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Current Feature Articles   Nov 20 The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler   Nov 20 Adventure in the Arctic: VO2A Expedition to Labrador   Nov 20 Surfin': More Radio Piracy on the High Seas   Nov 16 Youth@HamRadio.Fun: Fall Magic   Nov 13 Surfin': The Real Pirate Radio   Nov 06 Surfin': Homebrewing Today   Nov 05 DX the Hard Way   Nov 02 ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?   Nov 01 It Seems to Us: It Doesn't Just Happen   Oct 30 Surfin': Mapping Up ARRL Products: Instructor Support (More) Basic Electronic Morse Code Keyer Kit -- Build a Morse code keyer kit and experience the project-building fun! What's a Microcontroller? Parts Kit and Text -- Incorporates a variety of fun and engaging experiments using motion, light, and sound. Boe-Bot Robot Kit -- The new USB Boe-Bot is a reprogrammable robot built on a high-quality brushed aluminum chassis. US Amateur Radio Bands - ARRL Frequency Chart (50 pk) -- 50 pack. Full color, size 8.5 x 11 inches. The ARRL Instructor's Manual for Technician Class License Courses -- For use with The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. Includes CD-ROM.

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This week, visit a couple of web sites that will help you connect the dots between circuits and locations.

There are web sites that inform, amuse, and entertain, then there are web sites that just inform. You use such web sites to look up something or calculate something not for amusement and entertainment. I book marked a bunch of these web sites on my Internet browser in a folder titled "Reference."

The Hardware Book can assist you in solving the mysteries contained in cables and connectors.

One such bookmark is The Hardware Book, which claims to be the Internet's largest free collection of connector pin-outs and cable descriptions. You will not find information here on Amateur Radio equipment connectors and cables, but you will find information here for other things you use in association with Amateur Radio, like computers. It sure beats trying to dig up the information in a computer manual, i.e., if you can even find a computer manual! And if you have the room, you can download all of The Hardware Book for handy offline reference.

A few weeks ago, I needed to know the distance between two geographic points. I had their coordinates, so all I needed was something that would determine the distance after inputting the latitude and longitude.

Always the optimist, I searched the Internet and found Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation on Chris Michel's Home Page. Chris is a systems programmer in the Information Technology Services department at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. In addition to calculating the distance between coordinates, the web page also has a handy link that points to resources for determining your latitude and longitude.

Until next week, keep on surfin'.

Editor' note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, estimates that he is has built four-fifths of a mile of cables during his years as a ham. To contact Stan, send e-mail to wa1lou@arrl.net or visit his web site where you can leave him a note.

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Next: "It Seems to Us . . ." Katrina