Fallback Engineering
Dated reports from the workbench, vehicle, radio, server room, campsite, and field.
Repeater Scribe is a self-hosted AllStarLink 3 operations dashboard with local AI transcription, live node monitoring and control, favorite-node statistics, and interactive topology mapping.
A first visit to the NY7S repeater site revealed a compact communications facility supporting FM, AllStar, EchoLink, WIRES-X, wireless backhaul, and the W7JHQ link—and a clear plan for making it more resilient.
A tested Ubuntu 26.04 LTS workflow for installing CHIRP 20260410, connecting the BAOFENG AR-5RM by USB, preserving a radio image, reviewing basic settings, and uploading verified changes.
How much emergency water should a household store—and what happens when it runs low? This field note covers 72-hour and 14-day targets, safe storage, rotation, treatment, and resupply decisions.
A practical operating guide for making calls, starting real conversations, joining active channels, handling quiet repeaters and talkgroups, and organizing an informal roundtable without unnecessary ceremony.
A tested setup for using a Yaesu FT5DR with Pi-Star YSF2DMR and BrandMeister, including DMR ID registration, hotspot security, talkgroup selection, five-digit FT5DR entry, and the current radio-control limitation.
A tested, step-by-step setup for using a Yaesu FT5DR with a Pi-Star simplex hotspot in YSF mode, including reflector selection, FT5DR controls, test destinations, and the limits of WIRES-X-style hotspot control.
A practical overview of Pi-Star: what a node is, how a hotspot bridges an RF radio to digital voice networks, and where modes such as YSF, DMR, D-Star, NXDN, P25, and cross-mode links fit.
A practical overview of how Yaesu System Fusion, WIRES-X nodes, repeaters, and rooms work together—and what other operators hear when a station connects.
A concise field procedure for calibrating the SeeSii NanoVNA-F V2 and measuring antenna SWR on 2 meters and 70 centimeters.
