A practical, what-you-need-to-know guide to getting started making amateur radio contacts via FM radios and satellites.All that's required to begin is a good handheld radio, an inexpensive antenna, and a smartphone. Of course, you can get complicated (and expensive) in this area of the hobby, but we're going to keep it to the basics here.Inside you'll find step-by-step tutorials on finding out where, when, and how to connect to the various "Amsat" satellites that can be acc...

SDR (Software-Defined Radio) is a generic term for a device that includes a full radio tuner in a "black box" with few or no external controls. All the tuning and output must be controlled through an external computer. This book covers the installation, setup, and operation of one particular very popular and inexpensive SDR device, the SDRplay, and the manufacturer's version of the SDR software, called SDRuno.The SDRplay has an enormous range of frequencies available, including tho...

Yes, you can write a book and self-publish it worldwide using only your iPad.In this book, we'll go over the reasons why you might want to write your book on an iPad. Then we'll look at the various models of iPad and decide which is suitable for your needs.We'll look at optional and recommended accessories, everything from a bare iPad to a full desktop setup with a monitor, mouse, and external drives. What will work for you, and what won't?Next, we'...

Horror Monthly June 2025 (#45)The newest issue of Horror Monthly includes reviews of everything we reviewed last month. This month, we've got a weird mix of films, both excellent and excruciating as usual, but they were all fun!Each film contains a complete synopsis, including spoilers (so beware!), as well as our commentary on the quality of the story and production.Movie Reviews1956 Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers1973...

When anything makes money, it brings about imitators. One of the best cases of this was Amicus Productions.Back in 1957 and '58, there were two immensely popular British horror films, "Curse of Frankenstein" and "Horror of Dracula. Everyone saw them, and they made a pile of money, leading to Hammer Films becoming a household name. Two men, Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg, formed a partnership in a deliberate plan to rival Hammer's success. The...

A Practical, What-You-Need-to-Know Guide to Getting on DMR.DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) is a powerful system for linking the worlds of amateur radio and the Internet. You can link your handheld radio to repeaters, individuals, or talk groups located anywhere in the world, quickly and easily. And because it's all digital, you get crystal-clear sound. The book covers the setup and use of one of the most inexpensive and popular DMR radios, the Tytera MD-380 handheld radio.Inside...

"Horror means something revolting. Anybody can show you a pailful of innards. But the object of the roles I played is not to turn your stomach - but merely to make your hair stand on end." –Boris Karloff.And make our hair stand on end, he did. Sometimes, he played the good guy, but more often, he showed us the dark side of humanity and the supernatural. He played both Frankenstein's Monster and the evil doctor himself. He played executioners, island explorers, criminals, g...

The Silent Age of Horror!Horror movies have always led the way with special effects and innovative storytelling. This is true today and was especially true in the earliest days of film.Film and filmmaking were still a newfangled novelty for experimenters in the late 1800s. Still, it didn't take long until the filmmaker's minds turned to terror for their audiences' enjoyment. Even Georges Méliès, the pioneering filmmaker best known for his science fiction fi...

"Stay up a bit, who knows? The next time you go to sleep it might be forever." —Vincent Price "The Tingler" 1955From 1938 to 1993, Vincent Price terrified audiences and also made them laugh, often at the same time. No other actor has ever encapsulated the pure *fun* of scary movies the way he did. He had dozens of campy, charming, over-the-top villain roles where he delighted fans with his wicked ways. Some of his villains were dead serious while others we...

"Who wants to see me as Hamlet? Very few. But millions want to see me as Frankenstein so that's the one I do."He's Been Dr. Frankenstein, Grand Moff Tarkin, Van Helsing, Doctor Who, and Sherlock Holmes. He's fought Dracula, werewolves, ghouls, gorgons, Nazi zombies, upstart rebels, ancient mummies, skulls, aliens, and even the abominable snowman.With a range from cold, calculating malevolence to kindly grandpa, Peter Cushing enthralled horror (and non-horror) fans ...

In the first book, "Going Chromebook: Living in the Cloud," we looked at Chromebooks and the various software options available for them, and we decided whether or not the cloud lifestyle was for you. If you've gotten this far, then the answer was a confident "Yes!"Now it's time to look into specific apps and how to use them. In this book, we look at Google's presentation system, Google Slides. Slides competes directly with Microsoft PowerPoint, and it is constantly being added to ...

Hammer Horror!For the decades between 1930 and 1950, the undisputed masters of horror were Universal Pictures. From their early success with Dracula and Frankenstein to the later additions, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Universal has created and popularized more memorable creature flicks than any other studio. But during the 1950s, they drifted away from the genre, leaving a hole in horror lovers' hearts.The torch quickly passed to Hammer Film...