Ham College episode 144 is now available for download.

General Exam Questions Part 5
G1E – Control categories, repeater regulations, third-party rules, ITU regions, automatically controlled digital station.
Information on the AmateurLogic 21st Anniversary Icom ID-5200 Giveaway.

Download
YouTube

Exam Preparation Topics (G1E):
Throughout the show, the hosts discuss several key regulatory concepts:

Third-Party Rules: They clarify regulations regarding message relaying and disqualification criteria for third parties (4:10–7:28, 14:16–16:21, 33:21–34:15).
Repeater Regulations: Discussions cover retransmission rules for different operator classes (7:30–10:05).
Digital Station Control: Understanding how automatically controlled digital stations function and the requirements for interacting with them (10:19–11:46, 30:03–33:18).
Interference Mitigation: Procedures for avoiding harmful interference, particularly regarding secondary band usage and proximity to monitoring stations (11:48–14:15).
ITU Regions: The hosts explain the International Telecommunications Union radio regions, identifying that the U.S. falls into Region 2 (16:24–21:03).
Special Anniversary Giveaway:
The hosts announce an upcoming contest for the AmateurLogic.TV 21st anniversary to give away a new Icom ID-5200A transceiver (37:11–43:30).
Entry details are provided, emphasizing the need to be a licensed U.S. or Canadian operator and highlighting the importance of following specific subject-line formatting and required details in entry emails (44:27–45:47).

Ham College episode 144 is now available for download.

General Exam Questions Part 5
G1E – Control categories, repeater regulations, third-party rules, ITU regions, automatically controlled digital station.
Information on the AmateurLogic 21st Anniversary Icom ID-5200 Giveaway.

Download
YouTube

Exam Preparation Topics (G1E):
Throughout the show, the hosts discuss several key regulatory concepts:

Third-Party Rules: They clarify regulations regarding message relaying and disqualification criteria for third parties (4:10–7:28, 14:16–16:21, 33:21–34:15).
Repeater Regulations: Discussions cover retransmission rules for different operator classes (7:30–10:05).
Digital Station Control: Understanding how automatically controlled digital stations function and the requirements for interacting with them (10:19–11:46, 30:03–33:18).
Interference Mitigation: Procedures for avoiding harmful interference, particularly regarding secondary band usage and proximity to monitoring stations (11:48–14:15).
ITU Regions: The hosts explain the International Telecommunications Union radio regions, identifying that the U.S. falls into Region 2 (16:24–21:03).
Special Anniversary Giveaway:
The hosts announce an upcoming contest for the AmateurLogic.TV 21st anniversary to give away a new Icom ID-5200A transceiver (37:11–43:30).
Entry details are provided, emphasizing the need to be a licensed U.S. or Canadian operator and highlighting the importance of following specific subject-line formatting and required details in entry emails (44:27–45:47).

More from the trip: A Lewis & Clark POTA Journey | On The Trail | West Over Lemhi Pass | Arrived at the Pacific Ocean Joyce/K0JJW and I have wrapped up our trip along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. We started at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis on September 5th and ended ... Read more

The post Wrapping Up the Lewis & Clark Trail appeared first on Above Average Terrain.

It seems Google has finally gotten around to fixing its Blogs I Follow gadget! The original issue was that it had completely stopped updating. You can read my previous post to see the workaround I used while waiting for the folks at Google to address the problem.

Below is the code I used to bring back the official Blogs I Follow gadget while hiding the temporary HTML/JavaScript fix.

To keep things organized, I saved both code snippets in OpenOffice. That way, if Google's gadget ever breaks again, it’s a quick copy and paste to deploy the temporary fix, and another simple copy and paste to switch back once it's resolved.

Note: The only change you will need to make is replacing my followed blog URLs with your own. I detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do this in the post linked above. Also you do this at your own risk. 

 HTML

<div style="display: none;">

  <div id="blogger-bloglist-feed">
    <p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #ffffff; margin: 0;">Loading blog updates...</p>
  </div>

  <style>
    .bloglist-item {
      margin-bottom: 14px !important;
      padding-bottom: 10px !important;
      border-bottom: 1px dashed rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3) !important;
      font-family: inherit !important;
    }
    /* Blog Name */
    .bloglist-name {
      display: block !important;
      font-size: 1.05em !important;
      font-weight: bold !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      margin-bottom: 4px !important;
      line-height: 1.3 !important;
    }
    /* Article Post Title Link */
    a.bloglist-link,
    a.bloglist-link:visited {
      display: block !important;
      font-size: 1.0em !important;
      font-weight: normal !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      text-decoration: none !important;
      line-height: 1.3 !important;
    }
    a.bloglist-link:hover {
      text-decoration: underline !important;
    }
    /* Updated Date */
    .bloglist-date {
      font-size: 0.85em !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      margin-top: 3px !important;
      display: block !important;
      opacity: 0.9 !important;
    }
  </style>

  <script>
    (function() {
      var followedFeeds = [
        "http://ae5x.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://www.kb6nu.com/feed/",
        "http://w2lj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "http://pa1b-qrp.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://swling.com/blog/feed/",
        "https://www.arrl.org/arrl.rss",
        "http://ve3clq.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://wb3gck.com/feed/",
        "https://tommcquiggan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "http://ve3vn.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://ke9v.net/feed.xml",
        "https://kg3v.com/feed/",
        "http://offgridham.com/feed/",
        "http://pe4bas.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://qrper.com/feed/",
        "https://www.amateurradio.com/feed/",
        "https://k9zw.wordpress.com/feed/"
      ];

      var container = document.getElementById("blogger-bloglist-feed");
      var loadedCount = 0;
      var items = [];

      // Helper function to fetch feeds that rss2json fails to parse
      async function fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl) {
        try {
          var proxyUrl = "https://api.allorigins.win/get?url=" + encodeURIComponent(feedUrl);
          var res = await fetch(proxyUrl);
          var data = await res.json();
          if (!data.contents) return null;
          
          var parser = new DOMParser();
          var xmlDoc = parser.parseFromString(data.contents, "text/xml");
          var item = xmlDoc.querySelector("item") || xmlDoc.querySelector("entry");
          if (!item) return null;
          
          var title = item.querySelector("title") ? item.querySelector("title").textContent : "Untitled";
          var link = item.querySelector("link") ? item.querySelector("link").textContent : "#";
          
          if (!link || link.trim() === "") {
            link = item.querySelector("link") ? item.querySelector("link").getAttribute("href") : "#";
          }
          
          var dateStr = item.querySelector("pubDate") ? item.querySelector("pubDate").textContent :
                        (item.querySelector("published") ? item.querySelector("published").textContent :
                        (item.querySelector("updated") ? item.querySelector("updated").textContent : ""));
                        
          var blogTitle = (xmlDoc.querySelector("channel > title") ? xmlDoc.querySelector("channel > title").textContent :
                          (xmlDoc.querySelector("feed > title") ? xmlDoc.querySelector("feed > title").textContent : "Blog"));
                          
          var pubDateObj = new Date(dateStr);
          return {
            blogTitle: blogTitle,
            title: title,
            link: link,
            date: pubDateObj,
            dateStr: isNaN(pubDateObj) ? "" : pubDateObj.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })
          };
        } catch (e) {
          return null;
        }
      }

      followedFeeds.forEach(function(feedUrl) {
        var apiUrl = "https://api.rss2json.com/v1/api.json?rss_url=" + encodeURIComponent(feedUrl);
        fetch(apiUrl)
          .then(function(res) { return res.json(); })
          .then(async function(data) {
            if (data.status === "ok" && data.items && data.items.length > 0) {
              var blogTitle = data.feed.title || "Blog";
              var latestPost = data.items[0];
              var pubDateObj = new Date(latestPost.pubDate);
              items.push({
                blogTitle: blogTitle,
                title: latestPost.title,
                link: latestPost.link,
                date: pubDateObj,
                dateStr: isNaN(pubDateObj) ? "" : pubDateObj.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })
              });
            } else {
              var fallbackItem = await fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl);
              if (fallbackItem) items.push(fallbackItem);
            }
          })
          .catch(async function(err) {
            var fallbackItem = await fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl);
            if (fallbackItem) items.push(fallbackItem);
          })
          .finally(function() {
            loadedCount++;
            if (loadedCount === followedFeeds.length) {
              if (items.length > 0) {
                items.sort(function(a, b) { return b.date - a.date; });
                var htmlBuffer = "";
                items.forEach(function(item) {
                  htmlBuffer += '<div class="bloglist-item">';
                  htmlBuffer += '<span class="bloglist-name">' + item.blogTitle + '</span>';
                  htmlBuffer += '<a class="bloglist-link" href="' + item.link + '" target="_blank" rel="noopener">' + item.title + '</a>';
                  if (item.dateStr) {
                    htmlBuffer += '<span class="bloglist-date">Updated: ' + item.dateStr + '</span>';
                  }
                  htmlBuffer += '</div>';
                });
                container.innerHTML = htmlBuffer;
              } else {
                container.innerHTML = "<p style='font-size:0.85em; color: #ffffff;'>No recent updates available.</p>";
              }
            }
          });
      });
    })();
  </script>

</div>

It seems Google has finally gotten around to fixing its Blogs I Follow gadget! The original issue was that it had completely stopped updating. You can read my previous post to see the workaround I used while waiting for the folks at Google to address the problem.

Below is the code I used to bring back the official Blogs I Follow gadget while hiding the temporary HTML/JavaScript fix.

To keep things organized, I saved both code snippets in OpenOffice. That way, if Google's gadget ever breaks again, it’s a quick copy and paste to deploy the temporary fix, and another simple copy and paste to switch back once it's resolved.

Note: The only change you will need to make is replacing my followed blog URLs with your own. I detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do this in the post linked above. Also you do this at your own risk. 

 HTML

<div style="display: none;">

  <div id="blogger-bloglist-feed">
    <p style="font-size: 0.9em; color: #ffffff; margin: 0;">Loading blog updates...</p>
  </div>

  <style>
    .bloglist-item {
      margin-bottom: 14px !important;
      padding-bottom: 10px !important;
      border-bottom: 1px dashed rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3) !important;
      font-family: inherit !important;
    }
    /* Blog Name */
    .bloglist-name {
      display: block !important;
      font-size: 1.05em !important;
      font-weight: bold !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      margin-bottom: 4px !important;
      line-height: 1.3 !important;
    }
    /* Article Post Title Link */
    a.bloglist-link,
    a.bloglist-link:visited {
      display: block !important;
      font-size: 1.0em !important;
      font-weight: normal !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      text-decoration: none !important;
      line-height: 1.3 !important;
    }
    a.bloglist-link:hover {
      text-decoration: underline !important;
    }
    /* Updated Date */
    .bloglist-date {
      font-size: 0.85em !important;
      color: #ffffff !important;
      margin-top: 3px !important;
      display: block !important;
      opacity: 0.9 !important;
    }
  </style>

  <script>
    (function() {
      var followedFeeds = [
        "http://ae5x.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://www.kb6nu.com/feed/",
        "http://w2lj.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "http://pa1b-qrp.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://swling.com/blog/feed/",
        "https://www.arrl.org/arrl.rss",
        "http://ve3clq.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://wb3gck.com/feed/",
        "https://tommcquiggan.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "http://ve3vn.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://ke9v.net/feed.xml",
        "https://kg3v.com/feed/",
        "http://offgridham.com/feed/",
        "http://pe4bas.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default",
        "https://qrper.com/feed/",
        "https://www.amateurradio.com/feed/",
        "https://k9zw.wordpress.com/feed/"
      ];

      var container = document.getElementById("blogger-bloglist-feed");
      var loadedCount = 0;
      var items = [];

      // Helper function to fetch feeds that rss2json fails to parse
      async function fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl) {
        try {
          var proxyUrl = "https://api.allorigins.win/get?url=" + encodeURIComponent(feedUrl);
          var res = await fetch(proxyUrl);
          var data = await res.json();
          if (!data.contents) return null;
          
          var parser = new DOMParser();
          var xmlDoc = parser.parseFromString(data.contents, "text/xml");
          var item = xmlDoc.querySelector("item") || xmlDoc.querySelector("entry");
          if (!item) return null;
          
          var title = item.querySelector("title") ? item.querySelector("title").textContent : "Untitled";
          var link = item.querySelector("link") ? item.querySelector("link").textContent : "#";
          
          if (!link || link.trim() === "") {
            link = item.querySelector("link") ? item.querySelector("link").getAttribute("href") : "#";
          }
          
          var dateStr = item.querySelector("pubDate") ? item.querySelector("pubDate").textContent :
                        (item.querySelector("published") ? item.querySelector("published").textContent :
                        (item.querySelector("updated") ? item.querySelector("updated").textContent : ""));
                        
          var blogTitle = (xmlDoc.querySelector("channel > title") ? xmlDoc.querySelector("channel > title").textContent :
                          (xmlDoc.querySelector("feed > title") ? xmlDoc.querySelector("feed > title").textContent : "Blog"));
                          
          var pubDateObj = new Date(dateStr);
          return {
            blogTitle: blogTitle,
            title: title,
            link: link,
            date: pubDateObj,
            dateStr: isNaN(pubDateObj) ? "" : pubDateObj.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })
          };
        } catch (e) {
          return null;
        }
      }

      followedFeeds.forEach(function(feedUrl) {
        var apiUrl = "https://api.rss2json.com/v1/api.json?rss_url=" + encodeURIComponent(feedUrl);
        fetch(apiUrl)
          .then(function(res) { return res.json(); })
          .then(async function(data) {
            if (data.status === "ok" && data.items && data.items.length > 0) {
              var blogTitle = data.feed.title || "Blog";
              var latestPost = data.items[0];
              var pubDateObj = new Date(latestPost.pubDate);
              items.push({
                blogTitle: blogTitle,
                title: latestPost.title,
                link: latestPost.link,
                date: pubDateObj,
                dateStr: isNaN(pubDateObj) ? "" : pubDateObj.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { month: 'short', day: 'numeric' })
              });
            } else {
              var fallbackItem = await fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl);
              if (fallbackItem) items.push(fallbackItem);
            }
          })
          .catch(async function(err) {
            var fallbackItem = await fetchXmlFallback(feedUrl);
            if (fallbackItem) items.push(fallbackItem);
          })
          .finally(function() {
            loadedCount++;
            if (loadedCount === followedFeeds.length) {
              if (items.length > 0) {
                items.sort(function(a, b) { return b.date - a.date; });
                var htmlBuffer = "";
                items.forEach(function(item) {
                  htmlBuffer += '<div class="bloglist-item">';
                  htmlBuffer += '<span class="bloglist-name">' + item.blogTitle + '</span>';
                  htmlBuffer += '<a class="bloglist-link" href="' + item.link + '" target="_blank" rel="noopener">' + item.title + '</a>';
                  if (item.dateStr) {
                    htmlBuffer += '<span class="bloglist-date">Updated: ' + item.dateStr + '</span>';
                  }
                  htmlBuffer += '</div>';
                });
                container.innerHTML = htmlBuffer;
              } else {
                container.innerHTML = "<p style='font-size:0.85em; color: #ffffff;'>No recent updates available.</p>";
              }
            }
          });
      });
    })();
  </script>

</div>

We continued on our trip following the Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail, crossing Idaho into Washington and Oregon. And, yes, we arrived at the Pacific Ocean, near Astoria, OR, completing our adventure, in 24 days, driving 3725 miles. More on that in a future post. This section of the trip started out by going ... Read more

The post Arrived at the Pacific Ocean appeared first on Above Average Terrain.