Research And Patience

A few years ago I owned a Zoom H4 audio recorder. I spent a lot of money buying it and even though I looked after it it eventually developed a fault which couldn't be fixed and like so much modern technology it went into the bin. I didn't replace it because although the H4 is great when it worked I didn't think that a few years use was good value for money.
Since the H4 died I've been looking for a replacement. It certainly wouldn't need all the bells and whistles that I'd had before. What I require for an audio recorder is firstly that it's cheap and secondly that it's portable. I've looked at a lot of bits of gear and nothing appealed to me so I put the idea on the back burner.
Moving on a bit, I recently joined a gym and wanted an mp3 player. Like just about everyone else I wanted some distraction from doing anything physical that was out of my comfort zone, I think that's the correct parlance.
After doing a lot of research I decided on and bought a Sandisk Sansa Clip Plus. It ticks all the boxes and a few more too. It also incorporates an audio recorder. I've found a couple of recorded samples and it's perfectly OK for my needs. But as the title of this post suggests it doesn't end there. There's one big surprise to add to this tale that'll make you rethink spending big on your next mp3 player.
Whilst doing my research on the Sandisk Clip Plus I found that there is an open source alternative OS for the player called Rockbox. Not only does it add countless options to the player but it dual boots alongside the existing OS so you lose nothing and gain everything.
Even on my Ubuntu PC it's simplicity itself to install with it's GUI. It took me all of ten minutes to get it up and running. It'd take me hours to list all the extras that Rockbox adds to the Sandisk so I won't bother. Suffice to say that a trip to rockbox.org will give you all the details. You may have an old mp3 player that's in their list of supported devices.
I suppose I should finish by telling you what it sounds like, after all I'm talking about an mp3 player here. My evaluation for what it's worth is that it sounds as good as any mp3 player I've ever owned. In fact it sounds better not least because I can tweak the audio settings to my liking and not have to rely on naff presets which are never quite right. It's also loud if that's how you like your audio with no restrictions on volume up to 24db.
Personally I'm very happy with my Sandisk Clip Plus and the Rockbox OS and I've finally got my replacement audio recorder.

Doing Something Useful

After the disappointment of Ham Radio I thought that I'd do something that I would get some benefit from. I joined a gym.

Apart from the fact that I probably need to do something in regard to my general health and fitness I wanted a challenge that would pay dividends. Health is any easy choice in that respect. Do more exercise, get fit and lose weight in the process. Driving a truck isn't a physical job theses days. In the past there was a lot of manual handling that went with the driving but now bulk loads have machinery to move them about and other materials are getting lighter. The solution is to join a gym.

Moving on...
I now realise that I should have stuck with my first decision about what to do with my annual bonus which was to buy an arranger keyboard. I can rectify the subsequent decision which was to get into ham radio by selling all the radio gear. I'll do that soon and go back to what I know while becoming both physically and mentally more content with my world.

Goodbye Ham Radio

I've decided to revise this post because I thought it needed to be a little more rational and to also better explain my reasons for not participating in amateur radio operating.

Rather than write a long blog post I've created a text file that you can read should you want to.

Just click on this link.

Postcard From Space

I'm not going to win any prizes for quality but this is my first SSTV picture from the International Space Station.

There are a few pictures to download this weekend and the transmissions didn't start until this evening but my patience has paid off and I grabbed a picture. The pictures are celebrating Cosmonautics Day.
Hopefully I'll get some more tomorrow evening.

98 Per Cent Station

So here is my HF radio in place in the shack.
It's an Alinco DX-70 and it has yet to be used. That is why my M6IKI station is only at 98%. The reason is that I don't have a power supply for it yet, there's a specific one that I want so I'll have to wait.

The power supply is 1% closer to operation, the other 1% is my RF earth bus bar which I'm in the process of making. Once that's built and everything is connected I'll be able to power up.

ETA to my HF station being on air is about 2 weeks.
As ever I'll keep you informed.