I have not done a remainders list in a long time. Let me see how this goes.
- The Adventure Radio Society is hosting the annual Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB, https://arsqrp.blogspot.com/) contest the end of this month. I requested (and received) a BB number (NR 35). I plan to drive up to Spooner Lake State Park and activate the park. It should be cooler up there.
- That reminds me that the New Jersey QRP club will be hosting the annual NJQRP Skeeter Hunt (https://www.qsl.net/w2lj/) the end of August this summer. That is another fun QRP (low power, five watts for code) contest that I will play in. CQ BZZ CQ BZZ DE AG7TX — Ahahahahahahahaha!
- I am enjoying working with my cameras again. A few years ago I bought a Fujifilm X100S to play with. I wrote about it on these pages a few days ago. Well, the X100V has been out for about three years, but the darned things are impossible to find. I expect the main difference to be refinement (as in a tilting screen and WiFi to connect to my iPhone). If I can find one at a reasonable price, I will upgrade. I know that a new version is due out soon, but I do not have to have the latest/greatest.
- I work with state plane coordinate systems quite a lot as part of my profession. I found a map of the State Plane Zones that is quite useful (and interesting).
- Over the last few years, I’ve taken an interest in knives. Of course I carry a folder every day — they are simply a useful tool and a defense of last resort. But my real love is for fixed blade knives and the Guardian 3.2 from Bradford Knives is a substantial upgrade from the original Guardian 3. The guard on the choil will prevent me from cutting myself on the trailing blade edge when choked up on the grip. The Guardian 4.2 is a beefier version and is also recommended. If you buy one, or any other knife, be sure to work it to learn its strengths and weaknesses. I’m using the Guardian 4.2 quite a lot in the kitchen right now.
- I recently took an interest in Automatic Packet Reporting System technology in amateur radio. ARRL has some background here.
- While I was in the field last week, Spectrum emailed that my Internet service received a bump (to 300Mbps), but that I would need to replace my modem to take advantage of the extra capability. So, I did. I am not sure it will make a big difference for my operations, but we will see.
- Peak Design makes good gear. I use their strap fasteners and straps for my cameras all the time. They offer a clamp-on clip that will hold a camera to a pack strap. I carried my Fuji X-T1 like this quite a lot. The camera shows some body wear as a result. But camera was out of hand and readily accessible.