New Router

A couple years ago I installed an Asus RT-AC66U 802.11ac router at home. A few weeks ago it started acting flaky, requiring frequent reboots, and finally crapped out entirely yesterday. To get our home network back online I took my Comcast XB2 Arris TM862G gateway out of bridge mode, enabling routing and WiFi.

The performance stunk, largely because it's 2.4GHz only and I'm in a subdivision, so I get a lot of interference on that band. The fastest I could get on speedtest.net was about 20 Mbps down, totally unacceptable for what should be ~100 Mbps service.

So, yesterday afternoon I ordered a Linksys WRT1900ACS router from Amazon, selected one day delivery (I have Prime), and it was dropped off this morning while I was eating my oatmeal.

My initial impressions are generally favorable and setup was straightforward. Performance is plenty acceptable. After installing it I ran a test and got about 96 Mbps down. I just ran a test and got this:

I can certainly live with that.

The Linksys offers some features I'm unlikely to take advantage of, e.g., USB ports to serve files or a printer. However, it does support DynDNS and NoIP, so I may setup OpenVPN on it for remote access and possible as a private VPN for when I travel.

Mauser C96 Broomhandle Range Report

Saturday night after dinner I went along with my dad to his club's indoor range and had the place to ourselves. We put 100 rounds of PPU 7.63x25 through the Broomhandle and it ran perfectly.

My first 15 shots, fired at 7 yards:

My point of aim was 6 o'clock on the black. The flyer was my first shot, fired one handed. I switched to a two-hand hold for the remainder.

Shooting impressions:

• Loading a pistol with a stripper clip definitely isn't as handy as a detachable box magazine. In the case of the this pistol and these clips, you need to wiggle the clips down into the charging slot. They are a tight fit.
• At ~40 oz. empty, the recoil is pretty mild but after awhile the edges of the frame start to dig into the web of your hand. When shot as a carbine it recoils like a .22.
• The trigger is similar to that of a Mauser rifle. I.e., it is a two-stage trigger. It's a bit heavy but not at all unmanageable. There's little to no creep and not much overtravel.
• The barleycorn front sight is hard to see with 48 year old eyes. It's worse when you shoot it as a carbine, because it's closer.
• Muzzle blast and flash is definitely more noticeable when shot as a carbine, since the muzzle is closer to your face, but isn't too bad. I noticed the amount of flash varied. Some rounds had little visible flash but others had a nice fireball. However, the rounds without much flash had just as much recoil and blast as the flashier rounds.
• Cases ejected straight up towards the front and then bounced all over the place with most landing in front of the firing line.
• When I did my part it shot into about a 2" group at 7 yards when shot with two hands. Mean POI was about 1.5" to 2" high.

Dad took a short video of me shooting the Broom with the stock on*:

Having fired a stocked pistol now, I'm even more annoyed with the NFA. A modern stocked pistol with a micro dot sight would be the tits as a traveling gun, a real pocket carbine. Especially in a hot, flat shooting round like 7.63 Mauser or 7.62 Tokarev.

I have wanted a shootable Broomhandle for 40 years and now I finally have one.



* A reminder for those late to the show: According to the BATFE an original Mauser C96 with an original German stock is not considered a Short Barreled Rifle under the NFA.

Field Stripped the C-96 Broomhandle

So, as a follow up, I field stripped the Broomhandle tonight after dinner. Getting it apart was difficult, because the old grease or oil had congealed and glued the floorplate on, and the lock work into the receiver. I dribbled some FP-10 on and let it soak it for a few minutes and was able to get it apart. I spent some time tonight scrubbing congealed goo off the metal parts with a copper Chore-Boy. I'd love to know how many decades it's been since the last time this pistol was taken apart.

The floorplate and grip serial numbers don't match the frame, but at least the floorplate is an old replacement. The grips probably are, too. They are correct for the pistol.

Now that I am able to look through the bore from breech to muzzle, I am amazed. It looks new.

I currently have the lock work soaking in Hoppe's No.9 and FP-10. I'll disassemble it all the way to get out the remaining grease tomorrow. It's hard to tell from the pic but the bolt stop and safety still have a lot of the fire blue left. You can see some of the fire blue on the rear sight's elevation slide. It's almost the same color as blue Dykem layout fluid.

Wartime Commercial Mauser C-96 Broomhandle

Two years ago I came into a Mauser C-96 Broomhandle pistol, which has long been one of my Grail guns. The pistol is in fair condition externally but the bore is shot out. I also posted pictures of the gun taken down to its constituent parts.

In early 2015 I sent the barrel and bolt to Redman's to have the barrel relined for 7.63 Mauser but he returned it to me because it wasn't a good candidate for such work. Specifically, he uses a piloted reamer to enlarge the bore enough for the liner, and my gun's bore was already too large for the pilot. He was concerned that the reamer would wander and I'd end up with an off-center bore. Worse, it appears that the barrel had already been relined once, which made it unsafe to do again.

At this point the only way to restore that pistol to shooting condition would be to cut the barrel off, bore out the barrel extension, and weld on a new barrel. This was sometimes done back when these guns were in service. See here and scroll down to where the discussion of "hashed barrels." I'm not aware of anyone currently offering this service, and it would be awfully expensive.

Naturally, this didn't sate my desire for a functional Broomhandle, that I've had since I was a kid in the '70s, even before seeing Han Solo wax Greedo in Star Wars.

Well, this weekend I went to a gun show in Oaks, PA and came home with this:

It's another Wartime Commercial with a serial number about 20K lower than my other C-96, which is in far worse shape.

The caliber is 7.63x25 Mauser. It was supposedly a WW2 bring back and came from a high-end York, PA collection. Given the condition, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a World War One bring back. Either way, it appears to have spent the past century being well-cared for.

The original blueing is in excellent shape and the serial numbers on the barrel extension, frame, and bolt match. The bore is excellent. There is still some of the original fire blueing on the rear sight leaf and it's basically intact on the extractor.

There is still some old grease visible in the bolt and the hammer recess. I haven't taken it down yet.

The stock which is in excellent shape is original, but not matching. Since it's an original German stock, BATFE doesn't consider the gun to be an SBR when it's attached. (I have an email to this effect from Tech Branch, addressed to me. See my post from December 16, 2014.) The stock has some pretty nice grain on the left side and it's even visible inside the stock where it's cutout to hold the pistol.

The attachment of the stock to the grip frame is solid, with no wobble. Out of curiosity I attached it to my other C-96, and the fit on that gun is sloppy.

I have some original stripper clips and a few hundred rounds of Prvi Partisan 7.63 Mauser ammo that I bought after I got the first Broom. Damn skippy I'm going to shoot it after I verify that the locking block is in good shape. On my other C96 I replaced all the springs and this one is still more difficult to cock. Because it appears that the gun has seen very little use I'm going to hold off on replacing any springs.

Without getting into specifics, the cost was reasonable for the condition of the gun and stock.

After I shoot it, I will post a range report.

New Pedals and Lights

I'm liking the Nishiki Maricopa road bike that I got a couple weeks ago but the pedals that came with it pretty muck suck. They are on the small size and not very grippy. So, after doing a lot of reading on Bikeforums.net, I decided to stick with platform pedals but ones that would be larger and grippier. I got a set of Wellgo MG-1 magnesium platform pedals this week and installed them today.

The reviews on Amazon were generally very favorable for the Wellgos, but mentioned that the painted versions tended to flake. So, I ordered the natural colored pedals. I tried them with sneakers and my Shimano cycling shoes, and they are definite improvement. The pins that protrude provide a nice grip on my shoes. I'll have to see how I like them compared to pedals with toe clips.

To make swapping the pedals easier I bought this Sunlite pedal wrench. A Crescent wrench would probably have worked, but the dedicated tool made it easier. E.g., it's about a foot long and gave me lots of leverage. The ends are slightly offset, which helps you from banging your knuckles.

Aside from the better pedals, the bike needed front and rear blinkies in case I get caught out near dusk. I put a Planet Bike Spok white light on the handlebar and a Stupidbright on the seatpost, pointing to the rear. (I picked up the Spok at REI while I already had the red light from a previous Amazon order.) Both mount with a stretchy rubber band and feel secure. I already did one ride with the taillight in place.

The reflectors will remain as passive backups.

Finally, I picked up a Blackburn Air Tower 4 floor pump on sale at my local bike shop last week. I needed a pump that would work with Presta valves. I have a Topeak Joe Blow floor pump from the 90s but it's setup for Schrader valves and the Presta adapter is long gone. This way I can have a pump setup for both, with no fidddling.

Nishiki Maricopa Bike

That deal for the '86 Nishiki Olympic road bike fell through. The seller kept discovering things wrong with the bike and offered me a discount or a refund. I chose a refund. Oh well.

So, today I bought this Nishiki Maricopa at Dick's:

It weighs about 24# in the small frame size that I bought. Frame and fork are 6061 aluminum. Three chainrings up front with 8 in back. The modern "brifter" shift levers are neat. I.e., the gear shifters are part of the brake levers.

I took it for a 6-1/4 mile shakedown on the Schuykill River Trail this afternoon. It rides well, much livelier than my Trek 820 mountain bike, even with narrow slicks.

The one upgrade I plan is to replace the pedals. They are pretty crappy and don't have toe clips (I'm not going to get clip-ins, but want toe clips). I'll add lights and probably a kickstand.

BTW, Nishiki is now a Dick's in-house brand. They bought the rights to the name for US distribution in 2010.

New Bike on the Way, and a Ride

Since getting back into cycling a few months ago, I've been kicking myself for putting my old Nishiki road bike out by the curb last year. Although my Trek 820 mountain bike with 1.5" wide slicks is good for the local multi-use paths, even Forbidden Drive, a road bike would allow me to ride further and faster. So, I started looking around on Craigslist and eBay for older road bikes with steel frames.

Lo and behold, after a couple weeks of looking, this popped up on eBay:

(Picture from the eBay auction.)

It's a mid-80s (probably an '86) Nishiki Olympic with the same frame size and color scheme of my HS graduation present. The Mavic wheelset isn't original, however. After a few minutes hemming and hawing, I bought it.

The 1986 Nishiki Olympic was a 4130 chrome-moly steel framed bike with Araya aluminum wheels, Diacompe brakes, Shimano derailleurs, downtube shifters, and a Sugino VP crankset. Assuming the Mavics on this bike weigh about the same as the originals, it'll come in at about 23 pounds. It should be a fast bike. While riding my old one with a friend who's Trek 520 tourer was fitted with a cycle computer, he clocked us going about 50 MPH on one extended downhill run.

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for it. I got a message from the seller who found that one of the crank arms was stripped, where the pedal is attached. He discovered this when he began to prep it for shipping. He offered to either knock $25 off the price, or replace it with an original part. I opted for the latter, so I'm hoping it'll ship early next week.

After I get it I plan to rewrap the handlebars, replace the toe clips (one is broken), and of course verify that the derailleurs and brakes work properly.

In the meantime, I picked up a couple items to help me maintain my family's bikes. First, a copy of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. In conjunction with YouTube videos, this should help me learn how to work on them. The second item was a Bikehand Pro Mechanic Bicycle Repair Rack Stand.

I tried out the repair stand for the first time this morning, before I went on a ride. I used it to hold the Trek while I cleaned the chain. It worked well. The stand feels fairly robust and folds up, so that it doesn't take up too much space in my shed.

After cleaning and lubing the chain, I went on my longest ride this year, 12.23 miles, at an average speed of 10.9 MPH and a max speed of 16.1 MPH. Considering I'm riding a mountain bike with aerodynamics slightly better than a brick, I'm happy.

Digital QRP with a Mac and SignaLink USB

Operating QRP PSK31 using a Mac, Fldigi, and a SignaLink USB interface. In the video I provide details on my antenna, physical connections between the radio and rig, and about configuring Fldigi.

More info on the antenna can be found in this older post.

Tap-O-Cap Reborn

It looks like the same folks who came out a couple years ago with a .22LR reloading tool set have introduced a tool to make #11 caps.

http://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader.myshopify.com/products/11-percussion-cap-maker

Thought I'd pass this along since every so often somebody brings up the old Tap-O-Cap. I have no connection with the company.

WSPR on a Mac

I did some WSPR work out back today using my MacBook Pro, WSJT-X, Yaesu FT-817ND, SignalinkUSB, and my 20M vertical antenna.

Hopefully you find this useful.

Out of Sync Audio with .MOV Files on a Windows PC

I was editing a video using Windows Live Movie Maker on my Windows 7 PC today. I'd recorded an introductory clip using the built-in camera on my MacBook Pro, saved as a QuickTime .mov file. For some reason when viewing the file on the PC, the audio was out of sync with the video when viewed in WLMM.

A workaround was to convert the .mov file to .mp4 format using Handbrake. WLMM was then able to import the file with the audio in sync and I was able to finish editing the video.

(Yes, I'm primarly a Mac user but I like the user interface in WLMM better than iMovie. So, when I edit videos for my YouTube channel, I gravitate towards the PC. I need to find a better video editor for the Mac.)

Reenabling Back with the Backspace Key in Chrome

Chrome on my MacBook Pro was automatically updated this morning, after which I noticed that the backspace key no longer worked to go back a page. Apparently this was implemented a little while ago but didn't manifest itself on my machine until today. This matches the default behavior on Linux, which I detest, since I use backspace to return to a previous page constantly.

After some searching, I discovered that Google made the change to prevent people from accidentally deleting data in a form. Initially, there was no way to reenable the backspace key.

However, enough people bitched about the change to get Google to create an extension to restore the previous behaving. You can get it here.

A plea to developers: Please do not change the behavior of your program's user interface without giving the end user a choice.

How to Remove the Cylinder and Side Plate of a Smith & Wesson Double Action Revolver

In this video I demonstrate how to properly remove the cylinder and side plate from a S&W revolver, including a discussion of the tools required. Using the proper technique when removing the side plate will prevent damage to the gun and preserve its value.

The demonstration piece is a S&W Model 10-5 chambered for the .38 Special cartridge.

The Weaver Deluxe Gunsmith Tool Kit I used in the video can be seen and purchased here.

Day Camp and Gear Discussion Video

On Friday I took a day trip up to the Conrad Weiser State Forest near Port Clinton, PA. In the video I demonstrate making a poncho lean-to shelter, discuss knife selection, provide a brief overview of the Hill People Gear Recon Kit Bag and Tarahumara pack, and make some coffee in an Esbit cookset.

I am trying to make and post more videos to my YouTube channel as I have time. Please hit the Like button and subscribe.

Geezer Concert

Last night the wife unit and I went over to the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ to see Cheap Trick, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Heart. Our seats were in the 19th row, to the left when facing the stage.

Cheap Trick went on first. They were good but so loud their sound was very distorted. If they'd turned it down a bit they would have been great.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts went on next. I saw them open for The Who last year so I was expecting a great performance. I was not disappointed.

Heart was the headliner. Nancy Wilson is an excellent guitarist. Her intros to Straight On For You, Crazy on You, and Barracuda stood out. Anne Wilson can still blow most people young enough to be her grand daughter off the stage with her vocals. Amazing pipes.

Cheap Trick:

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts:

Heart:

Heart's encore was a Led Zeppelin tribute consisting of Immigrant Song and Stairway to Heaven. Few bands should cover Zep. Heart is one of them.

Link to more pictures.

An Astute Observation On Obama's Reaction to Dallas

As usual, in the aftermath of a mass shooting, Obama shot his mouth off.

Posted by "sloth" on AR15.com:

... Obama, is first and foremost, a community organizer. What do community organizers do...they cultivate a grievance in a community into anger and direct that associated rage to motivate people to accomplish a political goal. That is what he is doing. He's a social justice warrior at heart, that is what motivates him to get up in the morning. He believes that inflaming a certain community into action is going to allow him to accomplish his goals as a SJW. He has no use for peace and people coming together, you don't accomplish radical change unless people are properly motivated to push for that change.

Look at how he responds to diverse incidents. If it is advantageous to his goals and fits the template, he's out within hours making statements to reinforce his social justice narrative. If the incident is counter productive to his goals as a SJW, (Orlando, this Dallas shooting) he urges great restraint and caution until an investigation can determine a motive. It's not random, you fan the flames to help your cause and you depress sentiment that is counter to you cause.

Link.

Bontrager H2 Inaugural Ride

I took the Bontrager H2 semi-slicks for an inaugural ride late this morning in Valley Green.  My ride today was only 6.13 miles, because it was hot and humid as balls. However, it was long enough to get a feeling for how the new tires perform on the kinds of surfaces that I ride on.

As expected the rolling resistance is a lot less. I was able to push one or two gears higher than previously and didn't run into any traction problems on the hard-pack gravel Forbidden Drive. They performed fine even in looser gravel, though they didn't float over it as well as my original 1.95" wide tires.

My average speed increased by about 1 or 2 MPH, compared with previous rides. To see how they'd do, I did take the bike off the gravel onto a dirt trail for about 100 yards. As expected, it was a bit skittish on wet dirt, and the ride isn't as soft as the MTB tires, but it's a good tradeoff for my riding.

New Bike Tires

This morning I put another 8.52 miles on my old Trek 820, along Forbidden Drive in Fairmount Park. Since I'm doing my riding on paved trails or packed gravel, I've been thinking about either replacing the knobby tires on the bike with something with less rolling resistance, or even getting a second set of wheels with faster rolling tires.

This afternoon I took a drive up to Indian Valley Bikeworks in Harleysville. At their recommendation I bought a pair of 26" x 1.5" Bontrager H2 semi-slick tires and suitable tubes.

I was able to remove the old rubber with one tire lever, and the new tires and tubes went on easily. They are rated for 60 to 90 PSI. I have them pumped up to about 65 PSI, to provide some cushioning.

In my old cycling days I sometimes took my 1986 Nishiki road bike with slick 700c x 25 tires at 100 PSI down to Forbidden Drive and as long as I was careful, didn't run into problems. I should be OK with the new Bontragers, which are a lot beefier. Of course, I'll need to be more careful than with the knobby MTB tires, but converting the Trek into a pseudo-hybrid with these tires should suit my current riding well.

I'm still tempted to get a spare wheel set and mount the knobbies on it, though.

Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others

I am disgusted that FBI Director Comey did not recommend charges be filed against Hillary Clinton. When leaders flout the law, respect for the rule of law by the people soon vanishes. When George Orwell wrote that some animals are more equal than others he may as well have been writing about the USA in 2016, rather than Stalinist Russia.

That aside, consider what the FBI did go on record as saying:

1. She had unauthorized classified intelligence on her unsecured server. (General Petraeus lost his career over far less.)
2. She deleted evidence during the investigation. (That's spoliation of evidence or obstruction of justice. )
3. Anyone else who did this would be reprimanded and stripped of security clearance by their department, if not criminally charged. 
4. She mishandled classified intelligence and jeopardized national security. 
5. She lied about the nature of the investigation (claiming it was a security review, not a criminal investigation).

Consider the nature of her actions. She willfully, recklessly engaged in conduct which is statutorily proscribed for good reasons. As someone who's worked with telecom, computer networks, and mail servers since the late 90s, and practiced law before that, I'd be willing to bet my house that at a minimum the Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies hacked her server.

That means not only did she compromise national secrets, she is almost certainly vulnerable to blackmail by foreign powers due to the contents of her server. In other words, if she gets elected in November, Putin and others will have the President of the United States by the balls.

And yet half the voters in this country are willing to ignore this and cast their ballot for her, just because she is female.

About 10 Miles Yesterday

Yesterday morning I drove over to Spring Mill and hopped on the Schuykill River Trail again towards Philly. This time I rode in all the way to the edge of Manayunk, a hair less than 5 miles.

The first three miles or so are flat, then at Shawmont the trail descends, crosses the SEPTA Norristown/Manayunk tracks, and then runs along the river through a wooded area. The trail through the woods is mostly hard packed gravel with a few paved sections, and several wood plank bridges. This part of the trail has some small hills and nice rock formations to look at.

Since it was a nice day there were a lot of people on the trail so I got good practice at weaving among the pedestrians and a few slower riders. Likewise, I had several riders pass me.

The return trip was easy except for Shawmont, where I had to drop onto my smallest front chainring to get up the hill.

My old Trek 820 is performing well, but I need to adjust my front brakes a little and I think the front wheel needs to be trued. I'm getting a little rubbing.

I'm seriously considering replacing the knobby MTB tires with some kind of  hybrid tire, for a smoother ride with less rolling resistance.

After several rides on Forbidden Drive and the gravel part of the SRT, the Trek was filthy. So, after getting home I wheeled it into the back yard and used a citrus spray degreaser to blow the crud off the chain and derailleurs, then relubed with White Lightning Epic Ride chain lube. It's a "semi dry" lube, so I'm hoping that it'll retain less grit, but be better than a dry lube if I get caught in the rain.