Subj : Re: 2m discussion and tra To : Daryl Stout From : Jimmy Anderson Date : Sat Apr 20 2019 08:55:00 -=> Daryl Stout wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=- JA>that's NOT D-Star that you know of? For MAC I mean? DS> Not offhand. The only thing I know about an apple is that it's hard DS> to eat with dentures, unless you use an apple coring device, where you DS> can eat it in slivers. LOL :-) DS> you have to keep the visitors and the operators well fed. And, yes, if DS> you eat ham, you are cannibalistic (hi hi). :-) JA>Yeah, probably, just like Pokemon Go or something like that that runs JA>all the time. DS> I don't have any games on my smartphone. I use it to check email and DS> weather data. I switched my main browser from Google Chrome to Mozilla DS> Firefox. I've been pleasantly surprised with it, and wondered why I DS> waited so long to do it. But, I've done that in the past, including: Well I have an iPhone, so I use Safari for the browser. Since I have a Mac laptop, it shares saved passwords and history and bookmarks and... DS> 1) Buying a TNC at the Memphis, Tennessee hamfest 20 years ago, when it DS> was at the fairgrounds...to use on packet. But, it sat in my closet for DS> 2 years. TNC? DS> 2) Upgrading from Windows 98 to XP -- then finally from Windows 7. With DS> Windows 7 security updates and support ending in January, 2020, DS> Microsoft is trying to get the holdouts to upgrade to Windows 10. Right DS> now, I can't afford to do so...even off of Amazon. $200 per copy, and DS> needing 1 for each computer, makes a rather steep proposition...I could DS> buy a nice rig for that. I thought Win10 was a free upgrade from 7? I know for a while there it would force itself? Was that a period of free or something? DS> 3) Not getting into D-Star and D-Rats when I first had the chance to do DS> so. The latter allows you to chat, exchange messages, and transfer DS> files, in real time. Some nets meet in "chat rooms" (you can also set DS> up a "private chat" with another ham), and the conversation gets busy. Speaking of money, that's why I never did anything with D-Star. For what it would cost to get into I could buy other stuff that I like or need. :-) I collect comics so I have a small budget for that every month, plus I play the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game. I don't spend a ton with it, but I do spend some, plus some gas to drive for tourneys and such... DS> 4) Changing from Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox. Google has taken DS> forever and a day to load, and Firefox works much faster. On your phone? I use Safari on laptop as well as phone, but I do use Chrome for Google based stuff at work. We are a Google Apps for Education school system, and the admin stuff works better with Chrome, plus I can keep my logins seperate. :-) Never was a fan of Firefox, but that's a Ford/Chevy issue to me. :-) DS> I used to use Facebook and Messenger on my phone, but don't anymore. DS> I've gotten so where I use an add-on called "Fluff Busting Purity". It DS> filters out all the ads, group suggestions, and other "garbage" that DS> you may not want to see, as you browse Facebook. Right now, I only get DS> on there to: I always learn new stuff from you. :-) Just installed FB Purity and will see how it goes! DS> A) Upload the "Net Menu" of D-Star, D-Rats, and Echolink Nets (with DS> links to CQ100, D-Star HF, and DMR Nets) to the D-Star Users, D-Star DS> Nets, and DMR Nets groups. DS> B) Take checkins for the Arklatex D-Star Net in its respective DS> group...I'll soon do the same with the QCWA group and its D-Star Net, DS> once it moves to the QuadNet array on May 5. DS> C) Post the link to the "Rail Passengers Association" News Hotline to DS> the D-Star Trains Net, and the Railfans R Us groups. DS> I was spending too much time on there, although I did obtain a bunch DS> of graphical files for areas on the BBS. Yeah, I'm not a FB 'fan,' but not a hater either. It turns out that the podcasts I listen to all have groups there for chat/discussion/feedback so it's the default place to 'talk' to people. JA> DS> Do you mean Echolink?? JA>Yeah, like that I guess... DS> Not sure. The only times I get on Echolink are to check into The I've gotten on there a few times just to play around. One of my early times I made a connection with someone in Corinth Mississippi. He was sitting outside the local tire shop waiting for it to open and didn't know their local repeater was connected to echolink, so I was sitting with my laptop talking over the air to him. :-) DS> I've done very little with DMR, and DS> spend most of my time with D-Star and D-Rats. I might have told you but there was a local 'interest' in DMR several months ago. I never got into it, as I don't have a DMR radio, and then interest seemed to die out just as fast, so no reason to get into it. :-) DS> No, but for some new hams, "mic fright" is a very real threat. Also, I've been on stage off and on since I was 14 years old - got over 'mic fright' a loooong time ago - LOL. DS> for those hams who've had to move to an assisted living center, DS> nursing home, or into an HOA, with CC&R's, it still lets one enjoy the DS> ham radio hobby, without all the gear. Unlike regular HF, where you DS> have to have a Technician Class license, to use "a sliver" of 80, 40, DS> 15, and 10 meters" for CW only...and another sliver of 10 meters for DS> SSB...but have to be a General or higher to get far more...CQ100 allows DS> Novice Class hams and up to use it. I've even done PSK31 with it. Yeah, that makes sense! I guess it's like us using the echonets to 'talk' when we could email directly. I'm not dialing up, but I am 'connecting' to a BBS with software, etc. And I'm using an offline mail reader, though time on the BBS is no longer limited like in the old days. :-) DS> There is a yearly fee (currently $39), but paid subscribers can use DS> the service for free on Sunday, and they get an add-on called QSO-TV -- DS> sort of like a VoIP version of Amateur Television. While I've seen some DS> "wild pictures" on there, one ham in Canada just constructed band pass DS> filters for 2 meters and 6 meters, and he sent an image of the circuit DS> board, as well as the box it was in. Folks also "checkin to the net" DS> via that addon. Hmm... I may have to give it a whirl then... I was turned off by the Windows Only part of it, but I do have the capacity to run Windows on my Mac via Parallels. I used to have to do it a LOT for work, but as time has gone on we've managed to move more and more away from "windows only" things... DS> I do the QCWA (Quarter Century Wireless Association) CQ100 Net on DS> Friday mornings at 10am Central Time, and it's on the same frequency as DS> their 20 meter HF net, which is at 2000 UTC on Sunday. But, lately, HF DS> propagation has been in the toilet, as it were. I also do the QCWA DS> D-Star Net at 4pm Central Time on Sunday, on Reflector 26A...but DS> starting May 5, it'll move to the QuadNet Array (I'll be on X-Reflector DS> 757A), where we can also pick up DMR, WIRES, and System Fusion users. DS> Go to www.openquad.net for details. More interesting stuff! Thanks! I always get a ton of info from you. :-) DS> As for QCWA itself, if one has been licensed at least 25 years (for DS> 2019, it's ANY TIME in 1994 or earlier), and is currently licensed, DS> they can join the organization. Details are at www.qcwa.org -- I'm a DS> member of the national organization, and the Arklatex Chapter. .... Babehart - a cute little pig that slaughters half of Scotland --- MultiMail/Darwin v0.49 * Origin: Lean Angle BBS * Southaven MS * winserver.org (1:116/17) .