My new ham radio "bling"

After my unexpected, less-than-friendly departure from the Pigeon Forge Titanic Special Event because of a lack of having my license upon my person, I made a photocopy and laminated it for my wallet (which soooooo many hams were soooooo polite to inform me of what a wallet-sized ham license looks like) so that this issue, should it ever occur again, will not prevent me from operating.

But I couldn't stop there. I needed to go deeper into being the smartass I can be.

I needed to make my license readily available so that I didn't have to go through the painstaking burden of reaching into my back pocket and pulling out the license. I needed something even more convenient.

Close up of my new necklace!

A coworker of mine has been making pendants using parts from a hobby store and clear acrylic, and one morning while we were talking about his latest creation (a OUIJA board) it dawned on me to have him attempt to do the same thing with my ham radio license. I obtained the parts needed, mainly the pendant, and he began work on the project. I sent him a scanned copy of my license and he was able to reduce it down to the dimensions of the pendant. 

Once he had it reduced, he took it to Walmart and had it printed on photo-quality paper. After snipping it down further, he positioned it and poured the acrylic atop it.

Quarter for scale

After a couple of days to set, he brought it in Wednesday morning me to look over. I couldn't be happier with it.

So now I not only have my official wallet-sized license to whip out on demand, I can also brandish this new piece of "bling" to amaze and impress. The wife and daughter like it and I'm going to have their licenses made into this as well. Amber, the little one, she wants one, too, and she's studying up already.

So next time before you ask me for my ham license, look around my neck for this new piece of hardware!

The next step? maybe something along the lines of Flavor Flav and his giant clock, perhaps?  YEEEEEEAAAAAHHH boyeeeeee!

And by the way, if you're interested in getting one of these using your license, let me know.

How to lose friends and influence righteous indignation

I've been a ham going on 20 years.  Back when I got my license, there was no "internet" as we know it today. We did not surf the web, e-mail, blog, or Google. And cell phones? If you were a celebrity or a doctor, you got the privilege of owning one, which might have been a 20 pound battery with a handset strapped to the top of it. & frget txt msging LOL :)

Remember these things?

We also didn't get our ham radio licenses in just a few days. I waited nearly 10 weeks to get my license in the mail. Once I got it I finally knew what my callsign was (at the time KE4HSM) and got on the air, and got the ball rolling.

My, how times have changed. I mean, now we can do all those aforementioned things and then some and even do it in the palm of your hand. Heck, with electronic licensing, we don't have to wait around until the postman delivers our mail in order to get our callsign, we just check the FCC database and once it's in there, we're on the air! Am I Right?

So last Saturday night I made my annual pilgrimage to Titanic in Pigeon Forge, TN to assist in operating the ham radio special event to commemorate the anniversary of the sinking of the ship. I've operated there the last 2 years, brought my kids along and let them operate, and they both tagged along this year. It was late but they wanted to operate for a while then crash in the car while I stayed for a bit longer, that's how it's been done in the past. It's never been a problem.

My, how times have changed.

So we arrive and there's only one operator there and he's working the 80m station. We make small talk for a a couple of minutes and Amber grabs a headset from another radio and I turn it on and tune to 20m where I start to hear some chatter. Just as I start to fine tune the signal, Amber tugs at me and asks "where's your license?". 

I didn't understand the gist of her question until the operator said "You need your ham radio license to operate here".

I said I didn't have it on me (I checked my wallet to be sure) and he said I was not allowed to transmit without my license in hand. 

Now understand, I don't know this guy from Adam. In fact, I didn't catch his call because either I didn't hear it or he didn't tell me, even after I introduced my kids and myself, and I think it was the latter. He was using the special event club call (W4S) when he was on the air. So I don't know his realm of knowledge with all things ham radio, but he berates me for not having a license in my possession when I know for a fact one is no longer needed to be in possession in order to transmit on ham radio, one just has to have an active callsign. And here is this guy trying to school me on what an FCC ham radio license looks like. I advised him I didn't need one to operate a station thanks to electronic licensing, but he was having none of it.

I could have gotten belligerent with him but 1) I had the kids with me, and 2) I've learned to keep my mouth shut when it comes to speaking before thinking, especially when said thoughts are about what to do, where to do it, how to do it, and with whom to do it. I didn't say another word, other than telling the girls "let's go," and heading for the car.

Needless to say after 2+ hours and 80 miles of my life I won't get back, I'm pissed off. Royally. What good would it have been to argue my case, justifiably so, if it only creates a negative air and hostile tension between what's-his-face and myself? The kids are disappointed, I'm irate, and we are ready to have the day over with and done at this point.

When I get home I get on Facebook and let the guy in charge have it. His response was basically that due to events last year, there was a change in the rules and "it was in the notice". The specific rule in the notice says:

Non Members Must Present A Valid FCC License to operate the event stations !

Okay, fine. I honestly didn't read all of it. I didn't think I needed to because 1) I've done this event every year they've had it and nothing's changed except the location around the museum, and 2) it was buried at the tail end of the "notice" on the Facebook page, where few would catch it unless they were attentive. So screw me, right?

But basically this is a statement covering a lot of people. "Non-members" also includes the general public, as in non-hams. So what we have is a PUBLIC service club operating a PUBLIC event at a PUBLIC location not allowing the PUBLIC a chance to operate the equipment in order to make the PUBLIC demonstration hands-on. So what's the point of even having the damned thing if you prevent people from participating, maybe even getting some interested in ham radio and creating new licensees? Is this club going to instill this "rule" for Field Day, the biggest publicity event of the year?

But so be it, if this is how they want to operate, that's their prerogative. It's mine not to participate in the future with the event or this club, since obviously they feel "non-members" run such a serious risk to others. And this proves another example as to why I don't do clubs anymore.

Sometimes common sense fails miserably when trying to have a good time on the radio.

My, how times have changed, indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I apparently need to make a photocopy of my license in the event some overbearing individuals need to see proof I know what the hell I'm doing.

Man accused of threatening amateur radio club members

John David Watkins III

Via KSAT San Antonio, TX:

Northeast Bexar County resident John Watkins III is accused of making death threats to members of an amateur radio club.

Watkins was arrested on two counts of making a terroristic threat, and booked into jail Saturday.  Records show he has been released after posting $4,000 bond.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, radio club members determined someone was making threats, using racial slurs and creating “white noise,” or static, on the channels that they use for broadcasting.

 More at the KSAT web site.

Another story via KABB.

So this qualifies as a "Civil Defense Message"...

Some people watching KRTV in Great Falls, Montana got a startling message on their TV screens last Monday, as an Emergency Alert System, or EAS alert came on their TV screens and then a deep-sounding voiceover cautioned that "Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves."

The message advised listeners to tune in to "920AM" and that the TV station they were watching was going to go off the air (after advising viewers to "follow the on-screen instructions").

The KRTV video is below:

KRTV also reports that several stations across the country were also hacked and similar messages were broadcast.

This one was at a TV station in Michigan (garbled audio):

WNMU-TV in Northern Michigan was also affected, and kids watching Barney got a surprise message as well. No video yet that I can find.

At first I thought the National Weather Service's system was hacked and that these messages were broadcast over NOAA weather radio, however it appears that hackers outside the US were able to get into the sites of the stations themselves and then use "default passwords" to get into the EAS equipment and send out the alerts of the undead.

While the whole incident is, at least to some, hilarious, the FCC, however is not showing their sense of humor about the whole brouhaha, even issuing an advisory (.pdf) to all TV stations using the EAS equipment that was the center of the hack to change their passwords immediately.

As more reports of the undead alerts surface, I'll try to post them, and the videos if they arise from the grave.

Tesla over Edison

The Oatmeal had this comic strip back some time back about Nikola Tesla, one of my personal favorite inventors who was generations ahead of his time.

Without Tesla, a lot of technologies would not be possible, from AC current electricity to RADAR and even X-ray technology. I've never been too enamored with Edison to begin with, and the more I read about him, the less I like him. Edison was a charlatan who stole others' ideas and pushed them as his own, while blue-collar tinkerers like Tesla really pushed new technologies and incredible ideas, often from science fiction to science fact. One project I did in vocational school was to create a Tesla Coil, which was a lot of fun.

Part of the comic is below (reduced size, click on link for the full comic).

The entire comic strip is available at their web site. Adult language is included on the comic.

Also, they are trying to organize a fund-raising effort to buy land where one if his laboratories was and turn it into a museum. Click here for that info.

Geminids meteor shower pretty active

I went outside Thursday night in the chilly weather around midnight and the Geminids meteor shower was in full swing. I witnessed a few dozen before having to go to bed.

I'm still trying to find a frequency I can listen to in order to "hear" the meteors as they come into Earth's atmosphere. I posted about my search some time ago and still haven't gotten any success in locating a good frequency to listen.

It was suggested I try an empty National Weather Service frequency for NOAA weather radio, but where I live all available NWS frequencies are in use, either from Morristown or Nashville, and my antennas pick up the ones off in the distance and so any NWS frequency I tune into I can hear something enough to where any attempt to listen is futile.

Since the FCC transition to digital, there are not major TV stations that I can tune in, and the low-power TV stations that remain I couldn't hear, but then again I don't see any listings for said low-power TV stations in adjacent cities.

I'll keep searching, but in the meantime here's a blurb about meteor scatter on boingboing.

Tom Ogle, KE4WFJ, SK

It's with great sadness I report that one of my closest friends, Tom Ogle, KE4WFJ passed away this morning after a brief fight with cancer. He was 52.

He is known to many in the Knoxville ham community, from APRS, chasing high-altitude balloons, DFing QRMers on some repeaters, bike tours, Field Days, and as an NCS for SKYWARN.

Tom (right) with me at Field Day in 2010

I hadn't been in touch with him for a few weeks but invited him to come up this past Friday for SKYWARN Recognition Day but had not heard back from him. I didn't think it was anything serious, but he apparently kept his illness a secret from even his closest friends.
He only found out last Saturday (Dec. 1) that he had Stage 4 cancer that had spread rapidly in his body, and was given just 6-8 weeks. It ravaged him so fast I don't know if it could have been caught early enough, because he claimed he didn't feel any symptoms until a few weeks ago. I was contacted at 7:30 this morning with the terrible news.

He loved ham radio and he was always wanting to help whenever possible. He was also a great friend. A few years ago when I had a falling out with another ham, he was one of a handful who stood by me from the beginning and reminded me what a true friend could be.

Here is his obituary.

RIP Tom. I miss you already.  ..._._

SKYWARN Recognition Day this weekend!

Once again I'll be participating in SKYWARN Recognition Day, Starting officially at midnight UTC 12/1 until midnight UTC 12/2.

I'll be at station WX4MRX in Morristown TN during the "graveyard shift". I'm not sure how long I'll be there, as I have to be back home by sunrise.

I've participated in several of these from "MRX" and have enjoyed them thoroughly. Usually I end up all by my lonesome but last year a couple of guys were with me most of the time I was on station.

I'll try to post some pics of the current incarnation of the MRX station.

I'll try to update my frequency via my Twitter accounts @k4hsm and @etskywarn. 

I hope to catch you on the air!

433 MHz Tape Measure Antenna

Stan. Swan (ZL2APS) has an instructional project for building a UHF tape measure antenna (and yours truly makes a special appearance with my VHF-designed antenna) based on the design by Joe Leggio (WB2HOL).

Here are the opening paragraphs of his Instructables project:

This Instructable relates to the design & evaluation of a simple tape measure based 433 MHz 3 element Yagi antenna.  An effective receiver was made by  "persuading" a ~US$4 Dorji 433 MHz ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) data module into analogue signal reception,perhaps from a companion PICAXE driven tone transmitter.

When used with the tape measure Yagi antenna, DF (Direction Finding) performance over line of sight ranges to 1km was quite remarkable,with a DMM (Digital Multi Meter) RSSI signal strength display allowing extremely fine bearing resolution.

The project, photos, and downloadable PDF can be found here.

Ham Radio business in...TMNT?

Remember the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The comic book martial arts quartet hit the big screen at a peak in their popularity and the world was introduced to reptilian combat as the four turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, named after famous Italian inventors and renaissance artists, not MPLM modules shipped to the ISS!) battled gangs of ninja thieves plaguing New York City led by the Shredder, a heavy metal bad guy who is intent on ending the pizza-craving turtles.

I was watching it Friday night with my kids when I caught a real quick glimpse of a sign in the warehouse where the "Foot" clan resides, just as their summoned to meet Shredder.

The sign is shown briefly (I only saw it for 2 seconds and stopped and went back on my DVR to look it over) but it apparently advertised a CB/Ham Radio business. See the screen captures I made below:

Screen capture of TMNT just before Shredder (the bad guy) makes his screen debut.

Close-up of the sign

As you can see, the blue part of the sign has a logo (I assume an old Cobra CB Radio logo) and below it the writing states "HAM WORLD" with some indiscernible writing preceding it (I again can only assume it to say "CB & HAM WORLD" but that's just a guess).

If you think I noticed this "right away", I've seen the movie about a dozen times (4 in the last 3 weeks for some reason) and this is the first time I ever noticed it.

If anyone wants to take a guess as to what ham radio/CB store in Manhattan that this belonged to, fire away.

Stanford Ovshinsky, inventor of the NiMH battery, dies at 89

Stanford Ovshinsky, who may not be a household name but was the inventor of the nickel-metal hydride battery, passed away Wednesday night at the age of 89 after battling cancer. Throughout Ovshinsky’s 50-year career, he received over 400 US patents that cover a range of different technologies, including NiMH batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and thin-film solar cells.

More on Ovshinsky here.

NiMH technology has certainly improved handheld radio performance since its development, and Ovshinsky deserves a special shout out for his ingenuity.