Rifle Ammo - - Then and Now

My 1000 rounds of 223 came in today, and I went and picked them up. I got a good deal on PMC from our friends at Bulk Ammo, and since the rifle/carbine class I'm taking on Sunday said to bring 100 rounds, and I know I'll be shooting this rifle a lot, I popped and bought the case.

As I was bringing it in from the car, I realized I still had a 50 Cal ammo can full of 30-06 surplus that I got a few weeks ago from the folks at Midway so I could properly feed my M1 Garand.

 

This is British surplus ammo specifically loaded for the M1 Garand, made in the late 1960's in Pakistan, and has gotten very good to excellent customer reviews on the Midway website.

The first lot I bought smelled really musty, just like the reviews have said, but this second lot doesn't stink at all. I'll probably buy more, as "MIL SPEC" M1 Ball ammo doesn't exactly grow on trees anymore, and it's good practice ammo.

I'll save my CMP Hornady ammo for those times when I really need accuracy. And yes, I'll compare the two at the range to see how much sight adjustment I need to do, and keep the info with the rifle.


Since my wife isn't as gunny as most of my readers, I thought she'd be interested in seeing how "front line" rifle ammunition has changed over the years. So, I plopped a couple of rounds of each down on the table, and took a few pix.

First, the 30-06. I remember my Dad telling me this stuff could shoot through two palm trees, and still take out a Japanese solder at 300+ yards.

Pretty impressive stuff. 174gr bullet, traveling at 2650 ft/sec, and producing around 2700 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.

Definitely hits hard!

Then I showed her a "typical" 556/223 round:

This particular PMC round has a 55gr bullet, loaded to produce about 3200 ft/sec, and delivering around 1250 ft-lbs of energy.


Here's the two side by side:

When she held the "Then and Now" rounds in her hand she was astounded at what our troops are carrying these days.

HEY!......I am NOT bad-mouthing the 5.56x45 round, so don't go there!

It is what it is, and our troops still have the 308 round for when things get really tough, but since this is the first time that I've ever put the two rounds side-by-side, I can now understand the furor that occurred when the M16 was first put into service.

And as much as I value my Garand, I know I'm going to really enjoy my M&P15.

Battleship Iowa Wefax Reception Update

For those that have asked about the problems I was having receiving weather fax transmissions using our Signalink and fldigi, I found the problem today, and "fixed" it.

Turns out there was a sample-rate mismatch between what Windows was using for the Signalink USB Audio Codec, and the settings in fldigi.

The settings Windows uses for "Recording" is normally something like 2 channel, 16-bit 44.1khz, the same as it uses for "CD Quality" audio playback, which makes sense since most consumers would want to record something that they could burn to CD and play.

After doing a Google session, and experimenting in fldigi by watching the signal "quality" in the waterfall display, I decided to switch to 2-channel, 16-bit, 48kHz, which Windows calls "DVD Quality".

This made the waterfall look much better as far as Signal-to-Noise ratio, but I still couldn't decode anything.

Somehow, I had it stuck in my mind that regardless of what Windows was using, the Signalink was using something else and passing the data directly to fldigi.

UH.....no, that's not how it works.

As soon as I went into the "Modems" setting on fldigi, and set the rate to 48000, I started getting picture decoding, and now we're getting usable weather maps.


Why didn't I have this trouble here at my home station? Well, I'm not using a Signalink on my Flex Radio 5000.

Since the "radio" is running on the same PC that the fldigi software is, I don't need an additional hardware box to digitize the audio from the Flex, and feed it to the program. The audio stays in the digital domain from the "radio" directly to the program using a pair of Virtual Serial Ports, connected together with a Virtual Serial Cable.

And in setting up the two ports and their "cable", I set the bit rate to be the same, so "it just worked".

Just one of the pitfalls of having one foot in the Analog Domain, and the other in the Digital Domain, I guess!


And for those that have asked about why we weren't on for Museum Ships Weekend.....


Well, we had to cancel at the last minute. There was a major film project for an upcoming TV program that resulted in the ship being pretty much shutdown for that complete weekend, as well as the entire week following.

Parking was a major hassle as the parking lot was used for the filming of the event (the ship was basically a backdrop), and access to and from the ship was severely restricted.

We talked with the Museum Ships people, and they would have allowed  us to operate from shore, BUT...we had to be in sight of the ship to do it.

That would have meant operating "mobile" from on-street parking, or finding another lot in sight of the ship where we could overnight with a generator,

It would have been just too much hassle, so we requested the Museum Ships people remove us from the list.

It's kind of a bummer because we were going to use this as a "full-up" test for Field Day, but the welfare of the Iowa comes first, so we accepted it without any bad feelings. They've been so good to us, that we have absolutely no reason to complain about missing a weekend "playing radio"!

2014 Cameron Airshow

A buddy sent me the link, and there's some pretty neat stuff going on.

Some of it gives me a headache just watching it....

AR Type Rifle Magazine Recommendations?

WELL.....I "pulled the trigger" and bought an AR type rifle.

Specifically, I bought an S&W M&P15T.

This is very similar to my setpson's rifle that I shot a lot last July in Colorado, but has the (STOOOPID!) Kaliforniastan "Bullet Button" instead of a standard magazine release, a slightly heavier barrel, and some Picatinny rails with "flip up" iron sights in place of the forgrip.

Both my wife (who's pretty recoil-adverse) and myslef really enjoyed shooting her son's M&P15 while we were there. She was surprised how little recoil there was, and I was surprised how fast I could acquire, and hit, targets using the red dot sight on it.

I was ringing the steel no problem at 200 yards, which absolutely floored me.

This one comes with 3 snap-on handguards to use on the 90*, 180* and 270* positions so you won't chew your hands up on the rail in case you don't have any TactiCool stuff mounted on them.

I might put a weapon light on it, and will definitely get a Red Dot for it.

It comes with ONE 10-round magazine, and before I take the rifle class I signed up for, I'd like to get several more.

SO......being a complete "AR Rookie", what do you guys recommend? I've read that Magpul makes good magazines, and the guy at the gun shop said C Products also makes good ones, and to stay away from ThermoMold.

How'd I miss This? Grace Lee Whitney Passed Away May 1st

Holy smokes....Yeoman Rand is no longer with us!

I ran across this looking at some webpage, and went to the UPI page that had the article.

RIP, Grace.

More about here carreer here and here.

One of here first TV appearances was as "Carla" in the Outer Limtis episode titled "Contolled Experiment". Even watching that episode after "Star Trek" had beem on, I still didn't realize it was her until I watched the credits.

Receiving and Decoding WeFAX (Weather Facsimile) Transmissions

Another "new" project popped up yesterday on the Iowa during our monthly Radio Guys meeting. Our guy who's rebuilding the CEC (Combat Engaement Center for the civvies) brought up the fact that eventually the Meterology Office on the Bridge Deck will be included on the tour route, and wouldn't it be nice to have a working weather fax on display.

This came up because I was explaining the PC, interface, and software I installed for the Amateur Radio Group to use, and showing how it's used to decode "digital" transmissions.

The most popular digital mode on the Ham bands is called PSK31, and is a narrow-band method of sending text, so you can have a keyboard-to-keyboard chat with another Ham.

The software I like to use is call "FLDIGI", and runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows. The nice thing about it is that it comes with software modems to decode literally DOZENS of digital transmissions.

There's nothing showing in the screenshot below as I don't have a radio hooked up to my Linux box right now, but I've mentioned FLDIGI before in other posts.

Here's a Windoze screenshot of FLDIGI receiving a weather report. The Signal-to-Noise ratio of this frequency is worse than the weather map, which explains the "snowy" image, and lack of correct side-to-side sync. This can be corrected in the program after the broadcast is recorded.

 
For a webapge giving the "Sights-and-Sounds" of the digital modes, head on over here. There are many other digital modes used, and this is just a small sample of them.

SO.....after the meeting yesterday, I looked up some wefax frequencies, and tuned in the Pt. Reyes Station Coast Guard broadcast, and tried to decode it. I'm not sure what was wrong, but we weren't able to decode an image. Since I've never tried that mode before, I suspect it might be operator error, and left it at that.

This morning I fired up my Windoze PC and my Flex 5000, and tuned in the same station. To my surprise, and using the defaults in the program, I was able to receive the image shown below.

This has me scratching my head, so I'll have to spend some time on the Iowa by meyself to see what's not configured correctly.

"Barn Find" P-51 Mustang from Torrance, CA Up For Auction

Interesting story on this one. It appears to have been bought by a man in Playa Del Rey (up by LAX) in 1973, and stored at Torrance (Zamperini Field, TOA) in a hangar, and work started on it. The man passed away in 2004 without really getting much done on it, and it went to his wife, who passed away in 2012.

The attorneys for the estate are now putting it on the auction block, and it's come to light as a 1970's era, unrestored warbird.

Read more about it here, and here, and here, and more here.

Memorial Day on the Battleship Iowa

We had food trucks, radio and TV stations, Talking Heads and Politicians, military vehicles and a fly-by, live music, fun and games for the kiddies, and thousands of people.

But most importanly, we had Vets.

We had Vets from WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and all the other battles, named and un-named, that have happened since December 7th, 1941.

We had Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Enlsted and Officers, and others.....

And we thanked them all.....

And thank you all for your service, wherever, whenever, and whatever it was.

God Bless You all.......

"The Moving Wall" to be in SoCal Over The Weekend

Specifically, it will be at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes.

I'm going to stop by tomorrow and pay my respects.

300k Page Hits.....

Which aint diddly squat compared to some of you, but then my writing eloquence can't hold a candle to most of you.

I'm just glad I've met everybody here, and we consider ourselves friends.

US Navy/Marine Corps MARS Program To End

"MARS" in this case means "Military Auxiliary Radio System", a radio network of non-military stations (Hams) allowed to communicate on military frequencies.

I was encouraged to join the MARS network, but the requirements for actually operating on-the-air are pretty stringent as to the amount of time required, so I declined the invitation.

MARS station have very unique callsigns, as in the case of the Battleship Iowa, NNN0CIA. No idea how we managed the "CIA" suffix, but it always gets a chuckle when radio people visit the Comm Center on the Iowa.

Besides handling routine traffic such as "Health and Welfare" messages, the MARS network is also a complete stand-alone emergency radio network with direct connection to the US Military. And the MARS stations get activated for the Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test, which allows Amateur radio operators to communicate directly with the military radio stations by transmitting in the Amateur Radio bands, while listening outside the Amateur bands to the military frequencies.

We also have a MARS digipeater for the MARS packet radio network (yes, packet is still alive!) that get excellent coverage due to the antenna being on the top of the ship which gives an unobstructed radio view of the coast line from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Back in 2009 the Navy/Marine Corps segment of MARS was almost shut down, but a change from "Affiliated" to "Auxiliary" status saved the money, and the Navy/Marine Corps segment of the program.

Well, this time it's for real. From The ARRL Letter:

US Navy-Marine Corps MARS Program to End: The US Department of Defense is phasing out the US Navy-Marine Corps Military Auxiliary Radio System http://www.navymars.org/ (MARS) program. Its operational mission will transition to the other MARS service branches by the end of September. MARS volunteers are Amateur Radio operators who provide auxiliary or emergency communications to local, national, and international emergency and safety organizations, as an adjunct to normal communications.
"The intent of the transition is to best align the program to support national mission requirements," the announcement said. Chris Jensen of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic (NCTAMS LANT) told ARRL that the Navy no longer has any service-specific requirements for Navy-Marine Corps MARS and is working within DoD to transition the program into Army and Air Force MARS by September 30.
The announcement encouraged current Navy-Marine Corps MARS members and clubs to submit applications to the US Army MARS or US Air Force MARS programs as soon as possible.
"The US Navy greatly appreciates the thousands of MARS volunteers, past and present, who have been integral to the success of MARS," the announcement concluded.
An individual very familiar with the MARS program said the change was not unexpected and came to a head as the US Strategic Command embraced Army MARS as the lead branch for contingency communication and Air Force MARS began partnering with the US Army program on the operations side.
"The Army and Air Force MARS branches have an obvious role in providing contingency communications for the 50 states," said the individual, who preferred not to be identified by name. "Members are everywhere 'on the ground,' and experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has proven the tactical usefulness of HF on land. There was no similar role for the landlocked membership of Navy-Marine Corps MARS."
He said the MARS program can use all the volunteers it can attract. Read more http://www.arrl.org/news/us-navy-marine-corps-mars-program-to-end.

The Army and Air Force segments will continue to exist and operate, but "Navy MARS" and "Marine MARS" will be gone forever as of 30 September.

We'll probably be assigned a new callsign for the Iowa, and the digipeater will get reprogrammed, but it's good that at least a portion of MARS will continue to exist.