Dial back in.
AT Compatible Wi-Fi Modem
Connect RetroBox to your modern or vintage computer by cable and open your favourite terminal. RetroBox Modem brings back the ritual of dialing a BBS: AT commands, ATDT, CONNECT, NO CARRIER, modem negotiation sounds, status LEDs and a live OLED, while Wi‑Fi quietly handles the transport. It is built first for connecting out, with the added possibility of running Linux‑compatible BBS software on the device.
73
Steve
K9ZW
So I had a stab at the 2026 Real Time Contest (RTC).
Registered and got the PIN for the N1MM+ Logger, and set things up.
The pre-event testing was a big sketchy, so I decided I would cross my fingers hoping the setup was good.
https://k9zw.wordpress.com/2026/10/29/this-weekends-real-time-contest-rtc-on-nov-1st-2026/ is where I wrote about the upfront parts.
The propagation was unfavorable for my style station. Much QRN and QSB, with bands more or less opening and closing mid-QSO at times.
Now in the class I ended up in (SO-ALL HP MIXED) I was close to the bottom. 24th out of 28 scored in that class.
I used the vertical antenna and the Aurora AU-520M for the event, with my usual boom mic and a combo CW Morse key and software CW keyer for the Morse parts.
Hearing very few SSB stations calling CQ RTC I worked those I could and jumped to CW. Without some basic CW capabilities I would have had maybe four or five QSOs. Not so good SSB for this event.
Even CW the fade was profound. As if the band was on a dimmer switch.
I got sidetracked for a bit when I discover a friend Rock VE2PIT was calling CQ on 40m, and once I figured out how you can switch between “Logs” in the open “Database” in N1MM+ I tried for anything interesting I heard.
Confession is that I did not call CQ either Phone or CW. Phone I am still conserving voice against the diminishing effects of allergies and infection, and CW I am the first to admit that I have very little chance of picking out the callsign when someone comes back to me without forcing them through a bunch of “AGN?” repeats. At some point I will get there, but I am not ready to inflict my learning process on active contesters quite yet.
Having got myself mixed up, I waited until 11AM local to start, where it should have been a 10AM start for me. I didn’t want to skip church today all told, and even going to the early service I would have been pushed to be home & ready to roll for a 10AM local start.
I wonder if the remote real time logging picked up the ration of SSB vs CW contacts made today, as I would have been dead last without the CW QSOs.
My understanding is the RTC technology is also available for the K1USN SST (Slow Speed Test) and the ICWC MST (Medium Speed Test). I would like to try using the system there, though I didn’t pickup if the Hamscores/RTC system ports over to 3830scores. Kind of doubtful.
Some plusses, I could see my score – that both confirmed that my configuration was right and how much more learning & training I need to do! It also gave be a reference list of who was in the game, so I could use other tools like Spots and the Club Reverse Beacon Network to look for these folks. If I had been clever I could have fed the list into an alert system and actively sought out these stations. But by the time I though of that the even was winding down.
Some downs were I could see my score and had to fight off being discouraged, as my initial lost of 25% of the available time followed by general lost time to “does this work?” and “hey, is that my buddy on the air?” was a bit off putting when I knew it from the leaderboard.
73
Steve
K9ZW
A lot of full-synthetic motor oils and greases seem to be a supply issue. Like the stuff I need for my tower gearboxes.
Expensive if even available in the first place.
I search for some reasons why, and one of my vendors offered this:
The lubricant industry has been experiencing significant shortages of Group III base oil, a key ingredient used in many full-synthetic motor oils. These shortages, along with production disruptions and increased transportation costs, are putting pressure on oil supply and pricing across the industry.
As a result, certain brands, oil formulations, or viscosities may become temporarily unavailable, and you may see price increases on some products in the coming months.
So what is this Group III base oil?
Group III base oil is a highly refined petroleum-derived base stock that is severely hydrocracked and hydroisomerized to achieve synthetic-level performance.
Some research links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_oil#Group_III
Why? There is the usual war, disruption, yada yada yada, but the telling part is refiners are cracking for higher profits:
Many refiners have prioritized more profitable fuels like diesel over specialized base oils.
So the oils and greases we use are being outbid for raw materials for other uses.
What does this mean for hams? You are going to pay more for the oils/greases for say tower hoists, thrust bearings, and other mechanical lubricants needed for your station.
I know in some situations it may be worth sampling the existing lubricants to see if they really need to be replaced. As a lot of lubricant replacement schedules are arbitrary and based on worse case degradation, sampling offers an alternative.
Or like I often do, draw some out, do a between the finger & thumb “mechanics analysis” and decide whether to extend the periods between changes.
With formal lab sampling I have extended motor oil changes when supplies were difficult/expensive before.
Of course the decision is yours alone, and if warranties are in place you likely will get crossways with manufacture extending. YMMV as then say (Your Mileage May Vary).
73
Steve
K9ZW
K9ZW would rather have just one time, year round
As the K1USN Slow Speed Test (SST) has a set time in UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) or “Zulu” Time, so the local time varies when the local daylight savings time adjustments take place.
The K1USN SST time with conversion to my local time, first the Friday session times:
2000Z (20:00 UTC) converts to 3:00 PM (15:00) CDT (Central Daylight Time) in Chicago during daylight saving time, and 2:00 PM (14:00) CST during standard time.
• Daylight Saving Time (Mid-March – Early November): 20:00 UTC = 3:00 PM CDT (15:00) (UTC−5)
• Standard Time (Early November – Mid-March): 20:00 UTC = 2:00 PM CST (14:00) (UTC−6)
And then the Sunday session times (actually Monday in UTC time):
0000Z (00:00 UTC) is 7:00 PM (19:00) CDT on the previous day in Chicago during Daylight Saving Time (UTC-5). During standard winter time, it is 6:00 PM (18:00) CST on the previous day (UTC-6).
• Daylight Saving Time (Mid-March – Early November): 0000Z = 7:00 PM CDT (19:00) the day before (on Sunday)(UTC−5)
• Standard Time (Early November – Mid-March): 0000Z = 6:00 PM CST (18:00) the day before (on Sunday)(UTC−6)
You can use the same logic to work out your local times if in a different time zone.
73
Steve
K9ZW
Been received messages like this:
Interested in testing our Fabric Glue from Amazon?
We’ll send you $20 upfront via PayPal. The product is $7.99, and the extra is yours to cover any tax/shipping — there’s no need to return the difference.
We pay first.
Interested? Just reply “interested” and I’ll send the details.
First I thought this was a classic pfishing deal.
Reading I am finding that some of these actually send you the money, what they are doing is essentially buying initial purchases and reviews at Amazon for a product that you may have never hear of before they approached you.
So Amazon ends up with what for ever aspect that Amazon could monitor, what looks like a customer who bought a random new-on-Amazon item and then decided to leave a nice review. This example was Amazon, but it could be reviews on Google or eBay or something else.
It is a “The Truman Show” world….
73
Steve
K9ZW
A public beta of HFConverse – SCS PACTOR modem control for Windows, macOS and Linux dropped.
A free program that puts PACTOR keyboard-to-keyboard QSOs, AMTOR, RTTY and PSK31 in one place, with image and QSL exchange, macros, logging, radio control and a live On the Air list.
Is this a viable option, given other new options are monetized through subscription, suggesting there is a development cost to amortize?
Definitely on my testing list.
73
Steve
K9ZW
