I was listening to Amateur Radio Newsline to a story about a lightweight balloon payload that crossed from Great Britain to Sweden carrying a payload which weighed less than 100 grams and using just 10mw. I thought that was cool, so I googled around and located these neat instructions on building a lightweight GPS tracker. The same could be used to log information on an RC airplane too. Stashed for later.

Having written the previous FFT based implementation of Conway’s life, we can easily implement life variants with larger neighborhoods which run just as fast. This is a variant called Bugs, which has a neighborhood of radius 5, and includes the center square. If it is “alive” and has between 34 and 58 neighbors (inclusive), it remains alive. If it is “dead”, it is born if it has between 34 and 45 neightbors (again, inclusive). This rule is a simple modification of the code I previously posted, and computes generations in the same time as the simpler Conway neighborhood. Neat!

For reasons which continue to escape me, Mark decided to let me try to take up another of his planes this morning. Last week, I took his EzFly up, with the net result of a mangled prop (which caused the heavy vibration in last week’s video) a cracked wing (repaired with Foam Tack, good as new) and a divot out of the prop slot. Oh well. This week, he let me take up attempt to wreck his Easy Star. I managed to have almost ten minutes of flight before it got significantly downrange, and I got confused about the orientation against the bright cloud cover, and I put it in the ground.

The EasyStar is a pretty nice plane, with a 6″ prop configured in as a pusher. It’s got a nice bay to hold batteries etc… and we velcro’d my $8 keychain video camera onto the top surface, with a slight downward angle so we would mostly be looking toward the ground even in level flight. The overall proportions are remarkably similar to the proportions of Experimental Airlines Axon that I’m currently working toward scratch building, so I thought it would be a good training session for my ultimate goal of flying something I built. The Easy Star has a typical three channel rudder/elevator/throttle setup, unlike the EzFly that I did last week, which had elevon control. I found the feel to be a bit different: the EzFly’s greater dihedral made it self level, and I found the elevon control a little easier to get the hang of. Still, I did rather well, right up until…

I let the plane get fairly far downrange, and I suffered a classic case of perspective reversal. I thought it was coming at me, when it was in fact going away. I got the thing too far out of level trying to turn, and couldn’t recover. I bonked it into the ground (a considerable distance away). The hatch and camera both popped off, no big deal, but I also had a minor stabilizer issue:

Mark was quite gracious, and assured me a quick repair with some Foam Tack would render it “good as new”. But when I returned, I priced a replacement: $12. I think Mark gets to have lunch on me sometime in the near future. I’m also thinking that I’m going to make a duplicate of the Axon for him, just because he’s been so patient with me.

In any case, we did recover the camera and video, and it does show some nice views. Before you watch the video, you might want to turn down the sound. But it should be noted that I did actually cut the motor entirely in spots, and just glided around. All you hear is just the wind noise. Pretty neat.

A view of the Berkeley Marina

Mark H (on the right) and myself (left) viewed from the plane

And here’s the vid:

Steve, K9ZW wrote an interesting post on his blog: Where are the Positive Hams? And How to Tell? – Part I « With Varying Frequency – Amateur Radio Ponderings. I understand what he’s saying, and while I don’t think it’s wrong per se, I think my own opinions are somewhat at right angles to the ideas he expresses.

It is important to realize that there is no single activity which characterizes “real” ham radio. It’s a whole bunch of diverse activities linked by the need to be licensed to use amateur frequencies. Ham radio is public safety and contesting. Homebrewing and antennas. Repeaters and EME. Digital modes and morse. Voice and SSTV. And so on. No one mode or activity is any more “real” than any others. It’s up to us as individuals to become licensed and explore the areas which interest us. We seek out others with similar interests and perhaps greater expertise to help us enhance our own enjoyment of our hobby.

We should remember: it is a hobby. It’s not an obligation, a calling or a job.

Steve writes:

Seems that some of us in the hobby have become forgetful of the debt we owe our Elmers (Mentors) and our fellow hams who helped us learn more about this hobby.

And here’s the thing: I don’t believe that any such debt exists. The mentoring that we do in ham radio isn’t a burden, it’s just another facet of the diverse hobby. If someone doesn’t wish to be a mentor, there is no reason for them to be one, and that’s okay. If someone is a mentor, it can only be because they gain pleasure from doing it, and therefore no “debt” from student to mentor is “owed”. As a mentor, I gain pleasure from helping others learn, and more often than not, find my own understanding increasing as I explain stuff that I already “know”. I think it makes as much sense to talk about the debt that mentors owe to students, for taking the time to perpetuate the activities that we have found interesting and engaging, and providing a rich, growing community for greater exploration and enjoyment.

I also find this idea of “debt” to be a bit self-serving: the ham radio “elite” tell us that Elmers are important, so important that anyone it seems that anyone who doesn’t apprentice themselves to an Elmer can’t experience the “real” ham radio that they should. It’s nice to think so, because it places the newly licensed in a position where they need Elmers (and by Elmers, we mean “people like us”) and that perpetuates our own sense of importance. But it’s an unnatural distinction: mentors are students, and students can be mentors. There is no magic transition that occurs where the student becomes the master. Once we begin to think of ourselves as masters, it can become easy to think that we’ve arrived, and to stop challenging ourselves to learn and to achieve. Rather than finding mentors, we need to find people who are doing and sharing.

So, I think the question isn’t really finding “positive” hams, it’s finding hams who are doing interesting things, and who are willing to share their experiences with you to inspire you. Whether you can find those in your local area is a bit of a hit and miss prospect: some clubs are engaged, fun, vibrant communities. Others are stodgy, old boy networks that talk a lot but do little. Luckily, even if your local clubs are more the latter, the Internet provides a great resource to find these people. Through YouTube, websites and mailing lists, we can find the people who are both doing, and taking the time to share those experiences with you, even if they don’t know you personally.

I don’t worry about finding “positive hams”. I just ignore the negative ones, life is too short. Do what you like. Look around for people doing the things you like. Share what you like. The rest will work itself out.

We also have to recognize that ham radio (or the parts of ham radio we happen to love) isn’t for everyone. Steve wrote:

Look at the number of amateurs who somehow can’t even interest their own family in the hobby – what sad things is that saying?

This isn’t sad at all. People get to pick the hobbies which make them happy. Get some perspective!

What do you all think?

I’m down to 10 states remaining for a JT65 WAS: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. I think I have outstanding QSOs for at least one of those, so soon I hope to be down to single digits. If you are a ham who does JT65 in any of those states, keep an eye out for K6HX, and give me a shout, and then confirm our QSO via LoTW.

Today would have marked the 100th birthday of Alan Turing. Turing’s contributions in artificial intelligence and computing alone would have guaranteed his place among the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, but that was only a small part of his genius. His pioneering work on cryptography at Bletchley Park allowed the British to crack the German Enigma code, with the likely result of shortening the war by years, saving millions of lives. Tragically, he was persecuted for his homosexuality, and committed suicide before his 42nd birthday. The savior of millions could not find acceptance in the society he helped preserve.

In a 2009 official apology from the British government:

Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him … So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, 2009

Amen. Happy Birthday, Alan.

A few days ago I wrote about my experience building the OpenBeacon, and Jason Mildrum, NT7S, it’s creator was nice enough to happen by my blog and leave a comment. In that original article, I said that the instructions were (and I quote) “barely adequate”. Jason asked (perhaps more politely than was truly deserved) what I meant and how he could make the instructions clearer so that someone could build the kit with greater confidence.

A very class act, I must say.

First, I should mention that I find no mistakes in the instructions. I built it as described, and it worked the very first time. I don’t think any experienced kit builder will have any difficulty getting the kit to work.

But I think instructions as they written make assembly a little less smooth than they could be. Here are my specific suggestions.

• First, I thought it was odd that the BOM was the only place that you could find the component values. For instance, if you are marching down the component list, and you see you need to install Q4, you have to refer to a different document (in my video, you can see me hopping back and forth on my iPad) to find out what Q4 actually is. It really wouldn’t be that hard to expand each of these with the actual component value in line.
• It would be nice to clarify the general way idea of how it’s going to be assembled. First the USB/Microcontroller. Then the oscillator. Then the power amp. Although I actually found it simpler to mount pretty much all the caps and resistors first, and then worry about the rest, but that’s nit picking. It would also be nice to have a diagram showing the components installed in each stage to help you navigate a bit easier and check for errors.
• I built the kit while working from the BOM as it was displayed on my iPad, but I kind of like instructions that have a checklist that you can check off as you do each part. Helps keep me organized.
• Link the schematic on the same page. At one point I powered on the microcontroller, and D7 wasn’t lit. I consulted the schematic, and then realized that it was driven by the 2N7000, which I had forgotten to install. It would be nice to have that handy.
• The troubleshooting page is linked from the top of the page, which isn’t typically where you need it (put a link at each place where you make a check perhaps). When a check fails, you won’t have to search for where to go.

For all that, I’m nitpicking: I shouldn’t have used the words “barely adequate”. They are entirely adequate, just not as conveniently organized as I would like. I think a section describing a calibration procedure for the WSPR mode might be nice too.

My OpenBeacon is off the air until next week, but expect it back shortly, in a more temperature-controlled enclosure. And thanks to Jason for the cool kit.

I’m currently working toward something something which I don’t normally do: an achievement award. For about two months, I’ve been trying to log contacts via the JT65 mode on ham radio, with the eventual goal of making contacts in every state. It’s not a particularly difficult award: I suspect that it will mostly require patience to get the remaining states, but it’s been kind of fun, and has made me pay attention to propagation, and make at least a minor improvement to my antenna setup. As of today, I have 33 confirmed states, with unconfirmed contacts in several others. The states I have remaining are:

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

It’s amazing that I’ve managed to somehow avoid Nevada and Oregon: you’d think they would be easy, but for whatever reason, my signals seem to skip right over them. And of course, some states are hard to get just because of the low ham population. I’ll be stalking NT5HS a bit, which is a club station listed in Texas, but in fact operates remotely from a station in South Dakota. I’ve tried a couple of Maine stations before, but had difficulty reaching them.

Anyway, I’m having fun. If any of my readers lives in one of my “to do” states above, try looking for me on 20m (with occasional diversions to 15m and 40m) and see if I can’t put you in the logbook.

I’ve got something like 30 states worked via JT65 over the last month or so, but I’ve obviously heard a lot more than that. I took my listening log, extracted all the U.S. callsigns, and then wrote a simple Python/sqlite script to look up each state for the callsign, and see how many states I’ve actually heard. It came out with 49 states. A quick perusal showed that I didn’t receive any calls from Wyoming or South Dakota. A moment’s further inspection showed that I had received several calls from Washington, DC, which accounted for the discrepancy.

Here’s the breakdown of stations heard by state:

AK KL7YK
AL KF4RWA, KI4PG, KK4A, KK4AFS, N4AU, ND4Q, W4YXU, WB4KDI
AR AC5EI, AE5ZZ, K5DTE, K5XH, KF5HTK, KO6FU, W5TT
AZ AC7LB, AE7CD, K0TW, K3WYC, K7DTB, K7KDX, K7LOL, K7TEJ, KB7RLY, KD7PMS,
   KM3N, N1LS, N7AMA, N7GDP, N7NEV, N7SKV, N7THN, NO7P, NR5O, W7PP,
   W8FDV, WM7CH
CA AA6TF, AC6JA, AG6IP, AK1P, K0CFI, K6AZR, K6CLS, K6DKY, K6EU, K6HX,
   K6SID, KB6J, KC6OVG, KD6HQ, KD6MHL, KD6NJE, KF6XE, KG6AF, KG6WIK,
   KI4MI, KI6HS, KI6UAL, KI6VJY, KI6YAA, KJ6CC, KJ6DQR, KJ6RKZ, KO6KL,
   N3PV, N4SF, N6BO, N6BRP, N6BX, N6OL, N6RRY, N6TE, N6WS, N7LMV, NM3S,
   NM6W, NN6XX, W6DTW, W6KAP, W6ONG, W6QB, W6TQV, WA6ALA, WA6OWM, WB6EZH,
   WB6RLC, WB6ZXM, WO6M
CO AA0DW, AB0YM, AC0ZL, K0BAM, K0SU, KB0QC, KC0ONP, KD0BIK, KF0QZ, KI0J,
   N0SMX, NN0G, W0GLB, W0QL, W0RGD, W7RTX, WB4CIW
CT AG2K, WA1NGH, WF1G
DC AB3UM, N3ES, N8HM
DE AB3OF, K3BH, W3MLK
FL AD5ZA, AJ4LU, AJ4WC, K4EOD, K4LRP, K4TFT, KA4USN, KB4VC, KJ4YAC,
   KK4CIS, KK4XO, N4ABN, N6AR, ND3H, W4DAS, W4JCM, W4TV, W9IL, WA4KBD,
   WB8VQU
GA AB4RH, K2TOD, K4CHC, K4GB, K4LDC, KI4UMX, N3XX, N4LXB, N4MEP, N4PHT,
   W4ED, W4KDA, WB4WTN
HI KH6OO
IA AA0N, AC0XY, N0GR, WA0EIR, WU0U
ID KF7GMV, N7OQF, W7URX
IL K9EEI, K9JKM, K9PLX, KA9BHD, KA9CCH, KA9RXK, KB9ILT, KC9MEG, KC9NWH,
   KC9UNL, N9APK, N9FYX, N9GRG, N9OQW, N9SS, NG9R, W9RVG, W9YX, WA9KXZ,
   WA9MNF, WD9IOK
IN K9JUI, K9MQ, KC9NBV, KY9J, N9ACD, N9FDF, N9WKW, N9WVM, W9FFA, WB9IIV,
   WC0Y
KS AE0AR, KI0KK, W0PSK
KY K9AAN, KA4OJN, KD7YZ, KV4AJ, N9DFD, WA4PBM, WB4ZFO
LA AA5AU, AE5VB, K4QAL, KB5GA, NF5Z, NO5L, W5ADD, W5GAD
MA K1HFR, KB1ESR, KB1UIF, KT1B, N1GJ, N1MGO, NZ1MT, W1BS, W1MA, W1UU,
   W1XP, WA1GPO
MD AB3RS, K3IO, KB3VQH, N3FHW, N3KV, W2JVE, WA3MEJ
ME KA1QW, N1IPA, N7GLR, W1BFA, W2ZEN, W3HBM
MI KB8RMX, KC8GTX, KD8CXQ, KD8OTT, KD8RV, KG8OC, N8BB, NZ8V
MN K0JWC, KA0UEH, KB0HQD, KB0MDQ, KC0OUZ, KC0YFC, N0UE, NA0F, ND0M,
   W0DYD, W0RSB
MO AC0LP, AC0MW, K0GK, K0TPP, KD0QJL, KD0QYN, KF0IQ, KG0KP, KL7QW, W0RL,
   W0TTN, WB0LCW
MS AE5SK, KB5WKQ, KD5NDU, N4UPX, N5GDM, W8DM
MT K7CPY, KS7R, NT7R
NC K4BSZ, K4YTE, KJ4DJ, KJ4OHK, KR4RO, N4JS, W4MPS, WB4M, WB4QIZ, WZ5X
ND KI0QS
NE K0LUW, NI0B, W0YF, WD0DMO
NH KB1GKN, KJ1J, W1MSN, W1YQ
NJ K2AFY, K2RH, KC2WUF, ND2K, WX2H
NM AB5Q, K5USF, KC5TY, W5GEM
NV AB7KT, AG7CM, KE7S, KK7CC, KS7DX, W7UV
NY KA2AEY, KC2MBV, KD2BIP, N2YZS, W2MDW, WA2GSX, WB2KEC, WB2SXY, WF2S
OH AA8EN, AC8FT, K0KC, K8GI, KC8HNZ, KD8BIN, KD8RDH, KN8DMK, N8IR, N8TL,
   N8XYN, NC8T, NT8Z, W8BI, W8MDG, WA8ICJ, WT8D
OK AF5Q, K5WPN, KB5LER, NZ5C, W5LE, WQ5O
OR AA7CU, AE7TO, K2NCC, K7JPF, K7TLP, KF7JGF, KK7CG, N7MQ
PA AD2L, AK3J, K3BS, K3DY, K3HR, K3NVI, K8WHA, KC3DS, KC3U, KT3L, N3MVX,
   N3WLB, N3YEA, NC3P, W3BI, W3HZL, W3RC, WA3CAS, WA3DNM, WA3ERQ, WA3NGU,
   WA3ZKZ, WD2RA
RI K1NPT
SC AI4GY, K4AMA, K4BTC, KG6MC, KJ4IZW, KJ4ZQX, KK4DSD, WB2GJD
TN AJ4HW, AK4DW, K4KQZ, K4PJO, K4TRH, KE4TG, KX4WB, ND2E
TX AA5KK, AE5TI, AF5BO, AK5V, K2OO, K5FRD, K5TCJ, K5WW, K5YUR, K6VNG,
   KD5HOP, KD5ZAT, KE5MC, KF5IAK, KF5MDZ, KN8KAZ, N5JWM, N5LYJ, N5VP,
   NA5AA, NO5B, NT5HS, NW5P, W0LPD, W5IPA, W5MDB, W5REM, WA5MS, WA5PGS
UT K7KKY, KJ2U, N7SMI, NS7B, WA7ADK, WE7BBQ
VA K0PT, K4LCM, KE4SAV, KJ4VTH, KU4FO, KX4P, N4ST, W4KZK, W7OTQ
VT AA1E, AB1NJ, K1LES, N2BJW, W1FNB, W1HRM
WA AC7IJ, AC7SG, AE7KI, K7LFY, K7MSC, KD7PCE, KK7UQ, NY7U, W7EWG, W7NBH,
   W7PI, W7SSK, W7VAN, WA7KPK, WA7SCH, WB7AJP, WE7P, WR7K
WI AB9DK, KA9SWE, KE9JF, KE9LZ, NA9J, WB9BJQ, WB9NRK
WV K8OHZ, KC8GCR, WB8QPG

Addendum: Here’s the states (32 of them) that I’ve worked over the last month.

AK KL5E, KL7YK, WL7BDO
AZ AC7LB, K7TEJ, KM3N, KW7E, N7NEV, NV1D, W8FDV
CA N6BX, N7LMV, W6KY, WA6OWM
CO AA0DW, AB0YM, KC0ZGK, NK0G
CT KB1UUB, WA1NGH
FL KK4XO, N4ABN
HI KH6GRT, KH6SAT
IA K8OM, N0GR
ID KF7GMV, N7OQF
IN N9WKW
LA W5ADD
MA KB1UIF
MD K3IO, K3VPZ, N3CAL
MI KK8MM
MO AC0MW, WD0ECA
MS N4UPX
NC KR4RO
NE WD0DMO
NH K1CF
NJ K2AFY, K2RH
NM KC5TY, WA5DJJ
NY KC2MBV, WA2GSX
OH N8TL, WT8D
OK AA5CK, AE5US, K5WPN
PA AD2L, W8IJ
PR NP3FS
SC N4ITM, WB2GJD
TX K5WW, N5LYJ, WA5MS
UT KJ2U
VA N4RP
WA AE7U, K7MSC, KE7WEG, W7PI, WB7AJP
WI AD9P, WB9SDD

Not a bad list, really, given how crappy my antenna is. Most of the DX was heard on 20m.

Alaska, Argentina, Asiatic Russia, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Curacao, Czech Republic, England,
Estonia, European Russia, Fed. Rep. of Germany, Finland, France,
Gabon, Guantanamo Bay, Hawaii, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Poland, Puerto Rico, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, US Virgin Islands, Ukraine, United
States, Venezuela

Last night the mailbox contained the latest copy of QST magazine, which always means at least a few minutes of interesting reading. I usually read the magazine more or less front to back, flipping through. I mostly enjoy technical content, but reading about other aspects of the hobby (contesting, etc…) as an interesting diversion.

Sadly, some things are more irritating than diverting, such as the “Letters from Our Members” on page 24. For the last couple of months, some insist on perpetuating the endless whining about the decreasing quality and experience of the newly licensed. Some small samples:

I feel that hams still need to spend at least two years in each license class before upgrading. I have always thought it was the Extra class licensees who we all looked up to because they had the experience that the lower license classes did not have.

Paul Eaton, KR4IN

Morse code is what distinguishes hams from other hobbyist wireless communicators; it’s really the only differentiator. …

The excuse about being handicapped might have great merit for some, but not for me. I know and have worked hams who are blind, deaf, and paraplegic many times. …

Steve Katz, WB2WIK

When I read stuff like that, it just makes me weary for our hobby, even more so that QST chooses to continue to devote inches of their magazine to give a soapbox to such counter-productive discourse.

Paul is basically trying to make the assertion that the Extra license used to mean something that it no longer does: that if someone held an Extra class license, you could be assured that they knew what they were doing, that they were the acme of our hobby. I would submit that it was never true: that as long as so-called “incentive licensing” has been around, the only thing that you could be reasonably assured of was that someone had taken the required tests and received a passing grade. The idea that an amateur license conveys some expertise in itself is just credentialism: it prevents you from actually having to through the effort of actually trying to determine the skills and knowledge of someone else before you pass judgement upon them. There are hams who hold the “lowly” Technician class licenses who are incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, and Extras of many decades who are not. Judging someone’s abilities based upon simple measures like how long they’ve been licensed or what class they achieved is fraught with peril.

A ham radio license is like a fishing license. It’s a way for the government to limit access to a scarce shared resource that they manage for the benefit for society. The government’s interest in testing you is to ensure that you use the resource in a way which is not harmful to other spectrum users, and without significant risk to the public. And that’s it. All the other items listed as purposes in Part 97 are our shared responsibility as hams: to self-train, to help our communities in times of emergency, and advance the radio arts. Those responsibilities are what all hams should aspire to do, regardless of license class, regardless of experience level.

And Morse as the “only differentiator”? Sigh.

First of all, I wonder just who these other “hobbyist wireless communicators” are that Steve is referring to? Is he talking about CBers? People who use the FRS or MURS? Or perhaps the myriad wireless users of Part 15 based wireless access points? It’s true, most/all of these services do not use Morse, but is that the only differentiator? Really? As hams, we are empowered by our license to build our own equipment and operate on frequencies and modes which are not available to the operators of any of these other radio services. And of course we are challenged to train and learn more about radio, which was never really a cultural component of any of the other “hobbyist” wireless options. Surely those distinguish us rather strongly from these other services.

And the fact that Steve does not accept the fact that there are people whose handicaps could keep them from passing a Morse code test does not actually mean that such people do not exist. But more than that: why should a parapalegic or deaf person have to struggle more to become a radio amateur than someone without these physical difficulties? After all, there are plenty of able bodied hams who struggled to pass these tests, only to never use Morse again. The service is not enriched by such people or their struggle. It’s simply not relevant.

Hams like Steve and Paul are dinosaurs: clinging to a view of ham radio that’s not healthy or relevant. The credential doesn’t mean what Paul thinks it should. The importance of Morse is much, much slimmer than Steve thinks it is. Neither attitude encourages anyone to participate in this great hobby. They are just beating a dead horse.