Category: Electronics

When Signals Travel One Way: Exploring HF Propagation on 7.185 MHz

Last night, after three years of not using the ham radio, I was listening to a net on 7.185 MHz.

To be clear, I enjoy rag chewing. I want to get to know people, hear their stories, and just maybe include bits and pieces of them in some future book. (I am an author.)

While I was working in the shop, the net ended, and the group decided to chase DX, or distant stations typically located in a different country.

After a CQ call and things being slow, I picked up the mic and tossed my call into the ether.

KD2DMR eventually welcomed me; they were a friendly group of folks.

To my surprise, a station in South Africa responded to me.

Jeremy in Illinois heard him, but I did not.

The first point of this post is simple: if you’re a ham, you might want to listen to 7.185 at night. They are a friendly bunch.

The second part of the post, and clearly the question I was asking myself, is this: why could I not hear this fellow in Nimbini when he heard me?

Of course I knew what the answer was but…Why not share?

Think “asymmetrical propagation.”

On HF bands like 40 meters (7.185 MHz), asymmetrical propagation is actually quite common.

Here are the likely culprits:

1. Ionospheric Conditions and Skip Zones:The ionosphere’s state changes constantly. His signal may have taken a different propagation path to reach me than my signal took to reach him. At certain times, one direction might have a clear skip path while the other does not. This is especially true for long-distance contacts, where the signal bounces off the ionosphere at different angles.

2. Polarization Mismatch:My 260-foot horizontal wire antenna radiates horizontal polarization. When HF signals bounce off the ionosphere, the polarization can shift unpredictably. His receiving antenna may have been oriented to better capture the polarization of my transmitted signal, while my antenna was not optimally positioned to receive his return signal’s polarization state after it bounced back.

3. Antenna Directivity and Takeoff Angle:My long wire antenna has directional characteristics that vary with frequency and height. At 30 feet on 40 meters, my antenna likely has a relatively high takeoff angle, which is good for medium-distance skip but may not be optimal for receiving signals coming back from South Africa at a different angle than my transmission went out.

While the long wire is a perfectly fine antenna for general-purpose communication, including DX, antennas (which to me in 1973 were simply magic) are the stuff of amateur radio’s dreams and fascinations, and they are one of the simpler things to experiment with.

If I had a Vertical antenna that I was listening on, there is a high probability I would have heard him. Many DX chasers have two antennas, one for transmitting and another for receiving for this reason. Even a simple inverted V for 40 might have made the difference.

There is even something called a beverage antenna, for receive only…If you want to maximize receive capability specifically, a Beverage antenna is legendary for HF reception. It is a long, low wire (typically 1 to 4 wavelengths long, running 6 to 10 feet high) that is highly directional and excellent at rejecting noise while capturing weak signals. Many serious DXers use Beverage antennas for receiving while transmitting on a separate antenna. *

If you are interested in such things, I would encourage you to find your local ham radio group and get your feet wet. If you are a ham, I will make a point to be listening on 7.185 and chat with them more, if they ever simply rag chew.

Best, and 73 to the hams out there.

About the Cover Picture:

When the world teeters on the brink of nuclear annihilation, a retired Air Force general is given an impossible second chance: to rewrite history. Sent back in time to 1962 by mysterious alien beings, he wakes up trapped in the body of his ten-year-old self—armed with decades of knowledge, but stripped of his power and authority. With the Cuban Missile Crisis looming, global tensions rising, and secrets hidden in the shadows of the past, he must navigate a world that sees him as a child while carrying the burden of preventing humanity’s self-destruction.

As he re-encounters his family, a young JFK, and the love of his life before they’ve even met, he discovers that saving the future isn’t just about stopping a war—it’s about proving that humanity is worth saving. Along the way, secrets buried deep in Area 51, a chilling conspiracy within the U.S. government, and the cryptic motives of the alien beings reveal the stakes are higher than he could have ever imagined.

Echoes of Tomorrow is a sweeping tale of time travel, love, loss, and redemption. With the weight of the world on his young shoulders, one man must face the ultimate question: can the future truly be changed, or is humanity destined to repeat its greatest mistakes?

This gripping journey will captivate fans of thought-provoking sci-fi, historical intrigue, and heart- through time and the fragile threads of destiny.

Get Your Copy Here

*Why It Is Called a Beverage Antenna

The Beverage antenna is named after its inventor, Harold H. Beverage, an American radio engineer who developed and patented the design on June 7, 1921.

The name is entirely unrelated to drinks; it is simply an eponym honoring the man who created it.

A Bit of History: Harold Beverage (later known by his amateur radio call sign W2BML) was working at RCA when he invented the antenna as part of his efforts to improve the reception of transatlantic radio signals.

The design quickly gained popularity for its excellent performance in long-distance communication.

One of the most impressive early implementations was built by AT&T in Houlton, Maine, for the first transatlantic telephone service.

This massive array consisted of four phased Beverage antennas, stretching three miles long and two miles wide.

Why It Remains Popular

More than a century after its invention, the Beverage antenna is still widely used by amateur radio operators, shortwave listeners, and professional monitoring stations. Its ability to deliver an extremely low noise floor and a clean directional pattern makes it unmatched for receiving weak signals on the low bands, typically 160 meters through 40 meters.

The design is elegantly simple: a long wire (often several wavelengths in length) suspended low to the ground and terminated with resistors at one or both ends. This configuration allows it to function as a traveling wave antenna, capturing signals along its length while rejecting interference from unwanted directions.

Combatting Scam Calls: Protect Your Phone and Privacy

Scam Calls Are Taking Over: Are Our Phones Becoming Worthless?

Let’s face it: our phones, once cutting-edge tools of connection and convenience, are slowly turning into sources of frustration. If you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed how scam calls are taking over our lives, making us second-guess every incoming call. How many of us actually answer our phones anymore when we don’t recognize the number? For me, it’s almost never. And honestly, can you blame me?I get hundreds of scam calls every week, and it’s exhausting. From fake IRS agents to warranty renewal scams, my phone rings constantly with fraudulent attempts to steal my money or personal information. As a result, I’ve developed a strict “don’t answer” rule: if I don’t know the number, I let it go to voicemail. If it’s important, the caller can leave a message. But is that really the answer? Shouldn’t there be a better solution than just dodging calls?

Why Are Scam Calls Legal?

Here’s the part that really baffles me: why is it legal for scammers to hijack our phones like this? Let’s break it down.

We pay for our phones: We’re the ones footing the bill for our phones, lines, and data plans (not to mention the time we lose dealing with these calls). Yet scammers and telemarketers are allowed to freely intrude on our lives without accountability.
No consent required: Many of these calls come without prior consent. They’re random, unsolicited, and often predatory. It feels invasive, and honestly, it should be illegal.
Robocalls are everywhere: It’s not just scammers. Even legitimate businesses and political campaigns use robocalls to bombard us with messages. And while their intentions may not be criminal, the frustration they cause is very real.

Why Isn’t There Stronger Legislation?

It’s 2026, and the problem seems worse than ever. Why can’t we have effective legislation that cracks down on scam calls and robocalls? Think about it: these callers don’t pay for your phone, your line, or your time, so why do they have the right to disrupt your day?Sure, there’s been some progress. In the U.S., for instance, there’s the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and recent efforts like the TRACED Act, which aim to curb illegal robocalls. Technologies like STIR/SHAKEN, which verify the authenticity of caller IDs, are also being implemented by carriers. But let’s be honest; these measures haven’t solved the problem. Scammers are constantly finding loopholes, and enforcement isn’t strong enough to deter them.

The Impact on Everyday Life

Let’s talk about what this means for us, the average phone users. Scam calls don’t just waste our time; they erode trust. We’re now conditioned to ignore calls from unknown numbers, which has real consequences. What if it’s a potential employer? A doctor’s office? A friend or family member calling from a new number? The constant barrage of scam calls makes it harder for us to stay connected in meaningful ways.

What Can Be Done?

So, what’s the solution? Here are some ideas:

Stronger penalties for scammers and telemarketers: Governments need to enforce stricter laws and impose harsher consequences for illegal calls. This includes holding companies accountable for the robocalls they send.
Improved technology: Phone carriers should continue to innovate ways to block scam calls before they even reach us. Apps like Hiya, Truecaller, and Nomorobo are a step in the right direction, but we need these features to be built into every phone system by default.
Public awareness campaigns: Educating people about common scams and how to protect themselves can help limit the success of these fraudulent calls.
Opt-in systems for legitimate calls: What if businesses and political campaigns could only call us if we explicitly opted in? That way, we’d have more control over who can contact us.

What Do You Think?

I’m tired of feeling like my phone is more of a liability than a tool. Scam calls are making our phones almost worthless, and something needs to change. But what about you? Are you facing the same problem? Do you ignore unknown numbers, too? And what solutions would you like to see to stop this epidemic of scam calls?Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Let’s start the conversation, because if we don’t demand change, who will?

***

About the Cover Picture: What would you do if your body remembered a story the world tried to erase?

Marisol Reyes believed her life was ordinary, until the night words began to surface on her skin. They burn like embers and speak of a past she has never known: a forgotten village, a family secret, and a legacy passed through blood and bone across generations. Her grandmother carried these memories in silence. Now the words have found their way to her.

As Marisol uncovers the truth about San Miguel de la Luz, a village destroyed in 1963 and erased from history, she learns that her family’s story is woven into the ambitions of a powerful corporation desperate to keep its secrets buried. With the help of Daniel Medina (a boy whose own family is bound to the betrayal that led to San Miguel’s destruction), Marisol must choose whether to remain silent or risk everything to bring the truth into the light.

Written in Skin is a gripping novel of magical realism, historical trauma, and the fight to reclaim lost histories. Perfect for fans of Isabel Allende, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and stories that braid the mystical with the deeply human, this is a tale about memory, resilience, and the power of words that refuse to stay buried.

Get your copy here.

A Reflection on the Changing Soul of Amateur Radio

From the warm amber glow of a dial light, or perhaps the soft illumination behind the S-meter, the art of radio has never been lost on me. There’s something almost sacred about those old rigs that modern equipment, for all its capabilities, struggles to replicate.

1973: The Golden Era of Homebrew

In 1973, I had a homebrew transmitter, a borrowed crystal set to 7.107 MHz on the 40-meter band, and a Hallicrafters SX-99—a receiver that had already earned legendary status among hams since its introduction in 1953. The SX-99, with its general coverage from 538 kHz to 34 MHz and distinctive slide-rule dial, represented the pinnacle of accessible shortwave reception for countless operators during the post-war boom of amateur radio.That year, amateur radio was thriving. The hobby had grown substantially following the lifting of the World War II ban on amateur operations in 1945, and by the early 1970s, there were approximately 300,000 licensed hams in the United States. Homebrew was not just common—it was a rite of passage. Building your own transmitter demonstrated both technical competency and dedication to the craft.I clearly remember my first CW contact to a fellow in Little Rock, Arkansas. The anticipation of hearing my call sign returned through the static, the careful hand on the straight key, the thrill of bridging hundreds of miles with equipment I had built and understood intimately—Morse code was mandatory then, required for all license classes until the FCC finally eliminated the requirement entirely in 2007.

Wow, Have Things Changed

Indeed they have. Following up on my post about Field Day, the disappointment was real. Field Day, that annual tradition started by the ARRL back in 1933 as an emergency preparedness exercise, once represented the pinnacle of amateur radio camaraderie. Clubs would gather, antennas would rise against the summer sky, and for 24 hours, the airwaves crackled with activity and friendly competition.Today, participation tells a sobering story. While the ARRL reports continued interest, many local clubs struggle to muster the enthusiasm—and the operators—that once made Field Day a highlight of the ham calendar.

The Digital Divide

I’m aware that digital modes exist that I have yet to explore. FT8, developed by Nobel laureate Joe Taylor (K1JT) and released in 2017, has revolutionized weak-signal communication, allowing contacts with stations that would be impossible to hear with human ears alone. JS8Call, WSPR, and countless other modes offer new frontiers.Yet I cannot shake the feeling that the age of the thrill of DX—of spinning that dial, straining to pull a rare station from the noise, of earning the contact through skill and patience—has been relegated to the dustbin of history. When a computer algorithm can decode what the human ear cannot, and contacts are reduced to automated exchanges of signal reports, something ineffable is lost.

The Club Conundrum

Retired from corporate America, one of the things we must all face is not only can we afford to retire, but what will we do when we retire? Having friends from the local area was most certainly on my list.When I moved here, I researched the local ham club, visited their website, and sent dues money thinking they would contact me, invite me to a meeting, welcome me into the fold. Not even a thank-you email.Sadly, this experience is not unique. Studies and surveys within the amateur radio community reveal a troubling pattern: the average age of a licensed ham in the United States now exceeds 68 years old, and many clubs have become insular, struggling with declining membership while paradoxically failing to welcome new blood. The ARRL itself has acknowledged challenges in club vitality and member engagement.Is this the same attitude that pervades the hobby at large? A community so accustomed to its own decline that it no longer reaches out to those who seek connection?

A Question for Fellow Hams

If you are a ham, I am curious about your thoughts. Have you experienced this same disconnect between the promise of amateur radio fellowship and its reality? Is the hobby we loved transforming into something unrecognizable, or are there still pockets of that old spirit waiting to be found?The dial light still glows. The question is whether anyone is still listening.

ANYCUBIC and other 3D printers

As an author, I must keep my mind busy when not engrossed in an alternate world. This often means diving into research or brainstorming new plot twists.

People frequently accuse me of having an excessive amount of hobbies.

In my free time, I immerse myself in a multitude of hobbies.

Writing, reading, painting, hiking, golfing, traveling, fishing, and even howling at the moon. Ok, not howling exactly, but the night sky calls to me, and through astronomy, I unravel the mysteries of the universe, awestruck by its vastness. In addition to that list, I would include computers, as I delight in exploring and experimenting with various operating systems and applications.

One might wonder how I have time for this list of activities.

I don’t watch television. With all the garbage and propaganda that comes with that contagion, I just assume not to have one. I attempt to spend very little time on social media as it is a contagion that fills society with false flags, indoctrinating our young and old with non-sequitur ideas. Some of the filth that makes its way through those mediums is downright evil. I don’t waste any time playing video games as that is a total waste of energy. Instead of playing by their rules, I live in my world.

3D printing has become a fun activity. As an engineer, thinking about some ‘thing,’ designing said thing, and, much like a Star Trek replicator, creating it with our technology is fun.

3D printing challenges one to think; we have too little thinking in this world today, so I applaud it.

I started with the legacy Ender product. If you can print with that printer, you are qualified to use other, more advanced printers.

In this article, I want to talk about ANYCUBIC.

I purchased an Anycubic Mega Pro. That printer was an upgrade from the ender product with a built-in auto bed leveling routine.

I will get straight to the cons. Every cooling fan on that thing is absolute junk. Why in the devil would they skimp on cheap fans with zero bearings? That is beyond me.

If you allow it to ‘warm up,’ the noise eventually abates, but that is a black eye for the brand.

While looking at upgrades, I purchased another ANYCUBIC product, the Viper.

Quieter product, a little faster, and the auto bed level works well.

I have had it for less than a year. I print something occasionally, definitely not every day or week. During my last print, I noticed a loud clicking noise. Upon thorough examination, we discovered that the Y-axis tensioner had a defective bearing.

Check Your Ego

I admit that I spend entirely too much time on ‘groups’ that profess an interest in one topic or another.

We tend to search for our tribe, whether that be people interested in equine activities or perhaps restoring vintage electronic devices.

Today it was a group dedicated to Heathkit.

For those of you who don’t know, Heathkit, out of Benton Harbor, created and sold well-designed devices in kit form.

If you followed the instructions, when finished, you would have not only a working device, but you would have the pride of knowing that you built it and, you would also know how to repair it should the need arise.

This person purchased an old oscilloscope from the ’60s that, by today’s standards, is worthless. This same person opened it up, showing the repair job someone did back in the 70’s ‘as depicted by the age of the components’ and complained.

When he brought it up on his variac, it still worked. After opening it, he complained about the ‘mess’ inside. He then went about requesting assistance from everyone in the group for information on the piece and so on.

Since the internet was not around when the previous person repaired it, and it was still working today, just possibly he should re-think his assessment of the repair.

I am from the age group who taught myself electronics, built kits, and designed and built my first transmitter from TV parts. There were no online resources as there are today.

The FCC test was in person and not multiple guess.

This behavior is not just in ham radio groups but many others.

If you read the online comments, it would seem that narcissism is as rampant as covid.

I am amazed at how quickly the comments turn into personal attacks. Is this the new normal where keyboard warriors use speech that they would not use around their grandparents, to feel better about themselves while attacking another?

The three weeks to flatten the curve has tested my patience to the absolute limits of my medications.

Turn off the computer, the screens, and the TV when you reach that point.

Reading opinions by other keyboard warriors that incite violence on a class of people with who they don’t agree is demented, and it needs to stop.

We forget that the technology we have today is because of those that came before us. We are standing on the shoulders of giants, and yet we have narcissists like this person daring to complain about a fifty-year-old repair, that still works.

-Best

A brighter idea?

Being the responsible human that I am, I purchased some LED bulbs to cut my carbon footprint.

Not only have I removed much of my ‘footprint due to COVID and hardly ever leaving the house but, I am responsible with my use of resources.

The question is, how much Green can we afford?

After the incandescent bulb stopped, I replaced it with this beautiful LED bulb from LEDMEDTRICS.

Before the twenty-minute mark was up, the bulb ceased to function.

The bulb was in a standard non-dimmable lamp socket in a desk lamp. Many are unaware that you must purchase ‘dimmable’ LED bulbs for circuits with dimmers. I am.

If you follow me, you are aware that my curiosity knows few boundaries.

My first instinct was to contact the manufacturer. Ooops, cannot find them.

On eBay, I can find their product but as far as the company, no dice. Now I must tell you that twist pointed my mind in a different direction.

Removing the defective bulb (infant mortality), I noticed it was hot as any incandescent bulb ever was.

These things are assembled in such a way there is no disassembling them with the idea you are going to put them back together and use them again.

Saving a long drawn out discussion on what failed, it was a cold solder joint from the mainboard to the LED panel. As it heated up, the contact let loose.

“Is it worth $12?”

The circuit is pretty straightforward. We don’t know what the semiconductor is on the aluminum led substrate.

I would guess that the high tin content of the solder is most probably the reason for the cold solder joint.

For your amusement, I have taken some pictures of what is inside one of these bulbs.

There appears to be aluminum bonded to the PVC at the base of the bulb.

-Best

The Case of the Bloated Apple

Ok, it’s technically not an apple in the most real sense of the word. God or Eve or even the devil had little influence on this fruit. We are talking about an iPhone.

Let my experience with this device be a cost-saving measure for you.

With the lockdowns and subsequent lack of leaving the house, the phone, which usually lives on my person, hardly ever left the desk.

Since it never left the desk, it also never or hardly ever left the charger.

The physics that goes along with these batteries is somewhat elusive, but batteries are designed to be used. Said another way, unlike car batteries, these batteries in your laptop, cell phone, and tablets are designed to cycle on a larger scale than your car.

They are rated in how many times they can be ‘cycled.’

On my desk laid the iPhone plugged up to a constant source of energy. Monitoring the current from the power supply to the phone, I noticed no appreciable current draw but, something was happening.

Simultaneous events occurred during February and March. The phone seemed to split apart. Something inside the phone was expanding. It could only be the battery. Knowing that these batteries can be volatile, a new phone seemed to be in order. Repairing an old phone makes little sense by the time you find a place to take it and so on.

Another thousand dollar phone later seemed to be the right approach. Trying to leave the house presented a whole new challenge. The car battery was dead.

With all the electronic ‘stuff’ in cars today, there is about a 250 ma constant draw on the battery. If you don’t drive it weekly, put a trickle charger on the battery.

Here we juxtapose the two different technologies. Lead Acid batteries are designed to give you that current with a small amount of discharge in the process of starting the engine. Once started, the alternator puts the energy consumed, back into the battery. Hence one cycle is complete.

In Texas, anything over three years is considered a win. Heat is detrimental to lead-acid batteries.

Switch gears to the phone. The Lithium Polymer battery will provide the correct voltage and current until depleted. Translated, if you puncture a phone battery while trying to remove it while still charged, it very well might combust into flames.

The battery in my older iPhone expanded much like a balloon while living on my desk. Not having taken one of these phones apart before, I felt the proper thing to do would be to recycle it and forget it. (but It still worked.)

The longer it sat there with its screen popping off, and the more time I had to think about it, google became the go-to source of information.

$22 later, I had a new battery and the tools to change it on the way to my home.

While the procedure is not for the faint of heart, if you were to follow the directions to the letter, the odds are, you too could save your phone.

The older phone still provides a platform for Zoom, music, and yes videos. The newer phone now lives on an inductive charger, which, according to the manufacturer, will not overcharge your battery.

Since the older phone is repaired and looks great, I unplug it from the charger as I use it like one usually would. Even without actual ATT service, with wifi, there are many ways to use the phone as a phone still.

The trickiest part of the procedure is removing the old battery. It is glued to the phone. This is where you could create an explosive situation if you are not super careful. One tip I would offer is, drain the battery completely before you attempt a procedure like this.

How? Turn the phone on and listen to music until it is dead.

Regarding your car, make sure the trickle charger is rated at least an amp. The trickle charger I bought from one of those box stores used a little wall wart as the supply. It did not provide sufficient current to keep the battery charged and run whatever stand-by devices were drawing minuscule amounts of energy.

I now use a zero-point charger that shuts off when the power drain falls below a few milliamps. As the devices draw enough current to trigger the charger, a cycle is developed, keeping the car ready for when you need to escape from quarantine.

I hope you find this information of some value and that you stay safe during these trying times.

-Best

Watch Out For Crap Like This.

From the early 70’s I was tinkering with electronics. While my peers were playing ball or getting their hearts broken, I was getting shocked and talking to people all over the world.

Peering through the back of a radio or perhaps the TV, one would see all these glowing amber lights. Soon after my fascination with the front of the radiant dial on the old floor model radio piqued, I wanted to know how it worked.

Garage sales and discarded appliances became a source of amusement for me. Boxes of small parts from different devices soon lived in the closet, under my bed, and soon I had to pare down the collection. A borrowed receiver, some junk box parts, and a crystal as were the rules back then, I was on the air as a newly minted Novice Amateur Radio Operator. The glowing 6AQ5 tube was the final for a whopping 7 watts unmodulated Carrier wave controlled by the steady fist of what they used to call ‘brass pounders.’

Today, 47 years after the date, I still remember Morse code, but I must confess I have not pounded a key in eons.

Tubes gave way to transistors, which soon turned into integrated circuits. Now we have software-defined radio that minimalizes the power usage and, of course, exaggerates the complications if you need to troubleshoot it.

Time marches on.

A man once stipulated that we stand on the shoulders of giants, and the same is true of the law of accelerated return of advancement regarding technology.

Most teenagers today have more technology in their back pocket or on their wrist than we used to send a man to the moon. What they do with it remains to be seen but, the possibility of great things is within their grasp.

Licensing for the Amateur Radio Service is nothing like it was. One could argue that nobody builds anything anymore, so it does not need to be as difficult as it was back in 1973.

I still tinker, albeit minimally and mostly with antenna design and theory. All that said to get to the point of this blog.

When I purchased this switch box online, I knew what to expect. Never in a million years would I push any wattage through this thing.

When I wiggled the wires a number of them came lose of their own accord, cold solder joints. — Here is the inside of the box. Wow.

In my office resides a desk, with several different apparatuses on it. From state of the art to antique, I still listen to and ‘mess’ with them on occasion. You see I always appreciate the glow from the dial light of old shortwave radios. I wanted a way to control the RF from my antenna to the different devices without messing with cables.

The name of this device is miss-leading, and I am confident if put to the test, they would call it a ‘name’ and say they never meant it to handle 1000 watts. With the wording CB in the advertisement, they could argue the illegality of using more than 12 watts PEP ergo ‘what were you doing with this thing?’

A smart person could take them to task, in that this thing would perform miserably at 27mhz.

Whoever designed it had a handle on DC but not AC. The integrity of the 50 ohms impedance is violated, making this a horrible device even for switching between receivers. Again I knew what to expect when I spent the $20. Why then did I buy it?

Real coaxial switches have the same essential components, they are just well thought out. If you look at the contact on the switch, you can tell that any kind of wattage would burn the connections and or arc over to the next. In its original construction, I would not even use it for low wattage use.

Below you can see how I modified it with coax and common grounds. One last modification is to add a ground lug to it, so I can ground the box to earth ground.

Enjoy your hobbies, and be very wary of crap from the Far East. While it is all made there, ‘for the most part,’ some companies have a reputation at stake, while some just want to sell cheap junk.

In its original form, it was just that, junk.

-Best

Scott

The Old Gray Mare Ain’t What She Used to Be

This might seem like a blog about horses or livestock but we will be talking about technology, and how to breathe new life in to your old computers.

In 1946 they designed the ENIAC to be the end all be all in technology. Twenty minutes of Computer time would replace over 240 man hours where calculations were concerned. The economic model fell apart with the amount of man hours needed to maintain the computer, not to mention the parts, ‘tubes’ and the energy needed to power it.

Today in this modern era of technology we have something known as Hardware Asset Management. If your CIO gives you a blank stare if you talk with him or her about it, consider hiring a new one.

CFO’s hate surprises. Without asset management one quickly learns there are no good surprises in business.

The modern day desktop has a life cycle of five years and the laptop, three. What if there was a way to extend that life cycle for a minimum investment?

They rate components in computers in something known as MTBF or Mean Time between Failures. Notice that does not ‘if it fails, but when.’

Looking at the different components within a computer, one of the most fragile and arguable important is the hard drive. Next would be the power supply, and any moving parts, which would be the fans, drives and cd-rom.

How do we mitigate this to an acceptable level of risk, and push the envelope out one to two or more years?

Normal physical maintenance should be at the top of every ‘engineers’ duties.
·         Visiting with the users looking for clues about what they are dealing with.
·         Visual inspections of how the machines are installed and cared for.
·         Regular dusting of the CPU and other fans looking or listening for bearings, etc.
·         Frayed cables or broken tabs on network cables.
·         Non-authorized software.

Managers of those individuals should be mindful of updates, security and so on. License compliance is part of Software Asset management and not in the scope of this document.

Now what about extending the life cycle of a computer?

The secret is SSD drives. As developers constantly up the requirements for applications to perform, we cast aside perfectly viable computers for newer hardware.

What if?

What if we could solve some of those issues with a simple upgrade? SSD Drives are under $100 for a Terabyte drive. A disk duplicator cost around $40 or certainly less than one hundred dollars.

Taking out the hard drive, placing it in the source compartment of the duplicator and the new SSD drive in the target; in 4 hours’ time you have a solid state drive that is no longer subject to accidental jars such as in laptops. More importantly than this, is the speed issue. You also have a perfect clone of the original meaning, you have a backup should something happen.

SSD drives are much faster than regular hard drives and there are no moving parts.

The laptop I am writing this on, was a retired HP with an I 3 processor and 6 gig of ram. One $100 drive later this laptop performs like a new one. Yes, the Office applications are still 2010 but, I have Windows 10 and it runs just fine.
Boot up time went from over three minutes, to under thirty seconds.

Application loading time is incredible and if Windows needs to swap, it is swapping to memory and not a slow hard drive.

Bottom line, I have a perfectly good laptop pulled from the retirement pile, for $100 and four hours of my time.

Since the copy process is automatic, you put the two drives into the machine, hit copy and go do something else until it is finished. Actual human hours involved were less than 20 minutes.
The old Gray Mare now is running like a colt, and I can save the money I would spend on a laptop and new software for something else.

For an individual this is an easy decision to make. Multiply this by ten or a thousand employees. Could your P&L use the extra boost?

Like always, I am a consultant and would be happy to visit with you about how you are doing business, and if there are ways to improve upon them.

Bio:
I was working with computers before Bill Gates was a household name, and Steve Jobs was still a criminal working out of his garage, designing and building ways to scam the phone company. I met him while supporting Next Step Computers during one of my jobs years ago.
From before ‘Al Gore’ invented the internet, to performing disaster recovery strategies for large and small companies, I stay active. Reach out to me on Linked In, or through this blog.
-Best

Is the lowest price always your best option?

From time to time, I share with you pearls of wisdom learned through the school of hard knocks.

We all do it. We look for the best price on things from hotels to rental cars to stuff. Consumables like food from reputable sources you might do better at a big box store. When shopping for groceries, I pay attention to coupons vs., the added luxury of services that are offered.

Some stores are pushing the industry of shopping for groceries on-line. They do this by one checker open while ‘nudging’ you to take your selections to the self-checkout, which rarely work correctly.

Sam’s has probably one of the better systems. Using the bar code reader, one can efficiently facilitate their purchase, and I would add a giant asterisk to this statement. I know few people who want to price, bag and pay for their things, only to be stalled exiting the building, waiting in a long line for some person to take forever to do an inventory of your items, and all of those people in front of you. This, to me, is a bridge too far, especially when I already pay a membership fee. All things considered, I will not renew.

While big-box stores killed the mom and pop businesses, so too will the likes of Amazon and other online services, kill bricks and mortar establishments? The impetus for doing such things comes down to the P&L and morons seeking 15 dollars an hour salaries for entry-level jobs. They obviously have stopped teaching economics in school, and they surely have stopped teaching critical thinking.

In my line of work, I provide several services. One of them which is the reason for this blog is File Date Stamps. I also offer other legacy products to municipalities and other businesses who use such things. I serve a dying industry, as we move to do everything electronically.

Leaving forensic computing and disaster recovery my next items to push, those two are also outsourced to other countries who can exploit people without unions and protestors to raise hell.

The Rapidprint and Widmer products have been around for well over thirty years. Both are robust machines that serve many customers. With minor attention to replacing ink ribbons and not knocking the things on the floor, they require little maintenance. Some customers who use these hundreds of times a day, however, cause wear and tear that at some point needs to be addressed.

The year wheel last ten years and I have replaced year wheels in the same machines three-times and counting. Where else can you purchase a machine that lasts over 30 years?

As a highly trained engineer, my company handles thousands of these clocks in a service capacity. The catch is this. Companies must make a profit, or we will not be around to service them. I could teach someone how to repair them in hours, what takes decades is knowing from the very feel of the wheels if they are right or not. From the look and sound of the imprint, I can tell you what is going on. That expertize takes years.

I know of a customer through one of my vendors who purchased a machine online, at some cheap price. The dealer is responsible for the warranty issues per our contract with the vendor. That is part and parcel of how this all works. They allow us a discount, and we must absorb the cost incurred with warranty issues… from the machines we sell!

This customer purchased this machine from some internet-only dealer and had an issue and was told to deal with the vendor. Nope… not the way it works, and they were not happy. I don’t blame them but… they looked for the lowest price and not reputation. Sending it to another vendor for repair, eating the cost, the machine broke once again sometime later.

Without going there to see if it is something they are doing, vs. a botched repair job, the vendor would have little way of knowing. Offering to repair it for them at no charge, the customer balked at the cost of shipping it back to them.

Contacting me, who is in Texas, I told them I would provide the service at no charge, even though I did not sell the machine. The idea behind that decision is to take care of the customer, and have that customer from then on. Word of mouth is how I grow my business. Can I do that for everyone… no?

Doubling down on the $20 shipping charge to get it to me, they are now in some stalemate. The vendor offering to assist them did not sell it to them, and it is not even their brand of equipment. This vendor goes well out of their way to help customers with the same goal in mind, turn them into their customers.

The original seller is who they should be contacting, but of course, they don’t provide any service, so the customer’s ‘good deal’ has backfired, even though another vendor and I have offered to rescue them from their dilemma.

Is it wise to purchase a machine from some internet vendor that does not provide service?

“Do you feel lucky???”

A word about shipping…

Having intimate knowledge of the different carriers, your package, whether it is diapers or light bulbs, is dropped up to six feet several times during its voyage from the dealer to you. The heavier the parcel, the more likely it is to be damaged.

As a rule, I insure packages sent by me. I have had them crushed in the process. One machine which was packaged in the factory shipping box, had the metal casting broken. The problem is most customers are not aware of the claims process.

If you get a packaged that appears damaged, take pictures of everything before you open it, and then through the process. If there is damage to the ‘item,’ you will need those pictures along with the original packaging to file a claim and get reimbursed.

On rare occasions, the jostling of the machine through the shipping process can cause internal damage. If your new or repaired device does not function straight out of the box as intended, there is a good chance that in the process the ‘500-pound Gorilla’ got too exuberant. Machines sent from my shop are bench tested for two weeks before they are shipped. My percentage of warranted returns is less than 2%, and in every instance, it was due to shipping and handling issues.

In known bad areas of the country, I will double box the machine. Please let us know if you suspect your postage, UPS or Fed X handlers employ the proverbial gorilla. The cost of double-boxing is minimal, considering the frustration of getting a broken machine back from a sale or service. We have all seen the video where the delivery person launches your package toward your door from over twenty feet away and leaves. Those warehouses are hot or cold, and those people don’t have too much skin in the game. Much like the baggage handlers at the airport, they don’t seem to care.

If you are in Louisiana, you probably remember this event from the picture above.

We very much enjoyed meeting those of you that were there and look forward to serving your needs without pestering you.

We are planning a tour of your state in the upcoming months. Please take a look at my site for products and or services and let me know if you would like a visit. www.timedok.com Unlike most, I will not bother you if you don’t need what I offer. As a businessman, I too have to screen calls and ignore the 866 numbers.

Most of my customer base is word of mouth, and that bodes well for what I do. I will go the extra mile for my customers… If you would like that kind of service, check us out… It is DOK with a K!.

Cheers!