Phil M0OFX

Software preservation, electronics, software and ham radio - a maker of things!

Pronouns: https://pronoun.is/he/him

Current projects:
#Datatrak radio navigation
DIY #AnalogCable TV headend
Software preservation (#DigiPres)
Silicon chip photos (#ICRE)

Trans rights are human rights
Opinions are my own
Former community organiser with Opinions on running healthy communities

Tags: #electronics #HamRadio #Metalworking #RetroComputing #HardwareHacking #ReverseEngineering #Maker

ham callsign: M0OFX
github: https://github.com/philpem
website: https://www.philpem.me.uk
backup account: https://oldbytes.space/@philpem

Public Key

npub1pu6x6lz9s8n200v758szpztnkq94nrnl55c5ujmhx3ul4arcvqjqmwp73t

NIP-05 Address

philpem_at_digipres.club@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsq7drd03zcre48hk02rcpq39emqz6e3el62v2wfdmng70673uxqfq8mr0pd

Author Public Key

npub1pu6x6lz9s8n200v758szpztnkq94nrnl55c5ujmhx3ul4arcvqjqmwp73t

Show more details

Published at

2024-09-10T08:53:29Z

Kind type

0 Metadata

Event JSON

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Last Notes

2024-09-08 19:45:58

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The best kind of enabler, a friend!

2024-09-08 19:38:56

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^^ this. You didn't drag us out, we volunteered to join you because we wanted to.

2024-08-30 01:06:45

OH: Perl is the screwdriver no dinner set should be without

2024-08-28 16:03:02

Hi. I'm the kid who liked to take things apart and figure out how they worked. Thing is, now I'm 30 odd years older, and I haven't grown out of taking things apart.

2024-08-05 11:38:10

OH: "SCO is possibly the only company that can make you feel sorry for Novell"

2024-07-31 03:22:53

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No, but you might regret it if you need to replace it in future. Solder splashes make the blue ones go an ugly brown, I expect it's worse on the cream ones.
It probably plugs into an earthing plug with a one-megohm resistor. Usually they have snap studs but sometimes banana plugs are used. They're frowned upon in labs because they invite mistakes like wiring the earthing mat up to a power supply output.

2024-07-31 03:07:01

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Sounds like you need to find someone who wants to get started in electronics or a related hobby :)

2024-07-31 03:04:58

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You are not wrong about that, I've been truly spoiled by some of the people I've run into, and one day I hope I can repay at least some of the favours.
"Pay it forward!" is a fantastic culture.

2024-07-31 03:03:02

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Tidier than mine...!

2024-06-20 15:34:55

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I'm tempted to go with a 68k UNIX one. Just because.

2024-06-20 10:51:48

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They're going to need a lot more than a million people to do that, and statistically speaking, younger people tend to vote left...
Based on that, could be they're looking at an even bigger wipeout than the exit polls predict.
I hope people don't get complacent. Everyone who's registered to vote needs to do so.

2024-06-20 10:49:00

The voter registration stats are mind-blowing. 3,349,935 have registered in the last month alone.
The majority are in the 25-34 year old age bracket, 1,048,856 people, or 31.31% of the total.
Next are the under-25s, with 849,583 registrations, making up 25.36% of the total.
Under-35s collectively? 56.67%. 1,898,439 people.
This is from a population of 67 million (2022).
Who says the kids aren't alright?
Data from https://www.registertovote.service.gov.uk/performance
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/648/499/170/706/137/original/5a4b929c0da3d0fa.png
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/648/511/729/190/077/original/d92ce41152bd8a73.png

2024-06-19 00:29:50

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If you didn't catch it, the moral of the story is - whenever someone says something is a "special proprietary part"? Chances are, that's a heap of crap.
Custom parts are expensive, so unless you're Apple, you just don't do it. That is, unless the custom part is cheaper than the subassembly it replaces.
This applies especially to parts like bolts, nuts, washers, snap-rings and O-rings. Most of these are covered by ISO, BS or DIN standards!
Why? To keep production costs down...

2024-06-19 00:23:42

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Jones listened while Smith continued.
"If we use standard screws, we don't have to order special parts. That's cheaper for manufacturing and repair! That means --"
Jones cut him off: "More profit! Bigger bonuses!"
Smith fired back, "Yes, but also less stress for everyone! In fact, I think we can design this using only one single size of bolt... just one tray on the production line!"
"So nobody can put the wrong size bolt in the wrong place?"
"Exactly!"
And Jones was enlightened.

2024-06-19 00:19:46

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Jones's eye twitched. It always did that when he was surprised.
"Sir, I appreciate your input, you have been with the company for 30 years, but I don't see why it's necessary."
"Jones, I know you mean well, but each one of these custom bolts is something Field Service will have to stock. We'll have to re-train Field Service to watch out for subtly different lengths of bolt and create diagrams to show where they go. There's only 40 thou between some of them! Nobody can tell them apart by eye!"

2024-06-19 00:14:10

The Parable of the Special Part
Jones and his manager Mr. Smith were in a design review meeting.
Jones was a bundle of pure enthusiasm: "The new Metroencabulator is the best we've ever made!"
Smith was unmoved. "Why do you have 19 different M3 bolt lengths, and why are some custom?"
"That's just how it is, sir," Jones said. "We need those sizes to reach the design goals."
"Jones," replied Smith, "There is plenty of room to drill these holes deeper. Then we can use all standard size bolts!"

2024-06-18 11:05:21

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As much as I agree in principle, I'd like more time for the Tories to dig themselves a deeper pit and ideally for Reform to make themselves look unhinged too. Plus I'm busy as hell this week and next...

2024-06-17 21:46:24

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I remember Word 6, the last version that just got out of your way and let you get work done!

2024-06-17 14:11:22

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Because it's scary how people can pin down your address with just a photo, then turn up and ask you to autograph their replica orphan source?

2024-06-15 23:33:11

You're probably a geek if you have a Thinkpad on the coffee table shelf, but what about if you have two and a BPM universal device programmer?

2024-06-15 12:27:24

The four stages of #icre, from Chips a la Antoine, to a bare chip ready for microscope examination.
#silicon #ICReverseEnginering
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/620/612/530/903/954/original/0a2ea0e39e2d6f8d.jpg
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/620/612/961/717/617/original/20c29dbbf7209e39.jpg
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/620/613/381/746/316/original/6e9825d3297d6f4a.jpg
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/620/613/458/044/577/original/a27bd02b2c932e5e.jpg

2024-06-11 20:19:03

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As the old saying goes, "your knife is your life".

2024-06-11 19:48:58

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Plated up, with a squeeze of lime
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/599/717/371/134/255/original/f0c688348b58c94d.jpg

2024-06-11 19:25:41

Curry night! Chicken balti.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/599/623/955/861/760/original/05172dfcf800ebea.jpg

2024-06-10 22:08:17

I have a box full of WEEE in the garage I'd like to get rid of ... checked the local council website.
"Access to recycling centres is prohibited on foot: you must bring a vehicle."
"Any commercial vehicle is prohibited, defined as: any vehicle with Taxi or Hackney plates. Any vehicle with a trailer. Vans, pick-up trucks. Any car with more than 5 seats. Any vehicle whose registered keeper lives outside of the area."
It's like they want people to fly-tip.

2024-06-10 19:36:34

My old BT master socket, surplus to requirements... Now wire ended. Because why not?
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/594/003/723/794/551/original/e99b2f14adf9f783.jpg

2024-06-09 15:13:37

I had no Idea rhubarb grew like that. #gardening
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/587/309/457/027/732/original/424f66e0a24c314a.jpg

2024-06-09 02:26:09

Cool. Doom FX SNES source code. https://archive.org/details/jeffs-doom-snes-disk-images

2024-06-08 16:39:08

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So that's where all those cocky faxes came from...

2024-06-07 10:24:38

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Bob on the badge team? Reportedly they said it was "definitely happening". I've just asked the person who said that whether they were talking about your LoRA Hexpansion or someone else's.

2024-06-07 08:06:30

The thing I would most like to understand about #emfcamp is how the organisers and attendees have built such a good culture. I've volunteered for events half the size where the culture boils down to "nobody cares about anyone but themselves", and EMF is a breath of fresh air.
I'd love to understand it so it could hopefully be distilled into a guidebook and duplicated elsewhere.
Just more events where people feel safe to be themselves.

2024-06-06 07:36:36

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Mmm, they're at least supposed to forward it onto the responsible TOC ... good luck!
At times like that I usually brush up on the relevant parts of the NRCoT[1] and get ready to quote them...
1: https://assets.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/77fuBWp62YPSrGwBP1mNQX/5f912e6484a2dc7efbad3b4ed0c9b383/National_Rail_Conditions_of_Travel_2024.pdf#page=23

2024-06-06 00:57:23

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Ah, you got stuck in the Sheffield mess too? Sorry to hear. You might be happy to hear that XC have agreed to pay out the delay-repay, in full and complete.

2024-06-05 00:26:26

Just submitted a Delay Repay form for the 3hr delay going to EMF on Thursday.
Confirmation email?
"Please reply and send us all that information again."
Time for CrossCountry to lose their franchise...

2024-06-04 05:27:07

I've reached the point where I'm sick of trying to find "the right RS232 cable for $thing". My idea was to make up a bunch of RJ45-to-DB9 or DB25 adapters to go from Cisco Console to $whatever, because those cables are ubiquitous.
It's a good idea but one thing annoys me: to do DTE<=>DTE (null modem) you need rollover cables. I'd never expect to find a rollover cable in a box of random RJ45 cables. Especially if it was made of cat5 (that should be a crossover or straight patch cable)

2024-06-03 12:03:34

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I'm approaching that point too, two foam groundsheets was pushing it slightly. A friend mentioned Decathlon or GoOutdoors had groundsheets with an airbed built in - I'm thinking that might be my plan for 2026.

2024-06-03 11:14:00

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I think one weekend has recharged my creativity and faith in humanity and that's just awesome

2024-06-03 11:08:29

A few things you'll hear and say a lot at #emfcamp:
"Don't worry about it, pay it forward."
"Hey, you need a hand?"
"My round!"
"That's a really cool project, tell me more!"
"Oh yeah, it seems hard but there's an easier way to do that! Would you like me to show you?"
Need I say more?

2024-06-01 13:27:25

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Also ran into @npub1339…7uqw finishing his blacksmithing just as I was starting mine. Thanks for the sticker - it was a pleasure meeting you!
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/541/586/837/840/577/original/0a2571389387a955.jpg

2024-06-01 13:19:32

And as if orphan sources and big scary lasers weren't a big enough worry... There are Cryptids too #emf2024 #emfcamp
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/541/562/549/450/256/original/c9e9a33d93477e3d.jpg

2024-05-31 20:38:05

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There's still chemical, biological and nuclear to check off...
Sorry, someone had the 'rona didn't they - I stand corrected, just two.

2024-05-31 12:41:17

I made a coat hook! And I think I was grinning all the way through #emfcamp
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/535/737/438/494/805/original/0d96b9dd1e8c3271.jpg

2024-05-30 15:33:42

It's amazing to me how much human behaviour relies on trust, which is rooted in "nobody would be enough of a dick to break the rules". And then when someone does, it's "huh. Now what do we do?"

2024-05-29 08:46:01

"What is the payload size of a fully laden UDP datagram?" is not a question I was expecting to answer this morning.

2024-05-27 23:31:13

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Wait, what? Someone broke a Ceeform? I trust you but I'd like to verify this. The braying masses politely request pics of this travesty!

2024-05-26 15:43:28

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Absolute candour time - if the Schuko socket hadn't been moulded on, I'd have just shortened the cable.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/508/148/968/887/876/original/ff8ea3d0fca55062.jpg

2024-05-26 15:35:22

Anyway, thanks to the invention of RCBOs, I'm not going to be a footnote in Tim Hunkin's EMF talk on the history of electrocution this weekend.
Is your hedge trimmer truly broken-in without at least one waterproof splice on the power cable?
(I have a rule, maximum one splice: if the cable gets cut again, it gets shortened or replaced)

2024-05-25 10:00:34

Well it's eleven o'clock on a Saturday,
The regular crowd's sneaking in.
There's a young man sittin' next to me
Makin' love to his Club-Mate drink
He says "Son, can you find me a zero-day?"
"I'm not really sure how it goes."
"But it's easy, a treat, and I knew it complete"
"Before it was called 'out of scope'."

2024-05-23 15:47:04

I really need to break out of my habit of bodging stuff together out of whatever cheap Sparkfun- and Adafruit-style protoboards I can find. My old job put me off doing electronic design for a while and I'd like to get back in the groove.

2024-05-16 17:18:23

C++ senses twitching. #emfcamp
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/451/906/225/743/805/original/46a06bd4c1ceab06.png

2024-05-11 18:37:13

This is garlic bread, I'm told
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/423/903/774/959/095/original/88c9a9f7495a76f6.jpg

2024-05-10 23:53:55

OH: nanotechnology was hard, who knew?
Me: We taught sand how to think...
BF: This made a lot of people very angry and is widely regarded as a bad idea

2024-05-10 16:29:53

Github: "It looks like you're adding a new SSH key. Please log in with your second factor."
Also Github: "Would you like to use your password instead?"

2024-05-02 17:39:18

Technicians: "I'm an engineer!"
Me, an engineer: "*twitch*"

2024-04-21 19:42:15

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The good ol' 7805?

2024-04-05 16:29:40

If at first you don't succeed, remember that most of the members of the Tory party Cabinet have never succeeded at a single thing in their life, and they're running the country.
And no matter what you do, you could never fail as hard as Liz Truss, David Cameron or Jeremy Hunt.

2024-03-24 17:12:26

When not even your quality control stickers are good enough to pass QC
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/151/777/056/439/794/original/ce5657c8eefeafa4.png

2024-03-20 17:04:51

RE #LegacyIPOnly stickers - If you want the artwork to make your own, it's freely available from
https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2013/07/the-legacy-ip-only-ipv6-horse-and-buggy-stickers-how-to-get-copies/
https://stickers.n3pb.org/
I think I posted this link earlier, but as a lot of people were asking, I'm reposting it.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/112/129/102/663/694/530/original/706e922feec02632.png