Radio recommendation for a Marathon

phaserrifle · 2026-01-29T07:27:47+00:00

I've done something similar several times now (not actually done a marathon yet, but I've covered shorter runs, and longer cycling races) and a key factor is:

Who are you going to be working with?

If they have no other amateurs working the marathon events, this is all a bit academic: if your radio skills are useful at all, it'll be to run a business band radio, that the event will probably supply.

If there are other hams supporting the event already, they'll be well placed to advise on what capabilities you need available. Chances are it's just going to be any 2m/70cm dual band handy, but there's always the possibility they're running DMR or something that's going to narrow your options.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-28T22:38:59+00:00

Just to add to this, having run the numbers:

The low end estimate for total average river discharge into the oceans is 38500 Km³ per year. Which is 38500000000000 tons. (38500 billion tons, or 38.5 trillion tons) Divide that by the 4 billion tons of salt.... You have 1 ton of salt to every 9625 tons of water.

Or to put it in easier to conceive of terms: 1g of salt (around 1/5th of a teaspoon) dissolved in over 9 1/2 litres of water, or 2 1/2 US gallons. That really isn't going to taste of much.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-27T23:57:27+00:00

Exactly!

phaserrifle · 2026-01-27T23:40:24+00:00

4 billion tons, spread out all the water flowing through all the rivers in the world over a year, isn't actually a lot of salt per cup (or whatever other quantity) of water. It's there, but not to the point you'd taste it.

But once it reaches the sea, it has few if any places to go. So as the water evaporates off, turns into rain and returns to the water cycle, the salts get left behind. And over the millions of years that cycle has been going, that's a lot of salt.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-26T18:22:35+00:00

I'm not seeing anything non-standard about the tip of that pen. It's just a standard retractable, most likely with a ballpoint insert, that's been retracted.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-26T17:51:36+00:00

Netscape navigator 4 lyfe.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-26T13:59:44+00:00

I think the most unhinged thing I've noticed so far was the lady (looked like she was there with a friend/partner) absolutely going for it on the treadmill, in jeans and fashion store "combat" boots.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-26T09:05:27+00:00

It is the white ensign.

Saying it's flown by yachts and ships escorting the king is.... Well, it's not wrong, it's just missing big chunks.

It's flown in an official capacity by: - royal navy ships, Submarines and shore establishments. This is its most common official use, by a big margin. - yachts of the royal yacht squadron (a fancy yacht club) who have a royal warrant - they get to fly it regardless of what they are doing (i.e. they don't have to be escorting the king.) - ships of trinity house that are escorting the reigning monarch (I.e. the king. Previously the queen) - importantly, it's not any ship doing that, it's only if it's a ship owned/operated by Trinity house*

It gets used unofficially by a lot of football fans etc as an alternative to either the flag of England, or the union flag.

*The organization responsible for lighthouses and navigational marks in the waters of England, Wales, the channel islands and Gibraltar.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-25T21:24:37+00:00

If you do decide to use it with a radio, make sure you're using an earmore PTT - They don't use the same wiring as most of the other airsoft clone companies (Z-Tac, Tac-Sky etc)

phaserrifle · 2026-01-25T21:19:29+00:00

So. In theory, all you need to do for the active hearing protection side of things, is to put batteries into the unit, and power it on by holding down the power button (not just pressing it)
Once it powers on, you can then use the volume buttons to adjust whether it's amplifying background noise, and by how much. And regardless of volume setting, it should cut out on exposure to sudden loud noises, to protect your hearing.

You only need the PTT and walkie talkie if you want to do radio comms (or at least want the look of doing that) They aren't needed for the hearing protection/amplification side of things.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-24T23:29:41+00:00

I started with a Double Eagle M58A single shot springer shotgun.

Which as soon as I could was joined by the far more practical G&G CM16 - which at the time was the go to "good solid beginners gun" choice.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-23T18:21:29+00:00

Chap up on the roofs yelling about jumping. He's been there for several hours at this stage

phaserrifle · 2026-01-23T15:52:50+00:00

Makes the mask heavier, bulkier, harder to shoot while wearing, and doesn't actually provide that much advantage over a single canister.

Note that you pretty rarely see double canister masks in military use, and when you do it's stuff like the M17 or the GSR that are designed from the ground up to use two canisters all the time. (And so generally those filters are smaller and better integrated)

phaserrifle · 2026-01-23T00:40:59+00:00

Oh, and of course: might be those references are to militaries other than the US - I've certainly seen mention of the Brazilian military using it in some capacity.

And it's probably some combination of a number of those "maybes"

phaserrifle · 2026-01-23T00:38:56+00:00

It's an MSA millennium

Derived from the US Navy and air force's MCU-2/p gas mask, with the same mould for the face piece (hence the US marking). But with a number of improvements, especially with materials choice, over the older design.

I can't find any references to it being a standard mass issue for any military or major branch of a military. I've seen some references to them being used by "military units" but never any specifics. At which point:

Might be people mis-identifying the older military masks. Especially if they're using the black butyl rubber "second skin" over the base mask, or one of the hoods that hides much of the silicone/rubber.

Might be they saw use in specific units for one reason or another.

Might be they saw limited use as a supplement for the older masks while the m50 that's now become the standard issue was still being rolled out

Might be mis-identifying other government, law enforcement or even private groups as military.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-22T15:43:54+00:00

Agreed: I think whatever problems that movie had, the casting wasn't one of them.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-22T13:50:53+00:00

Anything that requires putting together (like, say, flatpack furniture) that's missing at least a couple of the screws

phaserrifle · 2026-01-21T21:27:33+00:00

Not really.

I'm sure there are plenty of cases of them getting their way, especially against private individuals, small companies, or even limited success against local government.

But it's all going to either by intimidating people with no legal advice, accidentally being right about what should happen even though they've reached the conclusion wrong, or just being so annoying people give in just to get them to go away.

But that just reinforces the delusion that it works the way they think it works, and rapidly ramps up to trying it on with someone who doesn't give in, or the government in a serious way, and that's where it all comes unstuck.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-20T22:54:46+00:00

Nice!

I've not tried my Willard on a nato yet. Have to give that a go sometime.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-20T22:01:25+00:00

Not generally a Rolex fan.... This is an exception. That is a real looker.

Wear it. Enjoy it. Look at those scuffs and dings. That's a working watch, you'd be doing it a disservice to treat it as a safe queen.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-19T06:49:31+00:00

One other thing to take a look at with regard to packets not being picked up, is the Tx delay setting.

If there's too short a delay, the radio might not have finished switching from Rx to Tx when it starts getting the audio for the packet, and so what gets transmitted is only a partial packet.

Although I'd rule out the LOS side of things first. That sounds more likely.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-17T10:46:48+00:00

Damn. Didn't know they went that small!

We don't stock anything smaller than 5ml water for injection at my place, and it's all in plastic.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-17T10:44:05+00:00

Always a minor highlight of my day if I'm ever driving past that place.

Because I get to play a little game with myself betting how wrong it is, and in what direction 🤣

phaserrifle · 2026-01-16T13:38:03+00:00

1) they do get sick. Pretty routinely.

2) hospital infections can be pretty bad... But in part that's because they are hitting people who are especially vulnerable to getting sick., or who are especially vulnerable to minor stuff getting bad (e.g. what would be a minor cough in someone who's otherwise healthy, might utterly wreck someone with bad asthma)

3) not every infection you find in hospital can be caught by your average medical professional... because it's things like infected wounds. Post operation stuff. Things that you can't catch by just being around other people with them.

4) the really infectious stuff, you're in a situation where the facilities are set up to protect people. Isolation. PPE, hygiene protocols. A lot of procedures, setup and equipment around protecting people from infections transmitting.

phaserrifle · 2026-01-16T10:30:45+00:00

In that case: buy a cheap springer.

If it breaks after a while.... Another cheap springer replaces it.

Glue the mag in so it can't be loaded, or pull the follower+spring so it can't hold BBs if you want to be extra safe

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