[00:06.990 --> 00:12.870] Okay, it's time for the Q&A. Let's get some questions up there. [00:14.030 --> 00:22.010] I got Pete here in Discord, so let's give a hand to Pete, get some questions going. [00:22.810 --> 00:27.370] Pete, do you got your webcam on there? [00:28.610 --> 00:33.910] Yeah, I'm getting a repeat of your voice about three, four seconds. [00:36.210 --> 00:39.790] Are you watching the stream live in the background? [00:40.750 --> 00:42.230] Yes, I should not. [00:43.550 --> 00:47.630] Correct, go ahead and mute that. [00:51.820 --> 00:52.900] Okie dokie. [00:53.360 --> 00:56.880] Okay, now that we got that, looks like we got a question. [00:56.920 --> 01:02.430] What measurements or experiments were done to evaluate the RF hash of the boost converter? [01:04.850 --> 01:10.370] It wasn't very sophisticated when I first got it, which is no longer, by the way, [01:10.370 --> 01:15.350] no longer obtainable at that amperage. It's a shame the ham who built that died. [01:15.350 --> 01:27.330] But anyway, I just had it connected to a battery in my basement, and I did a before and after, [01:27.330 --> 01:34.670] so I had the radio running with it and without it before I started mounting it. [01:34.670 --> 01:38.450] And it's a great question because it brings up a larger point that [01:39.170 --> 01:44.170] most regulators, power supplies, anything that has to do with changing voltage, [01:44.170 --> 01:48.670] they're almost all a terrible, terrible problem with RF hash. [01:48.670 --> 01:53.830] So you have to assume that components like that are bad until proven good. [01:53.830 --> 01:56.930] So great question, a great thing to watch out for whenever you're [01:56.930 --> 02:01.970] doing anything with power supplies or changing voltages. [02:03.590 --> 02:07.170] Very nice. We got another question from Twitch here. [02:07.950 --> 02:11.610] Let's see. ArmorDKrabs says, thanks so much for sharing. [02:11.610 --> 02:16.730] Curious if you worry about security of the van, what was the microwave rack for? [02:19.450 --> 02:23.550] Sounds like two different questions. So the security of the van, [02:23.550 --> 02:28.770] you mean physical security? I am a little worried about it. [02:28.770 --> 02:33.910] I should have better protection for it. Now, when it's stored long term, [02:33.910 --> 02:39.130] it's in a garage that's with cars that are much, much more expensive than this van is [02:39.710 --> 02:43.650] for car collectors. So I've got good security when it's stored. [02:43.650 --> 02:52.670] But yeah, I am a little worried about it when it's parked, say, at a hotel or even at home. [02:52.670 --> 02:55.590] So I don't have a good answer for that. And I should have a better answer. [02:55.590 --> 03:01.650] The microwave rack, that was just by chance that a guy in our club was [03:02.470 --> 03:06.730] retired from roving himself and sold me his entire collection of microwave vans. [03:06.730 --> 03:09.730] So I wanted to get into microwaves at some point. [03:09.990 --> 03:14.770] And I just took that opportunity, which happens a lot in radio, is [03:16.170 --> 03:20.750] you have equipment available now that you think you might use in the future. [03:20.750 --> 03:25.970] It's had a great price. And hey, get it now. You might save hundreds, or in this case, [03:25.970 --> 03:28.950] thousands of dollars in the future. I mean, that rack that I showed with the [03:28.950 --> 03:34.930] microwave capabilities, if I got new equipment there, you're looking at at least $15,000. [03:34.970 --> 03:40.250] And I didn't pay anything like that. I didn't pay five figures for that equipment. [03:40.250 --> 03:46.750] So it's not on the air yet, but it's there and ready to go when I get the lower bands ready. [03:48.170 --> 03:52.390] Very good. We got another question from Dead Pixel in Discord. [03:52.470 --> 03:56.290] How do you deal with your van's total payload weight? Yeah, it must be heavy. [03:56.290 --> 04:00.050] Are you over with all that equipment? [04:02.550 --> 04:10.010] No, the total payload rate, there's a lot of special things about this van. It's a package [04:10.010 --> 04:15.650] that goes with things like TV vans. They also have a lot in common with ambulances. Ambulances have a [04:15.650 --> 04:24.530] lot of heavy equipment with AC requirements. So I don't know what the number is. I think it's well [04:24.530 --> 04:34.350] over 9,000 pounds. And I assume that even with my heavy batteries, that the whole van weighed a lot [04:34.350 --> 04:40.030] less than it did when it was used as a TV van. Although I have to admit that engineering-wise, [04:40.030 --> 04:45.190] I didn't compare the weights or even measure how heavy it was. I made a guess when I registered [04:45.190 --> 04:51.390] the van and I made a guess at 6,000 pounds. I think it's below that though. So good question, [04:51.390 --> 04:57.570] but I don't have a really good satisfying answer. Yeah, it's definitely got to be a beefy van, right? [04:57.570 --> 05:05.370] So we got another question in Discord. Testing2 asks, weather seals and grommets and water intrusion. [05:06.810 --> 05:13.310] On an old van, was the rubber all crumbling? How much of that did you need to refurbish to make the [05:13.310 --> 05:21.490] old ship seaworthy again? No, I didn't have to replace anything yet. There was some water [05:21.490 --> 05:28.950] infiltration through the connection on the roof to the satellite antenna real early in the [05:28.950 --> 05:34.970] presentation. I showed my buddy lifting that satellite antenna off. So that had some water [05:34.970 --> 05:42.510] infiltration on it and I just put a four or three and a half inch cover on it and it hadn't [05:42.510 --> 05:50.570] been a problem since then. As far as the seals for other cables or even the doors, the only [05:51.130 --> 05:56.670] moderate problem was some of the seals for the doors were coming off, but they weren't dried out [05:56.670 --> 06:01.890] so I didn't have a real problem there. Now I haven't done a lot of cables that run to the [06:01.890 --> 06:08.770] outside, especially through the roof, so that is a concern when I do start wiring it. That's [06:08.770 --> 06:15.070] one thing I should say that I'm not using a lot of. I got a screwdriver antenna on the back for HF, [06:15.570 --> 06:19.170] but I haven't done a lot of work with getting the VHF antennas out that [06:19.810 --> 06:24.770] obviously involve a lot more cables and ones that run through the roof instead of the [06:24.770 --> 06:33.090] floor. So I do have to watch out for that. Very good. Another question from Twitch here. [06:33.790 --> 06:38.830] Calvingluck asks, those are such densely packed racks. Are you able to get access [06:38.830 --> 06:44.490] to most of the connections without fully disassembling it? Yeah, luckily, [06:45.650 --> 06:50.530] you know, I'm going to take a step back. Part of what I wanted to do was make a little video [06:50.530 --> 06:56.590] tour of the van, but I ran out of time with the tropical storm that ran up the east coast. [06:56.590 --> 07:03.550] That's my excuse. It's a good excuse. It's true. Anyway, it's really good accessibility to the [07:03.550 --> 07:14.130] back of the rack. So the first three racks that are together, there's a back door where you can [07:14.130 --> 07:19.690] get access to the AC panel that is displayed and the box for the generator. And there's like a [07:19.690 --> 07:26.310] storage area back there. So it's pretty good accessibility. I think the only problem I has [07:26.310 --> 07:31.910] in the upper side of the, I guess it would be the driver's side and rack number three, it's hard to [07:31.910 --> 07:38.290] get access to the screws to put the rack equipment in that I mount from the rear. But other than [07:38.290 --> 07:43.270] that, it's pretty accessible. Now, obviously, if there's interior connections that I have to fix, [07:43.270 --> 07:47.950] the racks have to come out, or maybe at least the racks on top have to come out. [07:48.110 --> 07:54.450] Pretty good accessibility on both the front and the back. That's good. Nothing like taking a full [07:54.450 --> 08:00.150] day to take stuff apart just because you forgot something. Oh yeah. Okay, we got another question [08:00.150 --> 08:09.830] in Discord from Bunzel. In addition to the fan, do you have anything else for airflow or [08:09.830 --> 08:16.390] cooling to prevent the hardware from overheating? No, and I do worry about that because it gets [08:16.390 --> 08:23.090] pretty darn hot in the van. It gets less hot than it did in my minivan because there's less glass to [08:23.090 --> 08:30.590] let sunlight through. I do have one other fan that I put in the back. So I open the back door [08:30.590 --> 08:36.230] when it's particularly hot. I open the back door and I have a fan that's powered with 12 volts to [08:36.230 --> 08:42.210] get a little bit of airflow in. But I'm kind of surprised at how hot it's been that none of the [08:42.210 --> 08:49.010] equipment has failed so far just because of heat. And I don't know what to say. They work better [08:49.010 --> 08:53.990] than I would have expected, than I have any right to expect. There are opportunities, physical [08:53.990 --> 09:02.030] opportunities in the back I would suppose to get even more fans going. But so far it has been an [09:02.030 --> 09:11.170] issue and I've activated on HF at least up to like an air temperature of 95 degrees outside. So far [09:11.170 --> 09:17.090] so good. That's a great point though, a great question. And I don't know if you remember at [09:17.090 --> 09:23.170] the beginning of the presentation I emphasized that I can't have the van engine on. I can't have [09:23.170 --> 09:29.810] the AC system on because of RF hash. So while I'm operating I can't have any air conditioning on as [09:29.810 --> 09:36.370] much as I would like to. Oh wow, that's a bummer. Yeah, especially if you came to DEF CON with that [09:36.370 --> 09:44.290] thing. It would definitely be a sweaty situation. Someone's asking, are you going to do a video tour [09:44.290 --> 09:51.470] of the van? I want to do this time but ran out of time. That would be nice. It would be especially [09:51.470 --> 09:57.990] nice I think when I get antennas on it though because it's kind of limited to just the interior. [09:57.990 --> 10:03.210] There's not too much to see. It'd be nice to see it in operation I suppose. But I'd like to [10:03.210 --> 10:08.670] make a video when it's more exciting when I can show the pneumatic mast in operation and [10:08.670 --> 10:16.170] the rotator rotating. I hope I'll do that someday. Very good. Do we have any other questions on [10:16.170 --> 10:23.750] Twitch or Discord for Pete here? K-O-P-A-K on his ultimate van life van conversion. [10:30.310 --> 10:36.510] I'm not seeing anything yet. We'll give him just a few more seconds to throw a question out. [10:45.350 --> 10:52.530] Okay, looks like that's it for the Q&A. Well thanks Pete for the presentation. Maybe we'll see some [10:52.530 --> 11:01.450] demos or some other content maybe next year at DEF CON. Oh boy, that would be great. I hope we [11:02.150 --> 11:07.210] have an opportunity to get together live. And thanks for being a great host and holding my hand [11:07.210 --> 11:12.410] through this 62 year old getting used to Discord and Twitch and all the other stuff at one time [11:12.410 --> 11:16.830] was kind of overwhelming. And you guys did a great job. Thank you. [11:17.250 --> 11:27.070] Thank you and we'll see everybody for the next presentation. Next up we have K-8-A-M-H with the [11:27.070 --> 11:35.670] National Traffic System and Radiograms. So that will be coming up in about 20 minutes. So we'll [11:35.670 --> 11:41.130] get going on that and we'll see you guys shortly. Thanks Pete. You're welcome.