Friday, January 29, 2016

SUSI AIR - THE WORLDS WORST PLACE TO BE A PILOT

Hello and welcome back... I found this really interesting..

I love aviation, the aircraft, the communications side of things but, I'm chicken when it comes to flying.
After watching a few episodes of Air Crash Investigations, I'm probably more nervous now than i was before... Who knew that, that bit of sticky tape was just holding those wires together?

Spare a thought for these guys..
I stumble across this episode of the story behind 'Susi Air', based mostly in Indonesia. These pilots fly to some of the most remote places in the world with little iddy bitty airstrips carved out on the top of a mountain tops mostly around Papua.
If that wasn't bad enough, you have people walking across the runway, stray dogs, wind shear and low laying clouds to deal with....Oh, then there's the locals, some of whom used to eat people.

Its riveting viewing folks and I'm hooked... Enjoy.


SEASON 1 - EPISODE 1




SEASON 1 - EPISODE 2




SEASON 1 - EPISODE 3




SEASON 1 - EPISODE 4



That seems to be about it...

Keep an eye on the link below in case more come to air...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqf2ZEVf481N8_OfjTk_7fg/videos


Massive thanks to 'Lets Plane' for the videos.

If you like to know more about Susi Air then CLICK HERE

DON'T FORGET TO SHOUT ME A COFFEE (Click on the link on the top right corner) Pleeeeeze

Friday, January 15, 2016

BAOFENG GT3 II (Manual Programming)

Hello and welcome back.... I thought i would show how to program a Baofeng radio manually (for those who don't have a programming cable)

I did a review of this radio a few posts ago Click Here



MENU SYSTEM
The menu system is used to change how the radio works, output power, change language, vox, and many other things.

TO CHANGE A SETTING USING THE MENU SETTING
1. Press MENU, then press the number from the menu below
2. Press Menu again to access the selected setting
3. Use the arrow up or down (or number) to select desired setting
4. Press Menu again to lock in setting, press EXIT.
You have to do this sequence in about 5 sec or the radio reverts back to listening mode.

MENU
0 = SQL (Squelch level) 0-9 (mine is on 2)
1 = Step Frequency - 2.5/ 5/ 6.25/ 10/ 12.5/ 25 kHz
2 = TXP - Transmit Power - High (4w) or Low (1w)
3 = SAVE - Battery Save mode - off/ 1/ 2/ 3/ 4
4 = VOX - Voice operated transmission
5 = W/N - Wide or Narrowband
6 = ABR - Display light - 1-5 sec
7 = TDR - Duel Reception (used in Frequency Mode)
8 = BEEP - Keypad Beep - on/off
9 = TOT - Transmitting Timer
10 = R-DCS - Reception Digital Code Squelch
11 = R-CTCS - Receive Tone
12 = T-DCS -
13 = T-CTCS - 
14 = Voice Prompt - english / chinese
15 = ANI-ID Code
16 = DTMFST - DT-ST,  ANI-ST,  DT+ANI,  OFF
17 = S-CODE - 1-15
18 = SC-REV - TO,  CO,  SE
19 = PTT-ID - BOT,  EOT,  BOTH,  OFF
20 = PTT-LT - 0-50
21 = MDF-A - FREQ,  CH,  NAME (Freq mode, Ch A) (only used if programmed by computer)
22 = MDF-B - FREQ,  CH,  NAME (Freq mode, Ch B) (only used if programmed by computer)
23 = BUSY CH LOCKOUT - On/ Off
24 = AUTOLOCK - Lock Keypad
25 = SFT-D - Freq Direction - +, -, off
26 = OFFSET (Offset Freq)
27 = MEM-CH - Ch Mode (used for entering frequency in Ch Mode)
28 = DEL-CH - Ch Mode (used for deleting frequency in Ch Mode)
29 = WT-LED - Back Light Selection
30 = RX-LED - Receive  LED colour
31 = TX-LED - Transmit LED colour
32 = AL-MOD - Code,  Site,  Tone
33 = BAND - Band Selection - VHF,  UHF
34 = TDR-AB - A,  B,  OFF
35 = STE - on,  off
36 = RP-STE
37 = RPT-RL
38 = PONMSG - Msg,  Full
39 = ROGER - Roger Beep
40 = RESET - Reset All


MODES
There are 2 modes for this radio  = CH (Channel) Mode (VFO) & FREQUENCY Mode (MR)
CH Mode (VFO) is similar to a scanner, you can program frequencies into channels and scan them (very Sloowly), then transmit when stopped on a channel if you want.
Frequency Mode (MR) is listening (or transmitting) on one channel at a time.
Frequency Mode, you can listen to two frequencies at a time if have Duel Mode activated. The little arrow indicator will show you what frequency is active.


PROGRAMMING
Frequency mode is fairly simple, select Frequency mode by pressing the VFO/MR button until you hear 'Frequency Mode', then just enter the frequency and that's it. Using the menu function, you can change output power, step sizes, ect....

CHannel Mode is programmed by staying on Frequency Mode and must be set on using upper frequency (use the A/B button to change).

Delete the channel you plan to use since the radio comes with frequencies already programmed into the radio. To delete, Press MENU - 28 - MENU - Ch No (eg Ch1) - MENU (to confirm) - EXIT

Enter Freqency = MENU - 27 - MENU - Ch No (eg Ch1) - MENU - EXIT

If you have a different transmit and receive frequency, just redo the same Ch No and you will hear 'Transmit Frequency' when you enter the second frequency.

Now press the VFO/MR button to change to 'CHannel Mode' and the set frequencies should be now locked into a channel that you programmed in.

Press and hold the SCAN button (about 3 sec) and the programmed channels will now start to scan, if you want to listen to something, press the EXIT button to stop scanning or to hold on a channel.




If i find anything else, i will add to this post....

Hope this has helped....


Thursday, January 7, 2016

DICK SMITH ELECTRONICS

Aaaand, So Starts Another Year...

Hello and welcome back.... Going to start the year with a bit of a rant, OK, not a rant, more of a opinion.

I used to love Dick Smith Electronics, It was my go-to place whenever i had spare time / money.

I brought one of my most  fav radios from Dick Smith Electronics... The AOR1000, cost me a small fortune but WOW, what a radio.

I also used to buy from Dick Smith Electronics, things like, Frequency Registers (Home & Holiday), Antennas, Plugs, Shortwave Radios, UHF CB Radios, Hobby Kits, Headphones, Audio Cassettes, anything basically Electronic / Hobby orientated.

And then I stopped going there...

Why?

Over time, less and less stock was coming to shelves, instead of rows of products (that nobody else sold) they ended up with just one or two of things.

Dick Smith had sold out to Woolworths... and then the downward spiral began.

Great another bloody JB Hi-Fi or Big W (I was thinking), not that there's anything wrong with those stores but Dick Smith was different... It was for the Hobbyist or the Enthusiast.

(rant begins)
Blind Freddy could see that was a huge mistake, iv been saying it for years... sure Dick Smith probably made a few million from the deal, but seriously, if i started a company with my name attached to it, i'm dammed if i would sell it to make a few quick dollars... Its like a boat, if the boat starts sinking, look at ways to keep it afloat... If i fails then go down with your boat knowing that you tried and failed...
Am i pissed off??
Yes, i am... Prob because that's how i would do things, but that's just me.

Like Tandy Electronics, Dick Smith Electronics yearly catalog was more than just a Catalog, it was a place where dreams were made, new Technology was at your fingertips and budgets were stretched to afford that special something.

This week i read in the news that Dick Smith Electronics has gone into receivership, no crystal ball needed to see that coming.
I feel sorry for the staff that works at Dick Smith Electronics, retail is no easy meal ticket... Hours are long, customers are trying at times & the pay is shit.

The whole thing just upsets me, it stinks, They had everything you could want, all in one place. and now, soon, It Will Be Gone

 So, whats next?

Jaycar Electronics is the only one left standing...

I was reading Jaycar's yearly catalog recently and was stunned by the amount of goodness they have for sale. I'm talking about 548 pages of goodness... That's 7060 products at your fingertips (620 new products).
How cool is that?

So i am asking readers of this site, don't forget Jaycar Electronics... Next time you want a plug or a fuse or a radio or speakers or... you get the idea, flick through the Jaycar Electronics Catalog and help keep this special establishment alive because once its gone, its gone.

Rant Over.

LINKS

http://www.jaycar.com.au/catalogue

http://www.jaycar.com.au/

https://twitter.com/jaycarau


Opinions made in this post are my own, they are whats in my head at this particular time. This is not a paid thing from Jaycar Electronics, its just my beliefs.

Thanks for reading