Uuki, OH2GVB, Kosminen Vompatti (Vombatus astronomicus)

About me:

This is me. I like Australia, Lapland, HP calculators, shrimp, Linux, very hot chili, astronomy, photography, amateur radio, Pink Floyd, icewater swimming and hearing from people who are interested in the same. I do not especially like spiders, mushrooms, Windows the operating system, touch screens, SO-239/PL-259 (UHF) connectors or dill. Here's some more information on me: Contact info What I do for a living Links

Electronics and radio stuff:

I like electronics, which also connects to some of my other hobbies such as amateur radio, astronomy and rocketry. I enjoy prototyping electronic stuff and building things for whatever purpose, or modifying and improving existing commercial electronic devices. I also fix stuff, ranging from consumer electronics to lab equipment. Much of my electronic test equipment has been acquired broken or malfunctioning, and fixed by myself. No way I could afford to buy a HP8562B spectrum analyzer, for example!

• Station equipment at OH2GVB:
  • See e.g. Butternut HF-9V clone, QHA-antennas, some notes on various cheap radios, etc...
• My electronic test equipment:
  • Including spectrum analyzer repair, notes on the RigExpert AA-1000 and various PIC programmers
  • And a bunch of dangerous awful chemicals!
  • I've interfaced most of my equipment to a Raspberry Pi via a Keysight 82357B GPIB-USB adapter
• Electronic projects:
  • Li-batteries for FT-897, autotuner modifications, magnetometer, equatorial platform, ...

Astronomical stuff:

I have always been interested in astronomy, and have built myself a couple of Dobsonian telescopes. I didn't grind the optics myself, I don't believe I have the patience for that. Living in the city, I must transport the scopes to a dark site to see anything, so light weight and compact size are important. How small and light can you make a 16-inch (400 mm) scope? (Try 21 kg.) How quickly can a collapsible scope be set up for use? (Try 5 minutes.)

• My compact 8-inch Dobsonian
• My compact ultralight 16-inch carbon fiber Dobsonian
• A Telrad clone, eyepieces, binoculars and stuff
• A magnetometer to detect auroras
• A tracking equatorial platform for Dobsonian telescopes

Hiking:

I especially love hiking in the wilderness. I've done that since I was six years old. At one time, I took to hiking longer distances (some 400 km or so) over a longer time (say 6 weeks) alone in the wilderness of Lapland. Why alone? Partly the freedom, partly the adventure, partly because no-one else is as crazy as me...? I don't mind company, in fact. It's nice to chat with other hikers when I occasionally meet them. But there is something special about being all alone in the great Wilderness, roughing it out and surviving on your own, experiencing—no, living—the grandeur of Nature and the smallness of man in comparison... I mean look at the enormous fells, the tall trees, the wide blue sky, the endless forests, the thousands of lakes... And if you look real carefully, there in the middle is little old me, sitting comfortably at a small campfire, cooking fresh fish, with a dreamy look on my face. Lately, my girlfriend (now wife) Katja has joined me on several shorter (two weeks, give or take) hikes. She's crazy enough to survive in the wilderness with me.

Anyway, here's some stuff:

• My ultralight titanium stove can burn wood, or spirits in a Trangia burner, and weighs only 100 grams
• How to combine the left-over gas in Primus hiking gas cylinders
• Some improvements and additions to the Hilleberg Nallo 3 GT tent
• A combination compression bag / backpack stores a sleeping bag and works as a comfortable day pack
• A list of stuff that I carry while hiking alone (including food)
• Where I have hiked
• How to get 1:50 000 maps from pikakartta.fi (på finska)
• I also like bicycling, but I do that mainly in the city
  • Converting my bike from Shimano Nexus to Rohloff Speedhub
  • Adjusting the brightness of my bicycle headlight

• Summer 2006: Martinselkonen – Vieremänsuo – Hossa – Somer – Kylmäluoma (3 weeks) — paper photos only
• Summer 2007: Posio – Syöte National Park – Iso-Syöte – Taivalkoski – Kylmäluoma – Hossa – Peranka (4 weeks) — paper photos only
• Summer 2008: Korouoma – Posio – Riisitunturi – Ruka – Karhunkierros – Hautajärvi – Salla – Tuntsa – Tulppio (6 weeks)
• Summer 2009: Utsjoki (Cygnus) – Kaldoaivi – Vätsäri – Nellim; Hossa (~4 weeks)
• Summer 2010: Kairijoki – Kemihaara – UKK – Rajajooseppi – Sarmi – Nellim – Vätsäri – Näätämö – Nuorgam (6 weeks), matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2012: Kolari – Ylläs – Pallas – Hetta – Lemmenjoki – Muotkatunturi – Karigasniemi – Kevo – Paistunturi – Utsjoki (6 weeks), matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2013: Saariselkä – Ivalojoki – Kuttura – Repojoki – Lisma – Ounasjoki – Hetta (2 weeks), matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2014: Sevettijärvi – Vätsäri – Näätämö – Kaldoaivi – Utsjoki (2 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2015: Kilpisjärvi – Lätäseno (1.5 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2017: Inari – Muotkatunturi – Karigasniemi – Paistunturi – Utsjoki (2.5 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2018: Hossa – Martinselkonen (2 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2019: Inari – Hammastunturi – Porttipahta – Jeesiö/Sodankylä (3 weeks), alone this time, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2020: Nellim – Vätsäri – Näätämö – Sevettijärvi (2.5 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2021: Ivalo – Hammastunturi – Lemmenjoki – Pöyrisjärvi – Vuontisjärvi/Enontekiö (3 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2022: Ivalo – Sarmitunturi – UKK – Kemihaara – Tulppio (2.5 weeks) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2023: Karesuvanto – Tarvantovaara – Pöyrisjärvi – Pulju – Pokka (2.5 weeks) alone, matkapäiväkirja täällä
• Summer 2024: Salla (Nousu) – Tuntsa – Tulppio; Inarijärvi (3.5 weeks total) with Katja, matkapäiväkirja täällä

Other stuff:

Some other boring yet irrelevant stuff: Photography Rocketry Books I like (mostly Scifi) HP calculators (I said I like them) Converting a Helkama Kulkuri bicycle from Shimano to Rohloff gears Tällä hetkellä minusta kyllä tuntuu, että hämähäkkejä ei saada.