As Good As It Gets

Calgary - The Core

In this photo, you get to see the new Bow tower as it appears now that it is finally finished, and the tenants have moved in. I had been meaning to shoot a new photo of the downtown core, and this is my first effort with the Bow now complete. I will shoot another soon, and that one will be towards dusk when the lights in the buildings are turned on. Also, the center street bridge looks its finest when the lights on the bridge are turned on. Another thing I like about photos shot as it is getting dark out, is the fact that the streets take on a cool appearance with the car lights long glowing streaks mapping out the roadways.

Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Go Box

If you were to Google the above line, you would come up with page after page of descriptions of a Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Go Box.
Some may feel that the go-box should contain a whole lot more than what I have in mine.
I do have various other companion kits that complement my go-box, and I only wanted my go-box to contain the items that I felt I might possibly need or use on a daily bases, as I have this go-box with me everywhere I go, and that is everyday when I leave home.
Within this compact go-box shown here and the contents displayed, are some of what I feel I cannot do without.
Remember that the contents will vary some, although I have not changed much lately, and after using it for over a year, I feel that I have got it right for the most part.

The contents are

Kenwood D72 2m/70cm HT with data capability, and includes aprs and gps.
Yaesu VX-8R 2m/70cm-6meter/220mhz HT with aprs and gps.
Wouxun KG-UV3D 2m/220mhz HT.
Baofeng UV-3R ultra compact 2m/70cm HT- mainly used for cross/banding with my mobile.
HT handmikes that interchange between radios
Kestrel 3500 handheld weather station.
Acer netbook running Windows 7 Pro, and mainly used with Kenwood D72 for operating APRSIS, although has other ham radio software loaded, including Satscape.
Palm Tungsten running Pocket Sat +
Spare batteries for all HT's.
Selection of adapter cables for any situation that they are required for.
Large selection of HT antennas.
Selection of antenna adapters.
Various other adapters cables for the computer and HT's not detailed here, but stored in the black pouches on the left, in the photo.
Various power cables with different ends including powerpoles for connecting the HT's to my DC Power box for charging purposes.
Leatherman multitool and ultra small screwdriver with various bits
QuiqLite LED flashlight, selectable between white and red light output, and also functions as a flashing red/white strobe-light. The Quiqlite attaches to my chest-pack, and is highly recommended.

Remember, what you see here, is what I feel I need with me on a daily bases, and I use the various components out of my go-box everyday.
Your needs may differ, but its important that all hams have their own emergency preparedness go-box, and keep it with them.

My Q10

I mentioned lately that I had been shopping for a new phone, and I finally made my decision, and I am loving my new Blackberry Q10, as its everything that I wanted in a phone. After doing a lot of research on all the latest and greatest available smartphones, I came full circle back to a Blackberry, and in this case the Q10, as it has a physical keyboard, and as much as I liked some of the other phones available, including the Blackberry Z10, the deciding factor for me with my big thumbs, was the fact that I can text or email with the best of them, while using the keyboard on my Q10.

On top of that, within a hour of first firing up my Q10, I was feeling right at home with the new Blackberry 10 operating system. Three days later, I am very pleased with my Q10, and I have become very familiar with how to quickly move about the phone, and use all of its features.

 Blackberry has created a winner in the Q10, and the Q10 does everything that I would wish for in a smartphone.
So as I said before....it comes down to this, if you use your smartphone to download and watch movies or stream video as well as play games for the most part, go with a conventional full screen smartphone like the Blackberry Z10.

If you mainly use your smartphone for email, texting, and working on files, or even possibly a phone, then go for the....well there is only one,  the Blackberry Q10 with a conventional keyboard.

 

Oh...did I mention the battery....It has 2100mAh's, and it keeps the Q10 operating like the Energizer Bunny well into the night!!

 

I am loving my Q10!