Disable write protection in usb pen drive

This is one of those most searched for things on the net that there did not seem to be a solution for. One of my USB pen drives locked up during a file transfer and write protect was somehow enabled. There was no physical write protect switch.This was not too bad as I was able to recover all the files from the drive but I was reluctant to throw away the thing away so it was either fix it or put it in the furnace at work and completely destroy it. I scoured the net and was given no hope what so ever. All the tips I found related to enabling write on disabled USB ports rather than drives or suggested reformatting the drive, which did not work as the drive was write protected. I even tried other operating systems and a hacked version of a very early DOS with no success. Eventually I hit upon a dirty solution...

First I removed the drive from its plastic case and plugged it in to a short USB extension lead (so I could turn it over) and plugged it in to my laptop.

Then I booted in to safe mode command prompt only.

I accessed the directory with the E:> Dir command and it gave me a list of the files on the disk.

Using the Del command I got the message Unable to Delete *** Disk is write protected.

I tried E:> Format E: and got Unable to format E: Disk is write protected.

Finally I keep reading the directory and every time the PC accessed the USB drive I ran a small screw driver over the tiny pins of the chip in the USB drive.

Eventually I got the message that the PC could no longer read the drive. I had corrupted the data.

I tried E:> Format E and this time the drive formatted without any problem.

I did however get a message that...There are open objects do you wish to close them?   I hit Y and enter and the format started.

The drive is now back in use and I did not have to throw it away with all my sensitive data on. Okay it is a kill or cure method but it worked for me.

SOS Radio Week 2013 - GB2FLB

Dave MW6NTG operating GB2FLB run by Flintshire Raynet Group for SOS radio week in the Flint Lifeboat station. Helen GW7AAU is logging. Dave is a 'white stick operator' and this is his first time operating on HF. Pretty good for his first try I think you will agree, but he is a professional radio presenter on Calon FM in Wrexham North Wales.

Ten Years of SOTA

The Summits on the Air amateur radio award programme was launched on 2 March 2002 with the English and Welsh Associations and later in the year was joined by the Scottish Association. The award has in the last ten years gone from strength to strength with associations being set up in the four corners of the world. Today, SOTA has thousands of participants in Associations across the World, all sharing the same award ethos and infrastructure. To celebrate the first ten years a special SOTA Logo has been created (by yours truly) based on the original design. If you are a SOTA activator feel free to use the logo on your QSL cards or flags. Note: Any commercial use will require permission from the SOTA management.

     

SOS Radio Week - GB2FLB

I will be on the air with the call GB2FLB on air from Flint Lifeboat station 28th and 29th January. Mike M1DAP and I along with members of Flintshire Raynet and Mold and District Amateur Radio Club will be operating from 10am Saturday 28th Jan through to the evening of Sunday 29th January 2011. We will be operating mainly HF SSB and 2m FM. Other bands as the mood takes us and modes depending who else turns up. The purpose is to raise awareness of SOS Radio Week and the work of the RNLI (Lifeboat volunteers). We are not allowed to ask for donations on the air but please give generously at your local station, donate on line or drop in and pay us a visit. The lifeboat station in Flint is opposite Flint Castle (worth a visit its self) on the banks of the River Dee.

http://www.sosradioweek.org.uk/

Apologies to my regular readers for the lack of contents recently, but it is a long story. The result is that changes at work and things going on at home mean I don't have much time to devote to the blog at present.

Raspberry Pi - A PC for the price of a round of drinks

Go to http://www.raspberrypi.org/ and find out about this little marvel which is a week or two from going into production. This tiny little PC with a 700MHz processor looks just the thing for those shack projects such as a dedicated APRS server, software defined radio or dozens of other ham radio uses. At £16 for the basic model and £22 for the enhanced version maybe a string of these wonders could be used working in tandem to do heavy duty processing tasks faster than the latest machines at a fraction of the cost. The potential is enormous and I wish these guys every success.

Hidden Morse Message

Morse messages hidden in brickwork are nothing new, but here is the new National Guard Building in Milan Illinois. Go here to find out more.

Empathy and action

One of the great things about amateur radio over the years has been how having friends all around the world can make you feel less insular. It is a pity I have to use the word 'can' because even in such a global hobby bigotry is still all around us. For me it has brought me a feeling of being closer to world events but these days with the Internet and the ability to travel a lot more folk are starting to realise that this is a shrinking world and we are all on it together.

Not that many years ago when there was a disaster in some far off country it never even crossed my mind that it could be anything to do with me. Amateur radio however has put me in the position of knowing people on both sides of military conflict, who have lost there homes due to forest fires, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes and suddenly far off events become so much more personal.

This week the issues surrounding the floods in Thailand were brought home to me as I realised I know not only several Thai amateurs that have been effected, but that two UK hams I know had to cut short their trips to the country and my own brother's holiday there had been cancelled.

Amateur radio has saved around 1,000 lives in this disaster by coordinating rescue communications in cases of medical emergencies. Radio amateurs have been helping by providing communications support and this have been especially helpful in flooded areas where several mobile phone cell sites have failed.  Amateur radio repeaters were kept busy and government agencies have taken advantage of the amateur radio communications infrastructure when their own networks failed or where there has been interference, such as when many different agencies are trying to communicate simultaneously on nearby frequencies from a central location. Thailand's radio amateurs have been an essential part of the relief and rescue efforts in the country's worst flooding for sixty years.

Through communications comes understanding and through our actions we can set an example to the world. Well done to those hard working Thai radio amateurs for setting an example and showing the world a small glimpse of what being a ham is all about.       

Amateur Radio at Shorpy

There is always something interesting at Shorpy.

For those that have never found this fascinating way to waste time, Shorpy is a blog with literally thousands of high resolution vintage photographs, it is a great way of educating or reminding ourselves of the recent past. Occasionally something pops up there that appeals more than the rest. I am referring of course to photographs that include radio gear, although personally some of the images of old cars, aircraft and motorcycles have a similar appeal. The pictures of beauties of a bygone era however evoke in me a strange guilt though, should I really be admiring the looks of a woman who would have been older than my great grandmother had either of them still been alive. The changes in architecture over the last hundred or so years are also interesting to see and I have to ask myself if in another 100 years people will be looking at similar images taken today or to put it another way; Who is documenting everyday life today? When did you last take a photograph of your high street or your amateur radio station?

Here are just a few links to ham radio related images, if you find more please post them in the comments.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/8086
http://www.shorpy.com/node/8087
http://www.shorpy.com/node/10634
http://www.shorpy.com/node/1937

SummitsBase - New web site

For those who take an interest in SOTA, WOTA or HUMPS or simply like to combine hill walking with radio Summitsbase has moved to a new a new home. The site has a new url in www.summits.org.uk and with the move to a new host, the opportunity has also been taken to upgrade the software from version 1.zz to version 7.zz. This was no mean task as it involved upgrading in several stages.

They have also tried to improve the look of the website with, amongst other things, a new colour scheme. The work is not yet complete and there are a few teething problems as you would expect. While most things have been transferred over successfully, anything that was added to the old site during the last 10-14 days or so may have missed the 'transfer window' but they will endeavour to 'copy and paste' any such material (where possible) in due course. Several functions that were available in the old Wiki have not yet been enabled; the new software has many extra commands and these are being looked at initially (a steep learning curve) before they implement some of them.

Summitsbase registered users do not need to re-register to use the new website, your user IDs and passwords have been transferred to the new site and should work without any problem. If you have forgotten your password, perhaps because it was saved with the old URL in your web browser, then simply send an Email to admin@summits.org.uk asking for your user ID to be deleted. Once it has been deleted, we will send you an Email to that effect and you can then re-register with your normal callsign.

Don't forget to update your bookmarks or any links you have on blogs and web pages.

RSGB EGM - Make up your mind time

Most of you will have seen or heard that the Radio Society of Great Britain is to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 19th November 2011 at the NEC in Birmingham. Without going in to too much detail it is a matter that effects all UK radio amateurs, not only the members of the RSGB but also those of us who for one reason or another choose not to be members. Some amateurs I know have even rejoined the society after many years so that their voice can be heard at this meeting.

Can I appeal to you to read the the open letters sent out by Dave Wilson (bellow), the items in RadCom and to read what is being said on the RSGB Governance Changes Discussion Group and elsewhere and either get to the meeting yourself or use your proxy vote. If you've not seen RadCom, then the proposals are at: http://www.rsgb.org/EGM/

Well worth a listen is the ICQ Podcast. The most recent one, contains an interview with Leslie Butterfield, the board member who resigned, in which he lays out the good and the bad (mainly bad) points of what the Interim Board will mean to the RSGB and its members.

The next episode, which should be released over the weekend, will contain a rebuttal/answers from RSGB President Dave Wilson.

Note: In the interests of the wider picture I leave out my own opinions of Mr Wilson, the RSGB and the proposals at this time and ask you to make up your own mind. Please just do not sit, back do nothing and then moan that your national radio society is being run by a bunch of tossers who could not organise a riotous drinking session in a brewing establishment.

To all radio clubs in the UK
From: Dave Wilson, RSGB President
25th October 2011

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to all clubs (and copying others) after discussions with the Regional Teams.

The proposals being presented to the EGM are important for the Society. They will fundamentally impact the way we handle current difficulties. And yet some have sought to ridicule the proposals, based on an incomplete understanding of exactly what is being proposed and why. Hence this letter.

Contrary to the chatter on the wires, this is not about democracy – it’s about giving the Society the best chance to fix its problems. We have a crisis, and a crisis demands exceptional actions.

The current chatter is the result of selective disclosure (against the Board’s wishes) of some elements of the Board discussion on 10th September. The board recognised that careful communication was needed and agreed to prepare a full communication pack. In the interim, the matter was confidential. One Board member has inflicted serious damage on the Society by disregarding that decision. That is unacceptable, does not reflect well on the individual concerned and is inconsistent with his position as a Director.

In a recent podcast, a former Director said that he did not recognise that there was a crisis. That in itself speaks volumes. The impending problems had been flagged to the Board over the last year or so, and now are with us. To be specific:

‐ There have been some significant errors in governance over the last five years. This has led the Society into dangerous waters financially.
‐ Cash is running low, and next year places a huge additional cash demand on the Society from needed capital investment and the running costs of BP. Whilst not insolvent, we cannot sustain further drains on our cash
‐ Yet right now we do not have an acceptable budget for 2012. The current one shows, against our aspirations to run BP and GB4FUN and other factors in the 2012 budget, a loss of some £ 60k. We simply cannot afford this and have no option but to take very significant action to keep our budget balanced. This in itself will demand some hard choices.
‐ Nor do we have a General Manager.
‐ Furthermore we are regularly told that we do not have the right attitudes and behaviours towards our members and our volunteers.
‐ Action is needed quickly by a sure‐footed Board to pull things round, both financially and in terms of the way the Society works.


It is understandable that those who do not recognise the crisis might say “we don’t see the need for change”. As soon as you recognise the seriousness of the position, it suddenly becomes clearer.

That is why the Board is proposing an Interim Board (IB) for some 15 months made up of highly professional and experienced amateur radio people, professionally engaged in running companies. Their focus will be to restore health to the finances whilst at the same time maintaining or enhancing membership services, instilling the ethos into RSGB described in RadCom for November, and developing all aspects of the Advisory Group proposals to present to members for consultation and member input. Some of these proposals have not yet been considered in detail by the Board, some have been rejected and some – most notably the “Web” and “Ethos” recommendations, have been generally accepted as suitable for member consultation. In everything it does, the IB will be accountable to the membership. And, just like any other Board, it cannot make changes to the Society’s Constitution without the approval of the membership. So the claims that the Interim Board is “not accountable” are simply scare‐mongering and disinformation.

The IB members will be expected to devote a significant amount of time to turning the Society around. It will be a working Board and will be in a position to support the Acting GM (who cannot continue to carry his current load) in the absence of a full time GM replacement. During this time the National and Regional Councils will continue, with enhanced frequency for the NC, ensuring close consultation with representatives of the membership at large.

If, however, the EGM proposals are rejected the Society will continue as at present, with an uncertain outcome.

The Board believes that the proposals being put to the EGM represent the best chance of addressing the Society’s difficulties with confidence and certainty.

Rather than focus on the democracy issue (the EGM proposals are democratic – just different) members might want to consider whether the RSGB described in the AG report summary and the “future” article on page 15 is the sort of RSGB they want to see. That’s where we need feedback – quickly.

The Board deserves your support in being frank and open about the issues and no matter how different the proposals are for resolving the current issues, please support them. The alternative is far less certain of securing the right outcome.

Dave Wilson
RSGB President

Follow on letter:

To all radio clubs in the UK
From: Dave Wilson, RSGB President
26th October 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Since writing to you yesterday about the issues relating to the forthcoming EGM, I have been made aware of an apparent concern being expressed by some about the proposed Interim Board.

It seems that there is a concern amongst some members that the Interim Board, once in place, will seek to consolidate its position. Let me state quite categorically that this is not possible. The terms of Resolution 1 (specifically the clause immediately after (b)(iv)) clearly state that the M&As will revert to the current ones no later than the 2013 AGM. This means that the IB cannot continue to exist beyond that date. The only way that this can change is if the IB calls another General Meeting of members to propose further changes to the Memorandum and Articles of the Society.

Members can therefore be assured that the IB has a limited lifespan, in which to discharge its role, and that after that the current Board arrangements will return, unless the members agree otherwise in a further EGM.

I hope this allays any fears in this regard.

73
Dave Wilson
RSGB President.