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R-209
07-25-2020, 03:00 PM
^ I'm in the Midwest and they are sold at Walgreens and CVS here and also two bulk candy stores. If I could send you some I would.

Thanks. I'm going to check Walgreens in a bit. I guess they're rolling out slowly and it will take a while to reach the coasts. I don't know why my brain had to fixate on Neccos instead of Tic-Tacs or Mentos. Maybe now there will be more of a placebo effect.

AChildOfBoredom
08-05-2020, 08:12 PM
Alright, I need some computer gurus to weigh in on this, because I'm not all that knowledgeable about them. I’m trying to turn nothing into something here.

So, we recently picked up a bunch of HT radios, including a bunch of old Kenwood TK-350s. To give you an idea of their age, the programming software for them - KPG-26D - runs off of DOS. And these radios are not compatible with Chirp, else I could program with that and the existing FTDI programming cable I have for that interface (the old Kenwood two pin connector is most commonly used with these Chinese import two-way radios from BaoFeng, Wouxun, Retevis, Arcshell, etc.).

So I'm pretty sure I'll have to buy one of the old programming cables which connects to the serial bus of a computer, but if I use a program that allows you to run DOS programs on a Windows machine (which, I know earlier versions of Windows could do it, but I don't know about Windows 10), will it be able to interface with the serial port and be able to program these radios? Or do I need a straightforward DOS machine to do it? Which would also mean having to learn DOS, because I'm pretty sure that was a thing of the past before I ever used a computer.

maximvsv
08-06-2020, 11:01 AM
Alright, I need some computer gurus to weigh in on this, because I'm not all that knowledgeable about them. I’m trying to turn nothing into something here.

So, we recently picked up a bunch of HT radios, including a bunch of old Kenwood TK-350s. To give you an idea of their age, the programming software for them - KPG-26D - runs off of DOS. And these radios are not compatible with Chirp, else I could program with that and the existing FTDI programming cable I have for that interface (the old Kenwood two pin connector is most commonly used with these Chinese import two-way radios from BaoFeng, Wouxun, Retevis, Arcshell, etc.).

So I'm pretty sure I'll have to buy one of the old programming cables which connects to the serial bus of a computer, but if I use a program that allows you to run DOS programs on a Windows machine (which, I know earlier versions of Windows could do it, but I don't know about Windows 10), will it be able to interface with the serial port and be able to program these radios? Or do I need a straightforward DOS machine to do it? Which would also mean having to learn DOS, because I'm pretty sure that was a thing of the past before I ever used a computer.

A straightforward DOS machine would be helpful. Also, there are add-on cards with 9 pin serial ports still available.

If you have some sort of emulator/virtual machine running DOS, then you are stuck with that specific emulator's ability to work with the drivers in the main OS. If you have DOS in an emulator on a Windows 10 computer, and have it connected to a USB to RS232 adapter, the emulator will have the DOS program work with the adapter only if the emulator can work with the adapter's Win 10 driver.

* According to these people, the Kenwood software will run in the DOS environment of a WIN95 or WIN98 machine. http://www.wb6nvh.com/TK760/TK760.htm

AChildOfBoredom
08-06-2020, 05:56 PM
A straightforward DOS machine would be helpful. Also, there are add-on cards with 9 pin serial ports still available.

If you have some sort of emulator/virtual machine running DOS, then you are stuck with that specific emulator's ability to work with the drivers in the main OS. If you have DOS in an emulator on a Windows 10 computer, and have it connected to a USB to RS232 adapter, the emulator will have the DOS program work with the adapter only if the emulator can work with the adapter's Win 10 driver.

* According to these people, the Kenwood software will run in the DOS environment of a WIN95 or WIN98 machine. http://www.wb6nvh.com/TK760/TK760.htm

I ordered a programming cable from BlueMax49ers on EBay (very reputable seller with great products), since he has the serial cables available, which he ships along with the KPG-26D software. I think the TK-350 was produced before the narrow band mandate for LMR, so it may not be capable of narrow band (ergo, it would be useless for the communications business), but the equestrian center uses GMRS, which still allows for medium band (20 kHz), and these could be used for that. Right now, they mostly use the BaoFeng BF-888S (which you can buy in bulk for less than $10/ea. including the charger), but the equestrian instructors and some others wanted something more durable, so I loaned out some Motorola HT750s from the communications business which I’d like to get back into the rental pool. Their GMRS license is an organizational licensed from before the July 1987 cutoff which is grandfathered in, so it’s all on the up and up.

If it doesn’t work with Win10, I have a laptop still with 98 on it. My former roommate gave it to me (he had just bought a new one) when I first moved in so that I could use the Internet, as I didn’t have a computer at the time, and I used that until a little over a year ago.

slowpoke
08-06-2020, 06:00 PM
https://www.gla.ac.uk/external/EBF/hmc1.gif

Bahuba
08-07-2020, 05:39 AM
Herr C Hess?

MrDuckie
08-07-2020, 10:04 AM
A couple years ago I tried loading MS DOS on an older computer but it wouldn't load because while old, it was still incompatible with DOS... I believe it was because DOS couldn't handle the amount of memory. Some kind of Windows/DOS emulator might be better.

WendiStarr
08-07-2020, 10:45 AM
Anyone remember koosh balls? What happened to those?

R-209
08-11-2020, 08:19 PM
Anyone remember koosh balls? What happened to those?

Looks like they're still available.
(https://www.basicfun.com/koosh.html)
Still no Necco Wafers for me.

Jazz is still here. He had some upset yesterday, which I thought meant his time was near. But he got over that and is now back on the windowsill, watching birds. He still doesn't eat much so I just offer him different things. It's been a hard battle for him and I want to make the right decision, but it's so hard.

ETA: It's the next morning and Jazz is napping in the laundry basket. Before he got sick, he loved to jump in there as soon as the clothes were done. I got him his own basket an filled it with blankets. It's been maybe three months since he's used it. He looks so peaceful, as if nothing's wrong.

AChildOfBoredom
08-13-2020, 06:47 PM
One of the stipulations of my job is that I can be forwarded to any other division of the company as needed, but part of it also is that his wife - who runs the equestrian center and riding program - wanted me to be available to her as needed, but neither the riding center nor the riding program has jobs offering the kind of pay it would take to keep me there. Fortunately, I possess marketable job skills that the husband has a use for. So today was one of those days I spent at the equestrian center. She didn’t like how I numbered the radios with paint marker, so I had to run into town to get acetone and a label maker, then make labels for them. And the riding instructors weren’t content to just have a number on theirs - they wanted names. One of them said, “so when wives catch their husbands staring at our asses, they can try claiming they were just trying to remember our names”, which maybe she said it jokingly, but… Anyhow, the wife agreed, and also insisted I label my own radio, even though mine is personally owned. But, because I give tours, participate in fundraisers and other events, etc. Anyhow, I’m sure it’ll be a write off for the vanilla workplace, since the riding center itself isn’t, but the equestrian program is a nonprofit (and one that does a lot to allow underprivileged children and teens to partake in an activity which otherwise would be far too expensive for them).
So, I got paid for 10 hours to do that and then pretty much just do little things around the equestrian center here and there. Though I feel like my regular work is much more “gangster”, and honestly, I’d rather have been doing that. Still nice to relax a little, until these pampered riding instructors started getting mopey because they didn’t like the font I used.

53345

They wanted something more “feminine”. I told them they’d have to chill for the moment because I had just bought the label maker that morning (on the equestrian center’s account) and barely knew how to use it.

Golden_Rule
08-13-2020, 10:40 PM
So they decided to get more durable radios for the equestrian instructors than the BaoFeng ones we’d been using, which is good for me, because they bought some used Motorola HT750s from me/my business. That way, they’ll have better survivability if one of them falls off of a horse. Wish I had more Kenwood TK-360s available, though… the Motorolas are a bit of a pain in the ass to program.

So remember that if you’re planning on buying a two-way commercial radio… Kenwoods are easier to program than Motorolas.

53298

The one on the left is one of the BaoFengs we use. In bulk, you can get them for less than $10/each. On the right, a Motorola HT750, which those retailed for around $600 - $800 new, but now generally run about $50 or so if you buy them on EBay. Both are 16 channel UHF radios

Yes, I know I’m a dork. But I don’t really care.

Are you using the BaoFeng software or Radiotronics?

AChildOfBoredom
08-13-2020, 10:58 PM
Are you using the BaoFeng software or Radiotronics?

I use Chirp for the BF-888S radios and the B-Tech UV-82Cs which the crew leads use (the dual watch feature lets them monitor their crew nets and the repeater concurrently). The equestrian instructors and others who wanted something more durable than a consumer radio, they got TK-350s, which I programmed with KPG-26D. Found a good source for the KNB-11A/12A batteries, had plenty of spare antennas on hand, plus if they want speaker mics, those are abundant and inexpensive, since most of these BaoFeng/Wouxun/Retevis/Zastone radios are using the KPG-22 cable interface. One instructor didn’t want to trade out the HT750 and for her I donated one so she could continue using it. That was programmed with CPS R.06.10.04. The TK-3180 was programmed with KPG-89D, and the TK-880s in the vehicles were programmed with KPG-49D.

Some of the BaoFeng BF-888S wouldn’t program with Chirp, and I ended up having to use the BF-888S program from Miklor for those.

SnuffleUffleGrass
08-14-2020, 06:30 AM
My neighbors have a beautiful Boxer dog with a wonderful personality, and every time my dog sees this Boxer dog ...My dog freaks out and barks like crazy, embarrassing me. My dog is the living embodiment of what a "Crust Punk" dog would look and act like (mixed breed, bad teeth, I groom him at home so he looks unkempt, uncontrollable barking) .......Annnnd the Boxer dog is a living example of everything that is the opposite. "It takes all kinds to make up a world."

slowpoke
08-14-2020, 03:39 PM
Perhaps some etiquette and grooming training would overcome his feelings of inadequacy compared to the Boxer.

R-209
08-14-2020, 09:42 PM
Well, FINALLY:

53349

Found them at a small-town grocery store I hadn't checked before. I'd been looking at major chain stores for weeks with no results. I was almost considering ordering them online. They are exactly the same. Necco Wafers were pretty low on my list of Life Problems, but you gotta take what you get.

AChildOfBoredom
08-14-2020, 11:39 PM
Sometimes I wonder if cauliflower is just the ghost of broccoli which can’t find peace in the afterlife. Or maybe an undead form. Perhaps a vengeful spirit without any real direction. Or just an empty shell of something once vibrant, waiting for the day it can finally die just one more time.

Raziel
08-14-2020, 11:47 PM
Frankly, i love both Cauliflower AND Broccoli.

Bahuba
08-15-2020, 11:46 AM
Sometimes I wonder if cauliflower is just the ghost of broccoli which can’t find peace in the afterlife. Or maybe an undead form. Perhaps a vengeful spirit without any real direction. Or just an empty shell of something once vibrant, waiting for the day it can finally die just one more time.

There's purple
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Purplec.png/271px-Purplec.png

Orange
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/7367-Brassica_oleracea_var._botrytis.JPG/360px-7367-Brassica_oleracea_var._botrytis.JPG

White & Green
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Cauliflower_broccoflower.jpg

And weird Escheresque drill bit green space cauliflower
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Cauliflower_romanesco.JPG/288px-Cauliflower_romanesco.JPG

AChildOfBoredom
08-17-2020, 01:26 PM
I actually posted that? This is why I shouldn’t drink.

carmen_b
08-17-2020, 02:42 PM
Mother fucker you nasty veg ( drop kicks it across parking lot ) . Lol ^^

carmen_b
08-17-2020, 02:44 PM
I actually don't mind it at all ! Haha.

I am wondering where the self care line stops and greed starts lol.

There are some affordable options and I went crazy. Booked a hair style at the beauty school tomorrow ( $7 , wtf how do I not go more ). Then a massage at the massage school Wed. ( $25 ) . Then a yoga class at my fave spot ( $5 ) and a facial at the skin care school Thurs. ( $20 ).

Is it too much lol ? I guess I did only book one treatment *per day* and if it seems like too much I can cancel one ?
I do consider the yoga class a neccessity not a " luxury treatment " so I guess it doesn't count against the total ?

Golden_Rule
08-17-2020, 05:11 PM
I use Chirp for the BF-888S radios and the B-Tech UV-82Cs which the crew leads use (the dual watch feature lets them monitor their crew nets and the repeater concurrently). The equestrian instructors and others who wanted something more durable than a consumer radio, they got TK-350s, which I programmed with KPG-26D. Found a good source for the KNB-11A/12A batteries, had plenty of spare antennas on hand, plus if they want speaker mics, those are abundant and inexpensive, since most of these BaoFeng/Wouxun/Retevis/Zastone radios are using the KPG-22 cable interface. One instructor didn’t want to trade out the HT750 and for her I donated one so she could continue using it. That was programmed with CPS R.06.10.04. The TK-3180 was programmed with KPG-89D, and the TK-880s in the vehicles were programmed with KPG-49D.

Some of the BaoFeng BF-888S wouldn’t program with Chirp, and I ended up having to use the BF-888S program from Miklor for those.

I heard of Miklor, but never used it. Is it straightforward, or a bit of a PITA?

You are extraordinarily well versed.

I use to work in commercial radio and tv, sound tech working toward full engineer, FCC-third working toward first but wound up changing careers midstream when I came out 2nd on NYPD entrance exam just as needing more $$$ became an issue in my young life. So... {shrugging shoulders}

I still keep my hand in.

AChildOfBoredom
08-17-2020, 08:14 PM
I heard of Miklor, but never used it. Is it straightforward, or a bit of a PITA?

You are extraordinarily well versed.

I use to work in commercial radio and tv, sound tech working toward full engineer, FCC-third working toward first but wound up changing careers midstream when I came out 2nd on NYPD entrance exam just as needing more $$$ became an issue in my young life. So... {shrugging shoulders}

I still keep my hand in.

J. Miklor.... if you look on ham and GMRS radio groups on Facebook, you'll see him on there a fair bit. He's kinda styled himself as a guru of sorts on these Chinese import consumer radios... BaoFeng/B-Tech, Wouxun, Zastone, Retevis, LeadZM, etc. Very informative website, impressive array of reviews. He has a number of programs (or links to them) on his website, including some of the original BaoFeng programs (e.g., ZT-V68, etc.), but those are a bit limited in what they allow you to do compared to a program such as Chirp, or, in this case, a specific program for the BaoFeng BF-88S/BF-888S/BF-666S (and alias radios, such as the Retevis H-777, Arcshell AR-5, ESynic ESY-88, etc.), as well as some other BaoFeng models like the GT-1 (which the equestrian center in California is using... basically a BF-888S with a more ergonomic and 'sleek' casing), BF-C2, etc. I don't know if he or a team headed by him made that BF-888S program, but his website is the only place I've found it, so that was good, because the firmware can very far and wide between production runs, so these BF-888S radios aren't all compatible with Chirp.


For these consumer radios, programming is very straightforward. The thing with Chirp which sometimes hangs up those unfamiliar with it is that, when you're setting up for a repeater, you choose your SFT (positive or negative), then you put in the difference in MHz between your xmit and receive frequency, not the actual transmit frequency itself. So, let's say you're setting it up for GMRS repeaters, and we'll say your receive frequency is 462.650, which it's a standard +5 offset for GMRS, so you'd set the SFT to +, then you'd enter 005.00000 rather than 467.65000. And for your DPL tones, you have to set a specific mode, which will be "tone", "tone squelch" (which there really isn't a difference), "DCS", or "cross", and the latter you have to use if you're using split tones, such as different DPL tones for the xmit and receive for a half duplex repeater or a store-and-forward repeater. I'll make up a Chirp image file sometime and upload a screen shot of it to show you what I mean.


With these consumer radios, you're not dealing with things such as conventional or LTE trunking.... it's all pretty straightforward. And it's exciting, because they offer affordable analog and DMR radios (they haven't copied NXDM, P25, D-Star, etc. yet and I feel like lawsuits wouldn't make them viable for export if they did) and it does lead to a lot of illegal use, but I think it also spurs some interest in licensed ham and GMRS operation. My 'refugee's' girlfriend was questioning me a few weeks ago about why I'm into two-way radio, so I was explaining to her that it was basically the one technological thing I was allowed. Our neighbor was a ham radio operator, and I remember when he let me key up under his call sign and I made contact with a station in New Zealand (and I still have the QSL card from that). Maybe not as exciting for someone who was allowed to have a smartphone, unlimited Internet access, etc., but the bug just sorta stayed with me. Anyhow, I was telling her about some of the things you could do with radio, and she was interested when I talked about radiolocation and fox hunts, so I turned on a scanner, we heard some kids playing on FRS/GMRS1, and I grabbed a directional loop and a UV-5R, we took the first shot outside of the house, and that left us with two possible directions it could be coming from. So we jumped in the car, went about 1/4 mile down the road, took another reading, which gave us a definite direction, then we drove and took two more readings, so I showed her where they were. She wanted to see for herself, so we drove to that area and I spotted two of them before they spotted us, because they jumped behind bushes and such and called out over the radio that a car was coming, and I knew it was us when the one kid called out that we had stopped. So I opened the window, grabbed the mic to my TK-8360 (I have an 8180 in the pickup), and pointed out the position of each of them as I called out, "I see you in the blue shirt..... and you in the green shirt... and you in the camo... and you in the black shirt". Of course the kids freaked out and took off running, and we got a good laugh out of it until I realized I should probably leave, lest they go running to their parents and I end up hearing a bunch of bullshit from Karen or Ken.


So, she applied for a GMRS license, and she bought a UV-5R for something like $25 and a Leixen VV-898 mobile for her car for something like $60, along with a BaoFeng UT-72 magnet mount antenna. Which was handy, because a day trip for two to the beach yesterday ended up having nine people, and she drives an SUV, so we were able to communicate between cars without having to use phones... we just ran 462.675 with a DPL tone of D252N, which is a non-standard octal, so if Cletus Billy Bob with the Midland or some kids with blister pack radios heard us, they wouldn't be able to bother us.

Golden_Rule
08-18-2020, 01:17 AM
J. Miklor.... if you look on ham and GMRS radio groups on Facebook, you'll see him on there a fair bit. He's kinda styled himself as a guru of sorts on these Chinese import consumer radios... BaoFeng/B-Tech, Wouxun, Zastone, Retevis, LeadZM, etc. Very informative website, impressive array of reviews. He has a number of programs (or links to them) on his website, including some of the original BaoFeng programs (e.g., ZT-V68, etc.), but those are a bit limited in what they allow you to do compared to a program such as Chirp, or, in this case, a specific program for the BaoFeng BF-88S/BF-888S/BF-666S (and alias radios, such as the Retevis H-777, Arcshell AR-5, ESynic ESY-88, etc.), as well as some other BaoFeng models like the GT-1 (which the equestrian center in California is using... basically a BF-888S with a more ergonomic and 'sleek' casing), BF-C2, etc. I don't know if he or a team headed by him made that BF-888S program, but his website is the only place I've found it, so that was good, because the firmware can very far and wide between production runs, so these BF-888S radios aren't all compatible with Chirp.


For these consumer radios, programming is very straightforward. The thing with Chirp which sometimes hangs up those unfamiliar with it is that, when you're setting up for a repeater, you choose your SFT (positive or negative), then you put in the difference in MHz between your xmit and receive frequency, not the actual transmit frequency itself. So, let's say you're setting it up for GMRS repeaters, and we'll say your receive frequency is 462.650, which it's a standard +5 offset for GMRS, so you'd set the SFT to +, then you'd enter 005.00000 rather than 467.65000. And for your DPL tones, you have to set a specific mode, which will be "tone", "tone squelch" (which there really isn't a difference), "DCS", or "cross", and the latter you have to use if you're using split tones, such as different DPL tones for the xmit and receive for a half duplex repeater or a store-and-forward repeater. I'll make up a Chirp image file sometime and upload a screen shot of it to show you what I mean.


With these consumer radios, you're not dealing with things such as conventional or LTE trunking.... it's all pretty straightforward. And it's exciting, because they offer affordable analog and DMR radios (they haven't copied NXDM, P25, D-Star, etc. yet and I feel like lawsuits wouldn't make them viable for export if they did) and it does lead to a lot of illegal use, but I think it also spurs some interest in licensed ham and GMRS operation. My 'refugee's' girlfriend was questioning me a few weeks ago about why I'm into two-way radio, so I was explaining to her that it was basically the one technological thing I was allowed. Our neighbor was a ham radio operator, and I remember when he let me key up under his call sign and I made contact with a station in New Zealand (and I still have the QSL card from that). Maybe not as exciting for someone who was allowed to have a smartphone, unlimited Internet access, etc., but the bug just sorta stayed with me. Anyhow, I was telling her about some of the things you could do with radio, and she was interested when I talked about radiolocation and fox hunts, so I turned on a scanner, we heard some kids playing on FRS/GMRS1, and I grabbed a directional loop and a UV-5R, we took the first shot outside of the house, and that left us with two possible directions it could be coming from. So we jumped in the car, went about 1/4 mile down the road, took another reading, which gave us a definite direction, then we drove and took two more readings, so I showed her where they were. She wanted to see for herself, so we drove to that area and I spotted two of them before they spotted us, because they jumped behind bushes and such and called out over the radio that a car was coming, and I knew it was us when the one kid called out that we had stopped. So I opened the window, grabbed the mic to my TK-8360 (I have an 8180 in the pickup), and pointed out the position of each of them as I called out, "I see you in the blue shirt..... and you in the green shirt... and you in the camo... and you in the black shirt". Of course the kids freaked out and took off running, and we got a good laugh out of it until I realized I should probably leave, lest they go running to their parents and I end up hearing a bunch of bullshit from Karen or Ken.


So, she applied for a GMRS license, and she bought a UV-5R for something like $25 and a Leixen VV-898 mobile for her car for something like $60, along with a BaoFeng UT-72 magnet mount antenna. Which was handy, because a day trip for two to the beach yesterday ended up having nine people, and she drives an SUV, so we were able to communicate between cars without having to use phones... we just ran 462.675 with a DPL tone of D252N, which is a non-standard octal, so if Cletus Billy Bob with the Midland or some kids with blister pack radios heard us, they wouldn't be able to bother us.

All very interesting.

So you went “bending the needle” with a neophyte, seems you’re quite good at it, and she caught the bug.

I’m so far out if it now days, but I do miss it some. I broke my cherry as a kid with a Yaesu FT-101EE, which I gimmicked to transmit on 11 meters. I use to dig doing F-layer bounce and low wattage stuff. Making a few watts go a long way was fun. Later on, still a teenager, I got a job fixing Motorola's for a local PD. They were modular so not seriously complicated to fix. That’s how I got the bug.

I enjoyed reading your response quite a bit. :) Thanks.

AChildOfBoredom
08-18-2020, 01:40 PM
My first radios were some 49 MHz hand-me-downs, then I graduated to FRS radios (more for practicality, since other farm workers used them, as well). The equestrian center uses an organizational GMRS license grandfathered in from 1984, so that’s how they’re able to do that without everyone having to be individually licensed. We originally used duplex capable Motorola MR-355R blister pack radios, but we had too many pirates interfering with our net, because they’d go to Walmart and buy the same ones we used. So I made sweeping changes once I was put in charge of the radio net. I plugged split tones with non-standard DCS octals into the repeater, and also limited the number of people on the repeater.

I went with the BaoFeng BF-888S for crew radios… you can buy them in bulk for less than $10/each, though I had to search a little more thoroughly to ensure I got radios with the FCC ID sticker on them. Since we wanted barn and crew leads, managers, etc. to be able to monitor two channels at once, we trialed the UV-5R (again, ensuring we got two with the FCC ID sticker) and the B-Tech UV-82C (which is a Part 90 compliant variant of the UV-82 series). Now, being that it is a GMRS net, we’re operating under Part 95E, but there just aren’t many good options for 95E radios. One of the drivers who delivers hay to the facility has a B-Tech GMRS-V1 and a GMRS license, but you can’t program the same frequency in repetition with different DPL tones, whereas you can with a Part 90 radio. Most preferred the UV-82C (which has ergonomics closer to that of a commercial radio), so we went with those, although we kept the two UV-5Rs in service since we bought them. The riding instructors wanted something more durable than the 888S in case they fell off a horse, which is understandable, so I pulled some Motorola HT-750s from the rental pool and loaned them to the equestrian center until we could test, get batteries and MX base antennas for, and program the TK-350s. Although the one instructor who lives with me got a little pouty at having to give up the HT750, so I bought it from the business and donated it to the equestrian center for her. And of course they wanted speaker mics after seeing me with one. Most of the staffers did, but it was easier to justify for the riding instructors, so they got them and everyone else was told they could get them on their own if they so wished. And only one equestrian center vehicle had a mobile radio previously… a Midland MicroMobile, which can’t do split or non-standard DPL tones, so now they have mostly TK-860 mobiles with one TK-880. Basically, the equestrian center became a repository for all the old stuff we had at the business which wasn’t necessarily viable for marketing or rentals. Then my employer’s wife decided she wanted it all labeled with actual labels instead of paint markers, and I had to switch up to my backup radio, as the TK-3180 I normally use has the 12 key DTMF pad and no space for a label. And the running joke again is that it’s to give husbands excuses when their wives catch them staring at our asses, as we do tours, open houses, etc. in riding breeches and we fill them out well. Not the real reason, but somewhat viable, as they tend to clip the radios behind them and bring the mic under their arm to clip to their lapel. I wear my radio more to the side and bring my mic cord across my back and over the opposite shoulder, so they don’t have that excuse with me.

But it’s a pain the ass, too. The equestrian program exists at four facilities. Staff from the one in California (which, the center itself is owned by the same people who own this one) saw our radio net and wanted one, so I had to fly out to California with a TKR-820 repeater and some BaoFeng GT-1s and set that up, now the staff from the one in Pennsylvania (where it’s our riding program in partnership with an equestrian center owned by others) wants one, and I’m trying to argue that they don’t need it and do fine with FRS on simplex, but I already know I’ll lose that one.

R-209
08-18-2020, 05:39 PM
Jazz passed last night. It was a very tough call, but the right one. I had a lot more time with him than I thought. He spent most of this time on a windowsill, watching birds. He was thirteen.

53354

The process was, as it always is, agonizing. But after getting home, I felt a sense of peace that I've never felt in these situations. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to feel. I miss him terribly, but I did everything I could do. I made sure he was never in pain. I hope he's with his brothers, somewhere.

AChildOfBoredom
08-18-2020, 05:42 PM
:( I’m sorry for your loss

WendiStarr
08-18-2020, 07:22 PM
Aww, I'm sorry R-209. You did everything you could. You were the best cat daddy he could've asked for. May he rest in peace.

Golden_Rule
08-18-2020, 07:43 PM
My first radios were some 49 MHz hand-me-downs, then I graduated to FRS radios (more for practicality, since other farm workers used them, as well). The equestrian center uses an organizational GMRS license grandfathered in from 1984, so that’s how they’re able to do that without everyone having to be individually licensed. We originally used duplex capable Motorola MR-355R blister pack radios, but we had too many pirates interfering with our net, because they’d go to Walmart and buy the same ones we used. So I made sweeping changes once I was put in charge of the radio net. I plugged split tones with non-standard DCS octals into the repeater, and also limited the number of people on the repeater.

I went with the BaoFeng BF-888S for crew radios… you can buy them in bulk for less than $10/each, though I had to search a little more thoroughly to ensure I got radios with the FCC ID sticker on them. Since we wanted barn and crew leads, managers, etc. to be able to monitor two channels at once, we trialed the UV-5R (again, ensuring we got two with the FCC ID sticker) and the B-Tech UV-82C (which is a Part 90 compliant variant of the UV-82 series). Now, being that it is a GMRS net, we’re operating under Part 95E, but there just aren’t many good options for 95E radios. One of the drivers who delivers hay to the facility has a B-Tech GMRS-V1 and a GMRS license, but you can’t program the same frequency in repetition with different DPL tones, whereas you can with a Part 90 radio. Most preferred the UV-82C (which has ergonomics closer to that of a commercial radio), so we went with those, although we kept the two UV-5Rs in service since we bought them. The riding instructors wanted something more durable than the 888S in case they fell off a horse, which is understandable, so I pulled some Motorola HT-750s from the rental pool and loaned them to the equestrian center until we could test, get batteries and MX base antennas for, and program the TK-350s. Although the one instructor who lives with me got a little pouty at having to give up the HT750, so I bought it from the business and donated it to the equestrian center for her. And of course they wanted speaker mics after seeing me with one. Most of the staffers did, but it was easier to justify for the riding instructors, so they got them and everyone else was told they could get them on their own if they so wished. And only one equestrian center vehicle had a mobile radio previously… a Midland MicroMobile, which can’t do split or non-standard DPL tones, so now they have mostly TK-860 mobiles with one TK-880. Basically, the equestrian center became a repository for all the old stuff we had at the business which wasn’t necessarily viable for marketing or rentals. Then my employer’s wife decided she wanted it all labeled with actual labels instead of paint markers, and I had to switch up to my backup radio, as the TK-3180 I normally use has the 12 key DTMF pad and no space for a label. And the running joke again is that it’s to give husbands excuses when their wives catch them staring at our asses, as we do tours, open houses, etc. in riding breeches and we fill them out well. Not the real reason, but somewhat viable, as they tend to clip the radios behind them and bring the mic under their arm to clip to their lapel. I wear my radio more to the side and bring my mic cord across my back and over the opposite shoulder, so they don’t have that excuse with me.

But it’s a pain the ass, too. The equestrian program exists at four facilities. Staff from the one in California (which, the center itself is owned by the same people who own this one) saw our radio net and wanted one, so I had to fly out to California with a TKR-820 repeater and some BaoFeng GT-1s and set that up, now the staff from the one in Pennsylvania (where it’s our riding program in partnership with an equestrian center owned by others) wants one, and I’m trying to argue that they don’t need it and do fine with FRS on simplex, but I already know I’ll lose that one.

All very interesting.

That’s not the big one attached to the Moravian College is it? I pass by there all the time. That’s wide open and the FRS radios would have enough distance to cover the grounds, but might be subject to overpopulated bandwidth competing with it. FRS is pretty popular in those townhouse complex’s that border it, and the landscaping crews that work them.

Golden_Rule
08-18-2020, 07:45 PM
Jazz passed last night. It was a very tough call, but the right one. I had a lot more time with him than I thought. He spent most of this time on a windowsill, watching birds. He was thirteen.

53354

The process was, as it always is, agonizing. But after getting home, I felt a sense of peace that I've never felt in these situations. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to feel. I miss him terribly, but I did everything I could do. I made sure he was never in pain. I hope he's with his brothers, somewhere.

it’s always very hard to lose a furry friend. My two dogs (13 and 11) and a cat (18 ) are all very old now and I empathize.

SnuffleUffleGrass
08-19-2020, 06:01 AM
Sorry about your loss R-209

Random- I need more coffee

Bahuba
08-19-2020, 07:26 AM
Sorry man. He looked healthy and happy; he had a good life with person who loved him all his life. Nobody animal companion could ask for more.

AChildOfBoredom
08-23-2020, 08:24 AM
Yep, this is pretty reflective of the K-Pop fans I know.


https://youtu.be/0ZoWu6dGf8k

slowpoke
08-23-2020, 02:05 PM
Why cant people on Youtube refrain from waving their hands at the camera?

R-209
08-23-2020, 06:04 PM
Weirdest thing as I was browsing Google Image search. I clicked on one image that took me to a site that generated a fake Windows Update pop-up. I instinctively clicked "no" which opened a full-screen fake BSOD with weirdly distorted graphics. I was pretty sure it was ransomware as it had a 1-800 number in place of the usual QR and error codes. Totally freaked out for a minute, especially since I almost never get regular BSODs and I'm very careful with security. Then I realized I could just exit the tab like any other. Ran a couple scans to be sure. This one didn't actually lock the browser, but I can see how some might be fooled into thinking their computer is infected.

Also, met a pretty cool squirrel at the park.

pegasus027
08-24-2020, 02:10 AM
up phụ shop nÃo nhá»› thanks em nha em là khách quen cá»§a shop đó hi hi ^^

SnuffleUffleGrass
08-25-2020, 12:20 PM
Also, met a pretty cool squirrel at the park.


Tell us more about the squirrel!!!!!

Random- I am puffy today...

AChildOfBoredom
08-25-2020, 12:55 PM
https://youtu.be/_BpmKnEtVO0

WendiStarr
08-27-2020, 07:01 AM
Sometimes I wonder why humans haven't evolved to have more than two arms. I will often find myself in a situation these days where I think that it would be awesome if I could be folding laundry or some other mundane task, while also rocking the baby, and making my other kid a sandwich. I need like 8 pairs of arms and hands. Spider lady.

AChildOfBoredom
08-27-2020, 12:37 PM
I think I upset the HR guy. Someone I’d never seen before was talking to our supervisor. Before we start the shift, we have to do a COVID questionnaire (online) and have our temperature taken. While the lead was doing the second part, my coworker shouts out, “Hey, [a coworker we’ll call “C”] said he wants his taken rectally”. So this guy I’d never seem gets this shocked look and turns immediately to look at us (the two female techs). So I say, “No, he just wants to steal your thermometer. He’s hoping you’ll lose it in his prison wallet” and at this point, the color just completely drains from this guy’s face, and apparently went to the supervisor, whose face started turning red and he had that “fuck my life” look on his face. After a couple more minutes, the supervisor walks the other guy out, then comes storming back in a few minutes later yelling, “YOU BUNCH OF SORRY ASS MOTHERFUCKERS! THAT GUY’S FROM HR!”.

Oops…

slowpoke
08-27-2020, 12:49 PM
What are HR people good for other than entertainment?

SnuffleUffleGrass
08-28-2020, 06:39 AM
What are HR people good for other than entertainment?

Honestly? They buffer business owners from having to deal with disgruntled employees.

Random- gotta go buy boot polish next week, I love having fancy boots for Fall and Winter.

R-209
08-29-2020, 04:40 PM
I read somewhere that eating cheese right before bedtime can trigger odd dreams. I didn't believe it, but tried it anyway. Holy hell! I actually had a vivid dream that I remembered, which I very rarely do. I repeated this with similar results. The next night was different. No dreams, but I woke up feeling better than I have in weeks. Half an hour early and without the nasty headache I usually have.

Also, there's a cricket in the kitchen but I don't think I can't get him out without smooshing him. My cat stared at the cabinet for a solid hour.

SnuffleUffleGrass
08-29-2020, 05:08 PM
I read somewhere that eating cheese right before bedtime can trigger odd dreams. I didn't believe it, but tried it anyway. Holy hell! I actually had a vivid dream that I remembered, which I very rarely do. I repeated this with similar results. The next night was different. No dreams, but I woke up feeling better than I have in weeks. Half an hour early and without the nasty headache I usually have.

Also, there's cricket in the kitchen but I don't think I can't get him out without smooshing him. My cat stared at the cabinet for a solid hour.

Cheese before bedtime is a great idea. Good for teeth, good for digestion, and I'll have to try the dream thing.

AChildOfBoredom
08-30-2020, 02:05 AM
Had a moment of panic of yesterday while I was doing the tow truck driving job. Since there weren’t any commercial calls, I ended up doing AAA calls. Well, we had tried our hand at stir fry the night before, and it left us all a bit gassy. So I get to the member’s house, see where her car is, and I know the rollback I was driving wasn’t going up that driveway, as the stabilizer bar sat way too low to clear with the slope her driveway had. Since she’d already told me there was no power, I figured I’d grab my jump box, see if I could power it up enough to put it into neutral without having to use the transmission interlock override (on some of these GM vehicles, you have to pull a lot of shit apart to get to them). So I let off a fart before I walked up the driveway.

Well, I got into the garage and a few seconds later I smelled this rotten eggs smell, so I freaked out a little, thinking that it had followed me up the driveway and that the member was going to smell it and leave negative feedback about me. But then I noticed that the smell got stronger as I got closer to the hood of the car, so I opened the hood and realized the smell was from the battery offgassing. So I was relieved about that. Then I went wide-eyed again, because she had told me that her neighbor had tried jump starting it.... that could’ve gone horribly wrong.

slowpoke
08-31-2020, 03:11 PM
Someone should do something about those gadgets that prevent getting the vehicle into neutral with the power off. I discovered I cant back with the door open. They don't even warn you about this stuff.

R-209
08-31-2020, 04:27 PM
Using a period in a text message is rude? I had no idea and I don't quite understand this

R-209
08-31-2020, 08:47 PM
I recommend the Amazon Original Series, "The Boys."

It's pretty good.

AChildOfBoredom
09-01-2020, 02:26 AM
All very interesting.

That’s not the big one attached to the Moravian College is it? I pass by there all the time. That’s wide open and the FRS radios would have enough distance to cover the grounds, but might be subject to overpopulated bandwidth competing with it. FRS is pretty popular in those townhouse complex’s that border it, and the landscaping crews that work them.

No, it’s not.

Anyhow, here’s an example I did up with Chirp.

53389

So, slot 0 is set up in a pretty standard repeater configuration with a +5 offset, so you’d be receiving at 462.5500 and transmitting at 467.5500 with a DCS tone of D116N. Slot 1 is the talk about setting for that, and you can see the “S” in the column which says “skip”, which indicates that it’s not on the radio scan list. Unfortunately and unlike with commercial LMR radios, there isn’t a means to provide a DTMF key assignment for scan add/delete.

Slot 2 is set up for a repeater using split DCS tones (and also non-standard DCS octals). So, someone using a repeater capable blister pack radio like the Motorola MR-355R or a Midland GMRS radio wouldn’t be able to operate on that repeater, as they don’t have the capability to do split tones, inverted DCS tones, or DCS tones not found on the Motorola standardized list.

53390
53391

And then, of course slot 3 is set up as the corresponding talk around channel to that repeater.

Slot 4 is one way to set up a store-and-forward repeater, using CTCSS. You could also do it with DCS split tones, or you could use the same octal and go inverted either on the xmit or receive side… that’s where the DCS Polarity (“DCS Pol”) comes into play. NN means you’re using non-inverted tones on the xmit and receive, RR means you’re using inverted tones for both, RN would be inverted on the xmit side and non-inverted on the receive side, and NR would be non-inverted tone on the xmit and inverted tone on receive.

Then the last slot is just a dual simplex frequency in narrowband, as the mode is set to NFM (12.5 kHz) rather than wideband (25 kHz on these Chinese imports, rather than the 20 kHz medium band).

If you’re using just a single CTCSS tone, then you’d use the Tone option; ToneSql is for the receive side when you’re using split CTCSS tones. DTCS code for xmit and receive if you’re using single tone DCS, otherwise you’ll enter in a separate DCS octal for the receive side.

Cross mode is for when using split tones… DCS to DCS when using split octals, CTCSS to CTCSS when using split tones, and you could also cross DCS to CTCSS or vice versa.

Duplex, you have four options. + for half duplex with a positive offset, - for a negative offset, (None) for regular dual simplex, then you have Off, which you can use to set a receive only simplex frequency, e.g., if you wanted to program in National Weather Service frequencies.

Then, if you’re using an offset for a repeater, you put in the difference between the xmit and receive frequencies, unlike most commercial radio software, the BaoFeng software, etc., where you’ll put in the actual frequency. So, for your typical +5 offset, you’ll select + under the Duplex menu, then you’d put 005.0000 in the Offset menu. Which, +5 is typical in LMR and GMRS, but not so much in ham radio.

Then there’s your mode… FM for wideband, NFM for narrow band. The equestrian center uses an organizational GMRS license grandfathered in from 1984, so they can operate in wideband. My regular job uses UHF LMR frequencies, so those have to be narrow band, and now they’re considering going to DMR or NXDM digital. Personally, I think DMR is the better of the two. And more likely, especially if they expect us to buy our own radios.

I took screen shots of the menus for the radio features, but that’s all pretty self explanatory, and would already be familiar to you. More the same as what you’d get from commercial radio software, minus features such as DTMF keypad function, trunking capabilities, selective calling, etc. Even the Part 90 BaoFengs are still consumer radios… realistically, they’re slightly above toy grade. Which is why I cringe whenever I look on Amazon and see people inquire about using them in operations which requires Intrisically Safe radio equipment, or supposed firefighters who completely overlook or ignore NFPA 1802 requirements.

Djoser
09-07-2020, 02:50 AM
Last two nights were fantastic in the club. This industry is emphatically not dead.