COVID 19 has been with us for some time now and I imagine for some time to come as well. The holiday season is a huge time for retail stores and COVID 19 has added a strange twist for them. They have customers who have no issues getting out and shopping but at the same time, there are those that stay home and choose online shopping. Has the retail world kept up with these changing times? I have done some online shopping over the past months and had far too many "Are you kidding me" moments and these are a few of them. 

I ordered some computer equipment recently and not to mention the name but fill in the blanks and you can figure it out........Bacon and _ _ _ _  Anyway I ordered some very pricey items that were in stock, indicated when shipping would happen and free shipping. The order was placed and right away I was sent a tracking number indicating the shipping label was made. Well 8 days later the status was still shipping label was made. It was way past the indicated online arrival day and low and behold on the site that date was nowhere to be found. I then noticed shipping was 49.00 not free. I have to give the company credit that they do have online chat assistance. I use the word "assistance" very loosely as when I contacted them and wanted my money back I was told because a shipping label had been made this was not possible.....how convenient I thought. They sure did take my money very fast and a second later informed me a shipping label was made up to stop any refund. Now I have to wait 5 days until they decide what is going to happen. I do know the items are still at their warehouse with just a shipping label on them. 

I had ordered some shower products for a very good friend of mine. I wanted to ship it to them directly and the site indicated I was able to do so. I was never offered in the order process an alternate shipping location other than the address that was on my credit card. I called them and the computer recording told me to go back to the online site to the FAQ and all my questions can be answered there. Not so I ended up shipping the package to myself and then sending it to my friend on the other side of the country. Adding insult to injury this person lived in the same city where I ordered the product from and shipping was next to nothing but I could not do it.....oh but the site said I could. 

Now there is an Amateur radio company......well 2 of them that I will for sure mention their names DX Engineering and Radio World in Toronto. Both of these companies I recently ordered items from and they were outstanding!   Excellent communications, shipping on time with over the top packaging for a safe shipment. These two companies know how to handle this new exploding online shopping industry. Well, other companies I have dealt with get a failing grade. 

I sent a very new SDR radio down to the U.S for repairs a very straightforward process I thought and it went off without a hitch until it DIDN'T arrive at my home.  What arrived was a card from the post office saying I had to pay duty and taxes before it would be released! A long story short the SDR company filled in the paperwork indicating it was brand new radio and the full cost of the radio was included in the documentation. The cost was well over 500.00. I paid the amount thinking it would be a simple phone call for a refund.....nope! I got the runaround, excuses and no replies to emails I eventually gave up. 

These are just a few of my online dealings and sadly most have been negative and that's sad as this is a new and exploding frontier. Companies are not reaching to be over the top with most if not all aspects of online dealings.  I have had my fair share of unanswered emails, very annoying chatbot sessions and finally live chat that has no idea what to say other than their scripted lines. 

Hello and welcome to Episode 384 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this final episode of 2020, we invite listeners to join us via Discord for a discussion of amateur radio, technology, open source software and hardware and the year in review. We also make some predictions for 2021 and depart into hedonism for a while as well. We hope you enjoy this community-driven content, have a safe and happy holiday season and join us again when we re-start the show on January 7, 2021.

73 de The LHS Crew

Recently, Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV) announced its purchase of certain iconic RadioShack brands and related assets. Many radio amateurs and electronics hobbyists would like to see something happen in the way of a new, improved RadioShack, whether online or via brick-and-mortar stores. RadioShack is still a strong brand but it takes more than a brand to drive success in business. Count me as a bit skeptical that anything significant will happen with this move but I would be happy to be wrong about that.

A quick look at the RadioShack.com web site reveals some cross-selling on the top of the home page to Linens+Things, Pier 1, Dressbarn, Farmerscart, The Franklin Mint and Modell’s. In what marketing universe does that make sense?

RadioShack Brands

Not too long ago, I got to looking at the list of old RadioShack brand names. I thought I was a tech-savvy RadioShack dude but quickly found out they had a boatload of brand names that I never heard of. (One could argue that RadioShack completely messed up its branding strategy with so many diverse product line brands.)

Here’s what I found:

AntennaCraft (outdoor antennas and amplifiers)
Auvio (audio/video cables, LCD TV’s, headphones, premium surge protectors and speakers)
Enercell (batteries and power)
Gigaware (computer, GPS and iPod accessories, mp3 players and accessories, as well as digital cameras, digital camera accessories)
PointMobl (Wireless Phone Accessories)
Accurian (audio and video equipment and accessories)
MyMusix (MP3 players; later marketed under the Gigaware brand)
Kronus (tools)
Optimus (formerly audio and PA/DJ equipment; later used for digital camera accessories)
Presidian (audio and video equipment, telephones, flashlights,calculators, and 2-way radios)
VoiceStar (wireless phone accessories)
Archer (wiring and antennas)
Duofone (telephones & accessories)
Micronta (scientific and educational equipment)
Realistic (used broadly for radio and audio equipment)

Source: http://www.lb7.uscourts.gov/documents/14-14713.pdf

And if you want to go deeper, here is a history page on the RadioShack company.

Maybe they will bring back the Battery-A-Month Club.

73 Bob K0NR

The post RadioShack Brands appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Charlie/NJ7V invited Joyce/K0JJW and me to be on the All Portable Discussion Zone, on the Red Summit RF YouTube channel. We talked mostly about Summits On The AIr (SOTA) using VHF/UHF. It was a fun experience for both of us.

The post K0JJW and K0NR Interview on Red Summit RF appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Welcome to the 383rd episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short topics episode, the hosts discuss December as YOTA Month, e-mail addresses on FCC applications, new rules for CQ WPX, participating in the Eclipse Propagation Experiment, SuSE, Rancher Labs, Pipewire, Fedora 34 and much, much more. Thank you for listening and we hope you have a wonderful week.

73 de The LHS Crew

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief and this episode’s features is TinySA is it any good?

ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS

We would like to thank David Peet (KG5WSA) and Jonn Sandon (G8DVB) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

- Pella Amateur Radio Club APRS Balloon Spans the Globe - Arecibo Dish to be Decommissioned - National Amateur Radio Day resolution Introduced into Congress - Radio Communications Regulations (General User Radio Licence for Short Range Devices) Notice 2020 in force - 144Mhz TEP Openings - Sunspot Cycle 25 to Set Records? - Get on the Air for Christmas Campaign Update - Netherlands Radio Amateurs Face 2021 Fee Increases - G Prefix Callsigns New Full Exam Pass

Another post-lockdown special? – Indeed! And we hope you are safe and well and looking forward to some TX Factor action. In this final show of 2020, we visit the home of a well-known and long-established amateur radio aficionado Don Field G3XTT. A year ago Don moved to a new QTH near Wells in Somerset, and back in March we visited him to find out how he’s settled in.

Bob and Mike get to grips with setting up an OpenSpot Gateway for mobile use.

And, we hear from RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas M1ACB on the amazing media response to this summer’s amateur radio revival during the lockdown period. All this and a free-to-enter draw!

www.txfactor.co.uk