I returned last week from a road trip to Palm Springs. This road trip was the first chance I had to play with some technological goodies.
This was my first road trip since getting my amateur radio license (short trips to Sacramento not withstanding) and my Kenwood D710 was an excellent radio on the way. I had it programed for the WIN Repeater System and had coverage pretty much the whole trip. I also had several other repeaters programmed in and let the radio scan. I had several good rag chews along the way. Also I was very impressed with APRS digipeater coverage – my track was well represented.
The other tool that really impressed me was my iPad 2. I activated 3G just before I left and it worked well along the way. And then in Palm Springs I had WiFi. My goal for this trip was to see if I could make it without opening up my laptop up. I pretty much met that goal. I *did* use it a couple of times to check on pictures I had taken but it turns out that with the camera connection kit I could use my iPad for that too. It looks like I might be able to leave my laptop home on my next vacation. (If I can get over the separation anxiety.)
The last new toy I had with my was my new Canon 60D. The only problem with this camera is that I’m still learning how to compose good shots and whatnot…any failure there is strictly operator error. I shot entirely in RAW format but haven’t played with the pics yet. This hobby is a bit more complicated than I thought.