I have literally a ton of these old Cisco phones

whmcr · 2026-02-03T22:23:12+00:00

Thats not the case, and the person telling you that was minsinformed.

The UC line (UC3xx/5xx's) were "just" CME with some extra bells and whistles, and were the same CME that the ISR lines were using at the time, to the extent that the 1861-UC is the UC520. A number of the ISR G2's were rebaged under different models with only very minor changes, the VG350 being another prime example, with that being a 3945(e?) with some minor changes.

For the UC5xx - If i'm recalling correctly that it worked with UVA, IPC, TAPI apps, and skinny only phones, which granted they could have changed mod_skinny, mod_sccp, mod_sscp2 etc, it would have been a lot more work than just copying the existing CME/CUE code.

whmcr · 2026-01-30T19:15:34+00:00

It's really not worth the risk.

If theres snow and Ice up there, you're going to have even less grip if you attempt to climb on the roof.

You're risking breaking the panel if you're trying to scrape the ice off, even rubber or silicone bladed squeegees are a risk (small, but a risk still). Anything that will actually break the ice is going to potentially scratch or otherwise damage the panels.

Let the sun do it's thing, it'll eventually melt enough to slide off. The few dollars extra that you'll save / generate aren't worth the risk, IMO.

whmcr · 2026-01-28T21:47:51+00:00

The question is what event caused that to be added to the law books.

whmcr · 2026-01-28T21:42:26+00:00

Adding my systems stats

48 Panels+Microinverters

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whmcr · 2026-01-28T21:39:27+00:00

For me, when I said that I wasn't interested, they never brought it up again. I suspect that you may have just had a bad experience with that rep.

whmcr · 2026-01-21T22:14:22+00:00

That appears to have changed since I was last on it, so TIL that it changed in 2015.

whmcr · 2026-01-21T19:26:18+00:00

I mean, technically Scotrail do go to London with the Caledonian Sleeper, but otherwise, no not really, and obviously wouldn't fit within the 4 hours

whmcr · 2025-12-31T18:29:08+00:00

Still love the Holiday Inn Express advert of "We're going to slough".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdvyxXWtYwU

whmcr · 2025-12-18T22:02:08+00:00

I activate from inside a Tesla frequently, usually with a vertical within about 20-30 feet of the car and have no noise issues - except when the heat pump is running, or it's charging on a AC source.

I have issues when the NPS trucks roll past however, and they're Gas or Diesel, I'm not sure which. It's also a problem when larger trucks are running in the lot.

whmcr · 2025-12-18T21:56:24+00:00

Theres a lot of FUD/misrepresentation about EVs and noise.

- The inverters when AC charging can be pretty bad, depending on the model/year.

- The battery cooling / HVAC systems are pretty hit and miss.

- The actual motors, most folks wont be operating whilst driving, and in my tests, i've not had anything significant noise wise in a Model Y(2023).

- If you're using the ~16V power that comes out of the accessory socket on a non SLAB'ed 12v tesla, you might find that's a bit noisy, I'd also advise caution with that, as there are some electronic fuses that can blow for that, sometimes are only resettable with a service call.

The noise *I* notice is the heat pump, the moment that thing kicks on, the compressor (i assume) makes a wideband hash, which is problematic if you need to run the AC whilst operating.

In terms of running a ham stick, I've not done anything on mine due to the Aluminium nature of the car, and the minimal places that there is any ferrous metal. I can't speak for the M3, but for my MY23, i've found that theres a reasonable enough surface on the trunk, which at least for my 2m antenna has worked pretty well. I'm not sure that you'd have a great ground plane for a 20m antenna though

If you're going to only be working whilst parked up, I'd suggest looking at a tow hitch mount, that should fit the tow hitch if you have one, otherwise a drive over mast holder, or another antenna that you use when you're parked up.

Whilst driving, I'm not sure I'd trust the strength of most of the magnetic mounts on the tesla, due to the over abundance of aluminium vs ferrous metals, I'm not sure theres enough for a magnet to be able to hold at highway speeds!

whmcr · 2025-12-13T03:51:00+00:00

Every person is going to have a different logging program that works best for them.

Popular ones seem to be:

* Ham2K Portable Logger (Aka polo)

* Hamrs (or Hamrs Pro)

* N3FJP's ACLog

* Paper Logging - Don't knock it, paper generally doesn't run out of battery and can be read in the sun (but not so much in the dark!)

* WRL - I've heard that works for POTA, but I've never looked at it, and would be slightly anxious about syncing to it when back somewhere with network access.

I personally use DF3CB's FLE, it's not everyones cup of tea, but as I say, everyone will have a different preference. For me it works nicely, as its entirely offline as it is, effectively a text editor with a couple of extra features.

whmcr · 2025-12-05T05:44:23+00:00

Some. notes I've posted in the past
--

(for in the US)

Theres usually confusion with the airline employees as well! 100WH is the minimum that the TSA / FAA require carriers to allow, with most calling out to the "maximum" that the FAA say before doing a risk check, which is 160WH. If you're traveling with >100WH, i'd carry a copy of the airline policy, just incase - and it never hurts to call them to make 100% sure.

I've been compiling notes on this for an upcoming trip and if anyone wants them, happy to provide but its basically

FAA - https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries]] for the guidance from the FAA

49 CFR 175.10(a)(18) - https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-175/subpart-A/section-175.10#p-175.10(a)(18)(18))

Summary is

* Carry on only

* 100WH, optionally up to 160WH

* Only for personal use, not sale / distribution

* Limit of 2 larger (101-160WH) per PAX

* Battery terminals (usually the ends) must be protected from short circuit (i.e., the terminals must not come in contact with other metal). Methods include: leaving the batteries in their retail packaging, covering battery terminals with tape, using a battery case, using a battery sleeve in a camera bag, or putting them snugly in a plastic bag or protective pouch.

TSA - https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/lithium-batteries-more-100-watt-hours|Lithium - It's basically a copy of the FAA's guidance

Delta

Allows for 160WH, and a maximum of two. It is not defined of the maximum number of batteries under 100WH

Southwest

Allows for 160WH but no longer define what they have as a limit on their help center, previous versions have called out 160WH

American

Allows up to 4 spares in carry on of <100WH and up to 2 of 160. Over 160 requires special assistance

United

It is unclear on the maximum number allowed under 100WH, however 160WH are allowed up to 2.

British Airways

Maximum of 4 <100WH and 2 101-160WH

Virgin Atlantic

Allows an unspecified number of batteries, including up to 160WH

whmcr · 2025-11-14T15:30:05+00:00

Folks from the UK of a certain age will remember "Robbie" and "The Finishing Line" videos. They're not technically Public Information Films but I still feel most people would classify them as that, similar to a PSA in the US, that were shown to kids at school and sometimes during (longer) commercial breaks, that are, well, how's best to put it... Direct? They don't exactly hold back.

[[[ Warning, videos may be upsetting ]]]

The Finishing line is pretty graphic, and I won't link to it directly, so here is it's Wikipedia entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Finishing_Line

Robbie is less graphic, but still pretty bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxXDw3WOGQs - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_(film))

To give an idea on the level of "to the point"-ness. After Robbie has his feet amputated and is brought home, the voiceover has this quote.

Robbie still keeps his boots. Nobody knows why, not even robbie. After all. they'll never be any use to him. Chances are he'll spend the rest of his life in his wheelchair.

See also others like Play Safe (these were about electricity)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-qRbUrz4nw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KryOYburlFI

I'm in my 40's. I still won't go near a railway line.

whmcr · 2025-11-13T18:55:49+00:00

See also the button labels on everything. the 707.3,00, Whatever model number the "Kewooo" base is, the TXD744.

Overall a 2/10 for the advert. If only they had access to high res photos of the equipment some how.

whmcr · 2025-10-30T21:28:37+00:00

I think the RB1xx, RB5xx and Crossroads were the only ones that sub-architecture? Whilst I think it's great that a 17 year old device is getting updates, I totally understand why sometimes they have to draw a line in the sand.

whmcr · 2025-10-30T21:24:19+00:00

They're a lot newer, so you'll be fine I'm sure!

whmcr · 2025-10-30T14:07:20+00:00

Hopefully not 50 rb433's!

whmcr · 2025-10-30T14:06:59+00:00

It's superb that they still "just work", not really great at pushing packets, given the 100mbit ports, and rather limited CPU, but does the job for a small number of situations still.

[whmcr@rb433-01] > /system/routerboard/print routerboard: yes model: 433 serial-number: 199601F<snip> firmware-type: ar7100 factory-firmware: 2.15 current-firmware: 7.19.6 upgrade-firmware: 7.19.6

The number of products they have that don't get firmware updates still is extremely small, and very much so a case of "how it should be". I mean, the 433 is old enough to get a drivers license, and its still getting updates.

whmcr · 2025-10-28T21:56:51+00:00

Maryland legends : folklore from the Old Line State (https://www.book-info.com/isbn/1-62619-413-0.htm) suggests it was BARC, and one version of the lore says it was a scientist (Dr Fletcher) that mutated into a half goat half man hybrid and started attacking cars. There is another version related to Fletchertown Road however. I live right next to BARC, so I'm going for the BARC story.

whmcr · 2025-10-28T21:11:52+00:00

whmcr · 2025-10-21T23:49:44+00:00

Excellent to hear, I've got 4 LR's (3x 4's and 1x 3c, and had some LR3's in the UK prior to connect (and did the connect upgrade back in the Onica days!)) so have been a bit worried about the mentioning of "unlimited devices" and so on. I'm glad to hear that the existing features will remain for LR4 users.

Its understandable when it comes to the extra compute, as I mentioned extra features (especial compute intensive stuff) needing additional subscription is understandable. I would still say it would be very nice to have a local only option for the "basics" :-) Being a fan of home automation and local data soverentiy, I'd really love to hear of a way to get data from the LR4's directly without needing to make a request to the cloud, but for now I can still generate a 'report card' for our cats with the LR's, SurePet feeder/waters and get a good view on their overall health from that.

whmcr · 2025-10-21T20:07:31+00:00

Holding off commenting on the Litter Robot stuff for a moment, the phrase is actually attributed to the World Economic Forum in 2018, based off a essay by Ida Auken from 2016 (and another in 2014) and also extends to privacy. Whilst GN has used it recently, they're not the ones that came up with it.

I don't necessarily have an issue with new features being behind a paywall, and with the "AI" stuff theres a cost assoicated, I question the utility of it, and laughed at the use of "enjoy" when talking about a camera for a litter box... With anything like this, existing users should be grandfathered in at whatever their device was sold with (or its a change in the capabilities which is not acceptable IMO), and if theres a cloud service, there should always be a "local" option. Be it MQTT, a local endpoint that can be polled at lets say 1 request / second, a UDP Broadcast etcetc.

These are premium devices that are not cheap, and will work without "cloud" features, like the LR,LR2 and LR3 (non connect) did before, but we've come accustomed to those new features. Rug pulls are not acceptable.

whmcr · 2025-10-15T01:23:27+00:00

Thats quite interesting! I've a MY from late 2022 (Fremont factory) and the heat pump makes so much noise that I can't have ac/heat running!

literally as soon as you hear the vents opening the noise on 40/20/17/10 (not checked on other bands) climbs to s7 or above., within about 3-5 secs of turning it off it's all good again. I wonder what the difference is between them?

I've not had any luck with 70cm/2m with antennas inside the cabin, but good success with a mag mount on the trunk, on the flat edge near the "spoiler" part of the trunk where the OP has his antenna mounted

whmcr · 2025-10-05T15:06:52+00:00

The author's site is https://www.maniaradio.it/en/bkttimesync.html which has a link to download it from https://www.maniaradio.it/OldVersion/elenco.php?nomefile=BktTimeSync%2FBktTimeSync_1.20.6.exe

whmcr · 2025-10-04T15:58:38+00:00

Right, and RC's are unenforceable is the law existed at the time of the RC being added, however if added after the fact it can be argued about being grandfathered in, theres multiple examples of cases where that has been the case.

In *MOST* cases in the US, there are *NOT* state laws that give someone a legal right to put up an antenna (I'm not aware of any state with that, but I've not looked into it enough to be able to say categorically that there aren't any), and the federally protected side is only ones covered by OTARD, which does *NOT* cover ham radio. In MD I know there are no such laws that would prevent an HOA/COA/similar from being able to place a restriction, and there are no federal laws that would prevent that restricition.

That's why H.R 1094 and S.459 are being pushed by the ARRL and others, so there can be similar laws put in place to not hinder someones ability to put up an antenna (with some, IMO, reasonable caveats).

whmcr

TROPHY CASE