KC3JXQ 📻 @KC3JXQ@mastodon.radio

Hey @M0YNG Do you know if membership in the RSGB is open to Yanks?

Not sure why it occurred to me but...

Wrote up a thought or two on all the FT8 hate I’ve seen lately.

https://www.kc3jxq.com/index.php/2021/04/07/thoughts-on-ft8-hate/

On any given ham radio list 60% of posts are correcting the phrasing of another poster whom everyone understood just fine.

Especially ironic when the topic is SNR.

Sigh.

I finally got my IC-705 running digital modes wirelessly. I dig it!

Documented here: https://www.kc3jxq.com/index.php/2021/03/26/ic-705-wlan-with-wsjt-x/

I’ll say it again: the 705 has crushed it for so many reasons. The firmware update that made this work is more than just icing on the cake. It’s a full solution for portable digital operation.

Did a test run of digital modes using the IC-705 and Surface tablet. No wires between the rig and tablet. Flawless.

I hate using Windows, but this solution is simply too good to ignore.

Hat tip to http://oh8stn.org

Ham radio keeps trying to drag me into writing code for my hobby.

I am not taking the bait.

I might just have to write something about all of the venom that is spewed over digital modes like FT8.

It's a really great way to bring in new operators. It also avoids mic fright.

It's just kinda neat. Why hate on that?

Am I the only one that sees it?

So I just loaded up the 1.20 firmware for my IC-705.

Guess that means I need to spend the weekend playing with all of the cool new settings and features, right? I mean...that's a requirement.

But seriously... First time I've ever updated firmware and lost settings. And I was stunned at how easily they were restored from the backup it forced me to make before installing.

It's just neat when tech works, ya know?

I will say it out loud: I'm glad I got my TH-D74A when I did. Hearing that they had to cancel the product due to a manufacturer's misfortune is a huge bummer. It's a great HT with tons of features.

And yes, I did order that extra battery I've been meaning to get from DXE. This was the little push I needed, I guess.

I like how I move back to Ohio (March 2020) and Hamvention is cancelled 2 years back to back.

Sigh.

2022! Here we come!

Ya know what?

Ham Radio is the first thing in decades to provoke a pure joy unlike anything I've felt since childhood.

At some point, I will unpack that statement at length. But there it is.

Any JS8Call gurus out there? I’m looking for resources and want to give it a try.

Just worked HI for the first time in the FT8 Round up. I have WAS!

My family seems pleased for me. Ha!

@M0YNG - Are you on TG 23514 very often?

Love my hobby until Windows gets involved. Device drivers still act like this is 1995.

Sigh.

On the D-Star picture net tonight. This could be useful in some scenario...

But ya know, it’s ham radio so, ya know, it’s mostly just fun. And I like fun.

I'm back to talking nonsense on my blog again.

https://kc3jxq.com

I'm officially into "Pushing My Luck" territory.

WSJT-X on a Raspberry Pi Zero.

That's the new project. That little guy runs forever on the powerbank I have. And if I can get it to talk with the IC-705, then the whole of my "Things Outside The Backpack" will be something for VNC and the 705 itself.

Why am I doing this?

Winter is setting in. Lockdown 2.0 is looming. I need things to do.

Hobbies, right?

The more I play with configurations, I think that the primary computer for field operating will be the WinBook running Mint. But I'm going to make sure that the Pi is ready as it does hook up nicely to a battery bank and could act as an excellent reserve option for off-grid operation assuming I have something that can do VNC handy.

It's good to have options.