Glitch in the Matrix

About a month or so ago a strange thing began happening with my iPhone. When I looked at the photo album collection, occasionally there would be a photo I couldn’t identify, and was certain I hadn’t taken. These would disappear after a minute or two and I joked with my kids that the ghost of some old Welsh witch was trying to send me clues about who killed her.

It was odd and I wondered aloud if it wasn’t possible that photos from other iCloud accounts were being slipped in and then back out of my photo collection for some reason. No one knew or had heard of such a thing, but with hundreds of millions of iCloud users round the globe it just seemed to me like a plausible explanation, unless I was to begin believing in ghosts.

Then this morning I saw this little news flurry:

A Glitch Is Causing People To Hear Voices Coming From Their iPhone

Suddenly my mystery photo explanation seemed more plausible. Stuff happens and data in the cloud can get scrambled, swirled around, and eventually put back into place. Kinda like the Star Trek transporter. And when it happens, it can feel like a glitch in the Matrix, but there is a perfectly rationale explanation for it.

On the other hand, it could be paranormal…


Updated POTA Hunting Stats

The quest to work activators in a thousand unique parks continues, slowly. I’ve been casually hunting POTA parks for a few years when I decided that enough was enough and I was going to end the hunt, but I wanted a clean stopping point. I had about 700 uniques in the log at that point so I set my sites on making it an even 1,000 before pulling the plug. Almost all of my contacts have been made via CW and there are only so many activators who use the mode, and as you might expect, these often stick close to one area making the run to a thousand a little more challenging. On top of that, I don’t use any software aids that would alert me to “needed” activations.

As of this morning, I’m at 821 unique parks worked.


Morning DX Patrol

Band conditions weren’t very favorable in the pre-dawn hours this morning though a few nuggets of gold were found. I struck out on 40 CW where I could copy a POTA station (VK2IO/P) in NSW, but never received a response. Moving to 20 FT8 there were several VK’s calling but not much activity. Until FY/WE9G in French Guiana popped up in the waterfall and I managed to work him after a few calls. Strong signal into the US as you might expect. LoTW and Club Log confirmation followed in real time. That was my first FY via digital and only 2nd overall station worked in Fr. Guiana for me. I have FY5KE on several bands on CW, but that’s it. Rikk is there from November 15-23.

Also worked VI100IARU a special event station in Melbourne. Now time for coffee…


Amateur Satellite Marks 50 Years

Longest-serving satellite OSCAR-7 marks 50 years in orbit

Launched on November 15, 1974, OSCAR-7, a micro satellite, continues its mission 50 years after its launch, serving as a vital asset for amateur radio operators globally. It holds the title of the oldest operational satellite, predating the launch of NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 by three years. OSCAR-7 belongs to a series of amateur radio satellites known as OSCARs (Orbital Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio), built by volunteers from the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT).

via SpaceDaily


Field Day 2024 Results

ARRL reports over a million contacts made during Field Day 2024…

Results are published, and the numbers are in. They paint a picture of a very active 2024 ARRL Field Day. Nearly 1.3 million contacts were reported during the 24-hour event. That is up from 2023’s 1.25 million contacts. That’s likely indicative of the continued rise of Solar Cycle 25 leading up to the event, but more people also participated this year.

Results are available on the ARRL Field Day website and in the December issue of QST.


Veterans Day

“We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them enobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.” – Ronald Reagan


Old Friend Arrives

An ‘Old Friend’ arrived this week. That is the direct conversion transceiver kit from Midnight Design Solutions (designed by K1SWL). I ordered the same day they became available only to find that first round sold out in a few hours and I missed the cut. I got into the 2nd round which might have been a good thing since a firmware update was included and the enclosures are now available.

The OLD FRIEND Transceiver™ is a single-board, 6 Watt Direct-Conversion Transceiver specifically designed by Dave Benson, K1SWL for CW operation on the 80m, 40m, 30m or 20m bands.

Since the first round has been in the wind for a month or so, there has been plenty of chatter about this kit and all of it has been good. I look forward to building mine for 20 meters after the first snow has fallen.

George, N2APB whose company is kitting the project produced a demo video showcasing the new transceiver.

$63 for the transceiver kit and another $20 for the custom enclosure and orders are open right now for the third round of assembly. Get ‘em while they’re available. Order here. Online discussion about the ‘OF’ takes place here.


VIM Developer Receives Posthumous Award

Bram Moolenaar is best known for developing VIM, a powerful, screen-based text editor. Released in 1991, Vim was originally a port of the Stevie editor for Amiga and has since become an indispensable tool for developers worldwide, available across multiple platforms. Moolenaar released Vim as “charityware,” encouraging users to support children in the south of Uganda through charitable donations.

Vim developer Bram Moolenaar posthumously receives the European SFS Award

This award commemorates Moolenaar’s unwavering dedication to help others to better understand computers and software. It gave him great pleasure to participate in conferences, explain the Free Software culture at his work place, and help others to develop and use his software. He wanted others to also experience this joy. “If you are happy, I am happy!” was one of his sayings. Moolenaar passed away on 3 August, 2023, due to a rapidly deteriorating illness. His legacy in the developer community and in social work is expected to continue.


You can't work 'em if you can't hear 'em

We attended an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio last week. The crowd enjoyed the game, at least until the visiting team kicked it into high gear. Sitting in Nationwide Arena I winced in pain from the noise. The raucous crowd, PA announcer, piped-in music at every stop in the action, along with that damn cannon that explodes each time the home team scores a goal amounted to an assault on my auditory senses. It was loud. My Apple Watch, which includes a decibel sensor, warned at peak moments of 115 dBA noise during the evening.

This is not a complaint against sporting events. I’ve attended a lot of them throughout my life and enjoyed every one of them and last Friday evening was no exception. When I was younger, I used to frequently attend rock concerts, one of those, an Elton John concert in 1976 billed as, “Louder Than Concorde” and it most certainly was. My ears buzzed for two days after the concert and the thought actually crossed my seventeen year-old mind that my hearing might have been damaged. Fortunately, it wasn’t.

Over the course of my working career I was fortunate to have employers and clients who insisted on hearing protection whenever I was in the vicinity of noisy equipment. I didn’t always appreciate it at the time, especially when I would walk onto the manufacturing floor having forgotten my hearing protection and would be instantly challenged to go back and get it. It seemed invasive at the time, but I came to appreciate that action as I added years to my resume.

Now retired, and a curmudgeonly wireless telegrapher, I proffer this stern warning about protecting your hearing. I frequently meet Morse enthusiasts who no longer pound the brass due to hearing loss, some a result of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss from a lifetime working around machines or other such sources of high noise.

Sound is measured in units called decibels. Sounds at or below 70 A-weighted decibels (dBA) are generally safe. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss.

  • Normal conversation: 60-70 dBA
  • Lawnmowers: 80 to 100 dBA
  • Sports events: 94 to 110 dBA
  • Sirens from emergency vehicles: 110 to 129 dBA
  • Fireworks: 140 to 160 dBA

Thirty minutes into the hockey game, as my ears began to complain about the noise, I kicked myself for not bringing earplugs along for the event, something I won’t forget next time. With each loud burst of noise I wondered if this would come back to haunt me as I continue my radio journey using Morse. I hope not. My hearing seems reasonably good for a 65 year-old man, but I’m well aware hearing is a perishable resource.

About 5% of adults ages 45-54 have disabling hearing loss. The rate increases to 10% for adults ages 55-64. 22% of those ages 65-74 and 55% of those who are 75 and older have disabling hearing loss.

When it comes to advice for a long, enjoyable amateur radio life, the protection of your hearing should be a high priority. It’s much more important than your radio hardware or any antennas. You can’t work ‘em if you can’t hear ‘em.

Related Links:


Days of Our Lives

Life continues it’s march to some conclusion here. We are past the leaf-peeping season in this area. Nothing but dark oranges and browns left to see and these breezy days and gravity are conspiring to bring a lot of them to the ground. We’ve only picked up a few bags of leaves so far, mulching them with the push mower is much easier. For now, but we have a really large soft maple tree in the front yards that is hanging on for dear life and when those finally do fall, it’s gonna be a big project getting them picked up.

I’ve been kicking around for a pristine pre-World War II Junker straight key. No easy task. I’ve seen lots of beat-up hardware, but I’d prefer to pay good money for a collector’s piece than to take on another restoration project.

The high temperature here today is supposed to be near 80F which makes it difficult to believe Halloween is just around the corner. There are a lot more trick-or-treaters in our new neighborhood and we enjoy the extra doorbell traffic. The day after Halloween we will travel 150 miles to Columbus, Ohio (250km) to see the Winnipeg Jets take on the Blue Jackets. Should be a fun night as we stay downtown, within walking distance of the Arena, and our favorite German eatery.

Sometime between now and Thanksgiving I intend to take on a big backyard project. We have a really nice wood utility building out back (tool shed) whose foundation has collapsed in a couple places. I’ve removed the old flooring and now intend to jack it up enough to replace the crumbling foundation. Once that’s complete and the building is resting on a solid, level foundation, I’ll install a new floor in it. That’s the plan anyway. In the event the whole thing topples over during the lifting phase the effort will morph into a demolition project.

And then a week from today we will stand in line to vote for the first time from this address. I understand they convert a little Presbyterian church around the corner into a voting center for the nearby neighborhoods. I expect to walk in, pull a lever, then retreat home where the outcome of the election will doubtless be debated for months. How could it be anything but chaos when you have a world class whiner (“they’re eating the dogs!”) and thousands of lawyers ready to jump into the fray?

Reminds me of the old joke, “you know what you call a thousand lawyers standing neck-deep in wet cement? Not enough cement…”


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