APRS
I've been playing around with my HT and my Rasberry Pi 5, and after picking up a digirig and appropriate cable, I configured Direwolf on the Pi to act as an I-gate Digipeater. I've configured some other software and am looking for a packet BBS to connect to, but so far I'm not having much luck.
I think it may be time to set up an actual base station, and maybe get a mobile station for my van. And maybe a radio for my RV. Plus build out the deck I had mentioned, since I've gotten a number of parts for it already.
Tags: amateur-radio, ham, aprs
KE8UXR
A couple of years ago, I got my General Class amateur radio license, callsign KE8UXR. Since then, I picked up a cheap Baofeng radio and listened in for a bit, but even after 2+ years, I still have not made me first contact. I'm just not that into voice communications.
This is about to change. I have ordered an inexpensive kit to get started in packet radio, and will be building a rugged "cyberdeck" with my Raspberry Pi 5 for use with amateur radio and astronomy. More information is forthcoming, but I thought I'd start documenting the journey.
As I mentioned, I previously purchased a Beofeng UV-5R HT, which I currently keep in my van in case of emergency. My plan is to use this radio with my Raspberry Pi 5, and a recently purchased Digirig Mobile, which is basically a USB sound card with PTT with cables available to interface it to various radios. I plan on getting a rugged case, similar to a Pelican case, to house the build and will be basically following the millions of online build tutorials for this. I also have a couple of SDRs, including a HackRF, and may implement one of more of these as well in order to play with amateur radio astronomy.
My goals for the project is to have this as self-contained with the ability to use various digital radio modes. It should be rugged and weatherized. It should be battery-powered with the ability to charge via solar. It should include offline resources in case the Internet is unavailable. And it should include astronomy resources as well, as a portable rugged computer will come in handy for that hobby as well.
Tags: amateur-radio, ham
https
While there are many advantages to using https for websites, one major drawback is that it breaks old browsers, making the web mostly useless for vintage computers. While github allows you to view my website via https, it allows me to not force users to use it, which means that users with old browsers can still load the site. And since the css separates the design of the site from the content, and I have kept the design pretty simple, it renders well even in text-only. Because retro-computing is one of my passions, I see this as a major win. :) (And if you ask me, the theme I "borrowed" from elsewhere looks absolutely amazing on a modern browser, and still has a nice retro feel to it, so... bonus.)
Tags: retro-computing
Old Posts
I am going to be going through old posts and importing any which I still find to be interesting, backdating them to when they were originally posted. I will also continue creating new posts as time allows.
Tags: announcements
De-Googling
I am in the process of (mostly) removing Google from my life, and the first step is to move my site to github, of all places. There are some things I won't be able to get away from completely, such as my gmail account, but I can do things such as use an actual email client in order to minimize the impact. My phone is going the be the biggest challenge, but is probably the lowest priority on my list.
If you're reading this at my domain, then DNS has propogated and all my old posts are elsewhere. I can still access them, but I would need to find a way to automate migrating them to here. I can easily export them, and then it would be a matter of some Linux-fu. The one thing I'm going to miss is comments, even though they were rarely used. Disqus is an option, but I can always be reached at the email address in the footer if you have any suggestions ;)
Tags: announcements
Area5150
Here is an amazing video of the audience reaction of a demo running on an original IBM PC with CGA graphics:
And because I just recently acquired and restored an original IBM 5150 PC, here it is running on mine:
Tags: retro-computing, 8088, PC, IBM, demo, demoscene, 5150
The original welcome post
Welcome to the new Nitemare Cafe site! Right now, posting is kind of a free-for-all, so be gentle! I'll probably make some changes to it in the near future, as I get time.
(this post was originally posted using custom blog scripts)
Tags: announcements