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Mon, 21 Nov 2005
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Lots has been hapening that I haven't entered. So the next few entries will be out of order. I purchased an Icom handheld cheaply the other week. It was sold as being faulty. It arived on Friday, and I have spent the last couple of nights working out the problem. I have downloaded the service manual (for the IS-2SET) which is equivalent. So far:- 1) I am getting older. The 1mm x 2mm components are very small - tricky dick sold me a really neat magnifier to sort that out. 2) The PSU is shot. The +5V rail drops to 2.4v when it is on. Truns out to be a shorted diode DA114 and Open Circuit Collector on a PNP transistor - 2SB798 in the PSU. I have substituted normal sized components in the short term, and the PSU voltages come up fine. 3) The Microprocessor oscilator is not running. It's either a) The micro is held in reset, b) the micro is stuffed, or c) the ceramic resonator (800kHz) is stuffed. A couple of quick measurements has confirmed that the device is not in reset, so I will work on the last option. - The interesting measurement is the both of the resonator leads (from the micro) are held at approximately VCC...(4.7 and 4.2v). I was expecting one to be high, and one to be low.... 4) Mouser electronics in the US http://www.mouser.com/ is my friend. They have all of the spares in stock. 5) ICOM Australia is not my friend. They came back to me with some very interesting information - They can provide all of the silicon (except the CPU) at only a couple of dollars each. They can not provide a resonator, nor can they sell me a new microprocessor. (Peter - No, I will not develop a PIC controller for it...) Pleasingly enough, they can provide me with a new micro board for a mere $280.00 Hmmmm. Let me see now, what's a new dual band handheld worth...... No.  We will wait for the new parts to get here from mouser. |
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I was looking at http://www.theregister.co.uk the other day, and came across the story about the UK techo who caused a train station to be evacuated by "wearing a coat, and carrying a bag" see http://www3.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/324024.html
Reading his story actually quite frightened me. Especially the bit about the search of his flat... During my life, I have had jobs in various electronics and computing fields. I am a security professional, and have spent many years in data centres owned by various telco's. I am interested in many fields, including crypto, access control technologies, physical security technologies, radio and the like. Let.s have a think about what you could find if you visited my garage (Translated: Male cave...) Ex WA Police UHF handhelds - currently waiting to be converted from 490 MHz down to 430 MHz for the UHF HAM band. Purchased at auction. EX Defence Handhelds - Ditto. Credit card swipe reader - So I can examine security data stored in swipe cards. Purchased at auction. Smart Card Reader / Writer - Silicon chip kit for working with Gold PIC cards. Old Security passes - RFID tags for door access, legitimately obtained by talking to the security guys at an old employer. Waiting for me to write a white paper to prove that access control on most commercial swipe card doors is not as effective as it could be. Never under estimate the effectiveness of the old fashioned brass key. I am working on a PIC based PS/2 key logger. I have lots of reference information, including items like the CIA World fact book, and just like thousands of other Internet users, I have downloaded the "Hackers Handbook", and the "Anarchists Cookbook". You will also find books titled "The problem of Chemical and Bioloical warfare (vols 1, 2, and 3)" and "Propellants and exothermic reactions in solids" - I used to work at the department of chemistry at ADFA, and they were being thrown out. I have a milling machine, various machine tools, and stocks of metals. I pride myself in being able to make and repair most things (Including my loveable EF Falcon station wagon.) I have many chemicals in my garage. Many flamable, and *lots* of chlorine, and I fertilise my garden twice a year. I have worked for universities and served in the defence force. I have camping gear, and if you looked in my cupboard, you might even find the camo gear I was issued with when I served in the RAAF. So, what is this rant about? Where are the lines? What defines a Terrorist? I suspect that the Terrorists may be getting close to winning; they are causing Governments to limit personal freedoms, and to issue laws without the necessary protections, in the name of "Terrorism". If you use the measure of wearing a backpack, wearing a coat, talking on the phone, and failing to make eye contact as a test for .Are you are Terrorist?., then you may make a mistake. How about us amateur radio operators who use VHF handhelds, clearly, we are co-ordinating something big. The actual tragedy happens when you start to forensically analyse hard disks, and discover that your terrorist googled for .Neck, Snap, Break. (Because it was slash-dotted as a story, and you just had to..) If you go to make up a story, then, gosh, there is tons of material you can find. What protections are the Government putting in place to protect people like me who use their garage as a workshop, not for putting a car into? In reality if I were in England, and my house was searched, I would be in exactly the same pile of poo that David Mery is in, perhaps even deeper. My biggest issue is that it appears as though the UK police have not quashed the arrest, they have simply labeled it as "NFA", No Further Action, citing "Insufficient Evidence" -- Well, we arrested you, possibly incorrectly, and could not gather enough evidence to make a case.... Makes you think, doesn't it? The people we have to look out for probably look just like us, and the really nasty ones probably wear overalls, have a lot of gear to deliver and carry a clipboard. I have posted a blog entry with my name and the word terrorist....That's probably enough to set off a couple of alarms somewhere. Am I an activist now? |
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All this working with old handhelds has reminded me that I have a Kenwood TH-205 with a stuffed VHF amplifier brick (M57732L). Unfortunately, that part costs a fortune ($80USD) A quick web search showed that it has been replaced with a new brick called RA08H1317M which is smaller, cooler, etc, etc. I found a NZ Company (http://glyn.co.nz) who will supply them for $20AUS each. Just ordered 2. Wo Hoo, another handheld working |
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Projects - Some of my projects
DRJ-Consulting - A site focused on saving energy. Dougs Word Clocks - I make my own clock that tells the time using words. we Just Dont Talk About That - A site for sharing funny family stories. Megan's weblog Email me at doug@stillhq.com |
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