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Comment Re:Heard it, relayed (Score 1) 51

OOPS, that was K6RPT-13, a different balloon . Here's the balloon, K6RPT-11:

2011-12-11T16:18:25: K6RPT-11>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!????????/?????????O???/??/A=189423V288 CNSP-11
2011-12-11T16:18:37: K6RPT-11>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!????????/?????????O???/???/A=109373V266 CNSP-11
2011-12-11T16:20:31: K6RPT-11>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!?????????/????????O???/??/A=109373V255 CNSP-11
2011-12-11T16:24:31: K6RPT-11>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!3715.57N/12152.44WO328/000/A=000082V255 CNSP-11

Here's both: http://aprs.fi/?call=K6RPT-13,K6RPT-11&mt=roadmap&z=9&timerange=259200&_s=ss_call

Comment Heard it, relayed (Score 2) 51

I operate a low-level iGate in Palo Alto, CA. It's built out of a WRT54G running aprs4r (Ruby) and using an Argent Data modem, based on an integrated design by Chris K6DBG.
I didn't hear the balloon directly, but I did hear it repeated from three mountain-top digipeaters (i.e., one radio hop away) and gatewayed the packet to the internet.

Here's the first packets I heard; the very first had a bad decode for most of it.

2011-12-09T17:13:02: K6RPT-13>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!????????/o?O???/???/A=109373
2011-12-09T17:15:06: K6RPT-13>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2,QAR,KG6HWF:!3715.25N/12153.29WO140/000/A=000193CNSP-13
2011-12-09T17:15:06: K6RPT-13>APBL10,WR6ABD*,WIDE2:!3715.25N/12153.29WO140/000/A=000193CNSP-13

APRS is based on AX.25 unproto, which is kind of the IP equivalent of UDP (as AX.25 is derived from X.25). It uses source routing, so you can see K6RPT-13 directed its packet at the "destination" APBL10, and the destination in APRS is usually a unique software identifier. That got picked up directly by WR6ABD on Loma Prieta mountain near Santa Cruz, CA. WR6ABD retransmitted it ("WIDE2" is a hope count for how to route over RF), and then gatewayed to the Internet ("QAR") by KG6HWF, and my WRT54G picked that up off the internet feed. The third line logs a packet I received directly and correcly from WR6ABD My WA5ZNU-10 iGate would have also done the same after the 3rd packet there.

Comment Pump 6 (Score 2) 312

This reminds me of Pump 6, by Paolo Bacigalupi: "...it made me nervous thinking about all those maintenance warnings glowing down there in the dark: Mercury Extender Seal, Part #5970-34, Damaged, replace. Whatever the hell that meant."

Comment Re:Tomato (Score 1) 257

Tomato seems to be a little stale, at the moment. See TomatoUSB: http://tomatousb.org/

I have to cron reboot my tomato router daily and it still goes into the ozone sometimes.
Any advice for upgrading from tomato to tomato-usb (no-usb) on a WRT54GS from someone who's tried that route?
I spent some time at the tomato-usb site so I saved nvram off box for reference and will save away the various config pages. So just firmware upgrade to the 2.4kernel no-usb build and 30-30-30 reset?

Comment Re:Read only (Score 1) 154

>JSON is quick and lightweight, and when something is missing, you're going to notice anyway.

Sure, why bother to make sure anything matches the documentation. Or the function parameters. If it breaks you can just use Firebug to fix the data and press resume to get back to your FB page, right?

Comment Re:Just what WVa needs, a new variety of crazy (Score 1) 627

Before I had a skull MRI, I would have said that there was no real chance of any sort of biological response to EMI. Then I had the skull MRI. During certain parts of the roughly half hour scan, I experienced a tingling sensation in various random parts of my body as it scanned various parts of my brain.

This this product sheet for an MRI amplifier says:

Our broadband family of RF power amplifiers spans the range from 8 MHz to 300 MHz, allowing for a wide range of imaging options. These amplifiers provide the outstanding performance essential for high-quality MR imaging at power levels up to 8 kW.

So, up to 8 kilowatts at a frequency range that is known to produce heating in human subjects.

Now, compare that to 0.1 watt in a laptop Wifi, and that's about 5 orders of magnitude bigger.
And not pointed directly at your head in a focused beam.
And not accompanied by 8.5 Tesla magnets.

Comment Radios are not banned there (Score 2) 627

Radio transmitters are not banned there. Licensed ham stations have minimal limitations: for example, the main amateur radio restriction is that it's not allowed without permission to establish a "beacon" (transmit-only) station, and those themselves are already limited to 28 MHz and up anywhere in the US.

Comment Re:31 WTO scientists in may 2011... not that long (Score 2) 70

It is hardly 4 months since a panel of 31 scientist came to the conclusion that cell phone radiation increases the risk for cancer:
http://www.cbloomnews.com/TopNews.aspx?Article_id=85332&Cat=5
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/index.html
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/229054/cell_phones_may_cause_cancer_says_the_who_what_to_do.html

What news are you reading to say "no one respectable has said that for decades"???

They put RF in the same risk category as coffee. They didn't do any of their own research, just reviewed existing research.
You can review the same existing research here and come to your own conclusions, just like they did:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones

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