UV-7B (Baofeng) or UV-K1 or UV-K5 (Quansheng)

I want to get into the hobby. I want a practical radio that I can use in emergencies. My local emergency management agency operates in the 2m band, so anything that gets NOAA alerts is fine. Other than that, I enjoy hacking, so getting a custom firmware could be fun.

The K5 has more firmware options and is well known. The K1 has a better processor and memory, so there is more headroom. The 7B is completely unhackable but is said to be more user-friendly thanks to the app and adds 1.25m band access. K1 reportedly has better spurs on 2m, while 7B performs well in terms of harmonics except for 2m??? I don't want to pollute the airwaves...

Leaning towards the later model Quansheng, currently. How important is 1.25m TX, phone programming, and 5x the channel storage for a beginner? (Bearing in mind that AFAICT, my local repeaters are also all on 2m, so I would primarily be using 2m, with 70cm as a side benefit.)

Either way, I can get a QMX+ kit for fully hackable SDR performance from shortwave to 6m as my upgrade path...

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u/NXTangl — 1 day ago

[TOMT] [Webcomic] A young dragon girl, the last hope of her race, travels through a magical portal and ends up emerging from a book

There are competing draconic factions trying to get her back. The cast has an adventure in a dead world with a single monstrous artificial being who caused the end of the world due to being infected by a parasite. It might have been on Webtoon—it had that style of infinite canvas reader to it.

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u/NXTangl — 8 days ago

Electronically controlled capacitors in the load network

I'm planning on building a polar transmitter based on WA1QIX's design. However, I would prefer to set up some kind of electronically controlled tuner capacitors so that I don't have to re-tune every time I switch bands. What kinds of electronic tuners are usable with the kinds of currents and voltages seen in a driver outputting a reasonable amount of wattage? Or should I resign myself to using a motor to turn a variable vacuum cap?

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u/NXTangl — 9 days ago

First time radio recommendation?

I'm interested in making contacts in my region, sending SSTV memes, and experimenting with digital modes. I would also like to get involved with volunteer emergency services if possible. There are tons of options and I've been stuck in analysis paralysis since I got my license, which was half a year ago, and I really want to actually get into the hobby. My plan is to build a polar modulating SDR eventually, but I figure I need to start making at least a few contacts first, so I would like a basic transceiver.

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u/NXTangl — 1 month ago

I think we need to revisit the idea of Ragatha being a sugar mommy

Riley has their own bar. They're 22, around six months older than Jax/Leeroy. They were scanned sometime after they first worked as a bartender, and almost certainly before they made Triangle, meaning they had to have been at least 21 then (you need to be 21 to mix drinks in MO). So, overall, Riley went from "has worked as a bartender" to "owns a whole bar" in like a year and a half at most.

Suzie still works in real estate. She clearly does quite well for herself, since she owns a horse, and got an article about flipping a huge ranch property. She seems to have been scanned around ten years before the main series (ca. 2007), some time before cutting contact with her mother. According to Goose was written with repressed lesbian energy; after leaving her mother, I would expect her to be very obviously super gay. So to summarize, she has both the means and motive to invest in a gay bar in her area.

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u/NXTangl — 2 months ago

Oh my god

The stone mask. The pillar men. The Red Stone of Aja. The Stand arrows. The holy ground. The wall eyes. The Rock Animals and Rock Humans. The lava rocks. The *music references...*

​

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a series about *the power of Rock.*

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u/NXTangl — 2 months ago

[TOMT] [Book] Urban fantasy that's been around since at least 2017...

It's been sold at Midwest FurFest at least once. It's a series. It has some cyberpunk or WoD-adjacent lore where large corporations use magic to enforce their power. The cover of the first book features the protagonist looking away and I believe is either primarily green, or a red background with major green components in the foreground.

reddit.com
u/NXTangl — 3 months ago