Summer is almost here. The semester is over at my college. This one was more difficult than last semester, but it's done and I'm satisfied with how it turned out (3.6). It's now time for projects of a more personal nature. Hopefully that means the blog will see more activity.
There are a bunch of events coming up I would like you to know about.
This Sunday, May 15th, is the MIT Flea in Cambridge, MA. I won't be able to make it this month, but intend to make it up there as soon as I can.
May 21st is the Goshen, CT Hamfest. This is a good one, and one I usually tailgate at. I'll be monitoring 146.52 during the fest.
May 28-29th is Memorial Day, and I'll be doing my usual military radio/electronics display at FDR in Hyde Park, NY along with many other living historians and reenactors.
June 11th is the swap meet at the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum in Windsor, CT. This is another good one for finding stuff, and if you haven't visited the museum you must do so.
July 22nd -24th is Hackers on Planet Earth. I haven't been to HOPE since 1996, which I regret. Either work or funds availability got in the way. Then COVID hit two years ago when I finally decided to make a greater effort to attend in 2020. I did however at least manage to participate in the 2020 HOPE in a small way. I had a small speaking part in a Cyberpunk short film produced by fellow hacker Sophi Kravitz and her crew.
There are going to be a lot of good talks this time around. I'm particularly looking forward to the presentations by Jameson Dungan, Abi Hassen & Isaac Overcast, PhD, and Cory Doctorow.
My talk proposal, Wherever You Go, There You Are!, was accepted, so I'll be speaking there for the first time since 1994.
Hacking is about exploration, and although many articles about hacking may not be applicable to your area or situation for whatever reason, there is still plenty for you to explore where you live. There is the terminus of at least one data stream coming into your residence, possibly more, and a whole spectrum's worth of data and other emissions entering your home wirelessly. Some of these signals may be very close to you. There is also a local non-Internet source of knowledge and information you may not be aware of, that may help you in your hacking endeavors. This talk will attempt to bring these data streams, emissions, and sources to your attention, and show you the tools you will need to explore them. Both wireless and wired infrastructure will be covered. This is a beginner-level talk.
I remember as a young hacker learning about TAP Magazine in late 1983 just as it was ending it's 10+ year production run. I missed that one, but this new magazine called 2600 had started publishing in 1984, and was one of the go-to info sources for hackers, along with Radio Electronics and various computer magazines. I sent them an article or two which weren't accepted, but I kept at it and in November, 1987 they accepted and printed my review of the late Tom Kneitel's Federal scanner frequency guide.
Since then, I've had a few more articles printed in 2600: * “Cellular Interception Techniques.” Spring, 1995. The only article of mine, to the best of my knowledge, ever cited in a Federal court opinion. * “Building the Cheese Box. ” Fall, 1996. My first serious project with a BASIC Stamp that updated an old-school phone phreak tool. * “Tracking Your Vehicles with AVI & ETTM.” Spring, 1999. * “An Introduction to Radio Scanning. Winter 2000-2001. Credited as “Sam Morse.” * “Stalking the Signals .” Spring, 2007 * “Radio Redux.” Fall, 2012 * “Cruising the Wideband Spectrum.” Fall 2015. Credited as “Agent T.W. Lee – Interzone Intelligence.” T.W. Lee is my favorite character to write about, and to ghost write with. * “Wherever You Go, There You Are.” Autumn, 2021
It so far has been a long, fun trip. Looking forward to continuing the journey this summer.