May 16, 2025: A medical issue may interrupt the Random Wire a bit. In issue 131: DroidStar web transceiver mode; new DroidStar build available; a few thoughts about M17; and more.
Subscribers likely know how much I enjoy the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. It turns out that in the latest podcast, I fall into a few categories the HRWB folks don't like: reviews that are really overviews, and unboxing of products. To be clear, my reviews are not "proper reviews" -- so I'll call them improper reviews.
I don't aim my product comments at people who want to know specs because they can find those themselves. Instead, I try to portray how the product looks and feels, whether it performs the basic functions advertised for it, etc. Those are the kinds of things you can't necessarily learn from columns and rows of technical specifications.
Having said that...I wish I had the time to do "proper reviews" because a well-done review is a beautiful thing.
Subscribers likely know how much I enjoy the Ham Radio Workbench podcast. It turns out that in the latest podcast, I fall into a few categories the HRWB folks don't like: reviews that are really overviews, and unboxing of products. To be clear, my reviews are not "proper reviews" -- so I'll call them improper reviews.
I don't aim my product comments at people who want to know specs because they can find those themselves. Instead, I try to portray how the product looks and feels, whether it performs the basic functions advertised for it, etc. Those are the kinds of things you can't necessarily learn from columns and rows of technical specifications.
Having said that...I wish I had the time to do "proper reviews" because a well-done review is a beautiful thing.