While last years summer in Germany became the Retro summer, this time I took the RTL-SDR software defined radio with me for playing. RTL-SDR is a usb2 stick which you can plug into a computer, attach an antenna, and then have a look what’s “in the air”.
Software
I’m using the antennas which I got with the RTL-SDR device: 2 teleskope sticks with length of up to 1m each. Main issue: for good reception, I place the antenna directly on the attic. But I want to be on the lower floors for sitting down and using the SDR. So I setup an older Thinkpad x200 with Debian Bookworm, and did setup that with the RTL-SDR device and the antenna on the attic.
What’s this about?
Colleagues asked: “Hey Chris, so what’s actually in that mobile HAM radio device, what do you get for 550EUR?” - I’ll sum that up here. I’m coming back to the hobby after 20 years, so also discovering what’s possible now. 20 years ago, I used CB-radio. After getting HAM radio licensed here in Japan, I got a decent HAM radio transmitter for hand held use, a Kenwood TH-D75. The article is not specific for the TH-D75 though, the features are also in other modern devices.
Let me capture my favourite hiking spots around Tokyo. This can give others hints, and I have a convenient page to refer to when choosing a hiking tour together. When you are in the area and in the mood, let me know! I’m out in the green almost every weekend.
As for planning: I have more details for the trips on the wiki. You can simply cut’n’paste the start station into google maps and have it plain the required train/bus trip. With a Suica or Pasmo card, you can pay at the trains, buses, and also the convenience stores to buy food or snacks.
When I lived in Munich, the Alps were near - but I never got into the habit of hiking. Munich had plenty of green spots already in the city, I had a woods directly behind the house, great for jogging.
Tokyo is very different. Full trains, skyscrapers and lots of concrete push people into hobbies like camping, or hiking.
Tokyo has a great public transport, it’s easy to get
to nearby destinations.
Sometimes I just go 70min by train, and can then directly
start walking. For the farther locations I need 2.5 hours of train,
plus 30-40min by bus.
We get workplace computers refreshed in 3 year cycles. My old system was a Thinkpad T590 with 32GB memory, and 8th gen Intel CPU. When it was up for refresh, I did choose a Macbook, and got a “Apple Macbook M2”, 2023 model, with 16GB RAM.
I work as Linux engineer, doing support/development/communication. My goal is to use Linux directly on the AppleSilicon hardware. Now after some months, it’s time to recap what I settled with, and how well I can do my work with the system.
HAM radio?
HAM radio or ‘Amateur radio’ is the use of radio frequencies for noncomercial private purposes. After the German unification, I had been doing CB-radio in Germany. CB is ‘Citizens Band’, these are a few frequency channels which can be used without any license. I had gone as far as setup a metal antenna on the roof of the house, had spent nights with friends on a mountain, trying to do radio communication with people in other countries.
When I came to Japan in 2016, I had my German drivers license translated by the Japanese Automobile Federation. For ~4000 yen I got translations. Like some other expats from Germany, I got the idea that I would then have to run through normal Japanese drivers school and pass the exam.
Public transport in Tokyo is great, so I kept it at this.
Now in my 8th year in Japan, I learned that drivers licenses from certain countries can be rewritten into Japanese licenses - Germany is one of the accepted countries.
How do Germany and Japan think about World War 2 (WW2)? Why are some of my friends not visiting the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo? This is my attempt to sort out the information I received about the 2nd World War, and observations how people think about that time period today - in Germany and Japan.
East German views on WW2
As most probably know, Germany had been separated after the war. I grew up in East Germany, under guidance of the Soviet Union it was a Socialist republic. From the East German school system I received my first education about World War 2 (WW2): the Russians had fought down the German Nazi regime (along with also America and other Western countries). This allowed then the creation of the Socialist German Republic.
Sorting my pictures from this year, I got reminded of the various pieces of tech I got into contact with..
The tech year started with writing an article in how Kanji are input with normal keyboards. The area between Japan, Kanji and technology stays interesting for me.
AsiaBSDCon
In April, we had AsiaBSDcon in Tokyo. I’m much more active in the Linux world, but BSD covers other interesting areas, for example NetBSD with support for older hardware. The event was even within cycling distance. 2 days full of speeches and meeting some interesting folks. Took the opportunity to look at OpenBSD/NetBSD/FreeBSD for desktop usage, used OpenBSD while at the conference, shared the experience in a mini talk. Details are here.
Background
Most flat rental agreements in Tokyo are limited to 2 years, and can then be renewed. Renewal is mostly uncomplicated, the tenant just signs again a paper. There is a catch though: in most cases, an estate broker was doing the initial flat search, and at contract renewal they receive again money from the renter: a monthly rent. I was living in this flat for almost 6 years, renewal came up - so thinking of this extra expense made me look for a new flat.
I was born in former East Germany. At the German unification in 1990, I was 12 years old. A recent TV documentary made me rethink on my East German memory, my take aways about that time - also including how my parents and East German friends perceived that time. How influenced unification and the time after my thinking and my life?
East Germany memories
Just a view pieces, but they form a picture. Many foreigners nowadays think of socialist East Germany as a ‘kind of North Korea’, by all I experienced and took away from talking with friends, that does not really apply.
I have some retro hardware in Germany - in the last weeks I had access, and got to play, try out, find out what works. Capturing the summary here, so I can lookup further activities for the next time I get access, and maybe for others to share ideas for fixing and further debugging.
Robotron EC1834
I was born in former East Germany, before the German reunification.
Around the unification time, I got a ‘Robotron EC1834’, one of the last
personal computers of East Germany, released 1986.
Now I got curious and gave it a look.