Jim’s n7js, Tuner is Down, Down, Down

This note appeared today on Jim’s Online Tuner Site:

ON APPROX. MARCH 23RD, THE ICOM R-75 UNEXPECTEDLY LOST ALL SENSITIVITY IN THE SHORTWAVE SECTION. IT IS ASSUMED AFTER MANY TESTS, THAT THIS IS A FAILURE IN THE FRONT END OF THE RECEIVER - MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY INTENSE STATIC ELECTRICITY IN THE AREA. THE RADIO IS BEING SHIPPED TO SULTAN ELECTRONICS AND THEREFORE WILL BE OFF-LINE UNTIL REPAIRS CAN BE COMPLETED. MORE THAN EVER, WE APPRECIATE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THIS SYSTEM.

We would ALL appreciate it if someone would contribute a SECOND Icom R-75 to Jim Southwick n7js! It probably would not even have to be new...

Come on all you tightwads! I KNOW there are a few of you out there that could afford to do this; if I had an extra buck to my name, I would have sent him TWO of these by now (and purchased one for me and hired a local ham to ‘hide’ an antenna on my roof, sigh) by now.

And if you are unable to do that, at least send the guy some CASH, so he will have the resources to operate a quality service, including back up hardware and systems! Go use that PayPal Button at: http://www.jimandleah.com/

Notice, Jim did not say when he expected to have his Tuner back up, something I feel that does not bode well for any of us. Guess I am going to get caught up on my reading.

Radio Links by Mike Arsanis n6hbj

You may have noticed a new banner at the bottom of the main page of www.HamFanz.com . It is to RADIO LINKS, a great source of all types of radio information, including the ‘old time’ radio shows I love so much.

If you want to learn something new, find some Ham pages you have not yet visited, or just spend some time with ALL aspects of the radio hobby, then by all means visit (and bookmark!) http://www.n6hbj.com/radiolinks.html

Mike tells me that this page has been up for a couple of years. Sure wish I would have known about it! (Mike, if you belong to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamFanz/ you should ‘promote’ your page once in awhile!)

My complaints are that Radio Links is so closely ‘linked’ to Mike’s other sites (Judo and other stuff I personally have no interest in), that it’s ‘navigation’, look, and feel could be much better. Why his own name and call are not even on this page!

Yep, this page could definitely use some ‘spiffing’ up like a nice banner, his name and call, a hit counter, updated wallpaper, and a visitors book; the kinda stuff that he could get free. The ‘lack’ of the usual accouterments doesn’t detract from the content at all.

On the ‘up’ side, many common (and the esoteric) sites that you could possibly want to check out can be reached from Radio Links. Plus, every link I tried, and it was a lot, worked; no broken links here! Kudos Mike on http://www.n6hbj.com/radiolinks.html !

Art Bell’s w6obb, Pizza Punch

Last Saturday night on Coast-to-Coast AM, the very first thing artie did was to announce his new business venture, Art Bell’s Pizza Punch. You can find this stuff for sale at: http://www.artbellspizzapunch.com/index.php (which by the way keeps ‘crashing’).

The new site for this venture looks like someone that has never built a web site before put it together with a WSIWYG editor. It definitely has an ‘amateurish’ feel and look. The colors are poor and ‘dated’. The clip art of a microphone and a UFO certainly perpetuates the Art Bell myths artie liked to perpetuate, and feeds (no pun intended!) the Art Bell crowd.

Apparently, Art Bell feels that he needs to have an additional income, if so; it is too bad he picked this particular business venture to back, partner with, or whatever. (I wonder if Pizza Punch is going to be another Bonnie Crystal kq6xa, venture; one of his so-called friends talking him into investing oodles into some barely viable enterprise.)

You can walk into any good Pizza or Sub Sandwich Shop and find a shaker bottle of seasoned Olive Oil to use on your food, not exactly a new or different idea! Perhaps Art Bell’s recent online sales venture just goes to prove how isolated from reality he is.

Anyone with half a brain would realize that they could buy their own, brand name, Olive Oil at any market and add their own seasonings for about $7.99 for a 19-ounce bottle, or about .47 cents per ounce. Art Bell’s Pizza Punch on the other hand, goes for $4.59 (+ shipping?) per 5-ounce bottle, or about .92 cents per ounce. How stupid does he think his fans are?

Art Bell’s Pizza Punch is actually produced by The Santa Barbara Olive Company http://www.sbolive.com/ (And this web site looks professionally made.) which seems to be owned by Craig Makela and his wife, Cindy. Why a California Company like this would want to associate with Art Bell, is beyond me, must be either a friend or fan of Mr. Bell, or in deep financial trouble and grasping at straws.

Then there are the Art Bell’s Pizza Punch accessories! Overpriced caps, T’s, and aprons! Perhaps he has the Filipino contingent of his ‘extended family’ making these in a back room type environment. Yep, bet that is it, artie needed something to keep the Ruiz women’s hands busy!

The Pizza Punch site is really all about Art Bell. He plays mercilessly on the death of his late wife Ramona throughout the site as a way to sell the product! Including stating that “We will be contributing a percentage of every sale to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, in Ramona’s name”; but at no place does it state exactly HOW MUCH will be donated, meaning that he could get away with ‘donating’ 1/10 of a penny for each sale. And his concern for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation is such that there is not even a link to their site!

Does the man have no morals or class whatsoever?

Want to hear what some of the 3.840 Hams think? Here is a (poor quality – sorry!) clip! http://www.hamfanz.com/GrudgeFiles/BellsPizzaPunch.html