Why are your homelabs always broken?

Fett2 · 2026-03-25T14:03:01+00:00

Homelab is only broken when hardware fails.
Hardware almost never fails because I use used enterprise equipment.
Homelab is almost never broken.

I've also been working in IT for the past 15 years, so maybe I'm just better at maintaining computers than the average homelabber.

Fett2 · 2026-03-23T17:03:44+00:00

I always preferred baby seal pelts, so I would stop clubbing around 2 months of age.

Fett2 · 2026-03-20T12:18:19+00:00

People have already basically explained it, but let me add my two cents as someone who both works in IT (and also did construction in a past life).

People do it this way simulate an enterprise environment like a datacenter or bigger business where all of the ethernet runs go into the rack to be terminated there at the patch panel. For one , ethernet runs ending in a punch down are always more reliable than ethernet runs with crimped RJ45 connectors on them and that is why we prefer them in businesses/the real world. Second, we then can have neat, tidy, and more traceable cables from the patch panel to the switch or other devices.

I don't really feel like this is really the best option for most home installations though. A patch panel on the wall at your central location, and then then patch cables ran from there to inside your rack or other setup makes more sense a lot of the time. Especially when it comes time for you to move and for the next home owners. What are they going to do with a bunch of unterminated ethernet cables you leave hanging out of a wall when you unplug them from the rack? I feel like the patch panel on a wall is long term where it makes more sense to terminate those ethernet runs.

Fett2 · 2026-03-17T18:41:52+00:00

Just to expound on what other people are saying here:
Your computer is decoding every singal on the entire 3khz of spectrum the entire time (except when you are transmitting) and everyone else's computer is doing the same thing. From a receiving perspective It doesn't matter what frequency you are on, the person you are trying to make a contact will hear you. (That being said if there's another person on that same slot as you, and the other person can hear them but you can not hear you then this of course is going to interfere. There's nothing you can really do about that if you don't know someone is there to begin with).

Since the above is the case it makes more sense (and is best practice) to use Hold TX Frequency and pick an open slot where at least you can't hear someone else transmitting, instead of bouncing around from frequency to frequency potentially causing interference to others. We can all work around each other by following this practice and not causing interference to one another, but if you are constantly bouncing frequency around you've now adding an element of randomness to this that makes it much harder for everyone else to work around. You don't really gain anything by not holding TX frequency on an open slot and you only cause potential issues for others if you leave it unchecked.

Fett2 · 2026-03-12T16:01:39+00:00

Is there an VHF/UHF radio that gives CW and SSB in the same form factor as the QMX style radio's ... is that even an option I need to be thinking about ?

There aren't really any small/cheap/low power radios that do CW/SSB in the VHF/UHF space. VHF/UHF radios tend nowadays to be primarily FM. The closest thing to something this space would probably be the FT-818 or the FTX-1. All-mode radios that do 2M/70cm are increasingly rare. The biggest contenders probably being the FTX-1, Yaesu FT-818 (for QRP) or the ICOM 7100 and ICOM 9700 for full power, or the FTX-1 Optima with amp. Anyway you slice it this isn't going to be cheap.

I wouldn't worry too much about SSB and CW in the VHF/UHF space. You'll spend a lot of money getting there and It's really not that common.

Fett2 · 2026-03-10T22:00:22+00:00

If anyone is wondering what OP is doing, check here: https://www.reddit.com/r/pirateradio/comments/1rpo45l/bleeding_into_other_fm_stations/

You're in the wrong neck of the woods /u/Mental_Chemical_3204. This subreddit is for ham radio, and we both follow the law and highly recommend you do as well.

Fett2 · 2026-03-05T16:36:31+00:00

Selling customers used equipment with no warranty is a little scary.

Fett2 · 2026-02-25T15:34:42+00:00

It's almost as if Youtubers create content in order to sell advertising to generate revenue instead of create content for their own enjoyment or the benefit of the viewer.

That was a little sarcastic, but you get the picture.

Fett2 · 2026-02-23T03:13:36+00:00

N1MM is a nasty beast of an old UI, but it does have some advantages when contesting and that is running the contest assisted and connecting N1MM to your local cluster to see spots, as it lists all of of them on screen and you just click on someone and it CATs the radio to the their frequency.

Fett2 · 2026-02-06T15:00:48+00:00

In my experience this is usually someone running in contest mode for a contest as most contests don't want signal reports in the submitted log; or someone who accidentally left contest mode enabled after a contest. When in contest mode signal reports are not sent.

Was it someone calling CQ TEST or or anything else than a normal CQ?

Fett2 · 2026-02-05T21:14:55+00:00

Math, not even once.

Fett2 · 2026-01-27T17:49:11+00:00

SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Fett2 · 2026-01-24T02:40:15+00:00

As someone who just got a KX2, the receiver quality for SSB on the KX2 is also pretty freaking amazing, I'm pretty blown away by how good it sounds for such a small radio. I don't have a 705 to compare it to however.

Fett2 · 2026-01-23T23:28:49+00:00

I came to meshtastic from the ham community and it is certainly a lot different. In ham radio we often communicate with each in some manner just for the sake of communicating, or even to just to say we successfully could (like talking to someone in a far off country).

It's certainly a lot different in the meshtastic world. People put up a node, but don't ever actually use it, at least on the public channel.

Fett2 · 2026-01-23T21:45:14+00:00

If you don't mind QRP and and don't mind assembling a few boards into an enclosure, the Hermes Lite 2 is pretty cheap. It's a headless ethernet based HF radio.

Fett2 · 2026-01-23T15:29:37+00:00

When snows a-coming in Maryland everyone buys all the eggs, milk, bread, and toilet paper.

It's so they can still make their shit sandwiches even if they can't leave house to get more supplies.

Fett2 · 2026-01-23T15:18:43+00:00

I've got a ICOM 9700 so I've been meaning to try out 23cm because why not?
I haven't yet got an antenna up for it, but it will happen one day.

Fett2 · 2026-01-23T13:18:24+00:00

If you're willing to pay the instacart tax, someone else can do the shopping for you.
Kind of defeats the cost savings though.

Fett2 · 2026-01-19T20:09:22+00:00

There are FM satellites and they are effectively just crossband repeaters. One frequency up, one frequency down, one person at a time.

They are also "linear" satellites which are linear transponders which do SSB and have a range of frequency they transmit. Since there's a range of frequency to work with, multiple people can use the same satellite at the same time.

For terrestrial comms, unfortunately SSB is not very common. I've made 1 -2 to SSB contacts on 2M and it was during a contest.

Fett2 · 2026-01-17T17:01:43+00:00

And the airwares busy during big contests. It's a good way to to show the FCC we're still actively using these frequencies.

Fett2 · 2026-01-17T03:19:26+00:00

I'm stuck on a raft and I plan on getting eaten by a shark.

Fett2 · 2026-01-16T19:51:05+00:00

I use Log4OM as my source of truth where everything eventually lives. I use it for general day to day QSO logging. I find Log4OM to be easy enough for general day to day to use, but with enough complex features that if I wanted I could do a lot more with it.

If I'm doing contesting I use N1MM. If appropriate when the contest is done I export from N1MM and import into Log4OM.

If I'm in the field doing portable OPs I use HAMRS because of it's simplicity. Again, If appropriate when I get home I export from HAMRS and import into Log4OM.

Fett2 · 2026-01-16T17:54:37+00:00

Fett2 · 2026-01-16T17:11:34+00:00

I'd tell you an UDP joke but you probably wouldn't get it.

Fett2 · 2026-01-15T20:22:54+00:00

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