KC8VWM writes:

> I would consider removing or revising the following
> statement:  "The negative side is someone in ECom,
> just to "be where the action is...."

I agree, but for different reasons.  W0IPL describes the purpose of this document in part as follows:

> to tell new people that are interested in Emergency
> Communication... the "why should I" (or shouldn't
> I - as the case may be")

I see this as a recruiting document, and as such it should certainly include the "why should I" content, but IMHO the "why shouldn't I" content is out of place.  Sure, the cop or firefighter wanna-be is a problem, and you probably don't want to recruit him.  But there are several other types you probably don't want to recruit either, such as the inexperienced know-it-all who continually kvetches about accepted procedure because he knows a better way, or the guy who only bathes once a week.

I wouldn't call out the wanna-be in a recruiting document any more than I'd call out the know-it-all or the stinky guy.  Rather, I'd make every effort to write the "why should I" material in such a way that these individuals realize immediately that emcomm's not for them, and I'd eliminate any explicit "why shouldn't I" material altogether -- it might be viewed by some as "we don't want you if" material, and the implied arrogance might alienate some of the folks you *do* want to recruit.

According to a ZDNet article about Thunderbolt at NAB, Intel limited participation in its early developer program and is only just now gearing up for a full-blown release of Thunderbolt.  The SDK isn't generally available yet and won't be until later this quarter.  We may see PCs from one or two manufacturer that were part of the early developer program, but it sounds like it may take a while before we see wider availability.

And as KB0ASQ points out, market demand will have a lot to do with it.  I think the article I mentioned above puts it quite well: "Thunderbolt is making a stronger showing with more vendor support and more customer interest - judging by the demo traffic - than I’d expected. Granted, the NAB video crowd is especially bandwidth hungry compared to civilians, but they also buy a lot of gear."

Hmmm.  It would appear that W8JX is not an Apple fan.

> PC platform is more powerful and customizable.

By "PC platform" do you mean the x86 processor architecture, the operating system, the video editing application, or all three?  While a particular app running on a specific processor and OS may outperform another, it makes no sense to assert platform superiority without specifying all three of these components.  We're comparing video editing platforms, not the relative generic merits of one 64-bit OS versus another.  IMHO the editing app itself is far more important than the OS or processor to the average amateur video editor, which is why I suggested the OP search for comparative reviews of Final Cut versus other video editing apps.

> Buy/build a 6 core MAC for under a grand

While fast rendering times are certainly nice, most amateur video editors don't need a six core system.  Granted, rendering a simple cross fade ten years ago on a 450 MHz PowerPC processor took a couple minutes and was pretty painful, but I'm perfectly happy with the rendering times today on my 2.4 GHz dual core iMac.  For example, I created the reasonably complex spinning logo that begins and ends the promotional videos for the big band I play with, and it renders in fifteen or twenty seconds on my hardware (the clips themselves were edited by someone else -- on a PC using Pinnacle software, BTW), and that's with the sources and target on the same drive.  Segregating these to eliminate disk thrashing would improve rendering times far more than a faster CPU or a couple more cores.

> Modern CGI movies are not made or edited
> on MAC's either.

Movies that depend heavily on CGI require a *lot* of multi-layer rendering, and yes, a Linux-based rendering farm is the best way to do this.  Most amateur editors aren't doing heavy CGI, however; they're doing simple dissolves, cross fades, wipes, and maybe some animated inserts and title overlays.  For the most part these activities are not particularly resource intensive.  And while Hollywood may not use Macs for big CGI extravaganzas, they're still used to edit a lot of mainstream movies.  Wikipedia's Final Cut Pro page lists forty films made in the last ten years that were edited on a Mac, including last year's Eat, Pray, Love, The Social Network, and True Grit.

> If Apple had...they were too greedy...
> They will loose I-phone and I-pad game
> one day...Apples pig headedness to not
> support Flash

Now the discussion has descended into an old-fashion anti-Apple rant.  I'd be happy to debate all of these points with you in an appropriate venue, but to do so in this thread would take it way off topic.

EDIT:  Upon rereading the original post I realize the OP is already committed to using Adobe Creative Suite, which renders most of this discussion moot.

I'm in the process of building a portable HF/VHF/UHF station from scratch (the masochists in the crowd can find the gory details in my ham journal.)  Having already obtained a used FT-847 in pristine condition, this afternoon I finally grit my teeth and ordered "everything else" except the HF antenna and VHF/UHF preamps from HRO -- a dozen items in all.

I had already collected the HRO part numbers for the items I needed over the course of the last week, so it only took about five minutes to place the order online.  Putting the HRO part number into the search field took me directly to each product page, from which I simply clicked the "add to cart" button.  I figure I saved at least ten or fifteen minutes compared to placing a large order like this by phone.  Within minutes of clicking the giddy-up button I received a receipt for the order via e-mail, followed a half hour later by an order confirmation from the Salem store explaining which items would be shipped from which store and that one item was on back order.

Over the course of the next hour I received shipping confirmations from each of five stores as well as a notice from UPS sent on behalf of HRO for each shipment.  My HRO order number was used as the reference number for all shipments, allowing me to track everything on a single page at the UPS web site.  As I write this just a few hours after placing the order, the items coming from Salem have already left the store and will be delivered tomorrow.

I gotta say, thus far I'm pretty doggone impressed.  It doesn't get much faster or easier than this.

AD6KA writes:

> There is NO SUCH THING as a Heisenburg Demodulator!

Yeah, sure.  Next you'll try to convince us there's no such thing as a coax stretcher.

I suspect "caplet" is a typo for "craplet", i.e. pre-installed software of dubious value.

FWIW when I built a video editing system ten years ago I chose to do so on the Mac platform, and I'd do the same today.  The new version of Final Cut Pro, which was only just announced this week at NAB, blew a lot of people away, and at only $300 I will definitely be upgrading from the "consumer" version, Final Cut Express.

Just for grins, try searching Google for "Final Cut vs. whatsis" where "whatsis" is the Windows editing suite you're considering.  You might be surprised by the results.

K1HC writes:

> I recall seeing a grid square map which
> indicated rare grid squares in Maine.

Is this what you're thinking of?

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/FFMA/FFMA_2010Map-C.pdf

Attached below is the response I received from the Lexington BBB.  The bad news is that the comments here and on QRZ are insufficient evidence for them to reconsider their rating, which would seem to confirm our collective suspicions about the significance and value of a BBB rating.  The good news is that as a BBB member Radio Mart is committed to binding arbitration for any unresolved complaints filed with the BBB.  If anyone here has been burned personally, I suggest you file a formal complaint yourself.

KD8HMO writes:

> Someone should gather up all of the Ebay evidence
> and postings from these forums and send it to the BBB

As a "returning" ham in the process of getting back on the air after twenty years I have been surfing the net for used gear.  Were it not for discussion threads like this one I might well having made the mistake of buying something from this guy.  Consequently, to protect others like myself, I just sent the following message to the Bluegrass BBB in Lexington, KY.

Please permit me to ask a follow-up question.  I have read the FAQ, but I still find myself reading between the lines when trying to answer this question.

I have obtained a primary cert (K1TCJ) for QSOs from my home QTH in Vermont.  I plan to operate from my summer home in VY2, so I'll need a secondary cert (K1TCJ/VY2) for QSOs from there.  I would also like to enter historic log data for an old call sign, so I'll need another secondary cert (KB6JXT) for those QSOs.

If I set the station location appropriately for each of these certs, will LOTW "do the right thing" with all these QSOs for award tracking purposes, e.g. combine my KB6JXT and K1TCJ logs for DXCC, segregate them for VUCC, and keep the VY2 log completely separate from the others?

I may also operate portable while I'm in VY2 from multiple grids.  Am I correct to assume that I'd need secondary certs for each grid?  If so, would I use something like "K1TCJ/FN87" as the call on these certs?