Shack dismantling

January 30, 2024April 6, 2024

Looks like I am out of action for a few days. We noticed a bulge in the kitchen ceiling which is directly under the shack. There are two pipes that run across under the floor for hot and cold water to the taps and down from the hot water cylinder to the rest of the house. Yes, you guessed it, right under my desk. So, all the radios, screens, Mac and PCs, audio stuff and all cabling out and desk out. On lifting the carpet the floorboard I needed to lift ran right across the room, and right under the test bench! So, all the equipment had to move, including the allegedly portable spectrum analyser and the teleprinter. Fortunately GB7RVB and all the network gear is on shelving attached to the wall so that can stay.

And there is was, one leaking lead to copper joint. Far too late to go and get the bits to fix it… and searching for the parts by smartphone is not amusing. Grumble.

Remembering the old school dial-up BBS

January 21, 2024

All this packet radio progressing around the place reminds me of a time long ago, pre-Internet where dial-up BBSs became the new thing in town. Back then I had a BBC Micro and a modem that ran at two speeds – I forget which now (will edit later!) and I persuaded my mum to get BT in to fit a socket rather than the hard-wired phone we had then. This let me plug the modem in. I used to use a BBS called ‘More Summer Wine’ plus one other but I forgot the name. Much of the activity back then is lost in the mist of time (or rather I just can’t remember) but sending and receiving mail was fun. BBS systems were all a part of the wider FidoNet. Mail would be routed between the various BBS systems, many of which only had the one telephone line and so would be inaccessible while that was happening. Indeed, they were mostly single user anyway, although if the sysop was there you could message them via the console of the BBS which was probably sitting in someone’s bedroom. I am reminded of the many times I would set the BBC and modem up on the hall floor because we only had the one telephone socket. In fact, it would be quite some time between then and when we finally got broadband Internet which for us was not until the later 1990s in our new home.

During that time and working in academia I had routine access to networks and mail and so interest in the BBS systems dwindled. There was a time before the winder Internet became available where we could gain network access to remote systems, all typically mini- or mainframe computers. One such system ran a MUD – Multi-user Dungeons and Dragons – another angle to remote access but this time for gaming rather than BBS. That provided an introduction to online chatrooms because the MUD we used to play on had that feature. One could not only progress through the game but also exchange messages online, the latter becoming the wanted feature vice the game itself.

And here we are. I was never involved in packet radio when it first came to be, but now it has reminded me a lot of those old days of the dial-up BBS.

And FidoNet? It is still there https://www.fidonet.org/

See: https://spectrum.ieee.org/social-medias-dialup-ancestor-the-bulletin-board-system

Losing face(book)

January 8, 2024January 11, 2024

I’ve been a member of Facebook for many years, joining since before it became the advertising behemoth it is today. Back then I did make fairly regular use of it to interact with friends and colleagues as well as groups. But my use of it dwindled to reading group posts and posting ‘happy birthday’ messages. But I kept it.

As hobbies changed with time and retirement I joined several new groups. Again, really all I did was read posts.

At some stage during this time I also began to use Messenger. I now find that I rarely get any use out of Facebook and only have two contacts in Messenger that I do not have elsewhere. So I thought it time to get rid of Facebook. That did not go as planned!

First, the Messenger app on the Mac decided it would log me out and I cannot log back in. I get as far as the 2FA challenge where it allegedly sends me a text which never arrives. Three goes at that and I just deleted the app, life is too short.

Then I went into Facebook and after being bounced around between Facebook and the overarching Meta sites I was a given a choice of disabling my Facebook account and keeping Messenger, or deleting my Facebook account – which was my aim – but losing Messenger as well.

Choices, choices… so I’ve disabled it pending contacting my only two Messenger contacts and asking them if they have WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal. Hopefully they do, and Facebook can be assigned to (my) history.

Update: 11/1/24 YES! Both contacts use WhatsApp, so… Facebook deleted. Or it will be after 30 days apparently, in case I change my mind (fair enough, nice to have a cooling off period)

Lost images

November 12, 2023November 13, 2023

Drat, double drat and triple drat. When I moved URLs about this blog, reconstituted from the original before I briefly moved to Write Freely, was all fine. But I overlooked the fact that the WordPress database held onto the old URLs in all the images. So all the original posts that had images now have blank space. I am working my way back through these to sort each post out. Annoyingly it is not just a straight URL swap as there were differences in the older version of WordPress as was, so I need to remove and re-add each one. Oh well…

Update: I think I found and fixed them all.

Activitypub

October 26, 2023October 27, 2023

I have removed the Activitypub plugin that was supposed to make it possible to follow this blog from the Fediverse. I was the only follower and it never seemed to work anyway. Less baggage.

Back on WordPress…

October 12, 2023

After a brief expedition to Write Freely I have moved back to WordPress. I had kept a copy of the old WordPress site so actually moving was not that bad other than adding in 4 or 5 posts and associated images…

Reducing one’s digital footprint

August 12, 2023

Five years+ on from retiring I no longer feel the need to tell the world my continuing story via the likes of Facebook. I actually only came to Facebook to find out what other people were saying, principally about my employer. I engaged a little with LinkedIn but never in any serious fashion and I deleted my LinkedIn presence a few months ago. As to Twitter, well, I think in all the years I held an account I sent five tweets. I deleted that account too since I moved to Mastodon. I have since deleted all my Facebook posts and all photos on Instagram and Facebook. I kept the accounts but will no longer engage with either, not even to post ‘likes’. From having my name at the bottom of several thousand web pages over three decades I reckon now it’s only on my own blog. Oh, and my Ph.D. thesis which is online. And I think that’s a good place to be.

The fine art of equipment repair

April 15, 2021

While viewing the UKuG webcast last night I lost the RHS sound in the headphones. Fiddling with the wire made no difference. The headphones in question are plugged into an audio mixer that connects the radios and PCs. Checking the speakers which are on a different output from the mixer showed the same issue, LHS sound only. As I wanted to watch the webcast I unplugged the headphones and plugged them directly into the MacBook, restoring the audio.

Today, I pulled the mixer out and checked all the plugs. Checking audio from the FT450D showed it, too was only LHS. Hmmm. Figuring out it was probably time to take the mixer apart as fiddling with the pan and level knobs and main slider made no difference I caught one of the push buttons and heard a crackle. Pressing this a couple of times solved the issue. I do like these faults, just fiddle with everything and swear at it to fix. Brings back memories of the house TV in ancient times that would sometimes need a good thump! Very scientific…

Now, do I bother finding the switch cleaner or leave it well alone and hope I remember which switch to abuse next time…

Workshop ramblings

May 12, 2020

Been rearranging the workshop today because I ended up spreading stuff about rather illogically. I also wanted to add some boards to the roof joists to stop leaves blowing in – the eaves are open and the shed is not insulated. It’s surprising how difficult it is to manoeuvre and fit an 8’x4′ foot plywood sheet into an 8’2″ x 4’6″ space on your own! Anyway, the aim of todays mudding was to prepare for getting all the components and bits and bobs over to one side and to extend the ‘projects waiting to be started’ shelf which was full! All the woodwork is done now and just needs some shelves and boxing to sort out.

Oh yes and there is still the matter of running some SWA Cat6 cable out from the garage which involves lifting flags, digging a trench and other adventures.

This work is partly in preparation for Project QO100 as well as the model railway which will go where the components are now. Any heavy work is now all at one end and all electronics and servicing type stuff at the other, roughly 50/50. Pics will follow once I can actually see the benches and it doesn’t just look like everything has exploded.

Stupid connectors

December 5, 2019

So, new TV, empty space in bedroom, TV point and Ethernet points nearby, all I had to do was finish the wiring (left unconnected as it was not needed 15 years ago!) and scan for channels. Simple.

OK. So I had a splitter and then found a smaller one so used that. Stuck it to the wall in the airing cupboard, wired in the CT125 coming down from the loft and two TV coax runs to the two bedrooms, and connected the other end of the CT125 to the aerial distribution amp in the wiring closet. Turned the TV on and it began scanning. And found very little. Hmmm. Well, it found the HD channels but would not receive them.

Out with the meter. Connectivity fine from the splitter to the TV, so blamed the splitter and wired in the larger one. Rescanned. Same thing. Got a barrel connector and bypassed the splitter. No difference. Went to the wiring closet and checked the connection there… which I had plugged into the DAB aerial feed input, rather than a TV output!

Put the smaller splitter back in and fitted the cables again and all is well.

Ugh.

Mike Zero Romeo Victor Bravo

Ramblings of a radio amateur

Category: General