Jacob Zelek - WQ6P

QRP and Hiking Loadout in 2023

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction Link to heading

I try to change my loadout when I find a better configuration or change my operating style. This happens pretty frequently and it appears that I may publish my loadout annually. The major changes this year have been using Winlink and moving to Southern California.

Changes Link to heading

Switched QRP rig from Elecraft KX2 to Lab599 TX-500. I did so as I operate in heavier conditions that put my KX2 at risk. The TX-500 is more durable, and the only water resistant QRP rig for consumers
Switch from the Baofeng UV-5R to the Yaesu FT-65R. The primary reason was that digital modes didn’t work so well with the Baofeng’s slow VOX trigger. My need for VHF Winlink have been the primary driver for this
Since I moved to Southern California from Northern California I have less trees to work with. Therefore I removed the throw weight and instead use the SOTABeams carbon fiber 6m mast to support my wire antennas
I still use the EFHW but I carry the OCF dipole more often because it’s more compatible with the SOTABeams mast. I have an optional bag with my SuperAntenna MP1 for when a vertical is appropriate
I added a full featured compass
I added a bivy in case I get caught having to sleep outside
I added gloves to use for first aid since I started taking those classes
Swapped the tourniquet for a North American Rescue brand. Some generic brands have been known to break when used
Emergency food removed. This pack is for 24 hours only. If I plan on longer I will bring food but it will not be packed by default
Switch backpacks from a traditional backpacking pack to a more tactical oriented backpacking pack with MOLLE support

Loadout Link to heading

Amateur Radio Linux Machine Provisioning

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

These are some notes I use for configuring my amateur radio Linux machines. The base operating system is Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. This is not a comprehensive guide, just a quick reference for myself and others to install commonly used amateur radio applications on a Linux machine. Please don’t blindly copy and paste these into your terminal without understanding what they do. I will include links in the reference section for more detailed newbie instructions.

My Portable Station Requirements

Sun, 26 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Over the years I’ve developed some requirements for my portable and mobile stations. I operate in a variety of conditions (e.g. weather, time, elevation, etc). In tougher environments I don’t want to waste time fiddling with my rig, antenna, or computer. I either want to make the needed contacts in as short a time as possible or maximize my time on the air. In short I prefer to have a tactical setup. The requirements I’m presenting are based on personal experiences with a variety of gear and conditions. Additionally, I’ll provide my reasoning for each requirement.

Ubuntu 22.04 on a Surface Laptop 4

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a few gotchas I’ve discovered trying to get Ubuntu running on the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4. These steps assume an external keyboard was connected to the device and Ubuntu was installed already. These steps will install all drivers needed so the Surface Laptop 4 can operate with it’s built-in keyboard. This isn’t intended to be a complete guide, just a cheat-sheet for me or anyone else.

Disable iommu Link to heading

sudo nano /etc/default/grub to edit the grub configuration

Decentralization for Disasters

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction Link to heading

I was fortunate enough to grow up without a dependence on the internet and cell phones. We still used paper maps, driving directions printed from Yahoo, memorized phone numbers, had physical books, and had local meet up spots. I have nothing against the shift to digitizing these functions but I feel the current approach is very risky.

Nearly all the aforementioned functions have been turned into apps. Contact books to Facebook (yes many people don’t even have their friends phone numbers), maps and driving directions to Google and Apple maps, and books/knowledge to a variety of apps/websites and Wikipedia. Again, the apps are not necessarily the problem. Quite the contrary considering I carry a laptop and cell phone. I should actually have a level of redundancy I didn’t enjoy before digitization. However, the key problem in today’s digital ecosystem is that “apps” are engineered with the assumption that devices are “always connected”. This isn’t really a noticeable problem considering we’ve enjoyed relatively stable cell/internet infrastructure.

QRP and Hiking Loadout in 2022

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction Link to heading

This is a follow-up to my original QRP Hiking and Go Bag post. The guiding principles remain the same but some specifics have changed. This post details those changes. Though I continue to use this pack for Summits On The Air and as a general go bag, I may swap certain components in and out depending on the operating conditions.

Changes Link to heading

Switched to a real backpacking pack. These work better at distributing the weight across my body. I found my other pack put too much strain on my shoulders
Switched to using OSMAnd+ for offline maps on my phone. I did this because the application was open source
I ditched the external battery, opting for all devices using their own batteries. This was already a theme regardless of my choice. The Garmin InReach, phone, flashlight, etc already use their own batteries. This pack is designed for 24 hours so internal batteries will suffice. In an emergency I will always grab my battery box and solar panel
Everything except the Elecraft KX2 can be charged with 5v USB

Loadout Link to heading

My Mobile/Portable Multiband Dipole

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Overview Link to heading

I’ve recently received a lot of question regarding my portable self supporting dipole after having a photo of my station appear in the June 2021 edition of QST magazine. I submitted the photo in addition to my logs for the 2020 ARRL Sweepstakes Phone contest.

Here is the original I submitted. I was operating at Santa Teresa County Park in San Jose, CA.

My End Fed Half Wave Antenna (EFHW) for QRP/Backpack

Mon, 24 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Overview Link to heading

After trying a variety of backpack-able antennas over the last year, I’ve settled on two types. The first of which is the off-center fed dipole (OCF). I used one for winter field day and operated several bands without a tuner. Since I had the extra time, and I was going to be in my operating location for the entire weekend, I placed the OCF between two trees. It’s a great antenna but there’s another I prefer over all others for backpack-able and portable ops. This antenna is the end-fed half wave (EFHW). The primary reason I pick this antenna is the ease of deployment. All I have to do is get the paracord over a tree and pull up one side to make it slope down diagonally.

Publishing a Hugo site to IPFS

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction Link to heading

If you’re not familiar with the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) I highly encourage you to look at their site. IPFS aims to be the distributed peer-to-peer web. Files and web pages can be shared on multiple machines, starting with the one you share the content with. Additionally, user’s can “pin” files and web pages on their local IPFS nodes to then further share them with others. This is as opposed to a centralized web where a webpage is served from a central source.

Thoughts on Ham Radio Software

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction Link to heading

I wanted to take some time to discuss my thoughts on amateur radio software. I’ve noticed a few troubling patterns that I worry may hinder development and adoption of particular applications and protocols. Particularly, I wanted to share my philosophy of adopting open source ham radio applications at all costs, ensuring the tools I train on, and recommend, can live on.

My Ham Radio Experience So Far

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I was always interested in computers and, as a consequence, electronics. Therefore it’s no surprise that radios caught my attention at a young age. I’ve been a licensed ameteur radio operator for around 18 years but I haven’t been consistent and I know I’m not alone. I’ve had many breaks from ham radio due to other priorities and I’ve lacked growth in many areas of ham radio I should be much stronger in for the amount of years I’ve been licensed. As I’ve gotten older, more patient, acquired a little more disposable income, and am either at home or in the hills due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve gain a renewed interest in the hobby. For myself, and others, I want to share the journey thus far.

Why I Chose Golang

Fri, 19 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve went through numerous programming languages personally and professionaly. In the last year I’ve picked up Go as my primary backend and REST API development language. In this post I document the reasons. Please note that these reasons are coming from my perspective of primarily developing in Python for the last 3 years. The following are somewhat ordered by importance.

Simple language specification Link to heading

The Go language specification is one of the shortest I can remember (https://golang.org/ref/spec). As an experienced developer it took no more than a few hours to fly over the basics. The main benefits include faster onboarding of new developers and improved readibility. At work, I wrote a new microservice of moderate complexity and witnessed my colleagues grasp the core logic with ease. I believe that having a limit on the amount of language features will also reduce the headache of understanding code I write when I look back at it months and years down the road. Finally, the enforced simplicity of Go restricts those certain developers (we all know at least one), who have an obsession for utilizing ever language feature offered and thus generating unreadable code.

Raspberry Pi SDR with GNURadio

Sun, 24 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The Raspberry Pi is a small SoC type device you can find for around $40. I never had much use for it earlier on but, having found out one of the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi 2 can produce a square wave in the range of “130 kHz to 750 MHz”, I finally felt justified. Thanks to Evariste Courjaud F5OEO, creator of rpitx, the Raspberry Pi can transmit RF within said frequency range, effectively making it the cheapest transmitting SDR I’ve seen to date.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

About Me Link to heading

I’m a software engineer who’s interested in distributed systems and databases. I currently work at LinkedIn focusing on storing and searching metrics and traces. Outside of work I’m interested in amateur radio and various outdoor activities. On this site I mostly write about amateur radio and software.

A relatively update-to-date work experience is on my LinkedIn. If you’re looking for a resume please reach out to me via GitHub or LinkedIn