Month: September 2014

More new gear

I’ve been playing with my new Yaesu FT-60R HT a bit. Works great at home. And works fine in the mobile. I have ordered a headset to use with it while I’m driving. But even without the headset I was able to use it while driving with the top down on the freeway today. Although it was a little hard to hear. However the audio is quite good.

My involvement in ham radio has dramatically increased since getting the new HT. Mainly as a result of trying harder. Rather than simply tossing out my call sign and hoping someone will come back to me (which they rarely did). I am now attempting to come back to others who come on the air wanting to talk. Really, for that to work I just need to be willing to talk to anyone. And honestly, that’s great practice for life in general.

As a result of my renewed interest and increase in activity, I decided to go ahead with my initial plan to replace my ICOM base (IC-208H) with the Yaesu equivalent shown below (the FT-7900R). I’ll be running it on low power (5 watts) using a 1/2 wave mag mount stuck to my metal desk. This is a setup that I already know works quite well for the local repeaters.

I figure I’ll use new FT-7900R for my base unit at home, and my HT for mobile use… with a mag mount and a headset. I’ve decided that I’m definitely a Yaesu fan.

One of the issues I’ve been wrestling with is the idea that an SMA connector on an HT is not designed robustly enough to withstand repeated and frequent swapping back and forth between antennas. So my thought was that I need to stick with either the normal HT whip, or a pigtail for connecting to an PL-259, but not normally switch between both. So that means if I default to using it for mobile/base use with a pigtail, then I generally won’t be using it as a portable.

While this is a little bit of a disappointment, considering how nicely the FT-60R works as an actual “handheld”. The idea of having a radio that is strictly for handheld use is not that feasible either. Because it would rarely get used. Although it’s hard to anticipate my usage habits. As I get more involved, my past habits are not necessarily useful for determining future usage.

I have thought of the idea of perhaps getting a second FT-60R. I already have all the accessories. But how doofy would it be to have a second radio just so I don’t have to swap antennas. I will continue to ponder this.

The eBay auction where I was selling my old ICOM IC-208H closed yesterday for $282. That should cover the new radio. I like the top-facing speaker. That means I might get away without having to use an external speaker on my desk.

Rock music… pride comes before a fall

I’ve recently been driving our convertible more than normal. I always drive it with the top down whenever I can. We’ve been pretty blessed this year with many sunny days.

As I am driving with the top down and the sun shining, I tend to crank the tunes. I often find that Christian music just doesn’t capture the mood. Although I can’t for sure tell you why. Except that the SiriusXM Christian station is way more pop than it is rock. And I’ve always been a rock fan. Pop often makes me cringe.

So I will often find a secular rock station and crank it to 11 while I’m cruising down the highway.

That’s all good right? Or is it? Here’s where I wrestle. As I observe my own behavior and the music I choose, I’ve noticed a few things.

First, let’s establish one thing. God hates pride. A lot of folks think that God is love and everything is good. Well God definitely hates certain things and pride is on the top of his list. Here are a few quotes out of Proverbs.

“These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

“Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 16:5)

There are many other quotes I could add, but that is a small sample. As I was listening to certain secular rock, I was thinking to myself… I don’t know anything at all in this world that exudes pride more than secular rock. I mean think about it! Much of it really boils down to artists thumbing their nose at God and authority in general. And according to the Bible, God really hates that. He doesn’t use the word “abomination” lightly.

Does all secular rock fit that stereotype? No. But I believe the great majority of it does. I think maybe it was AC/DC that I was listening to when I had the thought about pride. But there are any number of bands that fit that description.

The other thought I had was this… why do I listen to the music I do? Of course part of it is the enjoyment I get. I really love a wailing guitar. But there are people I know, maybe not very well, whose main knowledge and information they have about my personal life consists of the music they hear me listen to.

And maybe I listen to what I do in part, because I sub-consciously want to send a certain message. It’s sort of fun to listen to “cool” music and have people be a bit surprised that this 54 year old guy is rocking out.

Jesus tells us that His people will suffer persecution because they believe in Him. I wonder if He appreciates one of His children essentially identifying with the rebellion and pride of the world by way of what music they listen to. Should one of His children really want to gain the acceptance of the world in this manner?

When I have Christian music turned up loud in the convertible, do I turn it down at the stop light so those around me don’t hear? If there is a really good ZZ Top tune on… I might be way more tempted to leave it cranking at the light. Maybe?

This is my observation. That much of secular rock exudes pride. And when we listen to that, we are participants and are actually identifying with that mindset. And we are likely transmitting that to others around us.

Well, I don’t think that’s something that God feels very good about. Historically I’ve pretty much blown this off as a “gray area” that cannot necessarily be categorized as sin. But not caring about this is quite prideful in and of itself.

In psychology there is information about a phenomenon that is quite interesting. When we view movies or listen to music. Our brains play certain tricks on us to make us feel like we are participating. Can anyone identify with playing the air guitar? or invisible drums? Of course! And when you see a very moving film. Why do you think it has that effect on you? Because you feel part of the story!

So there you go. Maybe the choices we make about the “media” we consume are not as benign as we like to think.

Ham radio equipment fun

I haven’t been that into ham radio since moving out of Salem. I knew folks in Salem. The further away I move, the lower the percentage of people on the radio I actually know. In addition… my involvement/usage declined quite a bit after getting married. Funny how that happens when you actually have someone to talk to (as opposed to when you don’t).

A couple of months ago I sold one of my two mobile radios and my HT to help offset the cost of the new PC that I built. This left me with one mobile radio, which I was using at home as a base. Since I use this radio with an indoor antenna, I don’t go above low power (5 watts). But that’s no problem because I can hit all the local repeaters with that just fine.

The HT I sold was a Kenwood TH-F6A. Widely held (at one time) to be the best HT out there. It’s a tri-band radio that will transmit with a full 5 watts on 220. It has dual-receive and all sorts of nice things. I never liked it. The main reason was the lack of a physical squelch adjustment, and an inconveniently located volume control. To me, those two things totally deserve their own physical controls that are easy to manipulate.

After selling these two radios, it wasn’t too long before I was kinda longing for a Yaesu FT-60R HT. I’ve had one of those before and really liked it. And it has nicely-placed squelch and volume controls. It’s also very well-built.

So a couple of days ago I did it. I bought the FT-60R along with a number of accessories. I’ve always had spare batteries and quick-chargers for every HT that I’ve had. So I wanted to do that again. But this time instead of going with cheap knock-off accessories, I went with the name-brand Yaesu battery and quick-charger. Add to that a factory Yaesu speaker-mic, a Diamond after-market antenna, and an antenna pigtail/adapter so that I can use the HT with standard external antennas.

After this purchase I started thinking that, dang, I like Yaesu products! Maybe I should sell my ICOM IC-208H base rig and replace it with a Yaesu too! However I also started thinking that, dang, that new Yaesu HT was spendy. My poor allowance is going to be in the hole for awhile on that one.

That’s when I made the decision to sell my ICOM base rig and use the new Yaesu HT for both base and mobile. No replacement necessary. I already have two really good mag-mount antennas. One for use at home and one to use in the car.

One really nice aspect to using an HT and a mag-mount for mobile use is… no installation. Slap it on and go! No issue with where to get power. No issue with where to mount the antenna. Perfect! Of course I won’t be able to work weak repeaters with that mobile setup. But it seems to me that the benefits are totally worth that tradeoff.