Every maker needs a reliable utility blade, and my favorite, my Old Faithful, is the Olfa 5003 ratchet-lock heavy-duty utility knife. It’s the most versatile option in a standard class of tools that includes these cheapo box cutters and these more industrial utility knives. Its biggest upside is the shaped metal blade holder at the tip, which keeps the blade from wobbling back and forth. When the ratchet mechanism is clamped in place, there is no play in the blade whatsoever.
I just got my ham radio license! I started studying for my ham radio test at the suggestion of my friend David, who was also studying for his first license at the time. He made a strong pitch to my technological curiosity and urban survivalist interests by suggesting we could potentially communicate with each other without the assistance of the power grid or cell tower networks.
Other topics were completely new to me, like ham etiquette and the regulatory stuff. Wave behaviors stood out as particularly fun and novel to me– here’s an awesome video about wave behaviors that helps illuminate the subject beautifully:
I picked up a portable radio that I’ve seen commonly recommended as a first radio: it’s a BaoFeng UV-5R (3rd generation) (with an upgraded antenna). I looked up the times and frequencies of some nets in my local area and tuned my radio to listen in. I found it helpful to pick up a programming cable, so I could program my local repeaters and stations into my radio’s memory.
The Garmin Fenix 6S smartwatch is the first watch I’ve worn since the Moto 360. It’s hailed as the ultimate sports and adventure watch and includes maps and onboard music storage. I was skeptical about wearing a watch at all, but wanted the fitness tracking features of an activity tracker in an attractive package I could wear everywhere. This isn’t a short-sighted review: I’ve been wearing the watch for almost six months at the time of this writing. Timing is one factor that lead me to Garmin, since the Fenix 6S made one minor change over the Fenix 5 series that makes a big difference to me: the lug-to-lug distance.
Size on my tiny wrist
Previous 42mm Garmin watches were a little longer from lug-to-lug, so even though the screen’s the same size, the Fenix 6S fits a smaller wrist like mine. I like how easy it is to change to different bands, especially because I can’t stand the sticky feeling of the included silicone one. I picked up two different replacement bands:
I love this backpack. It’s waterproof, which is great for city commuting by any method, and it holds a lot of stuff, but can take on a smaller profile when it’s mostly empty. I bought mine in 2015 and use it for everything from day-to-day laptop toting to overnight trips, and I even sometimes use the top flap to strap something big and awkward to it, like a bag of plush stuffing.
I keep a pack of these antibacterial wipes in just about every bag I have. They’re great for wiping away germs after using the subway railings, or for sanitizing your airplane tray table. I also use them to disinfect my phone.
You never know when you’re going to need a small bit of strong cord! I made a tutorial for these paracord zipper pulls a few years ago and attached one to every jacket and bag. Not only are they effective as zipper pulls, they can be untied to become a useful length of strong cord.
I recently got my ham radio license, but without an antenna on the roof, I’ve got to be outdoors (preferably up high) to make contact with other hams. This 8-Watt radio is ubiquitous in the ham community because it’s small, affordable, easy to program. I did upgrade the antenna to get better performance.
If you want to get your ham radio license, I recommend checking out Ham Radio Prep’s excellent courses. Get 20% off at hamradioprep.com with code BECKY20.
When I teach electronics prototyping to design grad students at SVA, it’s useful to have some small parts on hand to demonstrate with and lend to my students. I love this double-sided parts organizer for transporting small things like switches, sensors, LEDs, and small microcontroller boards.
I’m back with another illustration of a Patron-requested tool: a BIG CRIMPIN’ RJ45 crimper.
I always use a piece of foamcore wrapped in packing tape as a substrate for my paintings. It’s smart to tape your painting down to limit warping, but this way you can move the painting around while you work to get the best angle. In case you are interested, I’ve made a post cataloging all the supplies I use to create watercolor paintings.
