Doug Mejia

Xiegu recently introduced the GPA-100 amplifier. I have the previous version of this amp, and it’s great. Yeah, the tuner isn’t wonderful, but I try to use resonant antennas whenever possible. The other thing I didn’t like about it was having to manually change bands. That’s not an issue when you’re just “parking and barking” on a frequency, calling CQ, and working a pileup. On the other hand, if you’re spinning the dial and hunting around for contacts, it becomes tedious.

This new version uses Bluetooth and pairs seamlessly with the Icom IC-705. Every time you change the band on the radio, the amplifier follows automatically. If you’re using CAT control via software like WSJT-X, it sends a command to the radio to change bands or frequencies, and the radio relays that signal to the amplifier via Bluetooth. That feature alone makes this little amplifier worth considering.

So why am I probably not going to buy it? Even though it’s on sale for an “early bird” price of $429, it may not be for me. The amplifier itself is great, but I already have one (albeit the previous version). Also, I want to keep my 705 for QRP work, which I only discovered after I bought that other amp. Turns out I prefer using my Icom IC-7300 in the field when I’m looking for 100W. Otherwise, it’s the 705 for QRP work and portability.

Now, if I didn’t already have another amplifier or an IC-7300, this would definitely be enticing. $400 is still $400, but that’s on the cheaper side of things if you’re at all familiar with ham radio gear. If I were coming into this part of the hobby for the first time, I would definitely buy it and pair it with my IC-705. Anything that makes ham radio easier is good to go in my book. God knows there’s enough difficulty and tinkering going on already.

Temporarily Offline does a great job, showing you how it works with the IC-705 in his video below

I’ve been diving back into Homebrew today. I installed it a while ago but never really used it. I’m still learning the ropes, but I’ve made some progress by installing a few packages and experimenting with them. Here’s what I’ve added so far:

• htop
• glances (a bit more graphical than htop)
• wget
• tmux
• git
• bundle
• mas (for Mac App Store)

I’ve created a Brewfile and successfully updated all my apps, including those from the Mac App Store and macOS itself. All while using the command line in iTerm2. The cool thing about a Brewfile is that it acts like a snapshot of my setup. I can use it to update all my installed apps at once, which is pretty convenient. Even better, if I ever get a new Mac, I can install Homebrew, point it to this Brewfile, and recreate my entire setup automatically. I haven’t tested that scenario yet, but I plan to keep this file current so it’s ready whenever I decide to start fresh with a clean system.

When You Die, Does Your Life Actually Flash Before Your Eyes?

It is a common trope in storytelling that when someone dies, or has a near death experience, they see their life flash before their eyes. It seems, however, that this trope has a basis in reality.

I know it can be a bit morbid to think about, but it is fascinating that scientists have been able to detect surges in brain activity 30 seconds before and 30 seconds after someone dies. Could our life’s memories really be flashing “before our eyes” in those final moments?

The article linked above goes on to say that one does not have to be dying for this phenomenon to occur; a near-death experience can trigger the same response. Then again, it is not true for every person. In fact, researchers seem to have observed this activity in about 50% of patients. While the sample size was limited, the results offer a compelling glimpse into how the human brain functions at the very end.

It still makes me wonder what makes the difference. Why do some people seem to have that surge, while others don’t?

Yesterday, for the first time in over three months, I didn’t post on my blog. First, it was Thanksgiving, so we were having a great time with family, enjoying each other’s company and sharing stories back and forth. A good time was had by all. Afterwards, once everybody was full and happy and headed home, we started settling down. Then the storm hit.

It was unusual to get rain, thunder, and lots of wind here on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe it’s common, but I can’t remember any other Thanksgiving where that happened. As if that wasn’t enough, after it slowed down and virtually stopped, the power went out. In fact, according to our power company, about 6,000 people in the area lost power, and at the time we checked, they had no idea why.

Without power, I couldn’t post. But that’s not why I’m writing this. Not to tell you about the unusual storm or that the power went out, but what we decided to do when it happened.

We had to take our dog Vader out for a walk, so we grabbed some flashlights and headed outside. At first, it was because we had no choice. Vader had to walk. Then our kids decided they wanted to join us, so all four of us went out together. It turned into a little adventure.

We were seeing things in our neighborhood we hadn’t seen before. Yes, it was pitch black, which was rare because there are always lights around. But what I’m talking about is the contrast: light pollution glowing on the east side of our neighborhood while the west side was basically pitch black, where you could see stars and celestial bodies we normally don’t see. The moon looked like a flashlight beaming down on us, so clear it almost looked fake.

We weren’t the only ones either. We saw a bunch of people walking around at almost midnight with their little flashlights, just taking it slow, looking around and looking up at the sky like we were.

Yeah, the power went out, and all our comforts of life went with it. But it was amazing. We actually got to slow down, cut out all that noise, and amplify the signal that’s always around us.

No, I’m not saying I wish the power went out more often, but I do wish we took more time together and made the best of our situation, no matter what it is. Last night was a good reminder of that, and I’m thankful for it. It truly was a great Thanksgiving.

My wife makes the best pumpkin pies with real pumpkins. None of that canned stuff here. She’s been making them with love for years and has perfected her recipe so much that she gets requests from our teenagers, their friends, and of course, the rest of our family. They’re always a hit, and people have come to expect them. Every year they grow in popularity and in taste. The most recent batch of six was made last night and has already been spoken for. I know she’s reserving one for Thanksgiving dinner and the other just for us 😉.

Today is the last day we have to get ready for a big crowd coming over for Thanksgiving on Thursday. All the cleaning, cooking, and preparations are worth it a million times over to spend time with the people who matter most to us.

I hope you’re preparing for a good time on Thanksgiving as well. Wishing you the happiest of times with family, friends, and loved ones.

You know you have chosen the right company (and community) when they make it easy for you to take your data with you, should you ever decide to move on from their platform. I am so happy at Micro.blog that I don’t foresee leaving anytime soon, but is refreshing to know that they got my back.

I thank @Manton and the rest of his team for making this little corner of the web so special. Please keep up the good work. We love you guys and appreciate you.

Two essential accessibility tools for us visually impaired computer users are the magnifier and text-to-speech. Personally, I use the Magnifier/zoom feature to navigate around, but I lean heavily on text-to-speech when “reading” anything on websites, PDFs, or other documents. Both Windows and macOS offer these tools, and they’re virtually the same across platforms.

I’ve had an easier time using them on macOS because I use a trackpad where a three-finger swipe combination zooms the screen in and out. This is very smooth, and I can control it precisely. Windows, on the other hand, relies on keyboard shortcuts to enable the Magnifier. You typically press the Windows key and the plus key to zoom in or the minus key to zoom out. The problem? It’s very clunky. I’ve always had to press the Windows key and repeatedly tap the plus or minus key to reach my desired zoom level. A workaround was to get a configurable mouse like the MX Master series and map the mouse keys to zoom in and out more easily. Well, apparently one of the latest Windows 11 updates has changed this.

Most of us have a preferred zoom level we like to work at comfortably, but we do need to zoom out occasionally to get our bearings. In the past, it was especially annoying to repeatedly press a key to zoom out in steps. This new update apparently allows you to press Control + Tab, then use the plus or minus keys to zoom in and out very quickly. You zoom in to whatever level you want, then press the key combination to zoom out all at once with the minus key or return to your zoom level by pressing the plus key.

The other improvement involves the text-to-speech voices. If you’ve ever heard anyone use text-to-speech or use it yourself, you know the voices tend to be pretty robotic. I have to say, they are getting better, especially if you’ve been using these voices for a while. They were horrible before and are pretty good now, although they still don’t sound completely natural. Well, Microsoft, along with other companies, has started working on that. In this Windows 11 update, there are new voices that sound more natural and are more comfortable to listen to, especially for the longer articles you might come across.

This YouTube video below, by The Blind Life, walks through both of these updates in more detail. If you or someone you know uses these features and would benefit from watching it, please share.

#Accessibility #AssistiveTech

Pennies With Purpose: Smart and Simple Ways to Use the Disappearing Coin

with the discontinuation of penny production, some brick-and-mortar businesses across the country have been unable to give back exact change because they lack sufficient pennies, if any at all.

The other day, I published a post on the end of the US penny. In that post, one of the things I was wondering was what would happen to the penny. Would it just disappear and be forgotten? No! On the contrary, it has become a sought-after item. Stores want you to dig through those couch cushions and find all the pennies you can. In fact, they make it worth your while if you bring them in. Some stores even offer you twice the value of the penny in store vouchers.

That’s not all, though. Collectors are looking for those rare gems too.Not to mention the trivia the penny brings with it. For example, did you know that it costs about 3.7 cents to make a penny?That’s one of the main reasons it’s being discontinued. Or, the fact that President Lincoln is the only “head” on a coin that faces right. Another favorite mentioned in the article above is that pennies land on “heads” about 80% of the time because Lincoln’s head protrudes so much from the face of the coin.

All of these cool things are going to make me miss the penny even more, I think.

Listening to chocolate Chip Trip on Apple Music by Tool. What a great song to enjoy on your audio system. Great speaker dust off!

#music

I was programming another set of Baofeng UV-5R Mini radios I picked up during a “Black Friday” sale on Amazon, and it got me thinking about how I’ve evolved my approach to setting up these handhelds over the years. These aren’t my primary radios, but ones I keep them in our vehicles, toss one into our hurricane preparedness kit, or hand them out to family and friends when we need reliable short-range communication.

For a long time, I used to program my radios based on generic frequency lists I found online or by copying what other operators had stored. Back then, as a new ham, I just wanted to fill every memory channel “just in case” I needed it someday. But after years of experience and countless unused channels, I realized that strategy wasn’t a very good one. So I started streamlining my approach.

First, I looked up all the local repeaters in my area and tested which ones I could actually reach from my most common locations. Then I began adding more purpose-driven frequencies, like those used by SARnet, a network of linked UHF repeaters that spans the state. These are especially valuable before, during, and after emergencies, allowing us to check in across long distances when normal comms might be down.

My programming plan has gone through many iterations and continues to evolve. Things get added, edited, or deleted as our needs change. It’s very much a living system.

Here’s my current strategy for organizing channels on these radios:

Simplex Frequencies
I separate these into two main groups: VHF and UHF. Within each, I include the standard calling frequencies (146.520 MHz on 2 meters and 446.000 MHz on 70cm), the ADVENTURE Frequency for outdoor trips, and any simplex channels regularly used by family and friends.

Local Repeaters
This section includes the repeaters in my immediate area, sorted by how often I use them.

SARnet Repeaters
These are linked UHF repeaters that operate on a statewide microwave network. Most are active and monitored during drills and major events, like hurricanes, floods, etc.

NOAA Weather Frequencies
Most modern radios include weather alert features, but I still manually program the seven standard NOAA frequencies between 162.400 and 162.550 MHz. Having them on standby means I won’t miss critical weather updates, especially during hurricane season.

Fire Department Channels
My local fire department transmits in the clear, so I’ve programmed those frequencies into my radio in receive-only mode. This helps with situational awareness during emergencies — and even during daily commutes.

Local Schools
Some nearby schools also use open radio systems for internal coordination. Monitoring them (again, receive-only) helps me stay aware of drills, closures, or unexpected events that might affect traffic.

If you’re building your own communication plan, two resources stand out: Repeater Book and Radio Reference.

• RepeaterBook.com is a crowd-sourced, up-to-date database of amateur radio repeaters across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It’s great for finding local repeaters, including their frequencies, offsets, and tones.
• RadioReference.com Perfect for exploring local public service communications — police, fire, EMS, schools, and more. It’s a go-to for situational awareness, though remember: listen only, never transmit.

Both of these, along with a few years under my belt, have helped me create a smarter, more practical setup. Instead of cluttering my radios with unused channels, I now focus on what’s relevant and reliable when it counts.