T H E 6 T H F L O O R

Life in 6 Land

Daily Archives: 07/31/2008

It’s a Battery!

First, I need to fault the engineer for attempting to bring this battery pack through a security checkpoint. Unfortunately, DHS and TSA still have their manties in a bunch and anything that remotely looks like a bomb will be confiscated. Even if this is not the case. Even if you can demonstrate what purpose it fulfills. I guess they will continue to collect lighters and fingernail clippers and consider our skies “safe.” *LOL*

So what am I talking about? The “over-hyped” headline reading, “Officer Makes Unique Discovery On Passenger.” You can read the little disclaimer put forth by the TSA and how the blogosphere, “Kept the TSA honest.” *LOL* Okay, now the TSA is listening to the blogosphere. Ah yes, protecting our airports! You can see the image of the item which was discovered at the checkpoint, which ended up being an extended life battery pack for longer trips. Understandable, but looking it could be misleading. Of course anything with wires will be scrutinized by the TSA, airline officials and other passengers if discovered.

The updated story does not come close to the original printing, which I have on my screen at home, but did not get around to posting it until now. I understand treating every such event as a bomb. “A suspicious-looking item is not the burden of proof for surrender of said item. This looks much more like the Wylie Coyote bomb of yesteryear, said some bozo from the TSA.

So DHS & TSA continue to “prove” we are safer than pre-9/11, which is still highly debatable, just wait until the next event and they will be saking, “How did this happen?” Looking over their “For Travelers” link, under Electronics I don’t see radios, yet if [and God forbid when] I have to travel and I decide to take my IC-718 I will not check it. Knowing how ramp servicemen handle luggage, it can be a pretty ugly site at times.

So enjoy your adventure through the snaking security lines, be prepared to strip down to very little, open up your bags (and maybe legs). Your humiliation is their satisfaction. And remember, the governmental rent-a-cops are there for your protection.

LCWO

Was in a ham radio related channel on IRC today when a few of us started discussing CW [Morse code for the non-hams] and N1ZJD provided a link he had recently started using to help supplement his learning of CW. The link, LCWO.net or Learn CW Online. I went to the web site and gave it a link, the author even provided a test account in order to demo the online program.

I found it to be a very useful program and created a new account earlier today. I was even able to contact the author, Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK on IRC. While I am still new to CW, I do know the letters and numbers, as well as many of hte symbols and prosigns. So, while the dits and dahs are not foreign, it will be beneficial in my training.

LCWO uses the Koch method of learning CW, as opposed to the Farnsworth method.

“The Koch method, named after German psychologist Ludwig Koch, which uses the full target speed from the outset, but begins with just two characters. Once strings containing those two characters can be copied with 90% accuracy, an additional character is added, and so on until the full character set is mastered.” [*]

“People learning Morse code using the Farnsworth method, named for Donald R. “Russ” Farnsworth, are taught to send and receive letters and other symbols at their full target speed, that is with normal relative timing of the dots, dashes and spaces within each symbol for that speed. However, initially exaggerated spaces between symbols and words are used, to give “thinking time” to make the sound “shape” of the letters and symbols easier to learn.” [*]

After listening to the first two letters, “K” and “M” you then take a test on those two letters, with groups of five letters being sent for 1 minute [configuable up to 5 minutes]. If you score 90% or better, then you go to the next lesson and add a new letter.

Whatever method of learning you choose is up to your. Both are tried and tested and you will see many who argue in support of each. One thing I have learned over the course of my learning CW is that nothing replaces real interaction. I am talking about a real QSO [contact] with another CW operator on the air. This is continually stressed by WB2WIK over on QRZ.com and eham.net in CW threads.

“I encourage students who are already licensed to get on the air, call CQ and make code contacts as soon as they can copy any code at all…CW operators are very patient and encouraging people. I don’t know any real CW man who won’t slow down to a crawl and take time to make a contact with a new operator. Just about everybody will, and everybody remembers how they started out.”

Excellent information from a very experienced ham. Of course not all of us have time, nor are there available classes in order to learn, so our learning must be supplemented. This is where programs like LCWO, G4FON, Morse Machine and others come in and play a vital role in learning CW.