Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
False accusations
March 19th, 2010 | 
Author: I received an email this morning (actually it was posted in my guest book of all places, though I have since deleted it) from a ham named Mike informing me that the program Morse Machine on my website contains a Trojan. It’s a false alarm, and I’ve had it before. I blogged about it a few months ago, so I pointed Mike to that blog posting by way of an explanation.
Mike didn’t mention which scanner gave the false alarm but I was able to deduce from the copy of the scanner log he posted that it was ClamWin, a free GPL virus scanner. Now I’m a fan of free software and in fact experimented with ClamWin a few years ago, but the honest truth is it barely deserves to be called a virus scanner. A bunch of enthusiasts working in their spare time do not have the resources to develop a commercial quality virus scanner and I don’t think anyone should be depending on such a program to detect viruses, especially as there are plenty of free (though not GPL) alternatives that are much better.
After Mike read my blog post he replied:
“I downloaded your CW learning program for my grandson, trying to help steer him into Ham Radio.
With the preponderance of malware out there, I find your opinions a bit disingenuous if not downright arrogant. i.e. the “Im ok and your not” attitude.
You could would write your own installer like I (and others have) and stop the complaints (and your belly aching) rather than baiting users with KNOWN problems.
That’s my opinion, although I will concede you have the right to yours and say and do what you want :)”
My opinion is that I don’t see why poorly written virus scanners should become my problem? Why should I rewrite the installers for all these programs, which doubtless will then be accused of containing a different Trojan? I don’t make these programs available for money and no-one pays me for my time working on them. If making them available means I am obligated to spend more of my ham radio time supporting and updating them because of issues like this, the best thing from my point of view would be to remove the programs entirely.
Nor do I see why I should have to put up with complaints like this just for making available programs I’ve written in the hope that others would find them useful. Of all the things I’ve done on this website, only the software results occasionally in emails that spoil my day and make me angry.
I don’t have time to delete the software section at the moment but I will when I get around to it.
Another operation from Lido Key, NA-034
I just wanted to put up a quick note to say that I expect to be active from IOTA NA-034, Lido Key from March 22-24, 2010. I’ll be down there visiting family but I expect to have a few hours each day (probably between about 15:00-20:00 GMT) to operate. Instead of using hamsticks as I have in the past, I’m going to be using my Buddistick which gives me a bit more flexibility as to the bands I’ll be using (and was a lot easier to ship; I didn’t want to have to deal with checking a 6-foot long hamstick for the flight). It should perform reasonably well since my normal operating position is from a parking lot that’s just a few dozen meters from the Gulf of Mexico, and the saltwater should help with propagation, particularly to the south and west.
Most likely I’ll only be on SSB for this short trip, and I’ll stay close to the standard IOTA frequencies, primarily on 20m (14.260) and 15m (21.260), though I may move around if the bands cooperate.
If anyone is in the area (Sarasota, FL) and wants to get together during one of those afternoons, please drop me line.
Imagine…
(post your 'imagine' thoughts in the comments below....)
DL8MBS Analysis Of Russian DX Contest
Chris, DL8MBS wrote an excellent article regarding RadioSport operating time, its relationship to power, and band conditions. His graphical analysis of the Russian DX Contest (RDXC) logs in addition to CQ World Wide DX logs suggested one’s power level correlates with hours of operating time.
Analysis.
His analysis of 2007 RDXC data revealed an average operating time of 9.7 hours (n = 984) out of (n = 1006) or 66.9 percent operated no more than 12 hours out of 24 available hours. Additionally, only 6.4 percent of the total, invested 23 or 24 hours in this event.
Furthermore, his 2009 analysis of available operating data, supported his 2007 conclusion that is, 69 percent operated less than 14 hours subsequently; due to band conditions, high power categories invested greater operating time.
The Long Tail.
I was struck by the distribution of operating hours for the CQ World Wide DX franchise. Chris, DL8MBS discovered Morse code operators remain in the chair longer than phone counterparts. His analysis suggested 90.47 percent of phone operators operated less than 24 hours while 80.5 percent operated less than 18 hours.
The average phone operation was 11.3 hours contrasted against 14.5 hours for Morse code operators.
Conclusion.
Perhaps, the competitive RadioSport reality is, as one begins investing financial and material resources toward the Box then operating time is proportional. It goes up. Likewise, one’s power level is an important factor when considering “how much” time to spend in the chair as well.
However, given Cycle 24 trends, low power operators may begin spending additional time in the chair?
My plan this weekend for the 2010 RDXC event will focus on high bands only. In effect, I want to spend about 12 hours in the operating chair, that’s average. The question I’m asking, “Is average good enough?”
73 from the shackadelic on the beach.
G4ILO’s noise
This afternoon I decided to tune around the HF bands to see how they compared with what I heard when I was out mobile yesterday and at the weekend. It was very depressing. I didn’t hear any DX at all. The high noise level obliterated anything interesting and made listening very tiring and unpleasant. From the mobile out in the countryside the only man-made noise was the occasional burst of ignition interference from a passing car and I could copy signals right down to atmospheric noise.
I thought I would use my Pentax digital camera to make a video that demonstrated just what the HF bands sound like from here. It’s a ham radio horror movie.
Character
First, let me make clear my position on sexual predators. I think they should be punished and attempts should be made to rehabilitate those who can be rehabilitated. However, there are those who are simply incorrigible who should spend the rest of their lives rotting in prison. (The worst should probably be executed but that is problematic on several levels.) I'm not going to make any judgement of the radio amateur involved in this case as the facts are in the decision text.
The FCC action in this case and other felony conviction cases just doesn't make much sense to me. The judge in the case makes a very lucid statement regarding the defendant and amateur radio. Quite simply, even if it was proven that he was still a sexual predator, amateur radio wouldn't be a tool he would use to commit crime. Frankly, unless someone was into white, balding, overweight, older men, they wouldn't find many potential victims in amateur radio. The odds of a sexual predator being a threat to radio amateurs is about nil. Revoking a license really isn't a deterrent to committing a felony, and I'm sure someone would argue that revoking a license is additional punishment for a crime that already had a conviction and punishment specified.
Thinking back to past character license revocations, I can think of one for a convicted murderer spending life in a federal pen, and a ham that was convicted of long distance fraud. The murderer spending life in prison isn't going to have access to an amateur radio and long distance fraud isn't very relevant to amateur radio. Call me overly pragmatic, but it just doesn't seem to make sense to spend the time and effort to revoke licenses in these situations.
I recently dealt with a radio amateur who clearly lacked character. I won't go into detail, but he got caught in his own online web of lies and when he was exposed he made more lies. But amateurs, unaware or in agreement with his deception, praise him for his work. No character, but people lacking character like this are likely more detrimental to amateur radio than most of the FCC license revocation amateurs, and we tend to look the other way.
If you have a felony conviction, you probably lack character, but if you lack character in amateur radio, you probably don't have a felony conviction. Character in amateur radio isn't the FCC's responsibility, it's our responsibility. Those lacking character who threaten amateur radio don't appear on any legal docket, but they are in our midst. When we ignore those lacking character, we condone and encourage them.
2010 Russian DX Contest “The Contender”
What counts in the realm of RadioSport when a contender enters the ionospheric arena to compete against established heavyweights like CQ World Wide and/or ARRL International DX?
Competition Is Healthy.
The ultimate measure is fun across all RadioSport levels and, at the end of the day, the number of logs submitted.
I imagine sponsors and contest committees are noting the rise of the Russian DX Contest from upstart to serious contender. The event scheduled for this weekend will certainly benefit from the sometimes staggering Cycle 24 trend. Likewise, one must read the rules and discover a fresh perspective in a sport that embraces technology to limited degrees.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
I decided this year because of the Russian DX Contest point structure, a modest station like mine can have a lot of fun;
- 10 points for logged Russian -Qs.
- 5 points for different continent.
- 3 points for different country on same continent.
- 2 points for one’s country.
I attempted this event at the low edge of Cycle 24 and the numbers suggest different results this year. Let’s have ham radio fun beneath the ionospheric arena, practice good sportsmanship, and test our station configurations while the contender takes on the heavyweights.
Contest on!
