Andrew Woodward (VK2AWN)

Some OCD porn

So, explain this to me…

The iPhone 17e is usd599.

The MacBook Neo is usd599.

The MacBook is roughly six iPhones laid out.

Yet, they’re the same price.

Hmmm…

@sixcolours.com @davehamilton.com

Amazing isn’t it

Yep, same, mine is in the car to listen to the local 2m repeater and airport control tower

It’s cheap, small, available and works well

Alternatives to #watch bands from #Apple A certain puppy had a crack at my Apple Watch Ultra 3 this week. The timepiece survived but the band did not. The replacement band from Apple was aud170 (usd120). Hmmm. I found this from Spigen on Amazon for aud50 (usd35). It has a nice fabric, the Velcro is strong and the buckle stylish. It feels secure and ‘worthy’ of being on the watch. The product name is “SPIGEN DuraPro Flex for Apple Watch 49mm / 46mm / 45mm / 44mm / 42mm Watch Band” 27 February 2025

Alternatives to #watch bands from #Apple

The Baofeng 5 Mini – a great little backup #amateurradio #hamradio for the car or home Discover Why the Baofeng Mini-5 is a Game-Changer for Radio Enthusiasts

The Baofeng 5 Mini - a great little backup #amateurradio #ham radio for the car or home

Doing more with your Apple headphones with nods and shakes Re today’s show, MacGeekGab, 17 February 2026… Pilot Pete mentioned that AirPods Pro 2 and 3 and AirPods 4 have the ability to interact with the user via nodding and shaking (the head). I have PowerBeats Pro 2 and the feature works there too. Apple has a knowledge base article on it. Apart from what Pete mentioned, it’s also pretty good at asking me if I have started or stopped a workout or walk.

Doing more with your Apple headphones with nods and shakes

How cool

Great Circle Map based on Sydney for #amateurradio #hamradio #vk #swl This map comes courtesy of the National Library of Australia. I remember having a copy in the 1980’s to aid my shortwave listening hobby. This map is as relevant today as it was back in the 1960’s, indeed since the first international shortwave broadcasts in the 1920’s when it all began. Source: National Library of Australia and Mullard-Australia,

Great Circle Map based on Sydney for #amateurradio #hamradio #vk #swl

This map comes courtesy of the National Library of Australia. I remember having a copy in the 1980’s to aid my shortwave listening hobby. This map is as relevant today as it was back in the 1960’s, indeed since the first…

Amazing tracking information coming in and I’m being told to chill! Over a decade ago, I lived I San Francisco and marvelled at DHL telling me my latest Apple product had arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, en route from China to me. It was exciting! But that’s all you’d get told. Your package was in Anchorage and would be with you in a day or two. Fast forward to today. I get packages from Ali Express in China and use the P…

Amazing tracking information coming in and I’m being told the chill!

IC-7300 original and mk2. Diamond cp-s6 vertical and 20 metre long half wave dipole

The band conditions are pretty good today. I’m in Bellingen running 10w and it’s going around on 15 metres

Questions about the consistency of solar weather information on propagation for #amateurradio #hamradio #vk I posted the following in the Australian Amateur (Ham) Radio Facebook Group. I will publish replies as they come in. Four services screenshot within minutes of each other I have had my foundation licence for over a year now and am loving the many and varied aspects of the hobby. One of the more interesting aspects is space weather conditions. It’s fascinating.

Questions about consistency of solar weather information on propagation

A great feature – iPhone photos clean up I forgot about this clean up (pictures) feature on iPhone and how good it is… Here’s the before and after. 3 February 2026

A great feature - iPhone photos clean up

Where can I take a look at this?

Lessons learned from an unsuccessful #POTA activation – AU-7738, Tuckers Nob State Forest On Sunday I went to The Promised Land. Few can say that! Well, it’s an area of land at Glennifer, ten minutes drive from where I live (Bellingen NSW 2454). It’s at the foot of the World Heritage Listed Dorrigo National Park. I went there to do a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation of Tuckers Nob State Forest (AU-7738)

Lessons learned from an unsuccessful #POTA activation - AU-7738, Tuckers Nob State Forest

I used Bartender for a decade but had to delete it on both of my Macs recently for all of the reasons mentioned in the article. I’m very disappointed. It was a great app.

Safety signage for wire antennas when doing POTA Generic sign Since getting into POTA I’ve had a lot of fun combining my interests in nature, radio and computers. I’ve also had a few snags, literally. I’ve had my wires do battle with drones, kites, fishing rods and over-sized RVs with way more on top than they should have (like bikes). So, what’s the answer? A sign! If you use Canva, you can edit the following file and put your call sign on it, as I did.

Safety signage for wire antennas when doing POTA

Yep, I I turned it… wasting electricity

Purchasing amateur radio gear on Facebook Marketplace I posted this to the Australian Ham Amateur Radio Facebook Group on 14 January. Ninety nine percent of my experiences on Marketplace have been positive. But you need to be alert for scams. 19 January 2026

Purchasing amateur radio gear on Facebook Marketplace

Updated content on VK2AWN and Apple and Amateur Radio I have updated my pages about my radio shack and mobile operations for VK2AWN. I have also updated my interests in Apple and Amateur Radio. The Amateur Radio Page includes a list of my interests, equipment and software. The Apple and Amateur Radio Page includes information on using Apple in Amateur Radio. It also has screenshots of apps on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad. I also post to Facebook, BlueSky and Reddit. 18 January 2026

Updated content on VK2AWN and Apple and Amateur Radio

I have updated my pages about my radio shack and mobile operations for VK2AWN. I have also updated my interests in Apple and Amateur Radio. The Amateur Radio Page includes a list of my interests, equipment and software. The Apple and Amateur…

#POTA activation at Woopi Back State Beach AU-8912 I was at AU-8912 Woopi Back State Beach, north of Coffs Harbour on Saturday, 17 January 2025. I started on FT8 on 15 meters and then went to phone on 40 metres.

#POTA activation at Woopi Back State Beach AU-8912

I was at AU-8912 Woopi Back State Beach, north of Coffs Harbour on Saturday, 17 January 2025. I started on FT8 on 15 meters and then went to phone on 40 metres.

Hi, I am at AU-8912 Woopi Back State Beach, north of Coffs. I’m on FT8 on 15 meters while I have lunch and then I’ll try 15 and 40 on phone.

pota.app#/park/AU-8912

Another (yet very cool) World Clock app A while back Pilot Pete on MacGeekGab mentioned problems with time tracking with UTC and local. This is great. You can put a widget on your iPhone or iPad Home Screen with local, UTC and your home time zone. And you can have multiple widgets from the one app. It’s on the App Store as World Clock and it’s from the makers of Cheetsheet. And you can customise it to the Nth degree. 12 January 2025

Another (yet very cool) World Clock app

One year and one hundred countries on ham amateur radio At the end of 2024, I obtained my foundation ham amateur radio licence. It's been a great year. I have learned so much, discovered so many new things and have been amazed at what I can do with the convergence of computers and radio. I've also met some great people right around the world. I was familiar with high frequency (HF) voice transmissions from my shortwave radio listening or DXing days in the 1980's.

One year and one hundred countries on ham amateur radio

At the end of 2024, I obtained my foundation ham amateur radio licence. It's been a great year. I have learned so much, discovered so many new things and have been amazed at what I can do with the convergence of computers and radio. I've also…

GridTracker for Mac now works seemlessly with SDR Control for Icom (for Mac) without audio routing #hamradio #amateurradio I love SDR Control for Icom but had been using WSTJ-X for FT8 due to its interaction with GridTracker. Previously, it was possible to connect GridTracker to SDR Control for Icom using Loopback from Rogue Amoeba (as per the SDR Control for Icom online manual). The developer of SDR Control for Icom, Marcus Roskosch / DL8MRE, advised this week in response to a support inquiry: …

GridTracker for Mac now works seemlessly with SDR Control for Icom (for Mac) without audio routing #hamradio #amateurradio

I love SDR Control for Icom but had been using WSTJ-X for FT8 due to its interaction with GridTracker. Previously, it was possible to connect GridTracker to SDR Control for…

PopClip is one of the first apps I install on any new Mac and I use it dozens of times every day I have been a Pop Clip user since early last decade, and it's one of the first things I install on a new Mac. It was developed to give Mac users the same cut-copy-paste functionality and look and feel of the iPad and iPhone. Over time, it has expanded to do more things, as was alluded to in this week's show. You'll love it. Get it here. Note: I had to photograph the Mac screen as the options went away on a screenshot. 11 December 2025

PopClip is one of the first apps I install on any new Mac and I use it dozens of times every day

I have been a Pop Clip user since early last decade, and it's one of the first things I install on a new Mac. It was developed to give Mac users the same cut-copy-paste functionality and look and feel…

Thin, light, flexible and cheap 4K #HDMI cables via #Amazon For years, Apple sold thin and light HDMI video cables. They were great quality and reasonable value for money. But they were only up to 2k resolution and didn’t do Dolby Atmos. I also remember paying well over usd100 (aud150) for a “Monster” HDMI cable for my Apple TV Gen 1 in the naughties. And that was 20 years ago! …

Thin, light, flexible and cheap 4K #HDMI cables via #Amazon

Interesting