On the Web : March 2004
If you enjoy reading 'On
the Web', your ham radio
club can publish this
column on an exchange
basis with SJRA. Contact
Ted,
, for the
exchange details.
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Our contributions to the South Jersey Radio Association club bulletin "Harmonics" includes lengthy Web addresses. As the URL's can be difficult or a nuisance to type into your Web browser, the postings here should make it easier to get to the Web sites SJRA members are interested in. Look for the posting at w2xq.com at the time "Harmonics" is scheduled for delivery in the south Jersey area. Questions, suggestions or contributions are always welcome. |
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Solar X-rays
Geomagnetic Field |
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FM Repeaters
Are you looking for the "official" repeater list for north of Trenton? MetroCor
- with the NNJ-NYC-LI repeater databases has changed its URL from qsl.net to
www.metrocor.net. The former no longer forwards to the latter. Unfortunately
the databases are still not up to date. A larger
list of councils in this area is at our Web site.
Spring Weather
Warmer weather can pop up thunderstorms on short notice. Are you at work out
of reach of a television set and the Weather Channel on most systems around
here? This is just a quick reminder that we have radar maps and Accuweather
Television (requires RealPlayer), plus a USA lightning weather map, available
at our trsc.com
Web site.
Repeater Conversations
KC2HDR, N3RG and W2MC were talking about tele-marketers and the mostly-positive
effects of the national do-not-call
list in reducing the number of calls. However there are a few firms that
still call. Sometimes I like to waste the caller's time, and an anti-telemarketing
script is an interesting approach that's evoked a variety of reactions. Depending
upon your sense of humor you may mind it amusing. I have never made it through
the entire script. The marketer usually gets flustered when I suggest returning
the call during their dinner hour at their home. Dial up the script
and have turn the tables.
DIN connectors were one of the subjects of the February 16 SJRA net. WA2DUE
needed a 7-pin connector. N3RG suggested a source being Universal Radio in OH.
The catalog
page shows a photograph and diagram of each pin in stock, including the
hard-to-find 13-pin DIN that fits the accessory-2 jack of many Kenwood HF transceivers.
Quickies
Do you use the multi-protocol instant messenger program Trillian
(Windows) or Fire
(Mac)? We mentioned these last month. Lately Yahoo has been making things difficult
for third-party software, blocking access to its servers. Be sure to download
the latest software upgrades to make Yahoo behave, and then check the box in
the Trillian or Fire preferences to automatically check for upgrades on a weekly
basis.
Virus writers caught red-handed... via Slashdot and timothy
aka “runinreverse” : Virus distributors have been caught red-handed selling
IP addresses of trojan-infected machines by editors of the German IT magazine
c't. Several individuals appear to have been arrested already after c't, revealing
one of the virus writer's nationality as British, passed on the information
to Scotland Yard. Read the story here.
Between Friday, February 27, and Monday, March 1, per e-week,
more than a half-dozen new e-mail viruses were released this leap year, according
to researchers at Ziff-Davis Media Labs. Maybe it was the extra leap year day
of February 29. All I can say is “yuck” and you had better keep your virii checkers
up to date.
Bluetooth USB wireless technology is low-speed connectivity between peripherals and computing devices, without cables. (On the amateur radio front, some wireless microphones are now bluetooth technology.) The standard connectivity range is 10 m (33 ft). We recently found an adaptor with a range of 100 m (333 ft) for a price difference of $10 over the standard, with a 2-year warranty: the Belkin F8T001. Interesting, indeed.
Want to chat via the keyboard? Look for me, W2XQ [ Baudwalk ] in the Internet
Relay Chat Starchat channel “Baudwalking” (Baudwalking is the room entered by
clicking on the link below (or use your own stand-alone IRC app). The browser’s
Java must be enabled. On the first screen, change the User Name to one of your
choosing. ("Baudwalking" is the name of the column I write for the Australian
magazine.)
http://www.starchat.net/chat/?chan=Baudwalking
Put a big red circle around June 8 on your calendar. On that day, you may have
a chance to see a celestial event not witnessed by human eyes in 122 years.
More on this in the next week... check back by 21 March.
Overheard in court, word for word:
Q: And where was the location of the accident?
A: Approximately milepost 499.
Q. And where is milepost 499?
A. Probably between milepost 498 and 500.
TRS Consultants - Keep up to date with breaking news during the month! Newsfeed help.
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Revised 15 March 2004
Read the previous month's column or the next month's column.
