... Jamboree On the Air (JOTA) 2008..

A fun way to spend the day, at least.

:-)

Spotted this one when researching the latest fad - energy saving light bulbs:

Energy Saving Bulb 'cracked like a gun' - in the Otago Daily Times.

The guy interviewed is a guy i've seen in various places thanks to the Amateur Radio community.

I hafta say, why didn't people consider the RFI impacts of this technology sooner???

People are oblivious I suppose...

With the baseline noise level in the RF world going up and up - thanks to more and more electronic appliances and more and more wireless technologies - at some stage you really do have to sit up and take notice about this sorta thing.

NZ's largest deployment of an all-volunteer Emergency Communications system.

I miss being involved in it, I must admitt.

For the record, regarding listening to Emergency Services (and such like) on Scanners and other receivers, here's the relevant extract from the Radiotelecommunications Act:

Offence to disclose contents of radiocommunications

After years of one-way-fairness, Our VK Colleagues are finally catching up - WIA.org.au reports a reciprocal licensing scheme applicable to visitors comes into effect Feb 14. It's about time!!!

Updated!

Recent discussion on the AREC Mailing list caused me to update this article. There are three types of connectors cited; a decision on which of the two high-power options should be used by AREC is yet to be made but I am aware of both types in service. I use the SBS connector.

I recently had an email from Andrew ZL3AME (a ham who i've also come across in Linux circles) who had been browsing this site and presumably came across the documentation of my Radio Install (Old and New. He noted the high-amperage DC connectors that I have fitted (as shown here) and pointed me at this article which also notes that it is fast becoming the RACES/ARES standard in the USA for plenty of very good reasons. The article also has some very nice cross-sections, etc, which may be of interest. He even pointed me at a likely dealer for the connectors although I sourced mine from John ZL1PO some time ago.
Interestingly I was googling and also found it documented as a standard for an Australian Equivalent to AREC (At least in NSW) as per the linked newsletter.

So here it is in a nutshell, starting with the higher-current options:

Anderson PowerPole PP series

These have been strongly advocated by some parties. They are widely used in the Radio Control Scene.

As discussed on Slashdot, Ham Radio Operators have been recognised for their contribution to the emergency situation there. Good on em.

A link the discussions within that article pointed me at the story of James Kim [Wikipedia] which is a tragedy, but at the same time highlights one potentially valuable aspect of Amateur Radio - comms in areas where other means (like Cellphones) would fail. Also some interesting use of Technology to finally find the missing party.

A colleague from #ZT, as it turns out, is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator and pointed me at this little BSD build: HamFreeSBIE. Cheers!!

For more info check out the Wellington VHF Group Website and my Gallery.

Good stuff.