mid-20th century is unprecedented over millennia.”
As a geologist, I know climate changes. The geologic record is full of examples of huge shifts in climate. It has happened before. While we like to think of the planet as a big inert ball, a geologist sees it as a huge dynamic system that has one constant: it is always in a state of change.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to find evidence on the internet without that information being linked to a conclusion that recent changes are due to human factors. Sadly, when one mixes evidence and conclusions, sometimes those conclusions become misleading or downright antagonizing. The evidence says weather patterns are changing. That should be enough to capture our attention.
It seems like hubris to think that a single species on the planet can prevent changes in weather. At the end of the day, I care more about identifying what we might do to perpetuate the human race and less about who or what is responsible for changes in weather patterns. Our primary job is to figure out how to adapt and survive. If we also find ways to slow or stop changes, well, that amounts to icing on the cake.
Call it climate change if you wish. I will continue to think of this phenomenon as changing weather patterns because calling it climate change interferes with having rational, reasonable conversations.
1.2 Changing weather is causing more damage
This topic becomes more interesting when it involves what we do for a living or for enjoyment. The intersection with amateur radio is this: our amateur radio hobby is affected by weather in several ways, some large and some small. If weather is getting worse, it will affect us at some point.
Big storms affect telecommunications
Last year, CBC News (Canada) reported that the post-tropical storm named Fiona “affected electrical grids and telecommunication networks, leaving some people unable to call for help.”
Are such storms related to climate change? According to NASA, tropical storms have been getting stronger over the past 40 years. That strengthening is attributed to climate change:
“The warmer the water, the stronger and the more energy this system is going to have and it’s going to just increase in intensity. So are hurricanes getting stronger? The answer to that will be yes. We are seeming more and more tropical cyclones become category three, four and five. So in reality yes, we’re seeing that change every season in the last several years.”
The two important points in this are:
Tropical storms are getting bigger and lasting longer.
Big storms affect telecommunications.
When telecommunications networks go down, who you gonna call? Amateur radio operators, that’s who.
Wildfires can disrupt critical infrastructure sectors such as transportation, communications, power and gas services, and water supply. They also lead to a deterioration of the air quality, and loss of property, crops, resources, animals and people.
“Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades. Wildfires require the alignment of a number of factors, including temperature, humidity, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as tress, shrubs, grasses, and forest debris. All these factors have strong direct or indirect ties to climate variability and climate change.”
In the realm of emergency management, effective communication is paramount. When traditional communication infrastructures fail due to natural disasters, technological malfunctions, or other unforeseen events, amateur radio operators, often known as “hams,” play a crucial role in maintaining lines of communication.
“With wildfires burning sooner, and hotter and more unpredictably, with floods sometime impacting our communications infrastructure as well, it’s so important to be prepared for anything.”
“When an emergency occurs and conventional communication channels fail, ham can take immediate action and use ham radio to assist in emergency communication work.”
The method by which HF radio signals are broadcasted means that they can be susceptible to breaks in contact, including excessive rainfall. Raindrops essentially absorb the radio waves being transmitted, impacting clarity. Furthermore, stormy conditions such as thunder and lightning creates radio noise and static that makes messages difficult to interpret.
More rain or heavier rainfall? Moisture can find its way into connections in your antenna and feed line. This kind of situation can affect high frequency signals but probably has more impact on VHF and UHF frequencies. (If you’re a ham that plays in even higher frequencies, you already know how critical your antenna system is!)
Sometimes you can hear thunderstorms on HF from the other side of the country. Rainfall can increase background noise and static. Water droplets can scatter and absorb radio waves, particularly above HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies. In my experience on HF bands, this can make it very hard to convey information quickly and accurately. Some will want to argue this point and I concede that rain, in and of itself, is not likely to be significant at HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies.
More directly, we all know to disconnect our gear when lightning threatens. One lightning strike nearby can destroy thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The ARRL recognizes this risk and publishes links to numerous articles about lighting protection.
1.5 Is amateur radio still useful in the face of changing weather?
This is not intended to be an exhaustive dissertation on changing weather and how it may affect amateur radio. It should suffice to say that if weather patterns result in more extreme weather events, it will affect how radio waves travel. That means it will affect what we do in our amateur radio hobby. Whether we wish to admit it or not, weather does intersect with our radio capabilities and enjoyment.
Does amateur radio have a place in a world experiencing changing weather patterns? Absolutely. It’s reasonable to conclude that despite the existence of modern, high-speed networks on land, in the atmosphere, and even in space, there will always be a need for a reliable backstop consisting of functioning amateur radio stations and skilled and willing amateur radio operators.
1.6 New technologies offer hope for amateur radio
I would like to end this featured content on a fairly positive note. In an article on Eos.org titled Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network, the authors make a case for the utility of new technologies in amateur radio:
Ham radio is currently experiencing a technical renaissance, thanks to the advent of inexpensive single-board computing platforms (a complete computer built onto a single circuit board, such as a Raspberry Pi) and open-source software. Such computer-based systems serve as virtual radio repeaters, connecting computers via the Internet to actual ham radios in the real world to enable remote control and data collection. Beyond the old-fashioned pursuit of voice communication, the lure of maker movement projects and the removal of the Morse code requirement from the amateur licensing exam have led to a greater number of licensed amateurs than ever before. Out of this increasing technical sophistication, digital communications networks, such as the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS), the Weak Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR), and the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), enjoy wide membership and serve the amateur community while collecting propagation data at rates and resolutions that were previously impossible.
As I wrote this piece, I wondered if my frequent defense of radio-less protocols and systems still made sense. I think it does, but like all things, such methods work best in combination with other systems. In other words, digital data and voice probably don’t have legs without radio-based communications. Given the explosion of digital modes and hardware, the reverse corollary is probably true, i.e., radio-based communications are likely to continue to see digital technologies employed alongside, or as supplements to, traditional radio.
You might say that digital and analog systems have become symbiotic in the sense that the success of one depends on the success of the other. Such is the nature of growth and change.
The bits and pieces I need to build an audio interface for an AllStarLink node are coming together:
I have a Kenwood Phone Patch Controller PC-1A box.
Two modified CM108 USB fobs have arrived from a U.K. vendor. However, I’m not particularly fond of how the modifications look so I’m going to try an alternative (see next).
A kind-of-custom RL-20 audio board from Master Communications is on the way. I asked the vendor if I could purchase a board without the DB9 attached and he said sure, no problem. The RL-20 is also coming with the red and yellow LEDs reversed for a radio-less node.
I have a spare Kenwood MC-60 desk microphone I can use. I also have a genuine Alinco DTMF hand microphone I’ve tested on my node 588412.
In my “shack stock” I have numerous small audio amplifier boards, capacitors, switches, and more. I may look for a rocker switch that will fit the ON/OFF switch location on the Phone Patch Controller front panel.
2.2 CM108 vs. RL-20
The modified CM108 doesn’t look quite like the design I was hoping for, so I purchased an RL-20 audio board from Master Communications. The vendor left the DB9 off the board, giving me a nice solder pad for the microphone wires.
CM108 vs. RL-20 board
There is plenty of room inside the PC-1A case for the RL-20 board, audio amp, and wiring.
I don’t think I’ve shared my daily radio habits. Essentially, I try to touch something “radio” every day. For me, this is an important practice because my life is busy and sometimes it can be easy to set aside, or even forget about, my amateur radio hobby. I don’t want to lose momentum or stop learning something new every day!
3.1 Regular nets
Regular radio nets include:
I regularly listen to the 9 am net on AllStarLink (ASL) node 2462. This is a regular morning net hosted by the Puget Sound Repeater Group. This reaches me via my node 588412 with great audio through an old Heathkit speaker, or my SHARI node 588417 and a Yaesu FT-3D handie talkie. Sometimes (like this morning) I listen in via my node 588411 with audio coming through the speakerphone speaker in my Cisco SPA525G. That audio is pleasantly clear.
When I’m getting my morning coffee, I like to listen in on the W7RAT repeater in Portland. This is an IRLP repeater that regularly hosts the Worldwide Friendship Net. This signal comes to me via analog FM.
Also on my coffee runs, I listen in to the America’s Kansas City Wide network that is repeated by the WA7BND repeater in Portland. That signal is digital C4FM, very clear. At home, I often listen in via WIRES-X through my FTM-300DR Portable Digital Node.
I love to check in with friends on the W7NEE repeater in Shelton, Washington. This Yaesu System Fusion repeater is owned and operated by a ham radio friend, Jeff W7NEE, in coordination with the very active Colorado Digital group. The W7NEE repeater is the default in my home-built hotspot that I use only for Yaesu System Fusion, and Jeff also provides an ASL node that is great to listen to.
As I pause and reflect on what I just wrote, I’m realizing how truly lucky I am to have so many great technologies available to me. Most of this equipment is affordable and the audio quality over digital can be excellent.
3.2 Technology democratizes amateur radio
Just as important to me is how this technology democratizes(as in: the action of making something accessible to everyone) ham radio. If we think back to the time before digital radio, one often needed a fairly complicated, large setup for worldwide high-frequency (HF) communications. Today, through digital data and voice modes, worldwide communications cost a fraction of an HF-plus-antenna station.
We might always have some disagreement about whether digital modes represent “real” radio or not. Offsetting this concern is this reality: digital modes make accessing the world relatively easy and affordable. While some of us may want to put up a tall mast and a big antenna to work other stations over HF, some of us aren’t able to do that for various reasons.
Digital radio levels the field for many amateurs. That’s important to me.
I had meetings most of the week and yet still managed to dig into a variety of topics and bring them forward in issue 101 of the Random Wire Review. I peruse hundreds of news sources each week and capture interesting items using an app called Pocket.
(Originally, this was a free browser extension called Read It Later which I used extensively. Later, that morphed into the Pocket app I use today. The free version is perfectly adequate for most users. I capture so many links, though, that I pay for the premium service.)
There are alternatives to Pocket available. For example, I use Raindrop.io to capture bookmarks to share with the conservation district community I serve. You can see that list at https://raindrop.io/tsalzer/wacd-reading-list-15979489. Raindrop works well. Each bookmarked item has one or more “tags” and when you click on a tag, you get all of the bookmarks that are identically tagged.
Truth be told, thought, I was mighty surprised to find relatively few good resources for hams who need assistance to enjoy amateur radio. Maybe I was using the wrong terms in my searches for this information. I invite you to send me links to such information.
For example, one can enable voice prompts on the Yaesu FTM-300DR by installing a Yaesu FVS-2 plug-in module. (The FVS-2 module is a voice guide unit for FTM-100/200/350/400 series radios.) I’ve not done this so please take this observation with a grain of salt.
One person who regularly serves as net control on a Kansas City Wide net is a blind ham who uses the FTM-300DR very effectively. For those of us who are not sight challenged, it may be hard to imagine the many barriers a blind ham faces. Antenna connected? Power on? Reading the SWR? Tuning? How about operating memories in a radio? How to diagnose a problem in the local station setup?
If you are curious about radios that work well for blind hams, check out these resources:
By the way, this kind of assistive technology is not limited to amateur radios. For example, Sangean makes an AM/FM table radio with voice prompts. If you or a family member need this kind of assistance, an amateur radio or an AM/FM table radio with voice prompts would be a gift that demonstrates your understanding and caring.
Recently, I received two radios from XHDATA. The D-608WB is a portable AM, FM, shortwave, and weather band receiver that can be charged with a hand crank or via the solar panel built into the top of the device. The D-220 is an AM, FM, and shortwave pocket radio that is not listed on the XHDATA website at the time of this review.
XHDATA D-608WB receiver
I received these radios at no cost to me with the expectation I would review them. I’m not very familiar with XHDATA so this will be an interesting exploration of these products.
My first impression of the D-608WB is positive. For a plastic weather band radio, the D-608WB feels pretty solid. This radio uses an 18650 lithium ion battery for power and it can be recharged in the radio with a USB-C charger. There is also a hand crank on the back and a solar panel on top. Lifting the solar panel reveals an LED area light. Angling the solar panel may also help you maximize the rate of solar charging.
I’ve been listening to the radio for two days while it ran in the background on battery power. I’ve split that time between listening to local FM radio and listening to some of my favorite albums on a microSD card. I doubt I’ll get the full review done by the time this issue (issue 101) is published but I’ve started that work and look forward to finishing it.
Also received from XHDATA is their new D-220 radio AM, FM, and shortwave receiver. This is a pocket-sized radio that evokes memories of pocket transistor radios in the 1970s. The speaker looks bigger on the D-220 than on the D-608WB, but the 608WB speaker has a bass port on the back of the radio housing. Unlike the 608WB, the 220 uses AA batteries. I’ve spent less time with it while I work with the D-608WB unit.
5.2 Unhappy about SIM cards
The FreedomLINK LTE radios I bought late in May have not had much use. Several weeks ago, I was notified that some of their SIM cards had been compromised. I was urged by the vendor to stop using the two devices. They sent out new SIM cards but those cards never arrived. Several days ago, I contacted the vendor again to inquire about new SIM cards. A replacement shipment is on its way and I may have more to report by the time issue 101 publishes.
The SIM cards arrived with no instructions on how to replace them. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem. But the space available to manipulate the SIM cards is very limited. I managed to break one of plastic ears on a SIM card slot. The vendor did send me a UPS label so they could repair the unit. Fingers crossed that they are able to do so.
5.3 Microphones: unhappy and excited
Shure microphone
The small Shure microphone (Shure MV5 Digital Condenser Microphone) I purchased has been a bit of a disappointment. Yes, it looks like a Shure microphone, and for that I am grateful. However, for $100 I expected a microphone that was more metal than plastic. I’m not certain I like the sound, either. More testing is needed. I may just need to move closer to the microphone.
The C-1 mic is about $50 and the MIC500USB preamp is about $124. Following up on glowing reviews, I checked eBay on a whim and found a Behringer C-1 mic and the MIC500USB device as an open box item for $80. I purchased that package and I’m really looking forward to using the mic and preamp. This purchase is scheduled to arrive after issue 101 publishes.
There is also a C-1U microphone that is, apparently, a dynamic mic with a USB interface. I have little knowledge about this option other than I haven’t had great results in recording the Random Wire Reflections podcast with dynamic microphones.
5.4 M17 Project
Being a long-time supporter of open source software, I find I’m very curious about the M17 Project. M17 bills itself as “Open Source Amateur Radio.”
I love the idea of open source radio. We ought to have more projects like this. An open source car or bicycle or computer would be great to see. I guess I really lean toward open source hardware in general.
I haven’t carved out much time for M17. Instead, I’ve been following Steve Stroh’s coverage of M17 in his great Zero Retries newsletter. Steve finds some of the most interesting amateur radio content for his newsletter and I always look forward to going through it from top to bottom. Zero Retries is Random Wire Recommended!
I’ve been enjoying watching the Blue Angels practice via my ADS-B tracking system. The plans are flying without squawking identification, but given the geographic location, boundaries, speeds, and published practice schedules, it’s obvious these are the Angels.
Blue Angels practicing over Seattle on August 1, 2024
As I schedule issue 100 (a milestone!) of the Random Wire Review for release on Friday, July 26, 2024, I note another milestone: my subscribers just shot past 1,000 people.
I am humbled that so many people are interested enough to subscribe. I am thankful and grateful to you for sharing this journey with me. I also admit I feel a bit of pressure to continue to improve my content and style. However, it’s a pretty good feeling!
Thank you for subscribing and for letting me know when something is, or is not, interesting.
Sincerely yours,
Tom KJ7T
Special note on audio captures of QSOs
I’ve been capturing audio of QSOs over AllStarLink (using both ASL and SHARI nodes), DMR, Yaesu System Fusion, WIRES-X, Echolink, and analog RF. I’ve been planning on sharing examples of audio quality over these various systems. However, it has come to my attention that this may not be legal in every part of the United States. Because of this, I am suspending this activity until I can ascertain whether capturing and sharing such conversations is legal.
This is a confusing, unclear topic. For example, the FCC says:
The FCC and the Communications Act do not forbid certain types of interception and disclosure of radio communications, including…Divulgence of transmissions by amateur radio or citizen band radio operators.
This section shall not apply to the receiving, divulging, publishing, or utilizing the contents of any radio communication which is transmitted by any station for the use of the general public, which relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress, or which is transmitted by an amateur radio station operator or by a citizens band radio operator.
Seems abundantly clear at the federal level. It becomes murky, though, at the state level because each state treats the interception of wireless communications differently. Essentially, a state can’t have regulations that are less protective than federal law, but it can have regulations that are more protective.
In defense of recording and sharing audio clips of amateur radio conversations, I would say that (a) we have no expectation of privacy when we are engaged in amateur radio communications, and (b) because there is no actual or implied sense of privacy in such communications, all amateur radio operators consent to being overheard.
There is a kicker, though, and that has to do with obtaining personal gain from recording and divulging such conversations. Since no subscription is charged for Random Wire products or services, I feel comfortable saying no personal gain accrues from this activity.
Clear? Not to me. So I’ll hold off on this activity until it becomes clear to me that it is legal to capture and share amateur radio transmissions.
I’m wondering: why not a mini PC instead of a Raspberry Pi 5? I note that a Beelink mini PC on Amazon specs out better than a Canakit RPi 5 kit at close to the same price. (In fact, I purchased the mini PC for a dollar less than the RPi kit by clipping a coupon on Amazon! I already have a different Beelink product and it has been a solid performer.)
The Intel Processor N100 is a mobile processor with 4 cores…It is part of the Intel Processor lineup, using the Alder Lake-N architecture with BGA 1264. Processor N100 has 6 MB of L3 cache and operates at 100 MHz by default, but can boost up to 3.4 GHz, depending on the workload.
The Raspberry Pi 5 features a Broadcom BCM2712 SoC with four ARM Cortex-A76 CPU cores clocked at 2.4GHz. This lets it run circles around the Pi 4, which uses older ARM Cortex-A72 cores that are considerably slower than Cortex-A76 cores even when both are operating at the same clock speed.
If you’d like to dive a bit deeper into comparing the N100 against the Raspberry Pi 5, check out Raspberry Pi 5 squares off against a scrawny Intel CPU. Also, Explaining Computers has a YouTube where he evaluates the performance of both platforms to demonstrate how they compare:
I think the five reasons to go with the RPi 5 are:
You need access to what the GPIO pins offer. You don’t have that kind of flexibility with the mini PC.
You want to use an MMDVM hat (see What You Need to Know About MMDVM Hotspots for more about MMDVM) for a radio interface. If you want an RF-based node that uses an MMDVM hat, the mini PC is not the right choice.
You need the lowest power consumption. The RPi 5 (or an old Dell Wyse 3040 thin client) is going to consume less juice than the mini PC.
When a single-purpose machine meets your needs. (This statement is probably more accurate for the RPi models that came before the RPi 5. The RPi 5 is certainly a more capable processor than previous models.)
It may be less expensive than a mini PC.
If you don’t need those things — or rather, if you need a wider range of capabilities — it’s hard to argue against the mini PC.
The RPi’s power consumption, as measured by CNXSOFT, is 8.8 watts max. It consumes 1.7 watts with the power switched off. Idle for the RPi 5 was 3 watts in headless mode with wifi and 3.6 watts with monitor, keyboard and mouse, Ethernet, and wifi.
For comparison, here is what Dell says about the Dell Wyse 3040 thin client that runs my desktop node 588412:
“Extremely compact and energy efficient, the Wyse 3040 runs on less than 4 watts and offers many years of efficient, secure and high-performance service.”
I don’t know how long the Dell Wyse 3040 will last. It is already long in the tooth. Nevertheless, it has been a stable, long-lasting platform that is well-suited for running a radio-less AllStarLink node.
Context: an AllStarLink node
Here’s my example. To build an AllStarLink node, I could go with a Raspberry Pi 5 and ASL3. That would get me the new control console. Or I could buy the Beelink mini PC for a few dollars less than the Canakit and get twice as much RAM, an M.2 slot on the motherboard, and 500 Gb of SSD storage. Replace the supplied Windows 11 Pro operating system with Debian 12 and you would have a machine that would likely run circles around the Pi.
Even better, you could virtualize an AllStarLink node on the Beelink, thus giving you a W11Pro machine that can be used for other things. Having a backup computer that also runs ASL3 could be very handy indeed.
My proof of concept for this is my node 588411 which has been running 24x7 for several weeks in a virtual machine on my home server. That node runs as a hub, i.e., it has no radio. I use my SIP phone to connect to/through it. The audio is clean. (I have the node automatically announcing the time at the top and bottom of the hour.)
Here is an example of AllStarLink audio as heard through my Cisco SPA525G SIP phone. What you hear in the recording is audio coming through the speakerphone. Recording was done with a Zoom H4n Po handy recorder held about 12 inches from the Cisco phone. Dave KK7LMD was filling in as temporary net control for the Alaska Morning Net and you can hear how wonderfully clear his audio is. A little later, a mobile station using RF radio checked in. I did process the audio to normalize the audio levels but I did not apply any noise reduction.
This section was edited to remove the audio clip. See the note at the beginning of this issue for the explanation of why.
Where this idea falls apart is if you want an MMDVM hat so that you can use a handheld radio to connect to the node. I do wonder if a CM108 fob in the Beelink would function with a virtualized node, though. In fact, I wonder if the HotSpotRadio - USB would work with a virtualized node, or perhaps one of the ANR kits by David NR9V.
I’m sure the ANR devices would work with the Beelink if the operating system on the Beelink was replaced with Debian 12. After all, my desktop node 588412 runs on a Dell Wyse 3040 thin client running Debian 10. Seems like I could test this pretty easily.
Similarly, I do have a HotSpotRadio - USB device that I could use for testing.
What did I do? I bought the Beelink mini PC running Windows 11, then I installed VirtualBox on it. To run VirtualBox I also had to install Python and some dependencies on the mini PC. I exported a copy of my 588411 node virtual machine and imported it into VirtualBox on the mini PC.
Did it work?
So did it work? Did running node 588411 in a virtual machine on the mini PC actually work. Yes, it did. When I ran the node on the mini PC, it worked fine after I changed the network settings to match the network hardware on the mini PC. Allmon3 works on the mini, as does Allscan.
An advantage to the mini PC when moving from place to place is it is easier to configure networking in the mini PC. My model of Dell Wyse 3040 does not have the wireless networking board that came in some versions of this platform. In contrast, wifi is built into the mini PC.
A variation of this theme would be to simply put a copy of the virtual machine on my laptop. This is where virtualization becomes a powerful tool because it means I don’t have to buy more hardware to operate more machines. It also means that my node is already set up and ready to go with me. I’m looking forward to trying this, particularly with the HotSpotRadio-USB device!
Installed to the laptop
In fact, what the heck. I went ahead and installed VirtualBox on the laptop. This mean that I also ran into the “missing Python dependencies” issue but that was easily solved by following these video instructions:
After that, I installed the pywin32 package from the command terminal:
Recently, I caught part of net of folks in Texas, with fewer participants from other parts of the country. Most of the fellows were ex-military. The part that made me sit up and take notice is when they were describing amateur radio operators as useless in an emergency. In their deployments, they had never worked with ham radio people, and from that, they concluded that there really wasn’t a place for hams in emergency response situations.
Huh.
That is so different from my experience. In Washington and Oregon — the two states where I’ve done most of my radio operating — amateur radio is often a key part of emergency response plans. Many clubs drill for such situations. Many counties have close links to groups of amateurs in case those skills are needed.
I suppose this may simply reflect how local authorities view amateur radio. Maybe they don’t know, or have forgotten, some of the lessons from Katrina:
One complaint I heard on the net was about the kind of radio operator who had an overblown sense of his or her own importance. They spoke of “people in yellow vests” showing up at the scene of accidents or emergencies and then trying to direct others. I have seen that before. I get it. However, those folks seem to be the exception, not the rule. I don’t think “people in yellow vests” adequately describes the approximately 750,000 licensed amateurs in the United States.
One thing they said had some real meat to it, though. In an emergency, one of them said, “call the POTA guys!” Parks On The Air operators have portable stations that are ready to deploy. Those operators are used to taking their station to another location, setting up, and getting on the air quickly. This is one of the things about POTA we rarely talk about. We know we perform in a stressful situation to the level we’ve practiced. POTA operators do this all the time.
If you’ve been on the fence about POTA, you might consider how it helps you keep your station and your skills sharp and ready to go if needed in an emergency. And it’s a fun way to practice your radio skills.
A useful adjunct for AllStarLink would be a speech-to-text service for Asterisk. There is at least one project published for this, but it is designed for slightly older versions of Asterisk, not the very recent version included in ASL3.
This package contains an example Node.js program that uses the Asterisk External Application Protocol (AEAP) to facilitate external speech to text translation in Asterisk 18.12.0+ and 19.4.0+.
Since I’m not finding an appropriate package for Asterisk 20, I tried using Otter.ai on my smartphone to convert speech to text. The results aren’t entirely useless but they are sometimes rather amusing.
I’ve wondered how hard it would be to send up a small, battery powered repeater, or perhaps a Meshtastic node, on a weather balloon. It can be done. It has been done.
This came to mind as I read about amateurs using drones to take antennas aloft. That seemed like an expensive and chancy approach to temporarily getting and antenna “up there.”
And I know this is not an original idea. Just search Google for “antenna attached to balloon” and you’ll find a ton of resources!
Years ago we used a Kenwood dual-band ham HT in cross-band mode, wrapped in towel, rubber-banded to a Navistar 40 RC plane, flew up to 400' and flew figure-8's for 45 minutes. Worked great until we ran out of gas.
Seems like this kind of thing would make for a great collaborative project between an amateur radio club and a high school class. You would not need a license like you do with a drone (at least a drone with sufficient payload capacity to lift a radio). It should be relatively safe if you tether the balloon.
Another use case could be working an event or an emergency where you need line-of-sight communications but local topography gets in the way. Lofting an antenna for several hours isn’t practical with a drone but could be accomplished with a tethered balloon. I’ve worked a few bicycle races and comms were always a bit sketchy. I imagine radio communications would have worked much better if I had been able to get an antenna 100 feet up in the air!
Also, check out Steely-eyed Balloon Men at https://www.ve7nfr.com/pico-balloons.html. Their most recent article covers a high-altitude launch with APRS, a crossband repeater, and camera on July 7, 2024.
New outdoor Meshtastic node
I purchased a weatherproof Mestastic node called…well, wait a minute, hold the phone. The new node ran for a few hours and then died. I’ll hold off on talking about this until I can get this resolved with the vendor.
New Meshtastic node from Rokland Tech
Meanwhile, I did it again: I ordered up another Meshtastic node. I’m excited about this one as it checks a bunch of boxes for me.
RAK device? Check.
GPS? Check.
Pocketable? Check.
Bigger battery? Check.
It is a RAKwireless WisMesh Pocket All-in-one Meshtastic Handheld 915 Mhz Radio with LoRa Antenna & GPS pre-ordered from Rokland Tech. The shorter name is the WisMesh Pocket node.
This device should consume less power than most of my Meshtastic nodes and it has a larger battery than some. It’s compact. It has an acceleration sensor (accelerometer) so you can set the display to go off after a few seconds and it will come back on as soon as you move the device. Since displays consume a lot of power, that feature alone will save some juice. It has an external physical switch to turn the unit on and off.
It’s not here yet. When it arrives, I’ll be sure to take some photos for you.
Amazon Sidewalk network
File this one under: did you know that LoRa radio is also used by Amazon?
Amazon Sidewalk is a shared network that helps devices like Amazon Echo devices, Ring Security Cams, outdoor lights, motion sensors, and Tile trackers work better at home and beyond the front door. When enabled, Sidewalk can unlock unique benefits for your device, support other Sidewalk devices in your community, and even locate pets or lost items.
The Sidewalk network is designed as a long-range shared community network. It works over three existing wireless radio technologies — Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for short distances, LoRa for long range, and frequency shift keying using 900MHz.
That’s pretty interesting, especially in an Internet-of-Things context as this means trackers of people, pets, and things. Where might this go? Who knows, but maybe only Amazon has enough widely distributed hardware to make something like this work.
Personally, I’m intrigued by the potential for an intersection of Meshtastic and Sidewalk via LoRa radio. I haven’t heard of that happening but I’ll be watching for it.
SkywarnPlus on virtual node 588411
I followed the steps at https://github.com/Mason10198/SkywarnPlus to install and configure SkywarnPlus on my ASL3 node running in a virtual machine (node 588411). It didn’t work for me. It should have, based on the documentation:
SkywarnPlus works with all major distributions, including AllstarLink, HAMVOIP, myGMRS, GMRS Live, and more.
Testing generated no audio and I saw nothing reaching the Asterisk CLI. We also received a heat warning today that my Amazon Echo devices relayed to me, but node 588411 did not announce it.
I did not find instructions on uninstalling SkywarnPlus so I’ve reverted my settings. Specifically, I rolled back all of my rpt.conf settings, removed the crontab entry, renamed the config.yaml file, and rebooted. The node is operating fine, just as it was before I tried to get SkywarnPlus working.
I’d like to try this again at some point when I have more time to figure out why I couldn’t get it to work. I missed something along the way, I’m sure.
These are great starting points if you’re curious about the scientific and experimental sides of amateur radio.
Heard neighbors on the Alaska Morning Net
I was listening in during the Alaska Morning Net on AllStarLink node 29332 on July 19th and heard several people from around the region, some near, some far. Dave KK7HLD served well as fill-in net control, keeping the conversation going. He is a near neighbor, just a few miles north of me in Portland, Oregon.
6. Other (Not Radio)
Remember the rotary engine?
This note is for those of us who are fascinated by mechanical things. This article reminded me of the old Rotax rotary engine but this particular evolution of the rotary idea seems like it might actually work well. It marries a single piston to a planetary gear. Very interesting in a mechanical sense: This Super Small, Rotary Combustion Engine Could Power Your Next Motorcycle
Solid state batteries are here
Solid state batteries is a very interesting topic. What is a solid state battery? Says Wikipedia:
Compared to lithium ion batteries, solid state batteries are expected to be lighter, safer, and last longer. This is good news if you do POTA or SOTA. It’s also good news if you use a laptop computer, carry a smartphone, or use an e-bike, as less weight and more safety will benefit a wide range of consumers.
The safety aspect is particularly meaningful when you consider how a thermal runaway condition in a lithium ion battery can have devastating outcomes. Lithium-ion battery fires are a growing public safety concern. Lithium ion batteries are everywhere.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “Oh great, another way for manufacturers and vendors to dig into my wallet again!” That is undoubtedly true. In this case, though, I think the benefits will be worth it.
I’ve had a few incidents with lithium ion batteries in smartphones. In one, the swelling battery broke the phone back. In another, the battery started to overheat; in that instance, I was able to pry off the back and remove the battery to an airtight, fireproof container. Either of those situations could have turned ugly very quickly.
Recent changes to Audacity are described in the change log. I have to say I continue to be amazed at this free sound editing tool. As my skill in using it grows, I’m usually able to produce good quality audio files. I think the limitation in Audacity is me, not the software! What a great tool is Audacity.
Between the time I captured this note and published issue 100, Audacity released version 3.6.1 (see the change log).
I use PowerToys and 7-Zip. I’m going to add Lightshot to my technology stack.
The Yellowstone supervolcano
Here is a very interesting article about the Yellowstone supervolcano…at least it was interesting to me, with my geology background! I think most of us don’t realize how tremendously huge the Yellowstone system is.
If this kind of information is interesting to you, you might enjoy this video by Nick Zentner of Central Washington University. Nick has a very different and engaging style. (Yes, I know this isn’t radio, but it is about disasters, and maybe that broadly intersects with amateur radio.) If you watch the YouTube, the Yellowstone segment doesn’t start until 17 minutes 25 seconds into the video.
The Yellowstone hotspot has special meaning for me because I worked in a gold deposit north of Elko, Nevada, that was probably formed as the North American plate slowly moved over the Yellowstone hotpot. At the time I worked in that region, we had no idea that the Yellowstone hotspot might be related to the gold we were discovering and mining. In a geologic sense, this is breaking news. It’s exciting.
Imagine my surprise when, just a few days after recording the podcast preview of Issue 100, a geyser exploded at Yellowstone. Technically, this is a hydrothermal explosion: “hydro” for water and “thermal” for heat. (One mine I worked at in northeast Washington had an ancient hydrothermal eruption layer that was later buried by the Klondike Mountain Formation. We mined up the fossilized hydrothermal vents and into the eruption layer.)
Color me surprised to be receiving promotions from entities purporting to help push my podcast to millions of people. Sorry, but no. That is not my plan. I’m going to enjoy this journey. I’m not going to try to push people into experiencing something they don’t want. So to all those promoters: you won’t be getting a reply from me!
That’s a bit of a surprise, considering how many aircraft were in the air at the same time over and near Portland! I think my childhood fascination with fighters is never going to abate!
I received some feedback on the audio clip I have been using in the Random Wire Reflections podcast to separate topics. The audio bothered a few people so starting with the Reflections podcast that previews issue 100, I’ll use Morse Code clips. I’m echoing this by using Morse Code as my content separators in issue 100.
I also have a new Shure microphone coming that I’ll try for podcast recording. Even if it doesn’t work as well as I’d like, it is sure pretty to look at. If it works well, I’ll put a link to it on the Support page.
Shure MV5 Digital Condenser Microphone
I had a piece prepared for issue 100 on sources of RF in the home, but as the content for issue 100 grew and grew, I’m saving the RF article for a future Random Wire Review.
More closing of the closing notes…
The two CM108 USB fobs I ordered arrived from the UK. These are already soldered and ready for building a ANR-type device. One of these will (I hope) go into the Kenwood PC-1A Phone Patch box I mentioned in Issue 99. I think I’ve got all the other parts I need so I’m open to suggestions…before I start building! I would have purchased already prepared CM108 fobs from David NR9V but he notes on his website the following: “NOTE: I am temporarily not providing assembly services, but can still ship kits. Please check back in September for updates.“ I look forward to David’s return this fall!
Kenwood PC-1A with board removed, showing the CM108 fob
After looking at the modified CM108 fobs, I have changed my plan. Instead, I’m going to use a Master Communications RL-20 adapter. I think that will give me a cleaner build with a well-proven device. I contacted Master Communications a few days ago and asked for the RL-20 without the DB9 adapter installed and that’s what will be coming in a few days. This will be fun.
I have a new-to-me mic and digital interface coming. I started looking at the Behringer MIC500USB Tube Microphone Preamp and then noticed this was also available as part of a bundle with a Behringer microphone. I wasn’t feeling very committed at the $159 price but then saw the bundle on eBay for $79. At that price, it’s worth taking a chance on it. It can output to USB so that means I can use it to record podcasts on the computer. I have a dynamic mic with an XLR interface, so along with the Behringer C-1 condenser mic in the bundle, I’ll have some options to play with for recording podcasts.
I have a very busy week and weekend coming up due to a long-awaited, heavily planned high school class reunion. I’m on the reunion committee and we are down to the wire before delivering events on August 2, 3, and 4. That might mean Random Wire Review #101 is a little lighter than normal!
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