The Photo Archives

Welcome to the Digital Revolution, my friends!

Thanks to my Epson PhotoPC 600 digital camera, taking pictures is a breeze.

This is my first real attempt at producing photos for actual use, so please bear with me! And yes, I know...don't quit my day job!

Using the Epson's built in color LCD, it's great for instant feedback of the picture(s) just taken. Any which are not liked can be easily deleted and retaken on the spot.

Once taken, the camera is attached to a PC serial port for download. For quicker access, a removeable Flash Memory cartridge can be removed from the camera and plugged into a PCMCIA slot for instant access!

Using a decent photo editor, like Photo Shop Pro, it's easy to crop, edit, name and catalog the photos.

Decent prints are available with the help of a color printer. I use a HP Color DeskJet which does a great job considering the cost. Hopefully laser printer prices will continue to plummet and provide an even better platform for hardcopy purposes.

For web work, just a few more mouse clicks create the thumbnails needed to preview each picture and avoid large download times.

The entire process only takes about 20 minutes!

While digital photos can't compare to those taken by conventional cameras, they are MORE than sufficient for web and family use. And they make it especially easy and convenient to share via e-mail as well as typical removeable media like diskettes, Zip and CD-ROM.

I'm hoping this new medium will allow me to share even more of the hobby as well as compliment my web page work and reviews.

Here are my first attempts at photographing my base unit collection.

From the top shelf to the bottom we have:

PRO-2035 with Opto535 & BC890XLT

MS200

PRO-2045 & BC9000XLT

BC895XLT & PRO-2006

PRO-2042 with Opto535 & BC800XLT

PRO-2042 & PRO-2004

The base units missing are the AR3000A, IC-R100 & PRO-2037 and, of course, it's kind of hard to see the WR-1000i inside the PC

Click on thumbnail for full size

The STACK	Top down	Worm's eye	Upper shelves	Lower shelves
Top seven	Top two	Middle five	Middle two	Bottom four

The Computer Corner

Here's a quickie shot of the new computing power here at Strong Signals...powered by IBM Aptiva with 300MHz Pentium II with MMX, 24X CD-ROM, 16Gb hard drive, 64Mb RAM, 512K L2 cache, K56 modem, ATI Rage Pro accelerated 3D graphics with 4Mb memory, 2 USB ports and more!

I've recently added a Thinkpad to the computer arsenal giving me the power to keep in touch with things while away from home.

In another room I have an old IBM ValuPoint 66MHz system which is connected to a PRO-2402 w/Opto535 and running PROBE v5.0 for 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Here's the latest picture of my base station setup which consists of a MS200, PRO-2045, BC9000XLT, IC-R100, PRO-2006, BC890XLT, AR3000A, BC800XLT, PRO-2042 & PRO-2004.

Here's the same picture taken at night

My old 486 computer houses a WR-1000i and PRO-2042 with OS535 seen here (running PROBE 24 hours a day searching for new mil aero freqs)

My Thinkpad serves as a great mobile monitoring station with the aid of a IC-PCR1000 seen here running TalkPCR

Hooked up to my main computer is the BC895XLT (running Scancat to log trunking ids on the local 800MHz systems), the PRO-2035 (running PROBE to log active mil aero activity) and a IC-PCR1000

The PRO-2037 is at work where I use it to listen to my company's security and maintenance frequencies

Since my last update, I've sold off the PRO-2037 and MS200

I've moved the WR-1000i from my old x486 PC into my new Pentium PC

I've put the newly acquired IC-PCR100 next to the IC-PCR1000 for testing purposes near my new PC

The OptoCom sits on the desk and runs via the laptop

The Commtel COM225 is sitting on the desk next to the OptoCom undergoing testing. I'll have to work a bit to see how I'm going to integrate into the rest of the base units

As soon as things settle down again and all the radios make it into their final resting spots and I get all the antenna feeds distributed, I'll be taking new pictures...stay tuned!

No new radios acquired since the last update but I have moved things around

Here's a photo of the latest desk setup

Top shelf: PRO-2045, IC-PCR1000 on top of BC9000XLT

Middle shelf: IC-R100 on top of PRO-2006, OptoCom on top of BC890XLT

Bottom shelf: AR3000A on top of PRO-2042, COM225 on top of PRO-2004

Just above the top shelf is another PRO-2006

Over in the computer corner are the BC895XLT, IC-PCR100, PRO-2035, & WR-1000i all connected up for computer-control duty

Over in the den is the old PC connected to the PRO-2042 with the BC800XLT right beside it

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

I've just about finished settling down in the new residence and things look more like organized chaos and less like an atomic bomb went off. So I thought I'd take a few shots of the new and improved radio/computer center here at the Strong Signals shack!

Left side of the room; a nifty solution for what to do with all those pesky radio boxes!

Front left corner; the computer corner with a BC895XLT, IC-PCR1000, OptoCom and WR-1000i

Front right corner; where the serious monitoring gets done!

Front right corner closeup;
Top shelf: PRO-2006, PRO-2045, BC890XLT, COM225
Next shelf: IC-R100 on top of PRO-2006, BC9000XLT
Next shelf: PRO-2042, PRO-2004
Bottom shelf: AR3000A, BC800XLT
Foreground: computer-controlled PRO-2042

Back wall; the storage cabinet with R2-D2 on guard!

Cabinet closeup; happiness is...a shelf full of handhelds!

We just moved into a new house and I quickly set up the shack and snapped off a photo of the new arrangement.

Base station setup

Same, but annotated

• RadioShack 20-044 Omni-Vertical
  (split into 4 feeds with Stridsberg Multicoupler MCA204)
• RadioShack 20-044 Omni-Vertical
  (split into 4 feeds with Stridsberg Multicoupler MCA204)
• RadioShack 20-013 Discone
• RadioShack 20-176 Ground Plane (2)
• RadioShack 20-032 (2) (mobile and base use)
• RadioShack 20-014 Ground Plane
• Nil-Jon Omni-Vertical Base
• Nil-Jon Super-M Mobile (mobile use)
• Ventenna VT-27 Dipole
• Grove ANT-8 4' Whip
• Grove Dipole
• SkyScan 1300 Desktop Discone
• RadioShack CB Whip
• Diamond RH-951S
• Austin Condor
• HF Wire (30')

The Handheld & Computer Model Roundup

Click on thumbnail for full size

Sangean ATS-909	iCOM IC-A22 & Yaesu FT-470	WS2000, IC-R1, IC-R10 & DJ-X10	WS2000, IC-R1, IC-R10 & DJ-X10	BC100XLT, BC200XLT & BC3000XLT
BC80XLT & SportCat SC-150B	BC220XLT, BC230XLT & BC235XLT	BC235XLT & PRO-90	PRO-51, PRO-60 & PRO-26	AR1000XLT, AR8000 & AR2700
PRO-34 & PRO-43	PRO-64 & HS200	MVT-3300, MVT-7100 & MVT-9000	BC100XLT, BC3000XLT, PRO-26 & IC-R10	AR8000, MVT-9000, DJ-X10 & IC-R10
BC100XLT & WS2000	AR8000, AR2700, IC-R10 & Scout	IC-PCR1000	AR8000, AR8200 & IC-R10	RE20000Alpha, PRO-74 & RP-6198
IC-R1, WS2000 & IC-R2	IC-R1, IC-R10, IC-R2	ICF-SC1PC & MVT-9000M3	IC-PCR100, IC-PCR1000	WS2000, TRX-100XLT, IC-R10
WS2000, VX-1R, IC-R2	VX-1R, FT-50RD	IC-R2, AR-16B, WS2000	Say CHEESE!	EMPTY
Update - Nov 6, 1998 Here's the latest picture of my handheld collection Row 1: BC200XLT, PRO-34, FT-470, RE2000Alpha, PRO-74 & BC100XLT Row 2: BC80XLT, DJ-X10, AR2700, MVT-7100, PRO-64 & PRO-60 Row 3: BC235XLT, PRO-51, HS200, BC220XLT, AR8200, IC-R10 & Scout Row 4: SC150, BC230XLT, MVT-9000, BC3000XLT, PRO-43 & RP-6198 Row 5: IC-A22, AR1000, PRO-43, ICF-SC1PC, AR8000 & MVT-9000M3 Row 6: IC-R1, WS2000, MVT-3300, PRO-90, IC-R2 & PRO-26

Here are some old photos...please indulge my nostalgia...