-=> Daryl Stout wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

 JA>that's NOT D-Star that you know of? For MAC I mean?

 DS>   Not offhand. The only thing I know about an apple is that it's hard
 DS> to eat with dentures, unless you use an apple coring device, where you
 DS> can eat it in slivers. <G>

LOL :-)

 DS> you have to keep the visitors and the operators well fed. And, yes, if
 DS> you eat ham, you are cannibalistic (hi hi).

:-)

 JA>Yeah, probably, just like Pokemon Go or something like that that runs
 JA>all the time.

 DS>   I don't have any games on my smartphone. I use it to check email and
 DS> weather data. I switched my main browser from Google Chrome to Mozilla
 DS> Firefox. I've been pleasantly surprised with it, and wondered why I
 DS> waited so long to do it. But, I've done that in the past, including:

Well I have an iPhone, so I use Safari for the browser. Since I have a
Mac laptop, it shares saved passwords and history and bookmarks and...

 DS> 1) Buying a TNC at the Memphis, Tennessee hamfest 20 years ago, when it
 DS> was at the fairgrounds...to use on packet. But, it sat in my closet for
 DS> 2 years.

TNC?

 DS> 2) Upgrading from Windows 98 to XP -- then finally from Windows 7. With
 DS> Windows 7 security updates and support ending in January, 2020,
 DS> Microsoft is trying to get the holdouts to upgrade to Windows 10. Right
 DS> now, I can't afford to do so...even off of Amazon. $200 per copy, and
 DS> needing 1 for each computer, makes a rather steep proposition...I could
 DS> buy a nice rig for that.

I thought Win10 was a free upgrade from 7? I know for a while there it
would force itself? Was that a period of free or something?

 DS> 3) Not getting into D-Star and D-Rats when I first had the chance to do
 DS> so. The latter allows you to chat, exchange messages, and transfer
 DS> files, in real time. Some nets meet in "chat rooms" (you can also set
 DS> up a "private chat" with another ham), and the conversation gets busy.

Speaking of money, that's why I never did anything with D-Star. For what
it would cost to get into I could buy other stuff that I like or need. :-)
I collect comics so I have a small budget for that every month, plus I
play the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game. I don't spend a ton with it,
but I do spend some, plus some gas to drive for tourneys and such...

 DS> 4) Changing from Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox. Google has taken
 DS> forever and a day to load, and Firefox works much faster.

On your phone? I use Safari on laptop as well as phone, but I do
use Chrome for Google based stuff at work. We are a Google Apps for
Education school system, and the admin stuff works better with 
Chrome, plus I can keep my logins seperate. :-)

Never was a fan of Firefox, but that's a Ford/Chevy issue to me. :-)

 DS>   I used to use Facebook and Messenger on my phone, but don't anymore.
 DS> I've gotten so where I use an add-on called "Fluff Busting Purity". It
 DS> filters out all the ads, group suggestions, and other "garbage" that
 DS> you may not want to see, as you browse Facebook. Right now, I only get
 DS> on there to:

I always learn new stuff from you. :-) Just installed FB Purity and will
see how it goes!

 DS> A) Upload the "Net Menu" of D-Star, D-Rats, and Echolink Nets (with
 DS> links to CQ100, D-Star HF, and DMR Nets) to the D-Star Users, D-Star
 DS> Nets, and DMR Nets groups.

 DS> B) Take checkins for the Arklatex D-Star Net in its respective
 DS> group...I'll soon do the same with the QCWA group and its D-Star Net,
 DS> once it moves to the QuadNet array on May 5.

 DS> C) Post the link to the "Rail Passengers Association" News Hotline to
 DS> the D-Star Trains Net, and the Railfans R Us groups.

 DS>   I was spending too much time on there, although I did obtain a bunch
 DS> of graphical files for areas on the BBS.

Yeah, I'm not a FB 'fan,' but not a hater either. It turns out that the
podcasts I listen to all have groups there for chat/discussion/feedback
so it's the default place to 'talk' to people.

 JA> DS>   Do you mean Echolink??

 JA>Yeah, like that I guess...

 DS>   Not sure. The only times I get on Echolink are to check into The

I've gotten on there a few times just to play around. One of my early
times I made a connection with someone in Corinth Mississippi. He was
sitting outside the local tire shop waiting for it to open and didn't
know their local repeater was connected to echolink, so I was sitting
with my laptop talking over the air to him. :-)

 DS>  I've done very little with DMR, and
 DS> spend most of my time with D-Star and D-Rats.

I might have told you but there was a local 'interest' in DMR several
months ago. I never got into it, as I don't have a DMR radio, and then
interest seemed to die out just as fast, so no reason to get into it.
:-)

 DS>   No, but for some new hams, "mic fright" is a very real threat. Also,
 
I've been on stage off and on since I was 14 years old - got over 'mic
fright' a loooong time ago - LOL.

 DS> for those hams who've had to move to an assisted living center,
 DS> nursing home, or into an HOA, with CC&R's, it still lets one enjoy the
 DS> ham radio hobby, without all the gear. Unlike regular HF, where you
 DS> have to have a Technician Class license, to use "a sliver" of 80, 40,
 DS> 15, and 10 meters" for CW only...and another sliver of 10 meters for
 DS> SSB...but have to be a General or higher to get far more...CQ100 allows
 DS> Novice Class hams and up to use it. I've even done PSK31 with it.

Yeah, that makes sense! I guess it's like us using the echonets to 'talk'
when we could email directly. I'm not dialing up, but I am 'connecting'
to a BBS with software, etc. And I'm using an offline mail reader, though
time on the BBS is no longer limited like in the old days. :-)

 DS>   There is a yearly fee (currently $39), but paid subscribers can use
 DS> the service for free on Sunday, and they get an add-on called QSO-TV --
 DS> sort of like a VoIP version of Amateur Television. While I've seen some
 DS> "wild pictures" on there, one ham in Canada just constructed band pass
 DS> filters for 2 meters and 6 meters, and he sent an image of the circuit
 DS> board, as well as the box it was in. Folks also "checkin to the net"
 DS> via that addon.

Hmm... I may have to give it a whirl then... I was turned off by the 
Windows Only part of it, but I do have the capacity to run Windows on
my Mac via Parallels. I used to have to do it a LOT for work, but as
time has gone on we've managed to move more and more away from "windows
only" things...

 DS>   I do the QCWA (Quarter Century Wireless Association) CQ100 Net on
 DS> Friday mornings at 10am Central Time, and it's on the same frequency as
 DS> their 20 meter HF net, which is at 2000 UTC on Sunday. But, lately, HF
 DS> propagation has been in the toilet, as it were. I also do the QCWA
 DS> D-Star Net at 4pm Central Time on Sunday, on Reflector 26A...but
 DS> starting May 5, it'll move to the QuadNet Array (I'll be on X-Reflector
 DS> 757A), where we can also pick up DMR, WIRES, and System Fusion users.
 DS> Go to www.openquad.net for details.

More interesting stuff! Thanks! I always get a ton of info from you. :-)

 DS>   As for QCWA itself, if one has been licensed at least 25 years (for
 DS> 2019, it's ANY TIME in 1994 or earlier), and is currently licensed,
 DS> they can join the organization. Details are at www.qcwa.org -- I'm a
 DS> member of the national organization, and the Arklatex Chapter.





... Babehart - a cute little pig that slaughters half of Scotland
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