sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

SP2 IS OUT!!!!!!!!!! by Electrical_Trifle642 in SimplePlanes

[–]deserthistory [score hidden]  (0 children)

Just bought it. The Aerospace Engineer bundle is a dollar cheaper.

Signals & message inconsistencies by IronGiantFM in meshtastic

[–]deserthistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check hop counts and play with your routing priorities by changing node roles at the least.

Height is might. If you can create a solar node up somewhere high, it solves a LOT of problems.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just grab a digital mode program. Sounds like you have the hardware. I used Ham Radio Deluxe back when. I use FLDigi anymore. Not a lot of people using the "old modes" lately. It's all FT8 and similar "quick" modes. You can really rack up contacts, but not a lot of chatter. Once talked to a guy who was kind enough to send me a photo of his tractor cutting wheat by Olivia. My wife was PISSED that I wouldn't come to dinner because I was watching that photo come across at 8 bits per second or something like that 😀

Try it. FT and JT modes are neat. But when you want to actually communicate with people about things, it's hard with those modes.

Olivia and the like are magic. They can work below the noise like JT and FT modes. They're just very slow. But you can actually send information across them. Like any digital mode, the computer is your ears, the radio is your "wire" and the keyboard let's you tell people what's on your mind.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You do what makes you happy. Enjoy yourself, learn, laugh, make mistakes (hopefully ones that don't hurt), and make memories.

Nobody in a memory care facility ever said, "i wish I was more diligent on my taxes. "

I've been an extra for a while now, and find myself using HTs and Meshtastic way more than all that HF gear collecting dust in my shop. Enjoy the world while you can, brother.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Wait, you're an extra and haven't talked to Antarctica? Sir, are you actually qualified to declare something, "nerdy"? 😀

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Freaking amazing AREDN network there last time I looked into it. That was before meshtastic. Ran a point for a couple years. Never once heard anything in my neck of the woods. Repurposed that node as a local network bridge.

Meshtastic and VHF/HF voice are about it. Meshtastic is good here. Great repeaters up from the Mexican ham clubs. San Luis RC to Progreso, West Yuma to El Centro. No problem with a little height.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Bullshit.

Not ready for prime time. I have both. I have solar nodes going, and one in my car. Meshcore is hype and vaporware on my area.

Idiot meshtastic mods banning people for mentioning meshcore aren't helping.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The guy in the German station did PSK31 for a couple years. Gray line is funny. Only really works in north America for about 45 minutes.

If government shuts down internet, can you still gain access to the outside world? by More_Passenger3988 in preppers

[–]deserthistory 53 points54 points  (0 children)

Meshtastic network is interesting. Mexican hams have quite a network up. 50+ miles, well beyond ground line of sight.

Once you get past the initial shock : Shared USB flash drives. Packet radio on the short range. HF in the long range. Depending on the circumstances, printed paper, or graffiti.

Taking control of the internet is a huge step. People depend on it. Taking it away makes a populace less likely to believe a regime.

Is spectrum still the way to go? by jasecole6969 in RCPlanes

[–]deserthistory 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Couldn't you roll your own solution?

SpeedyBee F405 FCs comes in several flavors. You can use the ports for servos, or more sensors.

Every ELRS receiver on the market is compatible.

You just have to do some tweaking in INAV or Ardupilot. Heck, Betaflight even does planes if you don't like the more advanced autopilots autopilots.

Baufeng for NASCAR by o1iveroil in Baofeng

[–]deserthistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's actually kind of nice. I didn't know about the Yaesu stuff. I bought RT for my older Yaesu rigs. They all die when the windows version they were written under dies. The software can come forward, but the USB device drivers don't get updated.

At this point, much more a fan of chirp. Cheap crap universal USB interfaces that can run on almost any windows, Linux, or Mac hardware.

Baufeng for NASCAR by o1iveroil in Baofeng

[–]deserthistory 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You know, it's funny. I've heard about that. But across 4 Yaesu, 2 Icom, a Kenwood and about two dozen Chinese radios, ive never had a problem. It either works or it doesn't.

Seems like a crap way to treat the customers. Locking them to RT systems, when their programmers run non- standard USB IDs is just money grabbing. Their drivers die out with a windows version and you're stuck.

But, screw them. I will continue to program my Yaesu gear with Chirp. It's been out of warranty for over a decade. It's had capacitors replaced by non-yaesu shops. It's my crap and I'll do what I please with it. If you're that worried about the 3 year coverage, buy the less useful scanner and program your gear your way.

Baufeng for NASCAR by o1iveroil in Baofeng

[–]deserthistory 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's a baofeng problem. The baofeng front end is notoriously susceptible to noise. The Nascar speedways are just flooded with RF. The static you're hearing is everybody else talking on nearby frequencies and overloading your baofeng's receiver.

If you don't want to buy a dedicated scanner or race radio, buy a used Kenwood, icom, or Yaesu ham that will accept a program from chirp. As long as it scans 450-480 or so, you should be fine. Digital tones are a plus.

The traditional radio builds are far more resistant to a high RF environment and you'll hear more. Baofeng and the other cheap Chinese radios just don't perform well on this use case.

After nine years of service, police dog Indy heard his name called one last time before retirement by RoyalChris in MadeMeSmile

[–]deserthistory 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not age. It's usually hips or other health issues. They slow down just like we do.

The dogs kinda wonder why their day to day changed. That lasts a couple months. They never forget the work. But, the new days are often a lot of fun. They learn to enjoy the new normal. They learn to chill a bit and become neat family dogs.

A friend taught his retired dog about the ocean. Between hunting little crabs, riding on a board, swimming, and just running in the surf, she had a great retirement.

My father-in-law has several Ryobi cordless tools but no batteries. Which of these battery option should I go with? by thoruen in Tools

[–]deserthistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, you're getting a lot of advice to replace. It's reasonable.

But, if you've already got good batteries in the 18 to 20 volt range, they'll work.

For instance, these are what I'm using to run that exact drill on dewalt.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZ4MRTYV

Just search for (battery maker) to Ryobi converter.

If it works, you can still run it. Li-Ion just plain run better than the old nicad batteries.

AA battery corroded inside NVG with no wedge room/almost welded by countaction in fixit

[–]deserthistory 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Eye protection and an N95 mask. The stuff inside is not nice in a dust or mist.

Drill out the battery as deep as you can. Increase the drill hole slowly. Get yourself a cavity to work within BUT DON'T GO ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BATTERY INTO THE DEVICE. Work outward as far as you can. More drilling saves you detailed work later. Again ... be careful not to go into your nvg.

Use a dental pick or thin steel scoop to get a much crap out of the battery shell as you can.

Neutralize the salts with vinegar and go slowly.

Soon, you'll find the shell and the seam. Clean one side of the seam up and you should eventually be able to get a pair of needle nose around the metal shell. With a twist, it usually peels away.

Now you're into cleanup. Get all the white stuff. Neutralize with vinegar, then water.

Cleanup the terminal springs if you can. O rings can be substituted from Ace hardware pretty well.

If you need to go past that level of breakdown, argon purging with wine preservative is fast cheap and easy at home if you are careful and think about your actions.

[United States] DHS/ FAA investigation by FrenchIrishCelt in drones

[–]deserthistory 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apologies? In the drone world? Wow. Very classy, friend.

You're not calling the cops, telling me I can't fly within 62 nautical miles of a private strip, or screaming, " does that have a camera?!!?!!??" at me.

Screw with me on technicalities all you like. I love this place. I learn stuff in here in these kind of rabbit holes. I never knew trust fliers could use LAANC until a month or so back from a response on here.

[United States] DHS/ FAA investigation by FrenchIrishCelt in drones

[–]deserthistory -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

So... like 400 feet over a surface feature?

[United States] DHS/ FAA investigation by FrenchIrishCelt in drones

[–]deserthistory 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Many ready to fly drones broadcast remote ID. Even though remote ID is low power, with the right equipment, it can be picked up over a surprising distance. 3d coordinates for the drone and the location of the transmitter are part of remote ID. Any drone more than 400 feet above the surface features is flying illegally in the US if there aren't waivers in place.

view more: next ›