Bryan Suits on what to do during an "Active shooter" event.

Last month, in response to the Westgate Shopping Center attack in Nairobi, Kenya, KFI AM640's Bryan Suits posted some advise on what to do if you find yourself stuck in your local Los Angeles mall when terrorists attempt to take it over. In light of this week's shooting at LAX I decided to re-post what Bryan originally had written on his "Dark Secret Place" Facebook profile as it is sound advise for us "high valve soft targets".

Some thoughts: you've probably been to the same mall many dozens, if not hundreds of times. Next time you go, check out some of those long corridors that lead to bathrooms/maintenance rooms/loading docks. 
-Do the doors open or are they locked?
-Will the alarm sound?
-Who the F cares, I'm being shot at?

If a similar attack happens, it will sound like D Day. It won't go "pop.....pop,pop......pop." It will go "(insert sound of D Day here) "

-You will freeze. Get over it. Embrace the part of your mind that is quietly saying "This shit is real." Reject the LOUDER voice that says "It's a TV shoot. This is Glendale." 

Las Vegas Metro signs deal with Big M.

Last year the Las Vegas Metro Police Department decided to ditch their fairly new but less then functional OpenSky system after years of it being an absolute failure. As of last week Las Vegas Metro signed a deal with Motorola Solutions to set them up with a 31 site 700MHz Phase II P25 system and a crap ton of APX portables. The new system will create region wide communications across Clark County and most of Southern Nevada, not to mention being able to actually communicate across town. 

It just goes to show the economy must be turning around, Vegas is back and Motorola's stock price is starting to go back up. 

Read more about the new system at DailyFinance.com

Field Day 2013 June 22-23rd

Field Day 2013 is coming up. I'm not a big DX extraordinaire, but I try to stop by a local field day event make a few contacts, check out some impromptu emergency power setups, and snag some pizza.

If you have no idea what "Field Day" is go here to find out more.

If you are in the Diamond Bar area check out the W6SCE group they are usually pretty laid back and open to new people who want to check things out, and they don't have too much ham stink. 

Been along time

Well to say the least this blog has been on the back burner for a while. Some personal issues and work related moves have kept me tied up. Also my primary OHV rig was recently destroyed by an unattentive driver and I have been spending my free time getting my new rig up and running, which I hope to have photos uploaded soon.

Meanwhile shutouts to my buddy DynoTronics for winning the LayerOne 2013 badge hacking contest.

Video from Boston Marathon attack

Video from buzzfeed.com

The "U tree S" is spared, USDA rebranding.

The Department of Agriculture, as of Thursday, has decided to not eliminate the long enduring USFS "pine tree" badge as part of agency rebranding. Under the USDA's new "Visual Standards Guide" all agencies would phase out their individual logo for the new USDA logo.

You can read more Here and Here.

Your old BK's are Garbage!

Yeah, I know I haven't been posting for a while, and this news isn't exactly breaking, but Relm has finally ended support for al E series radios.

Several years ago the NIFC struck all EPH's from their approved list of radios after discovering compatibility issues with some straggling agencies that still had some in their cache. About a decade ago the USFS started phasing out the EMH and EPH radios in favor of the P25 ready G and D series radios, but up until a few months ago Relm/BK still supported these radios. Well, they finally pulled the plug on factory servicing all EPH, EMH and some early GPH radios. I guess when you can replace the radios for under $100 online their is no point in sending it in for factory service.  I bought my last EPH 5102X last year for $50 on ebay and it was in like new condition. The good thing for people like me, who still repair, rebuild and use EPH, and LPH series BK portables, the antennas, batteries, PTT buttons, knobs, and many of the other parts are interchangeable with the DPH radios so these frequently worn out parts are still abundant.