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The CAT protocol is written for the lowest common denominator, and it was written a long time ago.  As a result it does not support every command that a radio may have.  I am not sure why Yaesu did not extend CAT for radios and if your radio does not support that command an error is returned.  I can understand from a development cost and support cost perspective not wanting to have a new variant of CAT created for each radio they make.  They can also run out of commands fairly quickly or have issues with similar but not identical radios.  Regardless of why, the fact remains that CAT does not let you do everything the radio can do. (continue reading…)

In the quest to obtain more information on the FT-897 and answer some theories that have been floating around, I participated in a discussion on the Yahoo group FT-897.  Here is some of the information that came out of that.

The CPU on my unit is a H8S/2134A series.  I fully believe that all other CPUs, even from older models, will be just as capable, if not identical.  If anyone
wants to open theirs up and peek, it is located by the solder pads where you do the MARS/CAP mod (set the operating region).  It is the only 80 pin chip in that area.  To avoid clutter, please only add a comment if your CPU is different.  This makes it easier for others to read which are different as opposed to 100 comments all saying “mine too”.  The data sheet for the H8S/2134A series cpu is available at http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/249719/RENESAS/HD64F2134AV.html (continue reading…)

There is a great blog and the author has written many articles in a series called “Tactical Preschool“.  As he describes it, this is very basic information suitable for a refresher course, and remember it is preschool not anything too advanced.  As I say it, it makes a good “boot camp” manual if the zombies ever do invade.  As this post may get some readers who are unfamiliar with how I use the term zombies and zombie invasion I will quote my definition – this is the only thing so far that I have not tested all of the information personally.

I use zombies as a mythical event, but it could be anything from terrorist attack, pandemic, war, or natural disaster. The techniques that I will present will all be tested by me, and explained in an easy to understand format. I will use the term zombies or zombie attack as a generic term to refer to any disaster that has the potential to take out local infrastructure and force the populace that remains to rely on themselves and not grocery stores, water and power companies,and specifically not on the government to hand out the things they need. (continue reading…)

I am currently making a batch of Field Expedient Meals (FEM).  These are often called DIY MREs (Meals Ready to Eat).  Because these meals are not strictly ready to eat, I am calling them FEMs or Field Expedient Meals.

I think it important that we be on the same page with what I am talking about.   A MRE is a military term for a “Meal, Ready to Eat”.  These started in 1981 and since have become popular even in civilian circles.  They require little preparation, at most heating, and are water-proof and bug-proof sealed food rations that usually have a 3-5 year shelf life.  These are battlefield rations, but also work well for camping and for bug out bags or in emergencies. (continue reading…)

I want to try my hand at a short story.  This story could be the type that would be made into a movie of the week.  This story, much like many movies of the week, has not been fact checked for plausibility.  It has not been vetted by any scientific minds.  The point of this story is to entertain and to cause people to think about the reactions they may be forced to take if similar events occurred.   Do not focus on whether this is possible or even probable, that is not the point.

This story described a “zombie level event”, which is the term I use to describe a major event.  When you plan for a zombie invasion you are planning for most possible disasters, whether natural or man-made.  This is just one such scenario.

(continue reading…)

I have heard a lot of people talk about the immigration law that Arizona recently passed.  Most people seem to want to just have their opinion that it is good or band and divide the country with the argument over it.  To a point I am doing that here, however I am countering the largest argument against it.  Not because I believe in the law, nor am I saying I disbelieve in it.  I am making this argument merely because of how I view the argument itself.

I think that this leaves little room for people to attack the law, which means that it is likely to force the argument to be an attack against individuals (“you’re racist”) and not anything about the subject matter itself.  I consider it a win when someone does that, ad hominem attacks are for idiots and those who cannot otherwise attack the logic of an argument.  I also have not yet heard anyone make this argument in support of the AZ immigration law.

I also think that people who assume that all illegal immigrants are of a particular ethnicity, or do not belong to a particular ethnicity are themselves racist.  This is not about lawful immigration, it is about unlawful – as in illegal – immigration/migration.  Not all people who enter the country illegally are immigrating, some are just here temporarily. (continue reading…)

In a form of protest I have enabled SSL for this site.  While I do not expect anything particularly secret to happen here, and everything available encrypted is also available cleartext.  I am just trying to encrypt everything that I do online.  This is more of a political statement.  The government appears to be increasing its reach and scope into the internet and I wanted to generate as many packets they cant monitor, even if they are not trying to monitor me specifically.

The way the math works, if everyone on the planet used 40 bit encryption the government could not monitor everyone all the time.  Anyone they  opted to monitor they could decrypt with near instant results, but they would not be able to do that to everyone all the time.  I am trying to use much more than 40 bit.

For a secret project I am planning I decided to swap out the stock wifi card for one with alternate features.  I use the 1000HE eeepc for ham radio and some other tasks.  I really like it.  Due to my background and preferences I had installed linux, at the time I installed I wanted to get all the drivers and all as easily as possible.  To that end I opted for the eeebuntu distribution.  It is currently based on ubuntu, although the next release which is currently in beta will be debian due to severe problems with things breaking with each ubuntu release.

This is the saga of how I did it. (continue reading…)

I recently became aware of a situation where all chapter members to a Zombie Squad chapter are liable for the actions of the group as well as anything they say or do.  This liability is a personal liability and it is all members not just the ones that actually run the chapters.  At least this is the case with the California chapter, which is the only one I really investigated. (continue reading…)

Some people like to know where their next meal comes from.  Unless you are a criminal organization, you may enjoy hearing about Thrive brand foods.  Costco has a deal 1 year of food for 1 person for $800, this includes shipping, which makes it $2.20/day.  The downside is that it is 1300 or so calories per day.  This is fine if you are sitting in a bunker, but it is not fine if you are training for release from the bunker or if you are working daily to try to get additional resources.  Just chopping firewood can consume enough calories that 1300 makes you feel really hungry.

You can supplement your diet with fiber, each 14g additional fiber means that you can feel just as full on 10% fewer calories.  A person who feels full on 2000 calories would need 50g fiber per day additional to go from 2000 calories to 1300 calories, and that is additional to the amount of fiber they ate at 2000 calories (usually 24g). (continue reading…)