Author Archives: Dan

January 5, 2013
23:18
by: Dan

Managing ECX 2013 Logistics with Drupal

If you know me, you know that one of my favorite events each year is the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race. No, I’m not a big fan of dogs, or sleds, but when you put the two together, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux, Radio Tagged , , , ,

August 8, 2012
03:01
by: Dan

9600 baud packet on a Kenwood TK-840

The Kenwood TK-840 is a nice commercial UHF radio that is starting to go for $50-$100 on eBay due to the fact that it is not narrow-band capable. It is happy in the ham bands, has a good screen, excellent … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware, Radio Tagged , , ,

June 28, 2012
19:18
by: Dan

Field Day 2012

This past weekend was the 2012 ARRL Field Day, which is the biggest amateur radio event of the year in the US. The reason it’s called field day is that you’re supposed to get out into the field and operate … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio Tagged , , , , ,

May 9, 2012
15:26
by: Dan

Low-latency continuous rsync

Okay, so “lowish-latency” would be more appropriate. I regularly work on systems that are fairly distant, over relatively high-latency links. That means that I don’t want to run my editor there because 300ms between pressing a key and seeing it … Continue reading →

Posted in Codemonkeying Tagged , ,

March 14, 2012
02:52
by: Dan

The beauty of automated builds

Just about any developer knows that if you’ve got even a moderately complicated project, you have to have automated builds. This helps to ensure not only that the builds you provide to the public are consistent, but also that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Codemonkeying Tagged , , , , ,

February 8, 2012
21:06
by: Dan

Update your FT-817, FT-857, or FT-897 with the new 60 meter channel

In the US starting in 2003, amateurs have had a secondary allocation of five specific channels in the 60 meter band. Unlike most other allocations, these are restricted to phone emissions in upper sideband, with a maximum of 50 watts … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware, Radio Tagged , , , ,

January 15, 2012
23:52
by: Dan

Returning to the scene of the crime(s)

The SOTA rules allow you to summit each point once per year for credit. That means that as of January 1st, all 26 spots from last year are fair game. Last weekend, Taylor and I returned to Barlow Ridge (W7/CN-028 … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio Tagged

January 1, 2012
02:07
by: Dan

Post-Christmas SOTA activity

The day after Christmas, my wife (Taylor, K7TAY) and I headed to Sisters to stay in one of our favorite places: Five Pine Lodge in Sisters, Oregon. We planned the trip as a post-holiday getaway, but wanted to work in … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio Tagged ,

December 24, 2011
04:26
by: Dan

A five-point SOTA day…the hard way

Today was the last day of the first phase of my Christmas vacation. It differs from next week in that I was alone during the weekdays. I figured I should take the opportunity to snag a few more “easy” summits … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio Tagged

November 28, 2011
19:58
by: Dan

SOTA Roundup

Wow, no updates here since July! The all-consuming activity that has kept me from doing so is the topic of this hiatus-breaking post. Since about mid-August, I have been playing a game called SOTA, which stands for Summits On The Air. … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio Tagged