tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-177299002024-03-05T23:26:04.520-07:00KD7LRJ BlogJust trying to share what I learn...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05655521621851084417noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-20198026793456455322013-09-29T20:41:00.000-06:002014-02-01T22:04:44.430-07:00NBEMS using a Baofeng UV-5R on the cheapInterface notes are a little way down the page - this first part is just me rambling about WHY I did this.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Why run <a href="http://uspacket.org/network/index.php?topic=44.0" target="_blank">NBEMS</a> on an LCR (Little Chinese Radio)?</h3>
I participated in the <a href="http://www.lindoncitydrill.com/" target="_blank">Lindon City Drill Down for Safety</a> preparedness exercise earlier this month. We had one ham radio operator in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and 3 area operators. Each area had neighborhoods reporting with scenarios that we were required to relay to the city EOC as they came in from runners or over the neighborhood radio nets (some of which were using FRS radios). This was accomplished admirably in the time allotted for the exercise (just over 60 minutes). I think we relayed close to 30 scenarios and a few other things as well. Had there been more scenarios, or other traffic (health & welfare, etc.) that needed to be passed over the net from the areas to the EOC, there would not have been enough time to get it done. As it was, the radio operator in the EOC was fully engaged in receiving, transcribing, and disseminating the scenario information to the participants at the city.<br />
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At the debriefing, the 4 of us who participated in the net talked about what could make things better and we decided that transferring the scenarios digitally would help in many ways (accuracy, speed, etc.). The next day Dave <a href="http://www.qrz.com/db/N7BAN" target="_blank">N7BAN</a> sent out a link to the <a href="http://www.arrl.org/nbems" target="_blank">ARRL's page on NBEMS</a> (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Software). I started reading and was hooked. I setup the software and with the <a href="http://www.tigertronics.com/slusbmain.htm" target="_blank">SignaLink USB</a> interface I already had, I was able to make everything work. A couple days later Dave and I were successful communicating on the air with <a href="http://www.w1hkj.com/" target="_blank">fldigi</a>.</div>
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We talked about having this capability for our the exercise next year and how the police department had recently given us a hand-me-down laptop and printer for use in the city EOC. I really liked the fact that you can be successful using NBEMS in many modes (<a href="http://www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/MT63.html" target="_blank">MT63-2KL</a> is especially good) without any interface at all - just computer's speaker/mic next to the radio's speaker/mic and by holding the PTT on the radio at the appropriate times, it all works. In an emergency knowing how to operate like this could be very beneficial as equipment may not function correctly or even be available.</div>
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The city might be willing to get us a radio interface to the nice Icom radio they purchased a while back, but it seems to me that we need to also have systems in the field (at least 3, right?). Even though the computer speaker next to the radio mic would work, it would be somewhat cumbersome and would also introduce extra noise into the signal (not to mention the area where the radio operator will be located). Having an interface there would allow us to use two modes at once. We still need to work out the issue of having only one antenna. I'm not sure if the Icom radio will allow us to use 70cm for digital on one side and 2m voice on the other, or if we will need a separate radio and a duplexer.</div>
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Anyway, for use at a mobile station, I thought about purchasing another SignaLink. But then after more reading (this internet is a big place :) I realized that my <a href="http://imnota.xenopho.be/2012/10/standardizing-on-baofeng-uv-5r.html" target="_blank">new standard radio</a> has VOX (voice operated transmit) that could be used in place of a switched PTT line and that it should work with a very simple isolation circuit. Well, I tested it and it does. Now, to the meat of this article, how to make the interface:</div>
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<br />Creating the Interface</h3>
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This interface works great on my UV-5Rs. It may work on Kenwood and other radios that use a similar interface. You would probably have to modify it for use with anything else.</div>
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I took a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Systems-Ground-Isolator-B25N/dp/B000LP4RMG/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380230144&sr=1-2&keywords=ground+loop+isolator" target="_blank">ground loop isolator</a> and added a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XON3SA/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">10K ohm resistor</a> and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064IMMUS/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">10uf capacitor</a> then hacked a cable from the headset that came with the radio (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walkie-Talkie-Earphone-Microphone-Kenwood/dp/B005DJHA0G/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1380508518&sr=1-2&keywords=kenwood+headset+plug" target="_blank">this would also work</a>) and soldered it to the circuit board in place of the original cable. I chopped the ends off the other side of the isolator and put on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ULQIJW/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank"><strike>stereo 3.5mm plugs</strike></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PPZVNE/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">stereo 3.5mm plugs</a> with the ground on the sleeve and the other lines connected to the tips (the rings were left unconnected). I ended up with a circuit like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS1QNg0r7ZfkaQL38509kAoJMIoh8ckYbdccVCbpV7UEk87940T4NpvnV1Wd2pYllaI5GolMEy2g2i4bz0IslsU5MEa95uWPX0Z4zLWQWGDus6UE2iRPtOW7JCzZ3rXUXw6KktQ/s1600/psk_intface.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS1QNg0r7ZfkaQL38509kAoJMIoh8ckYbdccVCbpV7UEk87940T4NpvnV1Wd2pYllaI5GolMEy2g2i4bz0IslsU5MEa95uWPX0Z4zLWQWGDus6UE2iRPtOW7JCzZ3rXUXw6KktQ/s400/psk_intface.gif" height="175" width="400" /></a></div>
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Notice that there is nothing for managing PTT. That is because I'm using the VOX feature in the radio to key the transmitter when it detects input from the computer. This has worked very well in my testing. As you can see from the links to the parts above, I love Amazon and their <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Services-LLC-Prime/dp/B00DBYBNEE" target="_blank">Prime</a> shipping program. I have 98 capacitors and 498 resistors left that I would be happy to share with anyone local who'd like to build an interface. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsdd4p9kDMszDiUsoTw3lpcNugMXFXV7-PoUZBqK_-DoKFIoWy8GsyS7ghH7t1a3hmIpwAHwbpzyrZGyMDVSBN59oFy-umkUaXMZBfWaAZB6g6_0c3SigLP1Ipz_H6vLh1UZlJg/s1600/20140201_202612_E+110+S.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsdd4p9kDMszDiUsoTw3lpcNugMXFXV7-PoUZBqK_-DoKFIoWy8GsyS7ghH7t1a3hmIpwAHwbpzyrZGyMDVSBN59oFy-umkUaXMZBfWaAZB6g6_0c3SigLP1Ipz_H6vLh1UZlJg/s1600/20140201_202612_E+110+S.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took advantage of a couple of existing solder pads for the resistor and tried to put the capacitor in a place where it would not contact other stuff. The wires from the cable were very tiny, but soldered just fine without doing anything special.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-L2csDnaViG403pxZs83SknDKFvUVFEotnrqDSJ2vpS2u1RlK2jcA55m_dnFwh4CJbKli6axzwLQEZKzqSVqF_F5UScgoLTt41_N4Urq2NVgyjJ2xPoXrmQE1XH4iS4XstbeGQ/s1600/2013-09-26_07-30-12_dbm60147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-L2csDnaViG403pxZs83SknDKFvUVFEotnrqDSJ2vpS2u1RlK2jcA55m_dnFwh4CJbKli6axzwLQEZKzqSVqF_F5UScgoLTt41_N4Urq2NVgyjJ2xPoXrmQE1XH4iS4XstbeGQ/s400/2013-09-26_07-30-12_dbm60147.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the isolation transformers on the other side of the PCB.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_gcvZAGe6FQj3UNiTmdwDZiR5WdrUofRetFYmm61I58yf65by_Xz8SY4IF6M6xiuGd623fWmQ8tuKfO8DsclHpL5SZrM3YW4yzVTsrnKtnx38OjFmOrZsb2LWFDr31LVXW-5Ig/s1600/2013-09-26_07-33-32_dbm60150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_gcvZAGe6FQj3UNiTmdwDZiR5WdrUofRetFYmm61I58yf65by_Xz8SY4IF6M6xiuGd623fWmQ8tuKfO8DsclHpL5SZrM3YW4yzVTsrnKtnx38OjFmOrZsb2LWFDr31LVXW-5Ig/s400/2013-09-26_07-33-32_dbm60150.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished unit from the bottom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IMsCeqY_peN5iloCy6PxPNlgzBVjMD0ktJOXLeWpkee3yER6R9ccvjVdNWNKj1W0-vDZ2QcxNxeQYdE20ua5cW1r49RmnvpQPS6B4X5v5ZlXJH-tdsP3aRNT6nmbqT8RzWemOQ/s1600/2013-09-26_07-29-06_dbm60146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IMsCeqY_peN5iloCy6PxPNlgzBVjMD0ktJOXLeWpkee3yER6R9ccvjVdNWNKj1W0-vDZ2QcxNxeQYdE20ua5cW1r49RmnvpQPS6B4X5v5ZlXJH-tdsP3aRNT6nmbqT8RzWemOQ/s400/2013-09-26_07-29-06_dbm60146.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top view</td></tr>
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Because my Macbook Pro only has a single connector for audio, I use a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MN1LTQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank"><strike>little USB sound card</strike></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098D9UAQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">little USB sound card</a> instead. This has the additional advantage of leaving the built-in audio device to handle regular sounds while this one can be dedicated to its purpose.<br />
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Although work and home are only 4 miles apart, there are some good sized hills in between. Also, work is in a building that is really good at blocking radio waves. At home I have a <a href="http://www.cometantenna.com/products.php?CatID=1&famID=5&childID=4" target="_blank">Comet GP-6</a> clone hooked to a <a href="http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/tmg707.html" target="_blank">Kenwood G-707A</a> and the SignaLink interface I mentioned earlier. From inside my building at work, I can't hear the home radio consistently on 2 meters even at 50 watts especially from where my desk is located (bottom floor on the opposite side from my home). From outside in the parking lot, my truck's radio (a <a href="http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=106&encProdID=0C4855ADE6394D514EAABAE148B93F5C&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0" target="_blank">Yaesu FT-8900R</a> and a <a href="http://www.cometantenna.com/products.php?CatID=1&famID=4&childID=4" target="_blank">Comet SSB-5</a>) can talk to home with both ends running just 5 watts. If I set the rig in the truck to cross-band mode, I can use the HT inside the building on 70cm at low power to reach the truck and from there on 2 meters to the house. This works great so far.<br />
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All in all, I'm excited about the possibilities for using NBEMS along with normal voice operations for emergency situations. I believe it has more immediate value than <a href="http://hsmm-mesh.org/" target="_blank">HSMM or BBHN</a>, which I have also been playing with, so I am shifting my focus for a time to learn and do more with digital over VHF/UHF. As always, there's plenty more to do (setting up NBEMS on my Raspberry Pi in my trailer for example).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05655521621851084417noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-51126536740232350262012-10-10T01:25:00.000-06:002012-10-10T01:29:34.974-06:00Standardizing on the Baofeng UV-5R<h3>
Why I want to standardize</h3>
I currently have several different radios that I use on a regular basis. None of them are the same. It frustrates me that when I want to use a radio, I have to find the special accessories for that particular radio because many of the others aren't compatible (batteries, charging cables, headphones, antennas, etc.). It's not as bad, but, the difference in operating and programming methods is sometimes annoying having to remember each radio's idiosyncrasies.<br />
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I have decided that rather than continue down this path, that I want to standardize. I love <a href="http://www.niso.org/blog/?p=122" target="_blank">standards</a> but, there are so many to choose from that it really hasn't been feasible until now. I wouldn't mind standardizing on the VX-7R (it's a great radio), but the cost is prohibitive. The low cost of the Baofeng UV-5R has made it possible for me to have several radios that all use the same programming and operating methods, and the same accessories. I want one for everyday use. I want one that stays at work. I want one dedicated to a Go Bag at home. Etcetera.<br />
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<h3>
What I have now (handheld radios)</h3>
<ul>
<li>My oldest son and I have both had the VX-7R (after trading up from the 5R) since they were first released almost 10 years ago.</li>
<li>HTX-202 to do some APRS and later Echolink activity</li>
<li>Several HTX-420 HTs that I bought for my wife and children</li>
<li>Kenwood D7-AG that I have used for packet and APRS</li>
<li>I won an Icom V80 at a ham picnic</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Compromises required</h3>
I decided that while I will have to make some trade-offs, it will be worth it to me in the end. In my research so far, I have read nearly all of the 10,000 messages on the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baofeng_uv5r/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UV-5R Group</a> and scoured the net for reviews and comments. Based on what I knew, I ordered the radio from an outlet based in the U.S. It took over a week, but I finally received my radio in the mail. These are my thoughts on the pros and cons of following through with my plan of purchasing more of these radios and parting ways with my older ones. It is as much for me, to justify my plan, as it is to share with everyone else. There are many other reviews of the UV-5R available online and I'm not going to try to link to all of them here.<br />
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<h3>
The UV-5R I'm using</h3>
The Baofeng radio I received is labeled as a "UV-5R+Plus" and has firmware version BFB281. As I write this, I am aware of two newer versions on the market (291, and 293).<br />
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<h2>
Differences that matter to me</h2>
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Most of these items are things that are different between the UV-5R and the other radios I use. Most often, I am making the comparison to my VX-7R since that is the radio I use the most. Some of these items may not be important to anyone else. I may come up with others as I gain more experience with this radio and I'll try to either make comments below or if there is a lot of stuff to talk about, I may update the article itself so the information stays in one place.</div>
<ol>
<li>Display.</li>
<ol>
<li>Signal strength indicator.</li>
<ol>
<li>In receive mode, the little cell phone like indicator on the display is completely redundant since it only tells you if the squelch is open or not (just like the audio from the radio along with the backlight and the light on the front of the radio both tell you). If the number of bars changed with the strength of the signal, that might make it useful, but they don't.</li>
<li>When transmitting, the indicator does show the transmit power level (2 bars for low, 4 bars for high).</li>
</ol>
<li>Can't see both Frequency and Name at the same time - even when operating with dual watch turned off. The other side still shows in the display even though it is inactive.</li>
<ol>
<li>What I do to get around this:</li>
<ol>
<li>In menu 21, set [A] to display the name.</li>
<li>In menu 22, set [B] to display the frequency.</li>
<li>Change to the same channel in both [A] and [B].</li>
</ol>
<li>My other radios (except the VX-7R) make it difficult to see both the Name and Frequency also.</li>
</ol>
<li>No battery voltage display.</li>
<ol>
<li>This is handy to know how your power source is doing.</li>
</ol>
<li>No barometric pressure display.</li>
<ol>
<li>I never use this function, but it is available.</li>
<li>I doubt it is very accurate, since my VX-7R had the tendency to get pressurized during use. I sometimes have to pop the battery off to get it to sound right again.</li>
</ol>
<li>No clock display.</li>
<ol>
<li>Handy when I keep the time set correctly, but I rarely do.</li>
<li>Have to turn the radio off to see it.</li>
</ol>
<li>Offset direction not evident.</li>
<ol>
<li>"+-" shows for any frequency that has an offset, it doesn't tell you which direction.</li>
<li>Being in the frequency display mode and pressing "* scn" to activate the Reverse function will show the other frequency.</li>
</ol>
<li>Backlight.</li>
<ol>
<li>Screen is easily readable with the backlight on (my Kenwood is difficult for me to read with the backlight at night).</li>
<li>Backlight timeout delay is 5 seconds max.</li>
<ol>
<li>Would be nice if it stayed on constantly when using the radio as a base station with external power.</li>
<li>A 30-60 seconds delay would be nice when using the radio at night.</li>
</ol>
<li>Backlight acts a bit strange when monitoring.</li>
<ol>
<li>If the frequency is quiet for longer than the backlight timeout period, the backlight turns off (normal).</li>
<li>When a transmission is received, the backlight does not turn on. (strange)</li>
<li>When a transmission ends, the backlight comes on (normal).</li>
<li>I'd love it if a firmware update made it so the backlight comes on whenever the state changes (in both 2 & 3 above).</li>
</ol>
</ol>
</ol>
<li>Controls.</li>
<ol>
<li>Channel control.</li>
<ol>
<li>Buttons only - no knob.</li>
<li>Can't scroll through channels as easily as I'm accustomed to doing on the VX-7R.</li>
<li>I won't bump the channel accidentally as I often have because I forgot to lock it before putting it back on my belt (or in my chest pack, etc.).</li>
</ol>
<li>Volume control.</li>
<ol>
<li>I don't like that the volume knob is so easily rotated. I'm likely to accidentally turn it down to where I will miss stuff.</li>
<li>The clicking knob on the VX-7R is much better. My other radios (except the V80) also suffer from this problem, so it's not really that much of a difference, but I wish it had more resistance.</li>
</ol>
<li>Lock function.</li>
<ol>
<li>I can still turn the volume down when locked.</li>
<li>Most buttons will stop a scan when locked.</li>
<li>The Call button will still switch to FM radio mode when locked.</li>
<li>It does come back on in lock mode after cycling the power.</li>
<li>Autolock seems like a great thing to have for events. We'll see.</li>
</ol>
<li>FM radio/Alarm button.</li>
<ol>
<li>Why'd they put it there and call it a "Call" button?</li>
<li>Why is it orange?</li>
</ol>
<li>Squelch.</li>
<ol>
<li>The VHF side is separate from the UHF side.</li>
<li>Levels go from 0-9 on both sides, but the VHF side ignores any settings above 1 making the 2-9 options useless.</li>
<ol>
<li>From what I've read, this is a bug in the radio.</li>
<li>At work around my computers, this is a hassle because there are several frequencies where the radio picks up a small amount of noise. If I could set the squelch up just a little bit higher, I think it would be fine. </li>
<li>Fixing this particular bug would make it worth it to me to upgrade to a new firmware version.</li>
</ol>
<li>The monitor button is slow to open squelch (so you can use the flashlight). It'll just take some getting used to I imagine.</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li>Memory channels.</li>
<ol>
<li>I find 128 channels somewhat limiting. I don't have room to store my most needed amateur and public service frequencies along with FRS, GMRS, MURS, CAP, repeaters from neighboring counties, places I visit frequently, etc.</li>
<li>No banks for scanning or other separation ([A], [B], etc.).</li>
</ol>
<li>Transmit/Receive.</li>
<ol>
<li>Can't hear two channels at once.</li>
<ol>
<li>Not true dual receive. You can listen to [A] or to [B], but not both at once.</li>
<li>Probably helps with battery life.</li>
</ol>
<li>Switching between Transmit/Receive seems slow.</li>
<ol>
<li>This is just a feeling, not anything I've measured.</li>
<li>I've read about others having trouble with APRS (might need a longer TX Delay than other radios).</li>
</ol>
<li>Reverse function.</li>
<ol>
<li>Changes both [A] and [B] banks at the same time.</li>
<li>In Name display mode, it's not evident what frequency you are actually using (see previous item) even when transmitting.</li>
<li>Turns off after a power cycle (even if radio is in lock mode).</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li>Programming.</li>
<ol>
<li>Fiddly, but not too bad once you get the idea. A cheat sheet helps me.</li>
<li>Decent software available for free that is being actively developed.</li>
<li>My other radios were confusing at first as well. This will only get easier as I only have to remember one process.</li>
</ol>
<li>Firmware.</li>
<ol>
<li>Firmware is not updateable. Whatever you get, you have to live with it.</li>
<li>My radio was sold as "Latest version 2013" but what I received was a new looking radio (different face plate) with a slightly older firmware version. Since these radios are sold exclusively online (according to the label on the radio itself), it seems like it can be hard to know what you will get. Maybe this will improve as more domestic sellers start carrying these radios.</li>
<li>I sent my D7A back to Kenwood to be upgraded to the 'G' version, but I've never heard of a Firmware update for any of my other radios.</li>
<li>I like that things are improving with this radio. I'm sure there would be no problem selling (or donating!) radios with older versions.</li>
</ol>
<li>Scan mode.</li>
<ol>
<li>In comparison to my other radios, the scan mode is extremely slow.</li>
<li>It's got a weird quirk of skipping over channels using tones under 141.3 Hz, but I don't have any channels that need to tone squelch (TSQL, R-CTCSS, or whatever your radio calls it).</li>
<li>Does not resume after a power cycle (even in locked mode).</li>
<li>Can't program channel skip (channel lockout) in the radio.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<ol>
<li>You can do it in the programming software, but that doesn't help you in the field when you run across a problem frequency and need to take it out of the mix. This is something I really hope they remedy in a future firmware update!</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li>Power.</li>
<ol>
<li>Can't charge without drop-in charger (through the radio).</li>
<li>Extra chargers are cheap.</li>
<li>Battery eliminators are cheap also. They may be nicer than having a big plug sticking out of the radio with the possibility of it falling out and getting no indication (been there). I haven't used one before, so I'll have to report on this later.</li>
<li>As long as the drop-in charger is reasonably smart, I think the batteries will be better taken care of than my other radios. They won't likely be too hot when charging due to being used at the same time, or being charged through the radio while sitting in a hot/cold car, etc.</li>
<li>Can get multiple rechargeable batteries relatively inexpensively (read: "way cheap"). I can get several (or more) instead of always trying to charge the one or two I have whenever possible (like in the car, etc.).</li>
<li>Extended size battery packs are available.</li>
<li>Long reported battery life relative to most other radios. I'll need to report back on this.</li>
<li>Low battery warning sounds nice. Again, I'll have to report back since I haven't even run it down once yet.</li>
<li>No AA pack available.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<ol>
<li>A "AAA" pack only partially makes up for this as I try to only carry one type of battery.</li>
<li>Maybe someone can make one out of an extended battery shell? Extra size/weight is not important to me - I want the flexibility a AA pack offers in the field.</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li>Light.</li>
<ol>
<li>Turning it on while scanning requires two presses, one to stop scan mode, then one to turn the light on.</li>
<li>I wish I could turn the light off with a single press of the button instead of having to hit it twice (it cycles through On, Blink, Off).</li>
<li>My <a href="http://www.foursevens.com/product_info.php?products_id=2863" target="_blank">EDC flashlight</a> is much brighter, but the radio's light would certainly let you see up close in a pinch (finding a keyhole, etc.).</li>
</ol>
<li>Accessories.</li>
<ol>
<li>Antenna</li>
<ol>
<li>The stock dummy load is OK, but not much more than that.</li>
<li>The connector is backwards from all of my other SMA antennas and I'll be checking out the $4 antennas online that people have been raving about.</li>
</ol>
<li>Some of my old Radio Shack/Kenwood accessories don't fit</li>
<ol>
<li>The newer earphones I have fit fine. A couple of older ones do not.</li>
<li>An older Realistic speaker mic doesn't fit.</li>
</ol>
<li>The new programming cable I got with the radio also fits (and works with) my D7AG.</li>
</ol>
<li>Misc.</li>
<ol>
<li>Multiple colors available.</li>
<ol>
<li>I haven't decided yet if I think I might want something other than black (for the radio, or the battery pack). I can always label the radios to tell them apart, but when using two radios simultaneously (a strong possibility for me), different colors might be kinda cool. I'll probably start with camo - I just can't see myself carrying a bright red radio.</li>
</ol>
<li>Size/weight.</li>
<ol>
<li>With the standard battery, the UV-5R is the smallest and lightest radio I have.</li>
<li>Slightly narrower than the VX-7R, but about the same height.</li>
<li>I don't have the extended battery yet.</li>
</ol>
<li>Water.</li>
<ol>
<li>I haven't really read much about it's resistance to water. It doesn't appear to be sealed very well to me. I'll try to keep it dry, but if I fail, I don't lose much - and I get another antenna, battery, belt-clip, and charger with the new unit.</li>
</ol>
<li>The A/B button on my UV-5R feels different when I press it. It doesn't activate in the same way with the same amount of pressure as do the other buttons. It feels sort of sluggish. It still works, it just feels odd.</li>
<ol>
</ol>
</ol>
</ol>
<div>
I have not had much actual operating experience with this radio yet (only 2 conversations so far just to tell me that it does actually work). I only received it yesterday.<br />
<br />
<h3>
My bottom line</h3>
I'm not ready to give up my D7AG with it's APRS and packet capabilities quite yet (at least some of the accessories are interchangeable . I told my oldest son that his wife gets my VX-7R the day she gets her ticket. My daughter has her HTX-420 already as do middle sons 2 & 3. Daughter in law #2 will probably end up with the V80. Youngest son hasn't been interested yet, but I'll talk his future wife into being prepared and then he will be. :)</div>
<div>
<h3>
Programming Function Quick Reference</h3>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For now, this helps me.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">21 - A-Display Channel/Name/Frequency
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">22 - B-Display Channel/Name/Frequency
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">24 - Autolock
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">27 - Create a memory channel (use [A])
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2 - Transmit power
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 5 - Wide / Narrow band
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 10 - Receive DCS
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 11 - Receive CTCSS
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 12 - Transmit DCS
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 13 - Transmit CTCSS</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
23 - Busy Channel Lockout</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Save twice (RX then TX) or use 25 & 26</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
25 - Shift +/-</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
26 - Frequency Shift
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">28 - Delete memory channel
</span></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8665268567856401" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">34 - Dual watch display priority</span></b></span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05655521621851084417noreply@blogger.com3310 N State St, Lindon, UT 84042, USA40.34310973421686 -111.721086502075240.34008423421686 -111.7260220020752 40.34613523421686 -111.71615100207519tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-79658681453042599882012-01-06T18:02:00.012-07:002012-01-06T20:41:12.604-07:00MyPcBackup and "unlimited" storage<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;">[click on the screenshots in this post to make them readable]</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I began using MyPcBackup several </span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">m</span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">onths ago because it looked like a good alternative to <a href="http://mozy.com/">Mozy.com</a> (which </span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I </span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">hav</span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">e used for a few years now). They advertised </span><u style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">unlimited</u><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> backup space and went to great lengths on their web site to claim that they had </span><b style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">no</b><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> limitations based on file numbers or sizes or total storage spa</span></span><span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">ce. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyuaTC52QLAW1rnbGsu6GIhqiFxwrrjkTLKMZIyGaxYadYMOMG9BodL_CXHU1Q6QA3v2vSLhfRTAUF7sUcpp1JcORgqJKb2JE4s77JA3NfBzbA1O3x6AdULCfuqlBnafWNHbCUQ/s1600/Capture2.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694684280968406754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyuaTC52QLAW1rnbGsu6GIhqiFxwrrjkTLKMZIyGaxYadYMOMG9BodL_CXHU1Q6QA3v2vSLhfRTAUF7sUcpp1JcORgqJKb2JE4s77JA3NfBzbA1O3x6AdULCfuqlBnafWNHbCUQ/s400/Capture2.PNG" style="float: right; height: 272px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Unlimited" storage page from MyPcBackup web site<br />
http://www.mypcbackup.com/featured-unlimited-storage</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLQo56xLENakgV-w_ETS-RmAJ1Ir7PsCKKqFeOHuXysPJuXHUJ6G-KSABlloF9R_b6kq8TS-CBZirAcKSNb3jozmz1mOx7JoeP9hEnFI79Sqyx0EVfxpJYqd-DLYPD2MeXUZgDw/s1600/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694684055473232226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLQo56xLENakgV-w_ETS-RmAJ1Ir7PsCKKqFeOHuXysPJuXHUJ6G-KSABlloF9R_b6kq8TS-CBZirAcKSNb3jozmz1mOx7JoeP9hEnFI79Sqyx0EVfxpJYqd-DLYPD2MeXUZgDw/s400/Capture.PNG" style="float: right; height: 315px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 400px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My current account status on the MyPcBackup web site</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">After</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> several weeks of sending data</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">their product stopped </span>working on my system. After several email messages involving log files, and ultimately a bug fix to th<span style="font-size: 100%;">e program, it started working again, for a while, but then stopped again for no apparent reason. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" face="times new roman" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">After another round of emails</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> (see below), it was determined that I am being cut-off because I have used more than my </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">limit of data storage. It appear</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">s to me that </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">MyPcBackup intends to use their </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.mypcbackup.com/terms" target="_blank">Fair Use</a> policy to </span>weasel their way out of providing what they promise. Apparently, my “<span style="font-size: 100%;">usage greatly exceeds the average level of monthly usage of MPCB's customers, generally.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 100%;">I</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 100%;">f you have more than what I'm using (250 GB), you might end up in the same category I'm in</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 100%;"> and be out of commission. You can purchase a <a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11709048&search=TopSellingComputerMore120911&Sp=S&Mo=20&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price%7C1%7C%7CP_SignDesc1&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=TopSellingComputerMore120911&Ntt=TopSellingComputerMore120911&ec=1&No=14&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1">laptop at Costco</a> for $500 that has double that </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">amount of space. A backup copy of a movie can easily run 2 GB and in full HD, even more. With all of my data (50K+ images, lots of music, some videos), I have about 700 GB of stuff on my 2 TB drive that needs to be backed up.</span><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">So, anyway, I just wanted to share what I've learned about this company/service and help others make good decisions about where to sp</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;">end their time and money.<br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; font-family: trebuchet ms; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;">The following is the email conversation I had with MyPcBackup in chronological order with the final message pointing me to section 14 of their terms: </div><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 85%;">Subject: [#8270] Missing files - from help center</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 85%;">-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 10:51, <support@mypcbackup.com>[support@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi,<br />
<br />
Thank you for contacting MyPC Backup Support<br />
<br />
We have received your email and will reply to it within 24 hours.<br />
<br />
**Please do not submit multiple tickets! Submitting multiple will delay the response of your ticket, as it will put your previous email back to the bottom of the queue**<br />
<br />
If you think of anything which you would like to add to your email to support please reply to this email, and it will update your current message.<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
<br />
MyPC Backup Support Team<br />
www.mypcbackup.com<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 12:06, [<founders@mypcbackup.com>founders@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Doug,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your email. Due to the total size of the files that you are trying to back up you may wish to consider a business solution to your backup needs. Unfortunately at this time we do not offer such a package and so our product may not be suitable for you. This may be why you are experiencing difficulties with the software.<br />
<br />
I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, please let us know how you wish to proceed<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
Gabe<br />
--<br />
Gabriel Bernardez<br />
Sales Supervisor<br />
MyPCBackup<br />
www.mypcbackup.com<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 15:21, Douglas B. McKay wrote:<br />
<br />
Your advertising says "Unlimited Storage" as one of the features of your software. Does that mean something different than what it sounds like? I chose your service specifically because of this. I currently have an "unlimited" account with Mozy. Unfortunately, it is going to expire (they don't offer "unlimited" anymore) and I was hoping to use your service as their replacement.<br />
<br />
...Doug<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 01:02, [cancel@mypcbackup.com]<cancel@mypcbackup.com> wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Douglas,<br />
<br />
Thank you for writing back to us.<br />
<br />
I have escalated your concern to the relevant department for further solution. You will receive an email from them at the earliest.<br />
<br />
Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.<br />
<br />
Kind Regards,<br />
Lucas Donald<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 02:14, <support@mypcbackup.com> [support@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Douglas,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your email.<br />
<br />
Currently MyPC Backup does not allow the backup of any Servers. LAN or NAS drives, due to their capability.<br />
<br />
If you are looking for a service to backup Servers. LAN or NAS drives, we would advise contacting a company who offers a more business driven option.<br />
<br />
You can backup stand alone hard drives or standard external/USB Drives here.<br />
<br />
Due to the total size of the files that you are trying to back up you may wish to consider a business solution to your backup needs. Unfortunately at this time we do not offer such a package and so our product may not be suitable for you. This may be why you are experiencing difficulties with the software.<br />
<br />
<br />
Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.<br />
<br />
Kind Regards,<br />
Will Baker<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 22:47, Douglas B. McKay wrote:<br />
<br />
Hello Will,<br />
<br />
I am not attempting to backup any Servers, LAN, or NAS drives. I just have one drive in my system (well, two - a 64 GB boot drive, and a 2 TB data drive). I set it to only backup the files in the important directories instead of the whole drive. It did all of the document files, but stopped part way through the music files, and didn't do any of my picture files. This is just my personal system - not for business purposes or anything. I realize that I do have a lot of files, but that is exactly what led me to your solution...unlimited storage. I'd like to get it working as it seems to be a very good way to keep my files safe. I have used Mozy for a few years, but as you know, they don't offer unlimited storage any longer and I need to find a replacement provider before my subscription with them expires next year.<br />
<br />
...Doug<br />
<br />
-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 23:50, [support@mypcbackup.com] <support@mypcbackup.com> wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Baker,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your email.<br />
<br />
Due to the total size of the files that you are trying to back up you may wish to consider a business solution to your backup needs. Unfortunately at this time we do not offer such a package and so our product may not be suitable for you.<br />
<br />
I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, please let us know how you wish to proceed.”<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
Will Baker<br />
<br />
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On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 23:52, <support@mypcbackup.com> [support@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Douglas,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your email.<br />
<br />
I apologize that I addressed you wrongly in the previous email.<br />
<br />
Kind Regards,<br />
Will Baker<br />
<br />
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On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 00:34, Douglas B. McKay wrote:<br />
<br />
Will,<br />
<br />
So, this is the second time I have received a response like this. Are you saying that MyPCBackup IS NOT suitable for me because of the total size of my files? Or is there a chance that it MAY work if I can change a setting or whatever? I would like to get your software to work to backup all of my files.<br />
<br />
...Doug<br />
<br />
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On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 07:07, <founders@mypcbackup.com> [founders@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
<br />
Hi Doug,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately it will not be possible to back up the increased number of files on our server. The reason for this is that such a large amount will affect the processing time for the additional files to the point that it will take an increasingly long amount of time to complete your backup.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry about this, we are happy to fully refund any payments you have made to us.<br />
<br />
Please let us know how you wish to proceed.<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
Gabe<br />
--<br />
Gabriel Bernardez<br />
Sales Supervisor<br />
MyPCBackup<br />
www.mypcbackup.com<br />
<br />
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On Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 10:12, Douglas B. McKay wrote:<br />
<br />
Gabe,<br />
<br />
I am not very concerned about the speed of the backup, just that it happens. I don't mind that it takes a long time for the initial backup - it is to be expected that it takes a long time. My files are mostly static and relatively small. There are a few exceptions of course (e.g. my image catalog database), but mostly, I create new files by scanning my family's old slides, or by adding digital images from my camera.<br />
<br />
If we can get it to work, I'm happy to continue my account with you. Is there a fixed number of files that I should not exceed? I may be able to exclude some files, or perhaps Zip some of them up.<br />
<br />
Thanx!<br />
...Doug<br />
<br />
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On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 20:36, Douglas B. McKay wrote:<br />
<br />
I did a small test and removed some of my files from the backup list, but it didn't seem to help. Surely other users have more/larger files than I'm working with that they want to backup.<br />
<br />
Your web site says:<br />
<br />
Unlimited Storage<br />
Unlike other online backup providers we don't limit the amount of files you can backup, enjoy the freedom of unlimited online backup.<br />
<br />
The answer you provided below seems to indicate that there is a limit. Please let me know which is actually true. I'd still like to resolve this problem and get the software working for me.<br />
<br />
...Doug<br />
<br />
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On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 06:36, <founders@mypcbackup.com> [founders@mypcbackup.com] wrote:<br />
Hi Douglas,<br />
<br />
Thank you for your email.<br />
<br />
Here at MyPCBackup we do operate with a fair usage policy, our products or services are designed to serve the needs of particular types of users, such as individual consumers or small businesses.<br />
<br />
If the service is inappropriate for your actual usage, we may require you to switch to an appropriate product or service which may result in your having to pay additional fees for use of the appropriate product or to terminate your services with us and issue a full refund.<br />
<br />
From time to time, we may establish or amend general operating practices to maximize the operation and availability of our products or services and to prevent abuses. We reserve the right to monitor our system to identify excessive consumption of network resources and to take such technical and other remedies as we deem appropriate. Your consumption of our products or services may be deemed excessive if, within any month, your usage greatly exceeds the average level of monthly usage of our customers, generally.<br />
<br />
In the event you are deemed to have violated these policies, we reserve the right to limit your backups or terminate your services or account.<br />
<br />
For full clarification on this issue please refer to www.mypcbackup.com/terms , Section 14. Termination and Fair Use Policy.<br />
<br />
However we appreciate this can be frustrating and would fully understand if you wish to terminate your services and receive a full refund.<br />
<br />
Thank you for your understanding.<br />
<br />
Kind regards,<br />
--<br />
Matt Curd<br />
Troubleshooting & Support team<br />
MyPCBackup<br />
www.mypcbackup.com<br />
</founders@mypcbackup.com></founders@mypcbackup.com></support@mypcbackup.com></support@mypcbackup.com></support@mypcbackup.com></cancel@mypcbackup.com></founders@mypcbackup.com></support@mypcbackup.com></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; font-family: trebuchet ms; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">It’s likely that because they are based in the UK, they aren’t subject to US laws or the possibility of a class-action lawsuit for false or misleading advertising. I don’t know the rules on that stuff anyway, but at the very least, I hope to make more people aware of how they are operating. Here are some places where you can read/submit reviews of MyPcBackup:<br />
</span></div><ul style="font-family: trebuchet ms; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://download.cnet.com/MyPCBackup/3640-2242_4-75621822-1.html" target="_blank">C|Net</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.onlinestorage.com/mypcbackup-review/" target="_blank">Onlinestorage.com</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://reviewopedia.com/workathome/mypcbackup-com-reviews-legit-or-scam/" target="_blank">Reviewopedia</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://onlinebackupsearch.com/reviews/mypc-backup-review.html" target="_blank">onlinebackupsearch.com</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.onlinebackupsreview.com/forum/threads/511-MyPC-Backup?highlight=mypcbackup" target="_blank">Online Backups Review</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://www.thetop10bestonlinebackup.com/online-backup-reviews/mypcbackup/review" target="_blank">The Best 10 Online Backup</a><br />
</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; font-family: trebuchet ms; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Feel free to chime in and add your comments here. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05655521621851084417noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-83288681786762041352010-09-09T22:42:00.000-06:002010-09-09T22:42:11.917-06:00Notes on UPS units from UCARES picnic give-awaySince so many UPS units (~30) found new homes at the recent <a href="http://ucares.org/">UCARES</a> picnic, and because I didn't get a chance to modify this batch to add <a href="http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles">Anderson Connectors</a> or put labels on them, I thought it would be good to compile a short list of notes that may help anyone who ended up with one make good use of it.<br />
<ul><li>All of them are used. They all used to work. I don't know if they work now or not. If you ended up with one that doesn't work, let me know - I think I can get a few more and can trade you.</li>
<li>I have used them to charge and maintain 12 volt <a href="http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-6.htm">SLA batteries</a> that were rated from 7 to 100 amps.</li>
<li>Multiple batteries can be floated from a single UPS.</li>
<li>They will NOT power a radio bigger than an HT for an extended period.</li>
<li>You can use batteries (while connected) with higher drain radios without problems as long as the batteries themselves can handle the load.</li>
<li>They provide about 0.75 A of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_charger#Charge_rate">charging current</a>. A large battery will take a LONG time to charge at this rate.</li>
<li>They float at about 14.0 Volts. A little on the <a href="http://www.hazebatteryusa.com/c.ACCT90786/site/downloadlibrary/HZB+2V+Bloc+AGM.pdf">high side</a> (at the expense of battery longevity), but keeps the batteries fully charged and ready for use should there be a call-out, etc.</li>
<li>SLA batteries can be left connected to the UPS indefinitely. I would expect about 3-5 years of life (a guess, not <a href="http://www.mpoweruk.com/reliability.htm">a formula</a>) from a brand new battery if left connected and never used.</li>
<li>They will work as normal UPS units and can provide backup power to a computer, etc. Just be sure to use large enough leads to the battery(ies) (at least <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge#Table_of_AWG_wire_sizes">12 ga</a> for full rated capacity).</li>
<li>To turn the units on when 120 Volt power is not available, press and hold the power button until the unit beeps, then release the button while it's beeping.</li>
</ul>Some of my other posts that may be helpful:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://imnota.xenopho.be/search/label/UPS">Stuff about UPSs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://imnota.xenopho.be/2006/01/ucares-training-item.html">UCARES training item about batteries</a></li>
<li><a href="http://imnota.xenopho.be/2006/02/sometimes-good-batteries-do-bad-things.html">Be careful - batteries can do bad things</a></li>
</ul>Last, here's a close up picture of the way I have modified these UPS units to put connectors on them for convenient use with my batteries:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/TIjqm7clQXI/AAAAAAAACOU/PVNdW04BrL8/s1600/2010-09-09_06.48.58_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/TIjqm7clQXI/AAAAAAAACOU/PVNdW04BrL8/s640/2010-09-09_06.48.58_0001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
I drilled a 1/2" exit hole for the wires (which are just barely long enough if you cut the original connectors off right at the end). I used hot glue on this one, but that wasn't the best idea I've ever had. You can see that it is loose now (3 years later) and doesn't keep the wires from moving in the hole. A grommet would have been better, but they are a bit of a pain to install and thread the wires through. I have had better success with using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Oatey-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B0009QW5IU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1284093603&sr=8-4">kneadable epoxy putty</a> and just pressing it into place into the hole and around the wires. You may also choose to leave the original internal wiring intact and simply tap into the lines to bring a longer connection out the back. This would allow you to use an internal battery if you want as well as an external one if needed. Keep the wires as short as possible. At its full rated load, this UPS can draw <b>over 30 Amps</b>.<br />
<ul></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-27766333243478842072009-04-02T14:04:00.008-06:002009-04-08T14:43:34.272-06:00Is Sprint misinformed about Lithium batteries?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Sd0MaKfSEGI/AAAAAAAABi8/7fRwHqbVHKQ/s1600-h/Sprint+battery+charging.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Sd0MaKfSEGI/AAAAAAAABi8/7fRwHqbVHKQ/s400/Sprint+battery+charging.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322423978253488226" border="0" /></a><br />An article I just received from Sprint in an e-mail claims that the Lithium batteries in their phones degrade after only 80 charge cycles and that I should "only charge it when the battery is almost empty."<br /><br />That goes against everything I've ever heard/read about Lithium based rechargeable batteries. Here are two sources I grabbed quickly:<br /><br />From <a href="http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm">BatteryUniversity.com:</a><blockquote></blockquote><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ></span><blockquote><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" >The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible.</span></blockquote>From the <a href="http://luxl85.blogspot.com/2008/10/battery-charge-tips.html">Laptop Battery blog:</a><br /><blockquote>it is better to recharge more often; avoid frequent full discharges.</blockquote>Perhaps their marketing folks were reading from old spec sheets on Nickel-Cadmium based batteries which would actually benefit from this advice.<br /><br />If anyone sees other resources to substantiate or refute this claim from Sprint, please post a comment.<br /><br />4-3-2009: I found another couple of references to good discussions:<br /><br /><a href="http://spicygadget.com/2006/12/24/guide-getting-the-most-out-of-your-lithium-battery/">http://spicygadget.com/2006/12/24/guide-getting-the-most-out-of-your-lithium-battery/</a><br /><a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery2.htm"><br />http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery2.htm</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-65623938751654168552009-03-10T09:57:00.008-06:002009-03-10T14:24:56.475-06:00Fun with dogsThere's almost always a good story to be had if you keep animals (or children :) and today's version goes like this...<br /><br />About 11pm after watching an episode of <a href="http://stargate.mgm.com/sg1/">Stargate SG-1</a>, our 120 pound <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Malamute">Alaskan Malamute</a>, Itok<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Sba-GKTubhI/AAAAAAAABh8/FvYFIGbqMJQ/s1600-h/1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Sba-GKTubhI/AAAAAAAABh8/FvYFIGbqMJQ/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311641823585660434" border="0" /></a> (short for <a href="http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/Eskimo/maniitok">Maniitok</a>) starts barking strangly. We always know when something is going on because we are used to his normal "talk" (he chats with his friends and howls a little each night) and this was not normal. We looked out and discovered a new white dog in our yard. It was not a small one either; he looked like a large Husky or maybe even a small Malamute and probably weighed 70-90 pounds. One we've never seen before. Not knowing what to think, I watched for a minute and it looked like the two of them were getting along ok (at least they were not fighting), so I went out and try to see if it had a collar, etc. It didn't want me anywhere near it, so I decided not to persist.<br /><br />It looked like it was trying to climb over the fence in the upper corner of our yard. Since we live in a hilly area, our neighbor's yards in that back corner are at widely different levels. On our side, we have a 6 foot fence. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbAapJvoSI/AAAAAAAABiE/CYZxb-q_icE/s1600-h/2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbAapJvoSI/AAAAAAAABiE/CYZxb-q_icE/s320/2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311644374485934370" border="0" /></a>In the neighbor's yard to the North, our fence looks only about 1 foot high because the ground slopes off really fast. In the house diagonally across from us, the bottom of their fence is visible to us above the top of our fence. I figure the dog got in our North neighbor's yard (I don't think it's completely fenced - or if it is, I know they have a 4 ft section in the front) and jumped into our yard at that corner.<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><br />(Here's a shot of Itok standing by the tree where he treed a Racoon last summer. It shows the fences near the corner where most animals seem to come into our yard.)</span><br /><br />Anyway, since this dog had a collar and looked well cared for, rather than letting it out to roam the neighborhood, we called to see if an Animal Control Officer was available. One wasn't, but they sent a couple of <a href="http://www.lindoncity.org/services.publicsafety.html">Lindon's finest</a> out anyway. They brought the department's animal trailer, but neither of them had any experience as dog catchers. They tried valiantly for about 15 minutes to catch the very smart, but uncooperative beast before giving up and just letting him go out the gate into the street. I asked them to let me know how things turned out as they drive off after it. I never heard...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-83357729696686438312008-11-21T20:50:00.005-07:002009-01-12T14:56:14.376-07:00Battery testing and a good inexpensive chargerI have been testing a good number of batteries lately that have been coming out of UPS units where I work. I had 2 dozen sitting in my area last week. I am down now to half of that, but I have quite a few at home still that I need to check out (and a large pile that needs to be taken to the recyclers too).<br /><br />In order to do this, I needed to be able to charge the batteries up in order to run them down with my tester (a <a href="http://www.westmountainradio.com/CBA_ham.htm">CBA II</a>). I found a really nice charger for a really good price - a <a href="http://www.tempestbatteries.com/html/bc_1250.html">Tempest BC-1250</a>. I ordered 2 of them and so far, I really like them. They are well built (metal cases, sturdy cords) and the voltages they use are just right for the SLA batteries I use. If you have batteries sitting around going dead, don't wait - this charger is worth the $32.50 - you need to charge them up periodically so they don't sulfate and kill themselves. If you charge them up separately first, one of these chargers should be able to maintain several small/medium batteries connected in parallel.<br /><br />Since I go through at least 2 charge/discharge cycles on most batteries, it has been nice to have a couple of extra chargers (I can drain them a lot faster than I can charge them). They have been perfect for the relatively small batteries I've been working with (mostly 7 & 12 Ah, but a few 18's also). For larger ones, I still have <a href="http://imnota.xenopho.be/2006/03/charger-upgrade-disappointment.html">my other bigger charger</a>.<br /><br />For something that can maintain (or <span style="font-weight: bold;">very</span> slowly charge) a battery at the proper voltage, get one (or several) of these <a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=42292">Float Charger</a>s from Harbor Freight.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-50361955104836297282008-11-18T22:41:00.003-07:002009-01-12T14:57:02.167-07:00Getting APRS running againI'm going to try to get my <a href="http://info.aprs.net/index.php?title=Digipeater">digipeater</a> running again. I swapped the dual port <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_node_controller">TNC</a> I was using for a single port that has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Packet_Reporting_System">APRS</a> capable <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware">firmware</a>. I won't be running an <a href="http://info.aprs.net/index.php?title=IGate">I-gate</a> anymore, but there seem to be enough around here already. I just want it to provide extra coverage for the area.<br /><br /><a href="http://aprs.fi/?lat=40.300&lng=-111.7000&z=10&mt=m">This site</a> in Finland is doing some really cool things with APRS. It's best to use your <a href="http://info.aprs.net/index.php?title=CallSign">callsign</a> as your username, but make something up if you don't have one, or don't want to give it.<br /><br />So, the first thing I've got to do is get a <a href="http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5859">USB to serial adapter</a> to connect to the computer so I can program the settings in the TNC. Once I set it up, it can be disconnected from the computer (a major source of problems in the past) and run on its own.<br /><br />The radio is a <a href="http://www.qsl.net/w4xe/rpttech/rpttech211.htm">Phoenix SX</a> 16 channel and puts out somewhere around 30 watts. The antenna is an 8 foot <a href="http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/x200a.html">Diamond X200</a> clone installed on my roof about 30 feet up. Power is supplied by a home built power supply that float charges a 75 AH battery.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-86416892149808518192008-07-09T08:02:00.002-06:002008-07-09T08:36:17.540-06:00MPG in my RAV4This past weekend, we took a trip to Idaho. It was about 250 miles in each direction and for the whole trip, I was able to <span style="font-style: italic;">average</span> right about 23 miles per gallon while doing 80 MPH on the freeway. We were late leaving, so I may have even been pressing the speed limit a little further at times on the way up there. We had 5 people (4 adults and a 14 year-old in the 3rd row seat) and a bit of gear. I had fully inflated the tires to <span style="font-style: italic;">their</span> maximum pressure (not the pressure listed on the car's sticker) of 44 PSI. I left my roof rack on top because it supports my ham radio antenna. I did not use any fuel saving methods (like pulse & glide or drafting a truck) or anything other than the tire pressure. Since this is our first really long trip in the RAV4, I wanted to get a baseline for the future. The 23 MPG number isn't that great (the EPA estimates on this vehicle are 19 city & 26 highway), but it's not bad considering the speed and load.<br /><br />I do have some history with a trip we used to make quite often. It is a 30 mile drive with about 5 on city streets and the rest a single stretch of 65 MPH 4 lane freeway where people usually drive about 75 MPH. We mostly made the drive with just my wife and I in the car. I would usually get about 25 MPG on the way up, and 22 MPG on the way back (uphill vs. downhill + prevailing winds make the difference).<br /><br />The other day, after filling the tires full and using some pulse & glide, some 3-car-length drafting for 10 miles of the trip, and keeping the speed down to around 70 MPH, I was able to get 34.4 MPG on the way up. Keeping the speed to 70, but without any other methods gave me 25 MPG on the trip home that day. I'd like to play more with Pulse and Glide, but it requires that I pay a lot more attention to driving (I guess that's good) and not to my wife (that's definately bad :(<br /><br />Anyway, I thought it was interesting that there is such a difference in fuel economy just by changing a couple small things (additional tire pressure, and a 5 MPH speed reduction) gave me 13% improvement.<br /><br />I'm glad I have my <a href="http://www.scangauge.com/">ScanGauge</a> to use because I'm hardly ever able to tell by looking at the whole tank of gas what I kind of economy I got for a particular style of driving. There are many times when someone will sit in a parking lot with the engine running to keep the air conditioner running. While I still check the overall mileage, it's always disappointing that it is so much lower than what we get on these 30+ mile trips that I like to test with.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-8542073197439607132008-06-17T06:50:00.005-06:002008-06-17T13:44:29.333-06:00Getting the most out of the gas you have to buyI've read lot's of stuff about saving gas (<a href="http://www.hypermiling.com/">Hypermiling</a>, etc.), but <a href="http://members.shaw.ca/greendriving/XtremeEcoDriving.htm">this article</a> is one of the best I read yet. It has common sense and gives sound reasons and advice for most of the suggested items. One part that lacked some details (like why it works) was the pulse and glide section, but since they referred to it as an advanced technique, I'll forgive them. You can find more info about pulse and glide <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22pulse+and+glide%22">all over the net</a>. <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/cr-recommended/best-fuel-economy-for-the-buck/overview/best-fuel-economy-for-the-buck-ov.htm">Here's an article</a> from Consumer Reports with a new way of looking at fuel economy.<br /><br />It has been a goal of mine for the past 15 years or so to own an electric vehicle. I haven't managed it yet (practicality and economy have had to come first), but the day is getting closer...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-52363447516966880372008-06-15T22:44:00.003-06:002009-01-12T14:54:45.320-07:00Update to Move/Copy ToolI've posted an update to the multithreaded Move/Copy Tool (McTool). Not a huge deal, but some needed updates and minor enhancements were made.<br /><br />Check my <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2007/12/mctool-is-movecopy-tool.html">original post</a> or my <a href="http://kd7lrj.xenopho.be/mctool">web page</a> for the download link.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-90072095612512782802007-12-15T10:08:00.001-07:002009-01-12T14:53:41.919-07:00McTool is a multithreaded Move and Copy ToolThe very first program I wrote in C (about 20 years ago now) was a program that appended one file to another. It evolved into a file copying program (<a href="http://kd7lrj.googlepages.com/doug%27sutilities%28thedfiles%29">DCOPY</a>) that I shared with a few people. Since then, I have used a number of good utilities to move files around on various systems (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOPY">XCopy</a>, <a href="http://www.xxcopy.com/">xXCopy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy">RoboCopy</a>, <a href="http://www.ranvik.net/totalcopy/">TotalCopy</a>, etc.). No one tool does everything everyone needs, but all together, perhaps they can come close. Anyway, when I couldn't find any file copy tools that supported multithreading and worked well with large numbers of small files, I wrote one.<br /><br />Basically, I had tons of relatively small files (images, mp3 files, etc.) that I wanted to move around and I needed a program that could run multiple copies at once. Many systems nowadays are capable of handling multiple requests at a time (even single drives have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCQ">NCQ</a>). You no longer have to have an expensive fiber-attached <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network">SAN</a> in order to benefit from running more than one thing at a time (a dual core processor is not even needed). Starting multiple instances of any of the tools I listed above works well to speed things up, but it was a hassle to keep things straight and I didn't want to have to bother with that all the time. Plus, at times when I have had really large sets (I've worked with millions of files, and multiple terabytes at once), the other tools just weren't able to handle it and I ran into problems.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://kd7lrj.xenopho.be/mctool">More details and a free download link</a>.</span><br /><br />I rewrote McTool in C# to learn about handling threading and it uses the Microsoft .NET framework under current versions of Windows (including 2003 server, XP, Vista, 32 & 64 bit). I have not made any effort yet in putting together an installation package of any sort since it only requires two files and I think it is pretty easy to use. If I'm proven wrong by getting some feedback, that could change.<br /><br />I'm pretty excited about it because it seems to work well enough in the limited testing that I've done (5-10 times faster in my tests), but I wanted to share it with others in order to see if there are any problems left that need to be fixed or other features that should be added. It seems to work for what I've been doing, but if you find this page and want to snag a copy to try out and let me know whether it works for you, that would be great! I would appreciate the feedback, and you might be able to use the tool...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-16972645392743326412007-09-04T18:01:00.003-06:002012-10-11T08:03:49.503-06:00UPS mods, Tree removal, etc.Some pretty random stuff here (this isn't a single subject blog by any means)...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">UPS modifications continue</span></span><br />
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I collected another dozen UPS units from the recycling center at work over the past year and converted them to use an external power source.<br />
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We gave away 6 of them at the Utah County ARES (UCARES) picnic last night.<br />
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They can be used as chargers (about 1 amp max) or maintainers (floats at about 14.0 volts) for almost any sealed lead acid (SLA) battery and also as Uninteruptible Power Supplies (funny huh, since they were originally intended for UPS use!) and as (semi) portable inverters*. Hopefully there will be a few more happy batteries in happy valley. I hope to get more, but never know what the winds of change will bring...<br />
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*<span style="font-size: 85%;">You do have to know how to turn them on when the AC mains are off. Hold (don't push and release) the power button until it starts beeping. While it is still beeping, release it. It should turn on and, if the battery can provide enough power for the load, it should stay on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Neighborhood cat killed</span></div>
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Itok killed another cat the other night. We found it lying in the grass the next morning. <span style="font-size: 85%;">(I didn't include any pictures for this event.)</span> It was completely intact with no blood showing on the outside. I think this is the third or fourth one now that hasn't survived (at least one did when it made it up a tree and I went out and saved it - at 1:30 in the morning!). He doesn't tear them up or anything, he seems to just play with them. Anything that runs is apparently fair game. I don't know why these cats come into our completely fenced (6 foot high all the way around) back yard, but I guess they just can't help it.<br />
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People, <span style="font-weight: bold;">don't let your cats run around</span> - they get into my bushes and flower beds and use them as a litter box! If they come in my backyard (as they seem prone to do), they'll probably die.</div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">Tree removal</span></div>
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When we moved into our West facing house 11 years ago, the front lawn was barren, so we planted a tree - a Navajo Globe Willow.<br />
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We loved it. It grew fast covered the entire front of our house with shade, gave the kids a place to swing, we hung a hammock from it for a number of years, etc. Unfortun<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbEadR-SQI/AAAAAAAABic/F5UpGMatv9I/s1600-h/GlobeWillow2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311648769345734914" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbEadR-SQI/AAAAAAAABic/F5UpGMatv9I/s320/GlobeWillow2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a>ately, Willows are generally considered "trash trees" because they drop a lot of junk in your yard. This one was no exception. Two or three years ago, wind took off a chunk of it and it took quite a while for us to cut it up and haul it away. It didn't seem to hurt the tree much (you couldn't even tell from the road in front because the tree was so big) other than the place on the trunk. Well, Sunday, the wind took off another piece of it and since it has been smelling funny (people tell me they tend to do that when they get old or infected), it was time to take the whole thing out.<br />
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It was quite a job and I'm quite sunburned. Luckily,<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbE3KOHS0I/AAAAAAAABik/4OHT1Uu1eG8/s1600-h/GlobeWillow3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311649262445480770" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/SbbE3KOHS0I/AAAAAAAABik/4OHT1Uu1eG8/s320/GlobeWillow3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a> a neighbor around the corner was having a tree removed the same day (for some reason I didn't think they'd be working on Labor Day) and I was able to convince them to let me pay them to haul my mess away and grind the stump down. Since I had felled it and cut it up already, it was a relatively small job for them even though the tree completely filled their 8 ton truck.<br />
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I'm glad that's over!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-69606348328727155732007-06-28T13:12:00.000-06:002007-06-28T13:55:15.822-06:00My blog is not People Ready<a href="http://www.peoplereadybusiness.federatedmedia.net/">A page</a> sponsored by Microsoft on <a href="http://www.federatedmedia.net/">Federated Media</a>'s web site talks about businesses being what they call "People Ready."<br /><br /><a href="http://valleywag.com/tech/spokesbloggers/microsoft-pays-star-writers-to-recite-slogan-271485.php">This article</a> on <a href="http://valleywag.com/">ValleyWag</a> derides the companies for using bloggers (reporters?) in what is basically a Microsoft advertising campaign. They seem to say that it's wrong for the bloggers to appear to be objective when really they're getting paid for writing as they do. Funny, I thought that's how it always worked. They can pay me for writing about it if they want - I have no objections!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php">PC World</a> got into the act also (see <a href="http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;41947704">Harry McCracken's post</a>). Like most businesses, they're in it for the money. So now here they are profiting (I found the article by searching for it and it displayed plenty of ads to me) from writing about a controversial subject and saying that their type (journalists) shouldn't "get involved in a project that involved contributing to a marketing campaign." I don't have a problem with it (hey, I have ads on this site), I just think it's funny that it's creating a stir.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Partial Disclosure Notice follows:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">["Partial" because I don't feel like writing (and I'm sure you don't feel like reading) everything about me in this silly little blog posting.]</span><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /></strong>I just wanted to make note that my business is not People Ready mostly because I don't <em>have</em> a business. I was also curious to see what kind of traffic would come to my page because of a simple unsponsored, obscure little blog posting. Gee, I suppose if I get a lot of traffic and someday <a href="http://business.utah.gov/business/starting.html">start a business</a>, I'll have to think about making it a People Ready Business (PRB :) ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-5295005534768718932007-06-18T14:46:00.000-06:002008-12-10T22:32:24.833-07:00The spelling of Timpooneke<span style="font-family:arial;">This is just one of my many pet peeves. I shouldn't let it bug me, but it does. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><strong>Timpooneke</strong> is the name of a campground and a trail in the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Timpanogos"><span style="font-family:arial;">Mt. Timpanogos</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> area in Utah County, Utah.<br /><br />I don't know why, but many people say (and write) "Timpanooke" instead. I guess it's close, but as far as I know, it's not right. I find it funny that local folks (including the press) have a hard time with this name. I'm not going to look up all the history and stuff behind the name (perhaps there is an explanation for this confusion), but here are a few examples:<br /><br />1) From the <a href="http://www.harktheherald.com/">Daily Herald</a> on June 06, 2007, 03:43:04 pm:<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">A man is stranded on the Timpanooke trail on Mount Timpanogos, and weather is keeping searchers from finding him. Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Yvette Rice said police do not know the man's name. The man's wife went looking for him when he didn't return from a day hike. </span></blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">To their credit, the Daily Herald constantly updates their articles as more information becomes available and during one of their edits, the spelling was corrected. </span><a href="http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/224128/"><span style="font-family:arial;">Here is the current version</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /><br />2) From a </span><a href="http://www.tert.org/maps_distances.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">description page on the TERT web site</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">From Aspen Grove Trail Head to Timpooneke Trail Head - go 5.7 miles on 92 and turn off at Timpanooke and go about 0.5 miles.</span></blockquote><a href="http://www.tert.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;">TERT</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is a great organization and one in which I have membership. This just shows the extent of the confusion.<br /><br />3) In the original incarnation of an article about a boy who was killed by a black bear, </span><a href="http://www.ksl.com/"><span style="font-family:arial;">KSL</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> used the Timpanooke spelling repeatedly. It appears that they corrected it in the </span><a href="http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1363845"><span style="font-family:arial;">current article</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">, now that they also have a picture of the campground sign on their site:<br /></span><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Rnb5Y1ZbgLI/AAAAAAAAAAw/5zbztVJTlKw/s1600-h/1485984.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5077519834952728754" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_aichzYFO7tU/Rnb5Y1ZbgLI/AAAAAAAAAAw/5zbztVJTlKw/s320/1485984.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Whatever...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-88840790281835020502007-06-05T08:36:00.000-06:002012-10-11T08:10:07.011-06:002007 Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail RunFor several years now, I've been helping out at various aid stations for a couple of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon">Ultra Marathons</a> put on by <a href="http://jbozung.host.elfon.com/oasis2.htm">John Bozung</a>. Last Saturday, for the third year, I went to <a href="http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/trails/windy.htm">Windy Pass</a> with a group of Aid Station people as their communications person. This year, I wasn't alone. There was another radio person to help this time which was a huge help! I actually had some time while there at the station to do something other than track in and out times of all the runners (201 passed through our station this year).<br />
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Since it was a low water year and the spring where we normally collect water for the runners was running very slowly, we filtered about 15-20 gallons of water with a hand pump so we would have enough for everyone. The other 30 gallons or so were collected directly from the pipe (installed by the Forest Service?) leading from the spring. The water from the spring runs into a trough which did a good job of collecting the water, it just had some pretty nasty looking stuff in it. Without pumping, we would have run out early, so I'm glad I brought my water filter with me (an <a href="http://www.msrcorp.com/filters/waterworks_ex.asp">MSR WaterWorks</a>). The <a href="http://products.katadyn.com/brands-and-products/produkte/Backcountry_Series/Katadyn_Hiker-5.html">Katadyne Backcountry</a> filter the other people had there was pretty well clogged (and useless) after they had pumped 3-5 gallons. They told me that it was new when they brought it up for this trip (glad I didn't buy that one!). The water itself looked clear (it was just sitting there in the trough - not zipping down a muddy stream or anything), but I had to clean my filter after every 2-3 liters to keep it running fast, so there must have been a lot of stuff suspended in it.<br />
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The runners had completed 40 miles when they got to our station and had just climbed 2000 feet up to us (at about 9000 feet) from the last aid station on a hot south facing slope. They were pretty tired. One guy at the end had the worst time of it. The course sweeper stayed with him until he made it to us, and for about 30 minutes alternated between laying down and leaning over a tree puking. He finally was able to drink a little of my still-frozen Powerade that I had stashed and some of an electrolyte drink called Emergency <span style="font-size: 85%;">(reference needed)</span> from some of the other aid station people. Although the Utah County Search and Rescue team was already busy on another couple of calls, they did send a team to assist us in case there was a problem. We knew we needed to either get him moving and have the SAR team help us with him if he couldn't make it or just call a helicopter to evacuate him before it got dark. He started feeling a little better and decided to try to get down on his own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGdiB-UpjPqnZj0YBAihkGO1rYyt38fBdKwByWsTRprV-dzpE1XmzVjPsIUgIlPvCBUIA5AB1ZIHST3rbzi0-JYwb-1g8qr-wuIwy801dIQI5eSwQw4KOky_cIaVRv8gqBuY-OQ/s1600/2007-06-02+19.34.37_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGdiB-UpjPqnZj0YBAihkGO1rYyt38fBdKwByWsTRprV-dzpE1XmzVjPsIUgIlPvCBUIA5AB1ZIHST3rbzi0-JYwb-1g8qr-wuIwy801dIQI5eSwQw4KOky_cIaVRv8gqBuY-OQ/s320/2007-06-02+19.34.37_1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here he is leaving the aid station. My red shirt looks absolutely huge on him but he sure looks a lot better than he did when he arrived.<br />
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After descending some and drinking more of the electrolyte drink, his condition improve quickly and soon he was running down the mountain ahead of the sweep. I believe he even finished the race.<br />
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Way to go Phil!<br />
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It was a lot of fun and between myself and another aid station person, we got a lot of <a href="http://kd7lrj.googlepages.com/aidstationexploits">pictures</a> of the runners. I don't know if we got everyone, but we came close. I hope to be back up there for the <a href="http://jbozung.host.elfon.com/100kmstr.htm">Kat'cina Mosa 100K</a> this August.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-51312731241503634972007-03-14T16:32:00.000-06:002007-03-14T16:34:23.151-06:00Yikes! 6 Months!It looks like I ought to use this a little more. Here's a quick update just to make sure that my blog doesn't get flagged as "inactive" (as if it ever was anything else).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-3201039557159947412006-09-28T13:24:00.000-06:002006-09-28T16:30:02.855-06:00Another Li-Ion recall and a new battery technology announcementBad news first: <a href="http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=BATT-LENOVO"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lenovo</span> and IBM announced a recall</a> of another half million (500,000) Lithium based batteries manufactured by Sony. It seems that after one <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/16/thinkpad-explodes-at-lax-ignites-bomb-scare/1">flamed out at LAX</a> last month, they got the <a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06270.html"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">CSPC</span></a> involved.<br /><br />Good news last: We may be using the acronym <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ZMP</span> a lot more in the near future. <a href="http://www.zmp.com/press/IDF06safe_alt.html">Zinc Matrix Power has announced their Silver-Zinc rechargeable battery</a> that supposedly has twice the energy-to-weight ratio as current Lithium based offerings without the explosive side effects or transport limitations. They have a low enough internal resistance that a relatively low number (16, producing 20 volts) were used to produce 80 amps to MIG weld two pieces of 1/8" steel <span style="font-size:78%;">(<a href="http://www.zmp.com/highenergy.html">article reference</a>)</span>.<br /><br />In other not so interesting news...<br /><ul><li>I finally got those <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/06/more-ups-units.html">surplus UPS</a> units converted and we gave most of them away (along with the power conditioners) at the annual <a href="http://ucares.org">Utah County ARES</a> picnic earlier this month. Hopefully they're all set up with some Sealed Lead Acid batteries that have been neglected for too long. If anyone wants help <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2005/10/multi-purpose-ups-modifications.html">converting a UPS</a> into an <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">SLA</span> battery maintainer, let me know.</li><li>We were at a wedding reception for my niece a few weeks ago and came out to find a note on our car apologizing for the alterations done to the front bumper. The estimate was $402 so we might not even want to bother the insurance companies.</li><li>Last week, I took the boys to the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Orem</span> Rec Center to play racquetball. The next morning, one of us noticed another alteration that had been done to the right rear pillar above the window. We have no idea how it could have happened unless someone dropped something off a truck parked next to us or something. That one will cost more than the deductible; unfortunately, we'll have to get the insurance involved. They won't be thrilled after the <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/07/timely-news-story.html">bike rack incident</a> earlier this summer...</li><li>We ditched the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">VoIP</span> phone service we had from <a href="http://myacn.com"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ACN</span> Digital</a>. Their equipment didn't work right (<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">QOS</span> was horrible, telephone adapter lockups, etc.) and their customer service was pretty much non-<span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">existent</span>. My sister and her family were on it as well and like us, they decided to pay the cancellation fee rather than keep it. If you're going to go with <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">VoIP</span>, choose <a href="http://www.vonage.com"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Vonage</span></a>, they were good for us - we only switched to <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">ACN</span> to try to help a relative who was making a commission on the sale. We decided to go to cell phones instead (I couldn't bear to go back to a land-line provider).</li><li>On that note, I also switched to a new LG <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">LX</span>-550 <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Fusic</span> phone (<a href="http://www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=12140">Sprint Review</a> - <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/LG_LX550_Fusic/4505-6454_7-31812931.html">C|Net Review</a>)from <a href="http://www.sprint.com">Sprint</a>. I like it, but there are some things from my Motorola V-360 that I'll miss. Best about it is the signal is <span style="font-weight: bold;">much </span>stronger at my house because the transmitter is just down the street (there are 3 big "flagpoles" at the Junior High about 2 blocks away) and we can get a signal downstairs. Worst is that the MP3 player is still poorly integrated with the phone operations (I can't make an outgoing call while it's playing, nor does it resume after I finish with an incoming call). All in all, I think it's a slight improvement, but nothing to get too excited about.<br /></li></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-645021170852440282006-09-19T16:39:00.000-06:002007-09-05T08:05:56.296-06:00Talk Like a Pirate DayInternational Talk Like a Pirate day is coming on September 19th (just like it does every year). I'm a little early this year, but I didn't want to forget again... I wrote this post last year, but forgot to post it. :)<br /><br />Arrrr! Welcome to my blauggh. All ye landlubbers have got t' git yer own pirate name:<br /><div style="border: 1px solid rgb(51, 34, 0); margin: 25px 10pt 25px -200px; padding: 10pt 20px; position: relative; background-color: rgb(201, 179, 144); width: 400px; text-align: center; font-family: serif; left: 50%; color: rgb(51, 34, 0);"><div> Fortunately I got a good one:</div><br /><div style="font-size: 32px;"> <font color="red">Red Harry Rackham</font> </div><br /><img src="http://www.piratequiz.com/flag.gif" style="top: 5px; position: relative; display: block; width: 100px; background-color: rgb(51, 34, 0);" /><div style="left: 110px; top: -60px; width: 290px; position: relative; text-align: justify;">Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!</div><a href="http://www.piratequiz.com/" style="width: 100%; left: 0px; bottom: 20px; color: rgb(248, 238, 204);">Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com</a></div><br />Other pirate resources: <a href="http://talklikeapirate.com/">talklikeapirate.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-78872754691716719572006-09-17T08:18:00.001-06:002009-02-17T08:51:34.094-07:00Plastic batteries!The folks at <a href="http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-022.html">Brown University</a> have been working on some cool stuff with conductive plastic. I don't know if their numbers are completely accurate (100 times the power of an alkaline battery?), but it's good news anyway. We really need better power storage for just about everything these days.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/17/brown-u-is-building-better-batteries-with-plastic/">Engadget</a> picked up on it and there are more comments there on their blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-1155652626999962052006-08-15T08:20:00.000-06:002006-08-15T09:08:40.106-06:00Dell & Sony recalling 4 million batteriesDell (<a href="https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com/Default.aspx">recall notice</a>) and Sony are working together on recalling 4 million laptop batteries (<a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06231.html">CPSC notice</a>, <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/08/15/D8JGR9BG1.html">Breitbart article</a>) that have been prone to burning, venting with flame, exploding, catching on fire, or whatever other terms you want to apply. My other entries <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/07/dell-laptop-battery-trouble-at-novell.html">here</a> and <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/07/more-info-on-burning-dell-at-novell.html">here</a> told some more of the story.<br /><br />Hmm, I use quite a few of these Sony 18650 cells which have been removed from surplus (read: non-functioning, dead, bad, defective, etc.) Dell batteries I get from work. I've been careful with them, but I'll be even more so now!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-5A.htm">More about Li-Ion batteries</a> from <a href="http://www.batteryuniversity.com/">Battery University</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-1153412719749105142006-07-20T10:14:00.000-06:002006-07-20T14:04:47.503-06:00100 MPG in a converted Toyota Prius?<a href="http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/The100mpgCarIsComing.aspx">This article</a> talks about supplementing the battery pack of current Hybrid Electric Vehicles by adding your own batteries. The scary part with all the recent talk about <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/07/dell-laptop-battery-trouble-at-novell.html">exploding Lithium based cells</a> is that at least one company's solution is a 150-pound, 16-inch-by-33-inch box of lithium-ion batteries that fits in place of the spare tire.<br /><br />That said; I want one! It wouldn't be very practical right now and certainly wouldn't save me any money, but I'd sure have a lot more stuff to play with as I drove and maintained it. Maybe I should just see if any of the <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/overview.asp">DARPA Challenge </a>vehicles are up for sale instead...<br /><br />How about this <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/">electric vehicle from Tesla</a>? They claim 250 miles per charge and 0-60 in 4 seconds for somewhere around $100,000. People are talking after <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/20/tesla-s-electric-roadster-is-lean-mean-and-very-green/">Engadget</a> posted an article this morning .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-1153339615171912162006-07-19T13:58:00.000-06:002006-07-19T14:07:26.800-06:00More info on burning Dell at NovellAccording to <a href="http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/dailyarchives.jhtml?articleId=190700059">this article</a> on CRN, the battery in the <a href="http://kd7lrj.blogspot.com/2006/07/dell-laptop-battery-trouble-at-novell.html">burning Dell notebook</a> was not manufactured by Dell. I suppose that lets Dell off the hook for this particular incident, but I wonder if that will make anyone that owns one feel better...<br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">In the article</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:100%;" > <a href="mailto:emoltzen@cmp.com">Edward F. Moltzen</a> writes</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >:<br /><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">I asked Novell spokesman Kevan Barney if this was, in fact, the case. Sort of, he said, but there was more to the story.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Yes, the Dell notebook caught fire and, yes, Novell's Building D was evacuated. But a security investigator who looked into it said the person who was using the notebook inserted a non-Dell battery into the unit just before it went up. "It was not a Dell battery," Barney said.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The investigation is continuing, Barney said.</span><br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-1152640356739365482006-07-11T11:18:00.000-06:002012-10-11T08:11:27.924-06:00Dell Laptop battery trouble at Novell; aka "Venting With Flame"After reading all the recent news about <a href="http://gadgets.elliottback.com/2006/07/01/exploding-dell-laptop/">exploding and burning</a> Li-Ion laptop batteries and <a href="http://news.com.com/Dells+exploding+computer+and+other+image+problems/2100-1005_3-6092059.html?tag=st.rc.targ_mb">this story</a> today about Dell's new effort to try to buoy it's reputation, I decided to give this story a home online. Just to inform, not to bash anyone (my first Dell was a 286-12 back in 1988). It was sent to me on July 6th, 2006 by a fellow Amateur Radio operator in the local area.<br />
<br />
<span class="q"></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="q">"Building D of Novell in Provo was evacuated at about 1:30 PM today because of fire alarms set off by a Dell D600 battery "venting with flame" under normal use/charging conditions. It took the laptop out with it, of course.</span><br />
<span class="q"><br /></span></blockquote>
<span class="q">Yesterday, he sent some pictures and I thought I'd share. Here's a sample:<br /></span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6285/1715/1600/100_2339.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6285/1715/320/100_2339.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a><span class="q"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17729900.post-1152562294980709942006-07-10T13:45:00.000-06:002006-07-10T14:11:35.030-06:00Timely news storyI know <a href="http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/7/3/1">this</a> is old news now, but it was *relatively* new until 36 hours after I posted it! :)<br /><br />In other news...<br /><br />- I took our new car into the shop today to get the roof fixed after I tried to drive into our garage with my bike still on top. The bike (Cannondale F500) and the Yakima rack both survived (I rode 70 miles the next day). I hope to get some pictures back from the body shop when I pick up the car.<br /><br />- Our dog caught (and killed) the neighbor's cat this morning. Unfortunately, it was the one that the kids in our cul-de-sac were most attached to.<br /><br />- Just as I was going to leave for work, the sprinklers came on and I saw that we had a broken head right next to the house. Glad that cat slowed me down this morning or we would have had a nicely flooded basement!<br /><br /> - I found out that I'm not going to get the $50 rebate I was promised for buying a new cell phone a while back. It has taken a while because I kept forgetting to call the store and ask why I hadn't received it yet. When I purchased it, I was away from home and on my way to the airport to go on a trip. The store owner who sold it to me said that he'd send me the rebate along with the contract paperwork in the mail when he got the computer problems figured out. Unfortunately, it turns out that the deal he made me was only supposed to be valid at a "corporate" store. On the positive side, I have a new phone and didn't have to do the 2 year contract extension. Good thing, 'cause I don't really like the phone (<a href="http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/product/details.jsp?globalObjectId=92">Motorola V360</a>) that much!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0