Powerwerx Inline DC Power Analyzer

Last week before heading upstate for a camping trip and off-grid ham radio work, I picked up a Powerwerx inline DC power analyzer. When operating off battery power, it's good to know how many volts your battery is actually putting out so that you don't drain it too much.

From the Amazon description:

• Measuring capacity up to 60V and 100A.
• 12 gauge wire with Powerpole connectors.
• Bright blue backlit LCD display.
• Measures 8 electrical parameters: Amps, Volts, Watts, Amp-hours, Watt-hours, Peak Amps, Minimum Volts (Sag), Peak Watts.
• No configuration, works automatically!

It's in this picture between my Icom 7200 and laptop.

Unless you dedicated battery pack with an integrated meter, this is a worthwhile addition to a portable ham radio kit.

Chance the RF-Enabled Coyote Hunting Dog and the Off-Grid Butterknife Dipole

This weekend I went camping with friends Nick and Ed at Nick's property in Tioga County, PA for some good food, conversation, shooting, and off grid ham radio in the woods. Nick and I hold General class amateur radio licenses, whiled Ed got his Amateur Extra ticket.

Ed got upstate on Friday and so was able to setup early Saturday morning to check in with a CAP net. Unfortunately NVIS propagation on 80M wasn't good and he wasn't able to hear anyone.

Ed's rig: a UK-surplus PRC-320 manpack HF radio. He likes the rugged nature and simple operation.

Meanwhile, Nick and I drove up separately on Saturday morning, arriving around 1530.

Saturday night was spent socializing with the locals and sitting around the fire with some bourbon and Baccarat Rothschild cigars.

Sunday morning we got a visitor: Chance the RF-Enabled Coyote Hunting Dog. He belongs to one of the locals and was out hunting with some pack mates when he caught wind of the sausages we were frying for breakfast. He was very friendly but as a pup, didn't want to return to his master when he got the return buzz through his collar, so we spoke to him when he came to retrieve the dog.

(The antenna is for a GPS-enabled tracker that also allows the owner to transmit a signal to the dog for him to return. The range is several miles.)

On Sunday we hoisted an 80M dipole antenna. But this wasn't an off the shelf antenna, or even a conventional homebrew dipole. Behold the Off-Grid Butterknife Dipole:

We constructed it from aluminum MIG welding wire with plastic butterknives as the center insulator and spaces for the open wire ladder line we fed it with from the antenna tuner.

Prepping the knives:

To elevate the antenna we needed to get suspension lines over trees. To get the suspension lines up we attached fishing line running from a Zebco Dock Demon spincasting rod to an arrow and shot it over the trees on both ends.

Ed has NanoVNA vector network analyzer so he was able to determine at what the antenna was resonant. Before it was hoisted it was resonant at 3560 KHz on the 80M band, very close to what we wanted.

We tried the antenna with Nick's Icom 718 using an Icom AH-4 antenna tuner, as well as with my Icom 7200 with LDG IT-100 tuner feeding a 25 foot piece of coax connected to an LDG 4:1 balun.

Nick called CQ a few times and although we didn't get any replies we were able to confirm he was getting out to the surrounding several hundred miles via monitoring on WebSDR.

(My laptop got Internet access via the hotspot on my iPhone. Not something to be expected in a grid-down scenario, but we were experimenting.)

We switched over to my rig and got these results on WSPR:

(From the WSPR Watch app on my iPhone.)

Monday morning we hooked up Nick's SDRplay receiver to the antenna. 80M was hopping:

This isn't the first field expedient antenna we've setup at the camp. A couple years ago we did a large, random-length loop made from welding wire that at best was about 5 feet off the ground. We were able to check into a North PA/South NY 160M net. We also had a similar 80M welding wire dipole but it was only about 4 feet off the ground. It still worked great as a receiving antenna.

We left the antenna up when we left but realize that due to the weak nature of the construction it may not be intact the next time we go upstate. However, we also discussed raising more durable antennas and running them to an antenna pass-though in the cabin. E.g., 40M and 80M dipoles, and a 160M loop.

Homebrew wire antennas are pretty cheap, so it's not like doing so will be a major investment.

HP Laptop for Emcomm, First Impressions

I've been getting back into ham radio lately and have a trip upstate planned for Memorial Day weekend. The two friends I am going with are also hams, so one of the activities we like to do in the evening is off-grid communication practice.

My specific interest is in digital mode communications, which requires either a mobile device or a computer to connect to the radio and run various applications. For field ops in the past I've used an iPad and an MSI Wind netbook. I traded in the iPad a year or two ago and the netbook is ancient at this point (plus has a small 10" screen) so I wanted something better.

My normal computer is an Apple MacBook Pro. However, I am not enthused about bringing a $3,000 laptop into the field, plus it seems like a lot of ham apps are better supported on Windows or Linux.

So, Friday after work I went down to Microcenter and picked up an HP 15-ef1072nr 15.6" laptop running Windows 10 Home for $400. The specs are decent for the price, IMO:

• Dual-core AMD Ryzen 2.6 GHz CPU
• 8 GB RAM
• 256 GB SSD
• AMD Radeon 3 graphics

As expected, the hardware feels a lot cheaper than my MacBook Pro. The Mac's case is machined from billets of aluminum. The HP's case is plastic. The keyboard is mushy but usable. The screen is nowhere near that of the MacBook Pro. Overall, the HP is much lighter than the MBP, which is nice.

Battery life seems good. It was partially charged when I brought it home. I plugged it in while setting everything up but then rant it down to around 10% over the course of several hours with web browsing, YouTube, and email. I repeated that on Saturday and probably got a good 7 hours before it went into battery saver mode.

The huge trackpad on the current MacBook Pros really spoils you and it is missed on the HP.

The HP's space bar is annoying. Pressing it towards the right end doesn't do anything. I tend to press the space bar with my right hand so this is a PITA and hinders typing.

Of course, one of the things I had to do was get Windows updated. Compared with Apple's macOS updates, Windows Updates remains a major PITA with multiple reboots required. Overall, it takes a lot more time.

It has been quite awhile since I used a Windows PC for desktop computing although I ocassionally have to login to a Windows server at work so the UI isn't totally unfamiliar.

Anyway, after cleaning up some of the factory-installed bloatware I loaded a number of utilites to make life easier:

• Notepad++ (In which I wrote most of this. On Mac, I use BBEdit.)
• Piriform CCleaner
• Piriform Speccy
• Replaced the pre-loaded Office 365 with Office 2019 Pro Plus
• Visio 2019
• Google Chrome
• iCloud for Windows so I can sync bookmarks with my Mac and iPhone
• nmap
• Wireshark
• Windows Subsystem for Linux with Kali Linux installed
• Signal
• ZOC terminal

And these ham radio apps:

• Fldigi
• JS8Call
• WSJT-X
• Chirp (For programming my Icom 7200, Yaesu FT-817ND, and Baofeng HTs)

The two Apple applications I'll miss most when using the HP are Messages and Facetime, neither of which are supported on Windows.

Incidentally, Microcenter limited the number of people in the store at a time, you had to wear a mask, and before going inside you had your hands sprayed with sanitized by an employee. Also, they are not taking cash, only credit or debit cards.

Testing a New Laptop for Ham Radio and WSPR

I picked up a cheap HP laptop at Microcenter on Friday to run ham radio apps on in the field. I'd rather not take my $3,000 MacBook Pro camping, plus it's a fact that a lot of ham radio apps are better supported in Windows. Should something bad happen, it'll be a lot easier to swallow with a $400 laptop.

Anyway, today I was configuring the HP to work with my Icom 7200 using Fldigi, JS8Call, and WSJT-X, and tried out transmitting using the latter in WSPR mode. The antenna was my Hawaii EARCH 40-6M end-fed, strung approximately horizontally out to my back fence. This is far from optimal.

I transmitted on WSPR at 50W a few times and checked propagation using WSPR Watch on my iPhone. Not bad.

Along with a couple friends I'm heaing up to Tioga Country next weekend. We're all hams and off-grid operations are on the list of activities. One thing I want to try is a random-length loop antenna using welding wire, connected to my antenna tuner using an LDG 4:1 balun. My friend did this a couple years ago and it worked great, allowing him to check in on a north PA/south NY 160M net.

NOCO Jump Pack

This afternoon I got to meet a new neighbor and try out a piece of equipment I bought a couple years ago.

My daughter was at the neighbor's playing outside with their daughter. She called and asked if I knew how to jump start a car, because her friend's older brother's car wouldn't start. It's been a long time since I've had to jump a car, but heck, I'm Gen-X and we know these things.

I went down the block to meet them. His car was an older Toyota RAV4 and when asked, he didn't know how old the battery was. It had died without the lights or accessories being left on, so I told him it's time for a new battery but we would try to start it.

Back in 2018 I bought a NOCO Boost Plus GB40 1000 Amp jump starter pack on sale from Amazon. Since then I have kept it in the back of my truck, taking it inside a few times a year to top off the charge. This was the first time I've had to use it.

I connected up the unit and let it charge the dead battery for about 30 seconds then had him start the car. It fired right up, whereupon I disconnected the jump pack and told him to keep the car running for about 20 minutes.

The jump pack worked like a champ and I'm glad to have it. The only thing I didn't care for is that it doesn't come with a decent storage case, so I bought one of these separately.

As far as I'm concerned everyone should keep a jump pack in their vehicle. They are a lot more convenient than jumper cables, not to mention you don't need another vehicle. The lithium battery powered units don't take up much space and retain their charge for months.

This is where I get to make fun of Millenials: The guy who's car I jumped is obviously one, in his 20s, and asked me how long his battery would be good for after I charged it. He didn't know that as long as the engine is running there's a part called an "alternator" that charges the battery.

I'll give the kid a break, because he was wearing a volunteer firefight shirt, which means he's no wimp.

However, with a lot of kids growing up in fatherless households not learning how to work on cars, coupled with the complexity of modern cars that discourages a self-repair work, a lot of Millenials and Zoomers never learn how cars function. To them, it's just an appliance.

Driver's education courses really should include a basic education on how cars work and emergency procedures like how to jump start one and change a tire.

Paul Harrell: Top Ten Tips for Pandemic Gun Buyers Part 2

Thoughts on Picking a .22 Handgun for the Lady of the House

Over on Bushcraft USA, the topic of picking a .22 LR handgun for a member's wife came up. The member's wife is adamant that she doesn't want anything larger than a .22. He was asking for input so I offered these thoughts:

First off, if at all possible get her to a gun store and let her handle a few different guns, to see which one is most comfortable for her. If you can rent some and shoot them, all the better.

Secondly, compact rimfire double action revolvers have hard trigger pulls which makes shooting them accurately much more difficult. This includes S&W J-Frames and Ruger LCRs in .22. (The one LCR I handled in .38 Special had a nice trigger.)
Thirdly, compact DA revolvers in general are tough to shoot well without proper training and a lot of practice. They are often recommended for women because they are small. But between the heavy triggers on the .22s and their general difficulty to shoot accurately -- which is doubly important with a .22 -- they are most often a very poor choice for the ladies, unless they have greater than normal hand strength and are willing to practice a lot.

Compact .22 autoloaders tend to have better triggers and are in general easier to shoot than .22 snubbies. They usually hold more rounds, as well. A good example is the Ruger SR22. I picked one up a couple years ago. My now-15 y/o daughter took to it immediately and shoots it well. It is a DA/SA semiautomatic pistol that uses 10 round magazines. It's very light and has a rail under the dust cover that allows easy mounting of a weapon light or a laser. Mine has been very reliable.

If relying on a .22 for defense ammo is critical for reliability. In my experience, CCI .22 LR is the most reliable. Bulk pack .22s give the most ignition problems. My choice for .22 LR defensive use would be CCI Mini Mag solids, for best reliability and penetration.
Keep the gun clean and properly lubed with particular attention to the firing pin channel, and feed it high quality ammo, and it will serve well for defense.

He also noted that she might consider a Ruger PCC Charger in 9mm, to which I replied:

If for some reason she won't go for the Charger version of the 9mm carbine, Ruger makes the 10/22 Charger. Setup as you suggested and with a Ruger BX-25, 25-round mag, that would make a formidable defensive weapon.

.22 LR is far from ideal as a defensive round but it beats harsh language and provides people who for whatever reason cannot handle a larger cartridge a means of self defense.

Paul Harrel: Tips for Pandemic Gun Buyers

This video is a good list of tips for people new to gun ownership.

His first tip in particular is especially valuable: Be skeptical of anyone promoting themself as an authority and giving you advice.

NOTE: The video title says that it's a list of 10 tips. It's really 5 plus a bonus. He acknowledged this in a pinned comment.

For what it's worth, I've recently started watching Paul's videos. He is not tacticool but served 20 years in the USMC and US Army as a marksmanship instructor and light infantryman, and was involved in a defensive gun usage in which he survived and the other guy didn't.

Simple No-Sew Pleated Facemask

I made one of these and used it yesterday when I ran out to Lowe's. I added a paper shop towel in it, since it provides much better filtration than the cotton bandana I used. I also used a couple paper clips to help keep the ends folded in.

Revisiting SDR

Six years ago, I did some experimenting with an RTL-2132U USB dongle as a software defined radio on a Mac. Being stuck at home due to the coronavirus quarantine, I decided to dig it out and try setting it up.

After banging my head on the wall for a few hours trying to get various software packages to work, I downloaded CubicSDR onto my MacBook Pro running Catalina, and it pretty much just worked.

Here's a screenshot with the thing tuned to 102.9 WMGK:

I'm able to receive 92.5, 94.1, and 102.9 easily. 93.3 WMMR comes in poorly, but I'm in a little bit of a hole and my antenna is far from optimal. I'm using the little thing that came with the dongle.

I think I have an adapter cable that will allow me to connect the dongle to an SO-239 connector, which will be good because then I can use a 2M/70cm mag mount antenna and monitor local repeaters.

Report From a Respiratory Specialist Treating Coronavirus in New Orleans

This isn't good. Link.

Some Observations From My First Week Working From Home Due to the Coronapocalypse

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/some-observations-from-my-first-week-working-home-due-david-markowitz

Thoughts on the Mexican Beer Flu

Well, the whole COVID-19 coronavirus thing has really come to a head, with POTUS declaring a national emergency.

On the one hand, it's been clear that the MSM has been trying to gin up a panic in yet another effort to hurt President Trump. On the other hand, the reaction of all levels of government, who presumably are privy to info us great unwashed cannot see does raise concern. Also, some analysis I've seen on a private forum has me leaning in the direction of, "This is not a drill!"

Local to me, all schools are closed here in Pennsylvania for the next two weeks. It's my understanding that after the three snow days are used up, my kids will be getting homework assignments until Spring break in early April.

My wife teaches in Philadelphia, so she'll be home.

Large public gatherings are prohibited.

Many large corporations are having people who can work remotely do so.

I took off today, but this afternoon after I got back from the range I checked my work email. I saw that I'd missed a couple last minute, mandatory all-hands meetings, so I pinged my director. Starting on Monday, those of us who do not need to be onsite will be working from home until mid-April. I fall into that category. Also for this time, meetings will be held using Cisco Webex or Microsoft Teams and enabling the webcams on our laptops will be mandatory.

This will be an interesting test of my employer's VPN. I hope it can handle the load. There's a fair amount of work I can do without being connected to the VPN because we use public cloud services, but there will be times I need to connect via the VPN to login to various hosts.

As a prepper, I had already ensured that we had provisions laid in. A couple of weeks ago, seeing the possibility of quarantines, I'd added to them with a couple of runs to BJ's (yes, including TP). So, we're in good shape.

I might go out tomorrow and pick up a handle of Wild Turkey, though. ;)

I am a bit concerned about my parent and my MIL, all of whom are in their 70s. My brother and I "grounded" our parents. They are generally homebodies anyway but my MIL is a social butterfly, so hopefully she can find it in herself to stay home.

Stay safe out there.

7.62x39 AR-15 Range Report

Over on Blog O'Stuff.

COVID-19 Coronavirus Heat Map

Johns Hopkins put out this heat map dashboard tracking the global outbreak. It's worth a look.

LINK.

7.62x39 AR-15

Today I finished building my first AR-15 that isn't chambered for 5.56x45mm. It was time for something different.

While I find the 6.5 Grendel to be very interesting, I didn't want to get into a new caliber at this time, so this one is in 7.62x39. I've maintained a good stash of that caliber since before I got into ARs, starting when I bought a Chinese SKS in 1988.

I used the following parts:

• AR-Stoner complete parts kit from MidwayUSA, which I got on sale last month for $399.
• AR-STONER ambidextrous selector from MidwayUSA.
• UTG rear sight from MidwayUSA.
• 7.62x39 Enhanced Firing Pin from Black Rifle Arms.
• 7.62x39 Melonite bolt from BRA.
• C-Products Duramag 20 round magazines from AIM Surplus.
• Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 lower receiver, purchased locally.

The enhanced firing pin is to improve reliability with foreign ammo with hard primers, while the bolt from BRA is supposedly higher quality. One thing 7.62x39 ARs have the reputation for is breaking bolts. I'm hoping to avoid that but in case it happens, I'll have a spare ready to go.

First impressions of the AR-STONER kit were good, except for the poor staking of the carrier key to the bolt carrier, so I restaked the screws.

Here's the assembled carbine on my messy workbench:

And a close up of the receiver. It's my first AR with a graphic on it:

I would have finished it last weekend but managed to shoot a detent spring into the unknown. To complete the rifle I had to wait for an order containing spare detents and springs to arrive from Brownells.

It will be interesting to see what the recoil impulse of an AR-15 in 7.62x39 feels like compared with an SKS, AK, or VZ-2008.

I really hope that eventually Pennsylvania will legalize semiauto rifles for big game hunting. We got semiautos legalized for small game and varmints so hopefully after another year or two the PA Game Commission will realize that it hasn't caused the sky to fall and they'll let us use them for deer. This would make a fine rifle for the ranges encountered in most of PA.

I should be able to put a few rounds through it tomorrow, after which I'll post a follow up report.

Video: Gun Rights Supporters Must Speak Up

Pennsylvania Second Amendment Rally 8 June 2020

Making Some Beef Jerky Today

Making some beef jerky this weekend. Weis had a 2-fer special on London Broil, so that's what I bought. It came out to a bit more than three pounds of meat. This is half.

The knife is a Terävä Jääkäripuukko 110 carbon steel model from Varusteleka. It came EXTREMELY sharp. I'll do a follow up post on the knife after I get the chance to use it some more.

I put the meat in the freezer for about a half hour before slicing, which made it firm, which in turn helped in cutting uniform slices about 1/8" thick. The puukko went through it like a hot knife through butter.

After slicing the meat I added the Nesco cure and spices, and now it's marinating in the fridge until tomorrow morning.

It should take about 10 - 12 hours in my Nesco dehydrator tomorrow. Gonna be good.

My plan is to freeze about half the jerky to bring with us when we go upstate for deer hunting in a few weeks. The rest will be for snacks until then.

Wadcutters for Self Defense

This is a really good, comprehensive, and well-reasoned article on bullet selection in .38 Special, with a focus on wadcutters.

Highly recommended.