Check out this week’s installment of my weekly online column, Surfin’, then leave your comments here. (This week’s column is titled Covering Amateur Radio.)
Archive for July, 2006
Surfin’: Covering Amateur Radio
Saturday, July 29th, 2006me first and the gimme gimmes
Wednesday, July 26th, 2006This week, I have been downloading and listening to songs by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. I like all of what I have heard so far. I especially like their take on Wild World and Mrs. Robinson. Yes, those are the old Cat Steven’s and Simon & Garfunkel tunes. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes redo old tunes in punk-rock fashion.
I discovered this group like I have discovered some other groups and songs: as the background music played while the credits roll at the end of movies. In this case, the movies was Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the song was Linda Rondstadt’s Different Drum.
The only problem discovering groups and songs this way is trying to read the names of the groups and songs as they scroll by at the end of the movie because often, the song credits scroll by too quickly and/or the type size used in teh credits is small and hard to read.
MacLoggerDX 4.2.6 released
Tuesday, July 25th, 2006Dog Park Software announced that version 4.2.6 of MacLoggerDX has been released and can be downloaded here.
What’s New in version 4.2.6:
* Added support for Google Earth
* Added read power setting to Icom IC-7000 Driver.
* Added volume and squelch to Icom IC-7000 Driver.
* Added ‘Printer Margins’ checkbox to QSL Panel.
* Added “agent=” to QRZ Online session.
* Added Cabrillo import for ARRL Sweepstakes CW.
* Added Montenegro DXCC.
* Added Swains Island DXCC.
* Fix for Icom IC-735 driver.
MacLoggerDX logs into your favorite Telnet or TNC DXCluster and as DX Spots are received, tunes your radio to the spot, looks up the call and displays the DX station on the real time grey line Map with distance and bearing from your station.
If you decide to work the station, MacLoggerDX is ready to instantly add the QSO and your Radio’s VFO information to your log and can swing your beam around to work the station Direct or Long Path. MacLoggerDX supports ADIF Import/Export which is fully compatible with eQSL.cc and the ARRL LoTW.
MacLoggerDX looks up calls on the Internet, the new QRZ or HamCall Online premium services, in QRZ CD Roms, on MapQuest, it’s internal zipcode database, Dxpedition database, the ARRL country and DX lists, your Log Book and your User Call Book. MacLoggerDX‘s internal databases are regularly updated instantly over the Internet.
With a single key stroke you can see where this QSO is operating from – right down to the street level using MapQuest, Google Maps or Google Earth.
Not sure of the call you just heard ? K5ZD Super Check Partial Database Files are there to help you out as you enter a partial call.
In the background MacLoggerDX can tune your rig to a pre-arranged schedule or scan list – interrupting the program if something of interest pops up on the DXCluster.
MacLoggerDX automatically tracks DXCC, IOTA, WAS, VUCC and CQ WAZ (Worked All Zones) Awards and will even use Mail.app or Eudora to Email you if that rare DX location pops up on the DX Clusters. It has a Bands Display panel which tracks activity by HF Ham Band and lets you quickly tune to the action using a separate VFO slider for each band – as well as VFO Stacking registers for quick recall of interesting frequencies.
MacLoggerDX can monitor, decode, lookup and plot APRS packets from APRSServe on the Internet or a connected TNC. You can use the TNC panel to communicate with any serial TNC to monitor and decode APRS traffic, DXCluster Spots or to work any of the digital modes supported by the TNC. See stations pop up on the map in real time as they digipeat APRS packets over the International Space Station.
MacLoggerDX features popup selection of multiple logs, searching and sorting based on any log field, automatic one-click generation of eQSL Cards, fast and easy printing of logs, envelopes, QSL Cards and bulk address labels, unlimited user-customizeable memories, Drag and Drop Scan List with adjustable delay, UTC scheduled events that automatically switch between summer, winter, weekend and weekday schedules, an integrated CW keyer (OS X) and drivers for over 70 popular Amateur Radio Transceivers and SWL Receivers as well as multi-radio quick-select preferences for switching quickly and easily between multiple rigs.
MacLoggerDX can also sync your rig with the NCDXF/IARU Propagation Beacon Network for empirical propagation status displayed in real-time on the world map.
MacLoggerDX is fully integrated with MacDopplerPRO X for logging of satellite QSO’s and with Apple’s OS X Address Book for quick adds of lookup data.
Surfin’: Finding Ham Radio in Popular Culture
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006After you read this week’s installment of Surfin’ entitled Finding Ham Radio in Popular Culture, you can leave comments here.
it’s always something – still yet another update
Friday, July 21st, 2006Last night, it took about one minute to get the wifi up and running with the DSL.
The End
it’s always something – yet another update
Thursday, July 20th, 2006AT&T phoned yesterday to say that a service representative was coming to the house this morning to check the DSL problem.
I monkeyed with the DSL setup again last night, but did not make much progress and decided to wait and see what happened today before I spent more time on the problem.
The service rep showed up early and found a wiring problem in the box on the side of the house where the outside wiring connects to the inside wiring. He said that with the humid weather we have been having, the wiring problem probably added just enough resistance to foul up the DSL.
The DSL is now working. It should not take long to set up the wifi after work tonight and be back on the air!
it’s always something – another update
Wednesday, July 19th, 2006I checked all the phone jacks at home and found three or four that had oxidation. So, I cleaned them with alcohol on a Q-tip, then spent hours trying to get the DSL up and running.
The lights on the DSL modem were green indicating that all was well, but I still was unable to access DSL from my computer. I reset the DSL modem, but that did not make any difference. Next, I used the CD that was bundled with the modem to install the DSL.
I ran the program five or six times and it would quit at the same step in the installation procedure each time (at the point that it was ready to ask me for my account information). This was well after the steps in which the program had successfully set up the modem and accessed the DSL.
It was very frustrating!
I had it! It was late and I needed a break, so I watched the rest of the Red Sox game, then went to bed.
mushroom field
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006About the time of year that I have to clean the blue crud from the phone jacks in the house, the mushroom field in the front yard fills up with full a variety mushrooms.
Until three or four years ago, that part of the yard was just “lawn.” Then, about three years ago, mushrooms started growing there.
The mushrooms seem to show up overnight, last a week or so, then disappear as quickly as they appeared. I avoid cutting that part of the lawn until they are gone.
This year, there seems to be fewer mushrooms than in past years, but there still is a wide variety in interesting colors and shapes.
it’s always something – update
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006AT&T’s service representative says that the problem is with the telephone wiring inside our house. So, tonight I use Q-tips dipped in alcohol to clean every phone jack in the house.
Almost every summer, we have telephone service problems and the solution is to clean the phone jacks. Cleaning the jacks means that I have to remove a blue-colored crud that builds up on the pins inside the jack. The crud is the result of oxidation between the pins of the phone plug and jack, so I am told.
garden update
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006Time for another garden update!
It is almost eight weeks since I planted seeds and seedlings in the Earthboxes and so far, we have eaten some home grown romaine lettuce and broccolli.
The broccolli production was poor. The plants grew and looked healthy, but the heads were slow in appearing. When they finally showed up, the weather turned hot and their growth slowed down and were on the verge of flowering. I assume the unusual wet June weather was the culprit and was also the reason why peppers were slow showing up on the pepper plants (I noticed the first signs of peppers only a day or two ago.)
I cut down the broccolli plants after I took this photo and planted broccolli seeds for a fall harvest.
Meanwhile, the tomatoes, beans, and squash are doing well. I think the June weather had a negative effect on their growth, too, but at least the tomatoes started showing up on the tomato plants weeks ago.