You know, I keep thinking I need to get into Ham radio, and then I don't. I haven't kept up on the advancements, but I bet they are pretty cool. One of these days. I've always enjoyed the idea of radio broadcasting, and probably should do the modern day equivalent through podcasting. Oh, well. There's always something to do.
Good on you for getting out of the "news of the day" routine, too. Not much good lurks there. :)
Other duties kept me away from the news, Steemit, Ham radio and reading for a while...so a bit behind.
Ham radio has changed almost into all digital everything; especially the radios. Very decent hand helds are less than $50 now. Software for desktops drive devices that allow comms by radio between computers that give 100% copy of what you type, and with a signal so low you cannot hear the audio because it is down in the background noise! Almost spooky how it works!
There's always more to do than there is time for!
Why not give blogging/podcasting a try? The dTube and YouTube platforms are easily available and, with any ability to speak, making a video would be easier than typing, proofing, and formatting the same text.
No penalty for trying!
I could probably get into podcasting (sans video), but there's still some editing involved, unless you're treating it as a live show I guess where you just ramble. I'm not much of an in front of the camera kind of guy, so I don't think I'll be trying any of that. I'm perfectly comfortable in the world of images and text.
Well, $50 for a set sounds great. The software sounds great, too. I guess I'll just have to check it all out more. Add another thing to the list. Lately, STEEM's been most of what I do, aside from laundry, cooking, kitchen cleanup, trash removal and an assortment of other household chores.
Well, hope the other duties are either complete or back to regular so you can pursue a little more on STEEM. I noticed you weren't around, but then, there's a number of folks that come and go regularly, so I never know what's up. I just keep plugging along, for now, and see what happens.
I'm content with text and images, too, and have no desire to entertain a camera or talk to a mike (the reason I prefer sending code to talking). I have a problem with self-discipline and keeping my attention on what I'm doing instead of reading endless posts and threads to see what others are up to. I like reading and get off on tangents and that's not very creative.
Getting a Ham license is easy these days. There are sample tests on-line that make learning the rules and basic theory very easy and even two weeks' study will enable you to ace the real test. There is even a pool of the actual questions to be drawn from that will be test questions and many people just memorize answers and not have any idea what they're doing. Morse code not required these days and that made getting licensed very easy. You can talk to any Ham anywhere in the world on two meters, handheld-to-handheld with a digital handheld and a repeater link to an Internet connection. It's magic stuff!
Duties are still calling and will be for a while. Cleaning up fallen trees and disposing of them, making changes to enlarge the S.O.'s garden area will be fill-in work. I have to stain the back and front decks, repaint trim on my shop and storage building, and coat my asphalt driveway, and those are fall chores in between too hot and too cold seasons.
What happened to Everett Dickey? Did he cash out and leave us? People who Steem just for the money are beginning to show their colors, I suppose. I plan to keep on at my snail's pace because I like doing whatever this counts as...and there are a few friends I actually enjoy chatting with (look at my curation earnings and you'll see that it must be all enjoyment)
A far as curation goes, it's pure enjoyment until you get into the ranks of the higher SP, whenever that might actually take place.
I just looked at everittdmickey's blog and while he hasn't posted for almost three weeks, he's commented within the last two days. He has been powering down, but I don't know for how long, and he's got a delegation coming in from blocktrades. A lot of folks who've powered down are supposedly repositioning at least some of it. I don't know if I believe that, or what's going on, so I don't know if it's an indication of true colors or not.
re: duties
Okay. Ongoing. Well, I guess that's the joys of home and property ownership. Yippee.
So, I can see the magic, but isn't the whole idea of a ham radio is to be able to talk to someone without the internet, or a phone or cell line? So, you can communicate any time? Maybe not around the world but within the broadcasting distance of the ham radio itself?
Every one of the new operators I know use their handheld as an appliance to reach a repeater so they can talk to others with handhelds or mobile units. NONE of the new guys have a clue about electronics and none have any interest in learning. That is a result of the new licensing requirements that eliminated a real test of knowledge for entry level guys. Theory was that they would develop an interest after they became Hams, and maybe some do, but who knows?
All the new Hams use 2 meters and are not interested in doing the old fashion way of talking through the air, putting up antennas, and figuring out why things work the way they do. THe only four times I have used a repeater was when helping a new guy get his bearings on how things worked. My time is still spent on 20 and 40 meters and using code sent by hand. I have the capability of using the digital transmissions controlled by the computer, but that is just typing and reading the screen, even if the link is radio sent between is. To me, that is what Ham radio was and should be.
The new guys now are getting licensed to be able to use the Ham radios for emergency comms when the SHTF. They are to be commended for that, at least. My warnings about local repeaters being dead in most scenarios and their handhelds not working was too alarmist, I think.
You are right: a stand-alone radio and antenna with solar power and battery will let you talk over the hemisphere even if everything in between is just air. If we start getting sunspots again, that is, and if there is not a major EMP. Life is filled with "ifs".
Okay. So I was thinking that the ham radio operators were our last bastion of hope in the event something went down (EMP and sunspots excluded). Now I see that basically they're going the same way as everyone else—the easy way.
Is there anything they suggest to shield equipment with in the case of an EMP? Other than being underground to a certain extent. Seems like there should be some kind of material that could harden electronics against that.
Funny thing is, I was told a while back that we don't have to worry about an EMP because the US government has already put in safety protections against all that, specifically the electrical grid. I thought to myself, That's news to me, since all I've ever heard coming out of them was they don't think it's that big of an issue to go to whatever expense. One of the few things thy apparently don't feel the need to spend money on.
EMP protection? Not true. There are isolated spots with internal protection but that won't help if all the feeders to them are gone. Military equipment is hardened but the national power grid is a naked as a jaybird (I guess that is applicable). The power companies can't pay for their upgrades because of passing on costs for a "maybe" event, and the costs would be very high. The largest transformers already have an 18 month lag time to be manufactured overseas, and ordering a dozen at once would take many years, so inertia will prevent adequate protection.
The hardest hits will be all the electronic parts: circuit boards with coils, car ignitions. TV sets, radios, Internet connections. Those will go in the first microsecond when the pulse passes through and the induced field collapses, zapping the circuits. The power line drop to each house would bring in the pulse like an antenna and blow out the transformer at the same time. We would need 40 or 50 million replacements. Good luck to us if that happened.
No, there is no national protection.
A Faraday shield is easy to make to protect small, backup devices. A 35 gallon metal trash can with a lid will work. Line it with cardboard to prevent the contents from touching the can. cut a long trip of copper or steel screen wire and put it around the top edge of the can so the lid will press tight to seal it from stray energy, stuff it with sensitive electronics, and leave it alone. The shielding will cause the high energy pule to effectively make a halo around the can and leave the inside untouched. Some people put 45 gal cans inside large, 55 gal metal barrels with banded lids. That's the best option for us. There is no effective way to shield a device you use. Even a power cord or cable going to it makes it vulnerable even if it were wrapped in copper screen.
Too many people have a normalcy bias that keeps them from understanding what "the grid is down" actually means and they assume that the big stuff will keep working. When it doesn't, it will not again in our much shortened lifetimes. If that happens, once the grocery store empty, existence will take on a new priority for everyone, including those who would normally be repairing things.
Just because it CAN happen does not mean that it WILL happen