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Seek Outside 8 Person Tipi

It’s almost camping season here in Oregon. After a few years absence as our youngest child got older, it’s time to start taking the kids outside again. I’m ashamed to say it’s been several years since the whole family went camping in a tent. Yeah, we go to the Cabin, and stay in yurts. That is just not the same as sleeping on the ground, in a tent, not in a campground.

It was time to upgrade the tent; to fit the whole family and the upcoming dog. I settled on an 8 person tipi from Seek Outside. I did some research; read the reviews, forum postings. Sat on the fence because of price for about a year. I was planing for a smaller tipi, but a rare sale come along to get the larger one.

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3S lipo batteries for KX3

There was some recent discussion of using 3S (three cells in series) lipo batteries with the KX3 on either the NASOTA Yahoo group or the QRP-L list (I can’t remember). The gist is that the KX3 will keep running with a lower input voltage. A fully charged 3S battery will provide 12.6V. To get ten watts output, you need 12-14V, but closer to the 14V.  Less than 12V,  the KX3 drops to 5W power output.

I was browsing the HobbyKing website for 3S batteries and discovered they offer pickup at a few discrete locations. One of these locations is in Tualatin, OR. This is close enough to warrant save the $7 on shipping.

 

 

 

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Streamlight Double Clutch

My wonderful wife bought me the new Streamlight Double Clutch head lamp. For run of the mill head lamps Streamlight has really good offerings. Our local Bimart used to carry a $13 3x AAA headlamp. I purchased quite a few of these to stash in backpacks and give to the kids.

There are two features the Double Clutch has that makes it unique: rechargeable lithium polymer (lipo) that uses a micro USB port to charge, and the ability to remove that battery and use straight AAA’s. Just for kicks I pulled out one of my Poweradd 7 watt solar panels and topped up the battery. There is a red/green LED in the lipo battery that tells you if the battery is charging or full. It took about three hours for the battery to register fully charged-I don’t know what the state of the battery was upon arrival.

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Maxpedition Triptych

One of Maxpeditions new product offerings right at the end of 2014 was the Triptych line of personal organizers. Various re-sellers were preselling them and I waited three months to get one. Just checking Amzon, there is only one listed: Triptych Organizer, Black – PT1181B

This organizer has a handle, two side pockets that are big enough for pens, a phone, and a pocket folder, but nothing larger. I purchased the large model because inside pocket is big enough for a notebook and an iPad Air, or alternately a tablet and a solar panel. I purchased a discounted Poweradd 7W solar panel and it fits nicely with my iPad.

The downside with an organizer like this is that I keep trying to put too much stuff in it. With a notebook and a tablet, there is no place for my keys. I had my keys jangling around on one of the shoulder strap loops on the end, but I hate having my keys jangle.

MSRP is $59.99.

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My Favorites of 2014

Services:
Wonderlist: This cloud based to-do list is awesome. It has fantastic clients on iOS and Android. I use it to manage home, work, and hobby. I use the to-do entries to capture ideas for projects I want to build later.

Crashplan: I played with Crashplan’s non-cloud backup abilities and fell in love with it. We now subscribe to the family backup plan and supplement it with a local backup server. Our data is backed up twice! Linux clients are a big win here. The only downside to this is that the clients are written in Java and a little slow.

Google Play All Music Access: My friend Ivan Godwin got the discount “first adopters” rate for All Music Access. Since he started talking about it, I decided to try it. Having access to a seriously large music catalog has changed how I approach music. I try almost all the new music that comes out on a weekly basis. I still have a core play list of work and exercise music, but now I frequently add to it. I’ve found very bands / albums that are in Google’s catalog.

Books:
Effective Modern C++ (2014 Scott Meyers): After a long hiatus from C++ development, I picked it up again in 2013. This new version of a classic book is reasonable concise and captures a lot of the new ideas and concepts that are in modern C++. It’s not just limited to the syntax, but also covers some of the new standard library features. You can buy a copy from Amazon or read it on O’Reilly Safari.

Gear:
Sony Alpha a6000 :  I traded in a Sony NEX 3N for the A6000. The NEX 3N is slow and the kit lens is really not even good for a beginner. The A6000 is a huge step up. The quality, just from a fit and feel is far superior. The operational speed of the camera is light years ahead. I’ve only had the A6000 for a few months, but I don’t regret upgrading. I skipped the kit lens coupled the camera body with a Sigma 30mm prime lens.

MiniVNA Pro: I picked up this USB network analyzer to round out the analytical instrumentation on my work bench. This device connects via USB or Bluetooth and provides two-port analysis of passive RF circuits. The Windows desktop app is a bit clunky, but the price is right. My only complaint is that the unit should ship with the three termination options used for calibration by default.

Teensy 3.1: Small and fast ARM based Arduino compatible dev board. Fits directly onto a breadboard. This was my favorite until the Particle Photon came out.

Gregory Z35 Backpack: I needed a lightweight backpack for SOTA and hiking. I read some really great reviews about this pack’s suspension and ventilation. It’s all true: the ventilation is marvelous. I sweat a lot when hiking. This pack has a generous air channel right where your spine goes. With radio gear, I typically load this up with twenty pounds of gear. The Z35’s suspension has a wide, padded waist strap. This strap is better than most all packs in the same size class. I pair the Z35 with a Sea to Summit sil-nylon pack cover.

Wigwam Rebel Fusion Trekker Socks: I’m picky about socks. I tend to stay from most cotton clothes, especially cotton socks. This is a lesson that was instilled in me during several Boy Scout trips to Tuolemne Meadews. Cotton is death! These socks are 37% wool and the remainder is mostly nylon. Pure wool socks tend to make my feet sweat. The Trekker socks breath much nicer, and they stretch with your feet. I wear these around the house, to work, and even as liners inside heavily wool hiking socks.

Uni Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil: Hands down the best sub $10 mechanical pencil on the market. The auto-rotation mechanism actually works. The body feels nice and heavy; and there is no play in the tip.

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Kuru Toga Mechanical Pencil

The kidsb lost my Graph Gear 1000 mechanical pencil this past weekend at the cabin. Instead of purchasing a replacement, I decided to try a Uni Kuru Toga. It was a few dollars cheaper than the GG1K. It came in a package that was written entirely in Japanese (Awesome!). After using it for a week, I’m sold. The body feels much more solid that the GG1K. I like the black matte finish better too.