vbradio 🎙️🌐

Amateur radio ̶n̶e̶r̶d̶ enthusiast, lover of everything TUI and command line Kung Fu 😁 also fixer/builder of electronic things .:[Peace]:. ...oh yeah cats!

Public Key

npub1uhe5zgkflxv23yepuz6trnv28sk5a3zx497kqtmjgq0xq48m075svumqar

NIP-05 Address

vbradio@mastodon-sdf-org.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswtu6pytylnx9gjvs7pd93ek9rct2wc3r2jltq9aeyq8nq2nahl2grjmytu

Author Public Key

npub1uhe5zgkflxv23yepuz6trnv28sk5a3zx497kqtmjgq0xq48m075svumqar

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Last Notes

2025-05-31 20:27:02

Nothing is more effective to break doom-scrolling when the SDF Mastodon instance disappears for hours on end and comes back with no explanation whatsover. Stay weird SDF :) #doomscrolling #randomtag #mastodon

2025-05-30 16:18:26

Oh yeah, that 'forgotten' NTP server 😆 #linux #raspberrypi
16:15:19 up 413 days, 12:02, 3 users, load average: 0.38, 0.42, 0.31
pi@raspberrypi:~$

2025-05-20 17:32:14

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@nprofile…tvuw Oh yeah --> "let's eat, grandma" -or- "let's eat grandma"

2025-05-13 17:28:54

Dark secrets. Scary stuff! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR8cMi67WNc
#electronics #junk

2025-04-17 15:47:11

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@nprofile…kxpq Well that's OK, my support for Microsoft ended in 1999.

2025-04-14 16:59:44

Once and while I'll scan the CB channels / frequencies and let me tell you,
it sounds like a Burt Reynolds movie from the 70's. #convoy #cb

2025-04-11 14:14:35

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@nprofile…80wh ..one moment please

2025-04-07 20:13:56

S-meter from an old CB radio and two silicon diodes make a good RF indicator. Clip it on with a little alligator jumper. Connect the other side to the DC ground of your HF radio, computer or antenna tuner ground and now you can see any AC (RF) floating on your equipment..if it's too high you might have a problem. #HamRadio #AmateurRadio #RF
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/298/408/121/724/464/original/f129d5970a34a0c8.jpg
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/298/410/153/873/023/original/12773845082f4e02.jpg
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/298/503/524/884/810/original/738ef636444c4fed.jpg
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/298/504/518/457/503/original/e1e2050c06b90f46.jpg

2025-04-06 22:32:26

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@nprofile…tvuw solid advice :)

2025-04-02 16:35:43

My old Alinco DR-610 has been thru a lot the last 25+ years.
New/bigger cooling fan, new display back-lighting, some super glue for
a cracked front panel case. However, still a great radio that doesn't
need any backup battery to retain memory channels and nice soft
squelch operation compared to some newer Chinese radio's that simply
switch the voltage on/off to the audio amplifier stage. #Electronics
#AmateurRadio
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/269/335/656/588/430/original/38fa48aa039c7952.jpeg

2025-03-29 12:42:59

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@nprofile…v6cz toot is great for sure but tut provides way more options. Big one for me is, how easy it is to change the color scheme.

2025-03-28 21:31:15

I've been using the Mastodon TUI Client 'Tut' today and wow, just what the doctor ordered for a terminal freak.
https://tut.anv.nu/
#tui

2025-03-23 12:59:54

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@nprofile…tvuw yeah, I thought about taking it outside and puncture it with a nail and hammer... For science of course 😎

2025-03-22 20:32:34

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..just a follow up. My crude discharge method made this pack swell twice the size of what you can see in the picture. I just wanted it to have no serious flame bursting potential when it hits the recycling station. 🔥

2025-03-22 20:22:47

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@nprofile…z8gd for me the noise level is about the same. which has not been the case in the past. makes me wonder what devices are causing this.

2025-03-22 20:08:55

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@nprofile…z8gd depending on where you, this is pretty close to 'normal' levels. check out https://vu2nsb.com/s-meter-noise-floor-hf-receivers/ a better test would be a neighborhood power outage 😉

2025-03-15 12:51:09

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@nprofile…7x4l That pesky "a" too short to even be bothered to print it. One small step for man

2025-03-14 01:54:03

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@nprofile…tvuw Oh nice, gonna have to look that up

2025-03-14 01:52:38

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Lol, glad to hear I'm not the only one 😊

2025-03-14 00:40:40

Today I've tested two 9 volt batteries by using my tongue. I wonder if I'm the only person that does that 🤔 #electronics #AmateurRadio 😛 🔋

2025-03-10 13:45:12

A puffy stacked lithium ion battery pack out of a USB power bank. Fun Monday morning start. Discharging it with a 12V lightbulb before discarding it #electronics
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/138/402/215/025/418/original/9e6256edd11a4db2.jpg

2025-03-10 11:28:53

It's not like we set the clocks (time) an hour ahead, we all collectively decided to start doing things an hour earlier. Please stop it! #resist #DST

2025-03-10 10:33:44

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@nprofile…0tvd sometimes app developers put so much crap in their updates that it makes it useless or unpleasant to use. So updates or not necessary upgrades. Begin able to downgrade an app is important too. With Aptoide you can just do that.

2025-03-02 18:57:47

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@nprofile…l60t Hi, sometimes electronic devices nearby emit high pitch tones. things like switched power adapters like cell phone chargers, TV's etc and I've heard my refrigerator trying to talk to me in morse code before. Perhaps you've never noticed those sounds before? Not to rule out any issues with your hearing aids. Just a thought :)

2025-02-28 17:14:12

With all the Mozilla Firefox shenanigans going on, may I suggest Librewolf? A custom and independent version of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy, security and user freedom. https://librewolf.net/
#mozilla #firefox #librewolf

2025-02-24 21:09:58

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@nprofile…9maw Yeah no problem :) it was more of a challenge to see if i can do it with my current equipment. better option would be an SDR that covers all 30 Mhz HF bands at once like the kiwiSDR

2025-02-24 13:01:54

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@nprofile…9maw Kenwood TS140 with a RX tap passed the bandpass filters feeding a SDRPlay.
The Kenwood is set to 20 M WSPR using WSJTX. With SDRAngel (SDR Software)
and SDRPlay, I've set 3 SSB demodulators 30,40 and 80 M. Each audio output
feeds into an individual virtual audio loopback device. Then the audio is
fed into WSJTX (3 separate versions). My Antenna is a bit of an odd thing
but can be compared to 80 M EFHW at 30 feet height

2025-02-23 19:57:52

..speaking of aliases @nprofile…6kgk When I first 'forced' myself into learning Vim:
alias nano="vim" 😆
#BASH #linux

2025-02-23 19:25:16

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Here is a short recording of a station received on 20 Meter about 1700 km away
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/054/835/124/742/560/original/d1deec02642076fb.mp3

2025-02-23 19:17:21

FreeDV Rade mode sounds fantastic. A great step towards quality sounding #AmateurRadio digital voice on HF
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/054/804/903/797/087/original/5efaafbb5bc5dd3f.jpg

2025-02-23 18:33:21

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@nprofile…6kgk vbradio@boss:~$ alias | wc -l
35
Naaah

2025-02-22 16:33:25

With my 4 band WSPR receive setup, I total around 1040 unique call signs in a 24 hour period.
That puts my station at about 147 in the worlds top 200. #AmateurRadio
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/048/491/009/146/094/original/76974d319e443017.jpg

2025-02-20 16:25:21

Always wanted to try this; 4 bands WSPR receive all at once, 80,40,30 and 20 Meter. My poor Intel i5 quad core 😂 #HamRadio #AmateurRadio
https://mastodon.sdf.org/system/media_attachments/files/114/037/135/438/300/546/original/d619fb6dd5486285.jpg

2025-02-20 00:10:21

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@nprofile…lnsv I'm often surprised and amused to see some makers and tinkerers toss in Arduinos to do simple things like blinking an LED or some other function that can be done with a few discrete components :)

2025-02-19 22:04:57

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@nprofile…e86t A staff of wizards

2025-02-12 18:42:45

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@nprofile…0tvd Tux and Screen FTW !

2025-02-12 18:19:41

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@nprofile…njha Yes, that could work too. I made it so you can quickly check where your signal lands on pskreporter.info
I've considered it calling 'a polite' beacon since it has the same function as a HB without 'forcing' other stations to transmit.

2025-02-12 15:37:44

JS8call Soft Beacon, now available in Python.
https://gitlab.com/VBRadio/js8call-python-soft-beacon
🤔 "What is it?", I hear you ask?
A Beacon that will TX your call sign without HB replies BUT receiving stations will spot you to pskrep.info
#hamradio #amateurradio #js8call #digital #beacon

2025-01-21 02:05:00

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@nprofile…0tvd ICQ with total strangers

2025-01-20 14:38:34

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@nprofile…5rk8 Hi, if you haven't, take a look at Qdmr a Linux DMR radio programming utility. https://dm3mat.darc.de/qdmr/ another thing to consider is keeping a W10 VM with virtualbox.

2025-01-11 22:19:08

Enjoy your #AmateurRadio hobby. Don't worry about bringing in 'young' people, forget about politics, clubs etc. Have some fun and create some RF

2024-12-19 00:19:22

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@nprofile…kqfr My Ten-Tec OmniD should come out of storage 😎

2024-12-16 14:15:17

.. The noticeable things that did not work where;
Any Electron based app like 'Freetube' or
'Discord'. Also 'SDRconnect' for SDRplay and
the pulseaudio tray app.
Conclusion; I've got a workable system under
Wayland in case X11 support is dropped anytime
soon. Now #linux devs please support Wayland :)
since that is where Linux is heading.
#AmateurRadio #wayland
2/2

2024-12-16 14:12:52

I've been trying out Wayland instead of X11.
My preferred window manager 'i3wm' does not work
but a Wayland version called 'sway' is a great
substitute and the familiar 'i3blocks' works
just fine under Wayland. As of #AmateurRadio,
no problems running 'js8call', 'wsjt-x' and
'sdr++'. For other apps there where a few
tweaks that had to be made or a Wayland
supported substitute was available.
1/2

2024-12-16 11:44:33

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@nprofile…6679 those modes often sacrifice bandwidth for data or 2 voice channels instead of using the while available bandwidth for voice encoding

2024-11-29 17:17:38

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@nprofile…0tvd Suse Linux bought at the local bookstore and came as 4 CD-ROMs or so. Probably around 1995-ish. Fun times

2024-11-26 20:56:25

2024-11-20 19:59:19

interestingly, 25 years ago 'we' wanted a static home internet IP address. Now it's the equivalent of your physical home address. 🙃 #cybersecurity #opsec #privacy

2024-11-01 19:35:36

like JS8Call? check out my 'soft' beacon https://gitlab.com/VBRadio/js8call-soft-beacon/
A Beacon that will TX your callsign without HB replies BUT receiving stations will spot you to pskrep.info #hamradio #amateurradio #js8call #digital