Ramblings of yet another nerd…
So, I posted a while ago about my SDRTrunk setup using a USB hub and a couple RTL-SDR sticks. This setup worked, but I wanted it to be more capable, so I bought 4 new RTL-SDR sticks to set up something more permanent. Since I was planning ahead, I picked up four 8″ MCX to …
Read More Another SDRTrunk update
Another solution in search of problems, right? I work every day with spectrum analyzers and receivers – so it’s natural that they would have a place on my workbench. When aligning radios and checking performance, they are invaluable. One issue is that even older SAs hold some value, and, let’s face it… I’m cheap. A …
Read More Cable Modem Spectrum Analyzer
This is a short post… just something I didn’t want to lose, and can no longer find the original source for. The talk permit and post-call tones are, to say the least, obnoxious. I far prefer the tones used by my XTS series radio for P25, or even those used by the XPR radios for …
Read More Anytone 878 – Talk Permit Tones
I’ll start with the link: In the past, I’ve tried manually configuring networks, with no luck – but by copying the above networks (I disabled DMR+, just because I don’t have a need for it) and replacing the DMR ID, it just WORKS. (verified by making a call to 4009990… the parrot on TGIF). To …
Read More DMR – Multiple Networks on a single MMDVM
In this installation of my rambling… how did I physically install the radios. This one is not entirely groundbreaking. Both pros and well disciplined amateurs have been using modular or sacrificial board, plates, trays, etc., to install equipment and wiring. Such objects can then be moved between vehicles (like from a wrecked cruiser to a …
Read More Mobile Install 3.0… Equipment Installation
So…. this is as good a place as any to discuss this concept. In many professional applications, the power harness for the radio has a long positive lead that is intended to go to the battery from anywhere in the vehicle (radios are often installed in trunks, right?) and a shorter return lead with a …
Read More Mobile Install 3.0… Ground versus return…
As I said, there’s going to be more to come on this. Shortly after publishing my last entry on this overall topic, I realized that this was something I wanted to discuss at some length. On previous installs, I was a FIRM believer in soldering ALL of my connections. I had the belief that the …
Read More Mobile Install 3.0… physical attachment of wires to things
Let me start by stating one thing. I am NOT in the same ballpark as a professional 2-way installer. Those guys do hundreds of installs a year, and have methods and reasons for doing what they do. What it takes me an hour to do, they can do something functionally equivalent in 5 minutes. My …
Read More Mobile Install 3.0… a Journey towards an end product…
So another mobile install, and more worries about how much space I have for wire….. things are always tight. I’ve been trying to plan this one out a bit, and started looking for ampacity charts. For the most part, they agree, but there’s always that question of “chassis wiring” versus whatever the other category is. …
Read More Wire gauge – what is really overkill?
About a year ago, I started cooking with cast iron after our pediatrician recommended it to help with my daughters iron levels. My biggest fear was cleanup- every cast iron pan I had seen in stores was sandy looking, and them at would seem to hold food and be a pain to clean. Enter the …
Read More In the kitchen… Cast Iron