Incase you missed it: posts since the last Vlog
Getting Ready for 2023 Winter Field Day (Part 1)
No more 818
Sad that the Yaesu FT-818 has come to an apparent abrupt end. Now it shouldn't be a surprise that the radio would be going away sometime soon. It is fairly long in the tooth.
However it does have a very strong following. I was hoping that when Yaesu stopped production of the 818 would be the time they introduced its replacement. My dream rig would be the same form factor and approximately the same size & weight of the 818; but with maybe SDR technology and 20 watts max power with the same efficiency with power consumption.
Maybe something that would better compete with the Icom 705 is in the works. But if it is, Yaesu is probably a long ways away form bringing it to market. Hopefully Yaesu is close but just being tight lipped until they are ready for release.
Winter Field Day preps
Looking forward to Winter Field Day this year. As I mentioned before, WFD for me will not be the main event for the weekend. I am working on getting a group together for a winter camp out. However some in the group are hams and other have shown interest. So maybe the WFD activity may generate some more interest around the camp fire.
My old channel is coming back
I'm going to start posting content for an old YouTube channel of mine. Years ago I started a little channel for backpacking and related topics. In fact Scout75 was going to be a "B" channel for it, where I would post off topic videos or content that may or may not be deemed acceptable for YouTube.
Well that "B" channel turned into the ham radio channel that is today. As I was putting more and more effort into Scout75, I pretty much stopped doing anything with the back packing channel, Sioux Scout.
I stopped Sioux Scout because I kind of stopped going on backpacking trips for a host of reasons. I figured nobody would want to watch me repeatedly hike the same local trails I already made videos on. I only had about 150 subscribers, so there really wasn't an audience or community and I just stopped. A few months ago I looked at the channel for the first time in a very long time and found that it doubled in subscribers without any new content. Now 300 subs is still nothing in the world of YouTube, but I thought maybe I should get back at it.
I plan to do more backpacking and traveling in 2023. Plus I'm starting to have fun with making quick gear overview videos. With the camping and EDC gear I have, I have plenty of opportunity to make videos that others may enjoy.
Speaking of EDC
Every Day Carry items will become the focus of the channel. Tools and gadgets that are useful both on the trails and for everyday life like knives, multitools and flashlights will be front and center for the channel. Plus I have a few ideas to bridge the two channels together. More on that later.
I will be kicking off the re-boot of the Sioux Scout channel over the next few days. I am planning to have a live stream on Friday January 6th at 7:00pm Central.
I am going to have a monthly live stream on the 1st Friday of the month. This is a time that fits my work and personal schedule, so I can be consistent with it.
The live stream will be a live unboxing / first impressions video for a new to me EDC item or camping tool. For EDC items, the plan is for me to use it everyday for the next month, then quickly discuss what I think of it, after using it for roughly 30 days, at the beginning of the next live stream.
I think this should be a fun concept for a livestream, and is not quite like anything anyone else is doing.