A Crummy Commercial

 I saw that the actress, Cindy Williams has died.  Thinking about her I remembered that she was in American Graffiti with Ron Howard: And also on Happy Days with Ron again: Cindy was also on Laverne and Shirley and was in the movie: The Conversation. Then of course remembering Ron Howard on the Andy Griffith show (my favorite): Which led me to recall one of my co-workers saying that whenever any CBS show went from black and white to color the show was sure to go downhill in quality.  Examples: Gilligan's Island, the Andy Griffith show and the Beverly Hillbillies. Of course this was just a correlation not a causation but still.  And I never would have noticed at the time since we always had black and white TV until the mid-1970s :) Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

I watched this video about ATSC 3.0 (Next Generation digital television): https://video.pbswisconsin.org/video/demos-and-presentations-nextgen-tv-day-at-wkar-kocpty/ I realized that 1) I'm losing the ability to understand non-native English speakers and 2) I've lost the handle on buzzwords and acronyms I also mentioned before:  https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-bit-player-claude-shannon.html that I did NOT choose "wisely" in college: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA7J0KkanzM Not only have the technical details of digital TV changed completely (everyone will need new sets or converter boxes) but the resulting excess of bandwidth finds the TV station looking for other ways to use their broadcasting channel - in the video the concentration was on public service but might also be used commercially now that TV is more amenable to vehicles. It's still signals overcoming noise though. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 No, the Eagles win over the 49ers doesn't inspire schadenfreude: Although the 49ers have consistently squashed the Packers in big games, the 49ers lost this game due to injuries - no one wants to see a team lose their 3rd and 4th string QBs in the same game and then have to bring back the 3rd string guy when he can't throw anymore.  But again it was nice to be able to stream the game, I should have tried this with Fox during the regular season.  Unfortunately CBS doesn't have streaming except for Paramount+ so I won't be able to watch the Bengals-Chiefs game. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

This aerial photo was captured December 2022 by the Mars Recon Orbiter:   source: https://static.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_076769_1380.jpg   Here was the original:     info: https://www.uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_076769_1380 The links include some higher res, lower compression images.   Sometimes something is just fun, probably not worth all the money spent but still fun :) Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

This is a really cool picture: source:  https://www.instagram.com/p/CnINhW5vlWv Matze from Germany has spent a lot more time in Green Bay than I have and I only live 90 miles away !  He's caught QB12 for a picture at least 5 times. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

 I guess everyone wants to try it: Also got this: I'm just not motivated enough to really pursue it like students who need a term paper :) Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 I saw this mentioned on the K9YA Telegraph face page: https://nypost.com/2022/12/30/fire-breaks-out-at-disneyland-damaging-new-orleans-square-train-station/ Per the Disneyland web site: The second stop on the Disneyland Railroad is home to the telegraph cable office, where a paraphrased portion of Walt Disney’s opening-day speech from July 17, 1955, can be heard in Morse code. The telegraph message is just over a minute long and decoded it says: “To all who come to Disneyland, welcome. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future.” source:  https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/07/sounding-off-at-the-new-orleans-square-train-station-telegraph-cable-office-at-disneyland-park/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F05kqenOm8   audio of the Disneyland telegraph office message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frq166UrfQ8   video of the train station not a candle but a sounder in the window screen cap of the office sign none o

 Last week it was the Vikings: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2023/01/schadenfreude.html This week (and I am a day late again) the Cowboys lost their playoff game to the 49ers 19-12.  This is what happens with football, not only are there favorites, there are also enemies.  And when an opponent loses it generates smiles. It isn't just that the Cowboys play the Packers tough, the 49ers always seem to get the best of the Packers.  It isn't that Jerry Jones has a problem with the way the league operates (win or lose he makes a lot of money but he wants even more).  It isn't that Mike McCarthy had a bad moment after the game. It's that the official twitter account of the Cowboys is blaming one fellow for a team loss, just not the way to run things. One nice thing was that I was able to stream the game on the Fox Sports site at no charge !  How long has this been going on ?    Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

. I saw a couple of web articles recently on an experiment done to see if laser beams could be used to guide lighting strikes: https://spectrum.ieee.org/lasers-seed-lightning https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/lasers-used-to-guide-lightning-strikes-to-a-safe-target/ This is pretty neat but probably no applications to ham radio, the laser is really powerful (expensive ??) and the results weren't perfect but a cool idea to try. Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 I mentioned trying football with robots: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2023/01/robot-nfl.html But then I saw this article: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/boston-dynamics-atlas-robot-grows-a-set-of-hands-attempts-construction-work/ The robot does a good job in the first video: source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1_QhJ1EhQ But in the behind the scenes video: source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPVC4IyRTG8 there are tips (3:34) and falls (7:04) but a football field is level without obstructions (other than other players) so that should make robot football a little easier. But one important thing is that Atlas doesn't seem to have decent hands yet.  There's a short Dr. Zoidberg tribute (about 6:45) but giant lobster claws aren't going to be preferred for football.  Those claws dent a 2 x 10 but you wouldn't want them to pop the old football. One other thing, there is a lawsuit against Tesla car company: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/01/musk-oversaw-

Yes I know this video is baloney, but higher grade baloney, the Mortadella of alien x Apollo videos :) source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZKwbdbsJ4 Hecklefish is kinda the 21st century equivalent of Albert the Alley Cat (a puppet doing the weather on channel 6 in Milwaukee): source:  https://www.mpl.org/blog/now/milwaukee-s-menagerie-albert-the-alley-cat Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm                  

I've got an inexpensive headlamp that I bought some time ago.   It works pretty well but there is an issue.  It uses three AAA cells.   I use it with NiMh cells from Tenergy.  Energizer Ultimate Lithiums would probably be lighter, brighter and longer life but they cost more.   The problem is charging that third cell.  This is a Duracell charger that only charges in pairs (also, it's almost impossible to get the cells out because they are held tightly in the contacts).   Here is a second Duracell charger which also only charges in pairs (but it is easy to get the cells out).   Finally a third Duracell charger that which only being able to charge 2 cells at a maximum does also charge a single cell. Ironically the chargers were purchased in reverse order - every time a new charger was tried it was worse !  Why Duracell in the first place ?  They were the only NiMh precharged cells available at the local Wal-mart at the time.  Usually I could buy the charger with cells almost as ch

Actually more like too much snow shoveling. source: about 26 minutes into: It's a Gift, 1934, W.C. Fields https://archive.org/details/itsagift1934umnegociodachinaunericheaffaire Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 A fellow ham referred me to this page, The pictures are really interesting: https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-circuits Especially this one of the choke:   The leads are copper (which makes sense) rather than the mild steel used in most modern leaded parts.  Also, it's neat to see the slight taper of the leads ending with a small knob on the end (to help prevent pullout ?). Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 I looked it up: Yes I forgot to mention this on Monday but I am feeling schadenfreude due to the Minnesota Vikings losing to the New York Giants at home 31-24 in the wildcard round of the 2022-23 NFL playoffs. It just makes me smile.  Why ?  Well there is that obnoxious horn in their stadium.  Or the fact that that stadium kills birds.  Or the fact that people in Minnesota are technically in the west (just over the river from Wisconsin), as in cowboys/gun fights and so on. Lately the Bears just inspire pity.  The Lions are ascending but don't inspire dislike, too many former Packers on their squad.  But mainly the Vikings are just so over hyped considering that they've never won a Superbowl, see the shirt: source: https://cheeseheadtv.creator-spring.com/ It's kind of like the Packers QB 12, it's not that Aaron is a bad player, just that considering his gigantic salary he hasn't been able to deliver when it counts recently. Sorry VVikings, you aren't any better

 As a person careful (ahem) with spondulix it tickles me that V-Discs are (as a government product) in the public domain. It's yet another gray rainy day here, middle of January and the snow is almost completely melted.  When the sun finally does come out I'm going to rush outside and try to soak up as much sunshine as I can.  But until then I thought I'd listen to a few V-Discs to brighten things up.  First, quite a few V-Discs have been uploaded to Youtube by vdiscdaddy: https://www.youtube.com/@vdiscdaddy/videos Here are a few of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WDhbZQQ4iU     Sunday in Brooklyn Although most of the V-Discs that survive are popular music of the World War II era, they also include symphonic, choral and religious music.  Sunday in Brooklyn is a piece that I'd never heard of, there really aren't any other performances to stream.  The intro by the composer is interesting - some of the records have spoken intros but most are best wishes

 I remember my Grandfather Charles Olson always used to say: "the good old days, the good old days  . . .  they weren't so good!" Maybe these prices from this Shorpy picture taken in 1941:   source:   https://www.shorpy.com/node/13915 show that the good old days weren't much different, at least as far as price. Incidentally, Spry from Lever Brothers was the equivalent of Crisco from Proctor and Gamble.  Spry isn't sold anymore that I could find.  Supposedly Crisco abandoned hydrogenated cottonseed oil so the 2023 version doesn't have trans-fat. current Ritz price at Target inflated Ritz price, about the same as now considering 19 cents was a special Crisco was often the commercial for my favorite show: Vic and Sade  (an Old Time Radio show) during the World War II years.   See the previous post on Crisco / Vic and Sade: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/12/crisco.html current Target price for comparable Crisco in 2023 . inflated Spry price about the same as now

 I saw this picture on Shorpy of Penn Station, NYC in August 1942: source: https://www.shorpy.com/node/12899 The dah is partially obscured but it's definitely a V (for Victory). Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

I remember reading W1FB's review of the Yaesu FT-301d radio in the October 1977 issue of QST.  Particularly this: I also remember Professor Gustav Staats at UWM telling us:  "keep your voltage to frequency ratio constant".  In other words when in Barbados or Japan or other places with 50 Hz AC power you want a nominal 100 volts input to a transformer rather than the 117 or now 120 volts here in the US.  OR if you don't, be prepared for major problems !  Honestly I don't remember the exact reasons why but that phrase has stuck with me over all these years.  But I know that it is related to the observation that the higher the frequency, the less mass is required in a transformer.  Witness the use of 400 Hz to power WWII era surplus aviation radio gear.  Anyway W1FB didn't mention the AC voltage in Barbados but I suspect it was higher than 100 volts. This isn't a problem with switching supplies since step 1 in any switcher is to rectify the AC.  The switcher

 I saw this ad in the December 1965 issue of QST (50th anniversary issue), page 159: But other than a blurb I found in the October 26, 1962 issue of Electronics magazine, page 90: I found no other information on the Echoplex on the internet.  There is another item called the Echoplex but it's for adding reverb to sound using magnetic tape.   The QST ad says it is patented but I couldn't find any of Leonard Kahn's patents that seem to deal with the Echoplex: https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=pts&hl=en&q=ininventor:leonard+ininventor:r+ininventor:kahn&num=100#q=ininventor:leonard+ininventor:r+ininventor:kahn&hl=en&tbm=pts&ei=uH_sT52YBcmB0QH1m9TnBQ&start=0&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=123741d24e153dc7&biw=1024&bih=605 It sure sounds interesting although that $399.60 inflates to over $3700 today: Also I suspect that the receiving station AND transmitting station would both require one. Leonard Kahn was a fa

I first noticed the RF-301 many years ago in QST ads: Here is a picture from a 2019 Schulman auction of a pristine unit: https://schulmanauction.hibid.com/lot/54115641/rf-communications-rf-301-transceiver/ These first synthesized rigs (like the PRC-74 and others) used a whole bunch of crystals, and several mixers to generate the frequencies required.  There were probably less drift problems than would be encountered with a VFO or PTO.    But the neat thing to me is that those 4 dials function not only as a means to set the frequency but also to display it.  Just think of all the mechanical hassles involved with a capacitor VFO or a inductor PTO, getting it to display and set the frequency linearly - it's a big expense to do it right. How usable is this rig as a ham radio ?  I suppose it depends on the application, used for an AM rig for a few hours on a weekend it's undoubtedly perfect.  The frequency setting is rarely going to change that much.  I suspect that's how the go

I love these two short stories, they make me feel optimistic: Oaks for New College, Oxford https://archive.org/details/nextwholeearthca00unse/page/77 The Man who planted Trees https://archive.org/details/nextwholeearthca00unse/page/78 . source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_zuNtf3_g https://archive.org/details/TheManWhoPlantedTrees19871 Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm  

 I showed this schedule before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/11/back-in-winning-form.html Here is the end of the season picture: This was the first season where I wasn't able to watch a full game - caught snippets of some NBC Sunday evening games.  Previous seasons I could stream via the NFL or Yahoo apps but that was dropped this year.  And that streaming was only to a tablet or phone, not the same as watching on TV. The closest NBC station is about 50 miles away.  The Green Bay stations are more like 90 miles away so just not normally viewable with my cheap external antenna.  The CBS station I used to view was in the UP of Michigan but they dropped CBS in favor of reruns of old shows.  The Fox station in the UP just stopped transmitting several years ago.  Over the air broadcasting just doesn't serve the countryside very well. So I listened to the radio or watch parties on Youtube - it's not the same - for me it's hard to get excited about sports on radio. They

 I was looking through the Paypal account settings and saw this: When I clicked on the link, it brought me back to the same page, just a loop back on itself. The strange thing is that I am (apparently) able to send money and make refunds (although it defaults to an echeck for some Paypal reason).  I would assume that nationality was either set at signup or obvious from use (I'm not using a VPN). The camel already has a broken back, why add more straw Paypal ? Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

 I saw this picture on Shorpy of kids in June 1943 who were going for farm work: source: https://www.shorpy.com/node/23476 My dad would been 12 going on 13 in June 1943 so I don't know if that was the year.  He mentioned something to do with the Scouts.  Anyway, he volunteered to go pick cherries in Door County WI.   I don't remember the details but it was a bad experience for him.  The Olsons were living in Milwaukee during the war.  He went on this picking job with the intention of helping to "win the war" and maybe "pick-up-a-couple-of-bucks" but it didn't work out.  I recall that he also spent some summers at his cousin's farm in western WI which was a lot more fun and probably just as beneficial to the war effort. The remnants of the Reynolds orchard are on the east side of 42 near the top of the hill on the southern approach to Ellison Bay.  When we came up to Door County in the 1960s there were some shacks on the west side of the highway for t