www.johnDball.com

I recently completed training on the Skydio X10E UAS platform, which will replace the Scottsville Police Department’s DJI Phantom 4 Pro v2 as our primary drone system. Our Skydio X10 kit includes the speaker attachment. The speaker arrived with three preloaded audio files, plus a test file, but I quickly discovered how easy it is to add custom announcements tailored to public safety operations.…

Automatically Rebooting a MeshCore Room Server Connected to Ubuntu 26.04 I recently ran into an issue where my MeshCore observer node was showing as offline or potentially offline in MeshCore Analyzer, even though the Room Server hardware appeared to be running normally. MeshCore Analyzer showing the observer node as potentially offline. In my case, the setup was a Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V4 running…

There is a strange little pocket of the internet where the mere mention of Philmont radio infrastructure seems to make some people bristle. So, just to get it out of the way up front: this map was built from publicly available FCC licensing data. The source is the FCC’s Universal Licensing System, which is open to the public and searchable by anyone. But this project was never really about a…

Using the Byonics PicCon as an Auto-ID’er for Simplex Repeater / Cross-Band Operations Repurposing a fox-hunt controller for EMCOMM, Scouting events, and portable field comms   Why this build? I needed a clean, automatic station ID during portable simplex repeater or cross-band operations without hauling a full repeater controller. Using my existing Byonics products, I found that the Byonics…

Hot on the heels of the updated ISS & CSS Amateur Radio Quick Reference v1.2, I’ve released the next card in the KN4OLA Field Reference Series — a comprehensive, color-coded guide for today’s most active amateur satellites. This laminated field card is designed for portable satellite operators, educators, and Radio Scouting teams who need accurate frequency and mode data at a glance — no…

I’ve published a new field reference guide designed for radio operators, Scouts, and STEM educators who want a quick, reliable way to work the International Space Station (ARISS) and the Chinese Space Station (Tiangong / CSS) from portable setups. This document consolidates the most current uplink and downlink frequencies, modes, and operational notes for both stations, along with a streamlined…

A living archive of reflections that I’ve shared with Scouts, leaders, and families. Scouting is more than campouts and badges. I believe it is a journey of growth, leadership, resilience, and service. Over time, I’ve written short reflections (often called “Scoutmaster’s Minutes”) that I’ve shared with my Troop. They’re meant to inspire Scouts, guide leaders, and remind all of us of the values…

VARA FM Setup Guide for KN4OLA’s ID-5100 Google Drive version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sj32O_nLGkv5TCq3UiNoIDWN22IJlH5p/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117665750981101640419&rtpof=true&sd=true Visio for creating the connection diagram: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VyNu-E83HyFbjZrkbgnwro00HkXDzu1k/view?usp=sharing

Like many others, I recently received the End of Support (EOS) notice from Azure for Ubuntu 20.04. With the clock ticking, I decided to upgrade my servers to Ubuntu 24.04 using the do-release-upgrade command. The upgrade process went smoothly overall, and I wanted to share a few insights and lessons learned from the experience: If on Azure, use Azure Snapshots to make a backup. Same for VMware…

I created a Google Sheets to track the status of our unit’s summer camp participants. This Google Sheets reflects the status of our participants and includes most, if not all, of the questions needed during summer camp registration and check-in. Note that this form tracks the status of those items but does not contain the content of those items. Per BSA policy, the medical form column and…

I feel like I need this every… seven years or so. Just long enough for me to forget how to do it. Do you have a Google Calendar that has been shared with you but need it to show on your iOS native calendar app? Have no fear! Let’s go back to circa 2009. Sign into your Google account and visit this URL: https://www.google.com/calendar/syncselect Enable the calendars you want displayed on your iOS…

Looks like if you enable “Forbid proxy comment posting” using the WP Security plugin in conjunction with Cloudflare then comment posting on WordPress posts and pages will be blocked. If a user attempts to submit a comment then WordPress will dump them on a blank page. Just figured this out after, I dunno, running this setting for about a year.

I created a Google Sheets to track the status of our unit’s medical form (680-001_ABC), Youth Protection Training (YPT), and Photo Release. This Google Sheet reflects the status of our forms and will color code various cells based on validity. It is a work in progress so feel free to suggest improvements. Note that this form tracks the status of those items but does not contain the content of…

I’m pleased to announce that a second KLKU CTAF feeder on LiveATC.net is now live! My feeder, listed as “KLKU CTAF #1”, is three miles east of KLKU, positioned approximately twenty-five feet in the air, and is capable of capturing some ground audio depending on the aircraft’s antenna placement and position on the ramp/taxiway. I am unsure who runs the original KLKU CTAF feeder (#2), but based on…