How To Remove a Flow Lock Without a Key

During the drought I bought a Flow Lock to prevent people from helping themselves to my water.  They have an interesting magnetic key system and seemed like a good idea.  However I found that over time the tumbler mechanism gets corroded and then it won't unlock - even with a key.

The first time it happened I was able to unlock it by spraying WD-40 and tapping it with a small hammer.  The next time it got stuck nothing worked.  My option was to replace the entire faucet, or find a hack.

The Flow Lock tumbler mechanism, when engaged, couples the outer green metal shell to an inner metal fitting.  When the key isn't inserted. the outer shell spins freely, preventing removal.

My solution was to drill through the outer shell to the inner fitting, and then run a deck screw through the two holes.  This couples the shell to the inner fitting and it came off easily.  Side note: I was amused by the product video for this which claimed that a Flow Lock (also known as a "Spinsecure Faucet Lock II") is "virtually impossible to remove without the key" - I did it in two minutes with basic tools and a 5 cent deck screw.

Tips for doing this:

1. Use a 5/64" drill bit designed for metal work.
2. Drill into the center of an indent on the outer shell.  It doesn't seem to matter which indent you choose.  
3. Maintain steady pressure on the drill.
4. Stop periodically and cool the drill bit with spray lubricant or machine oil.

Disclaimer: Stealing water is illegal.  Destroying private property is illegal.  This hack is intended for people who own Flow Locks but can't get them off using their key.  

Field Day is here!

Every year the amateur radio community conducts Field Day - one part contest, one part public outreach event, one part campout & BBQ, and four parts awesome.  Bay-Net hosts a Field Day each year, operating as K6SRA.  For the past few years we've been setting up in a parking lot of the Almaden Quicksilver Park in San Jose CA - and this year is no exception.

For some Field Day is serious stuff - massive operations running 24 hours through the day and night, generators and amplifiers and stacked Yagi antennas, with operation coordinators whose sole purpose is to encourage the radio ops to work stations and log faster.  This does not sound like fun to me.  K6SRA Field Day often devolves into an impromptu technical session where the radios sit idle while we pore over the details of some homebrew project.  Our Field Day operation has jokingly been called "Hot Dogs and Radio - in that order".  For many of our members, busy as they are with work in the always-hectic Silicon Valley, Field Day is a chance to relax and catch up.

This year we plan to shift one of our HF stations from phone to digital on a station created via the excellent Raspberry Pi hacking skills of +Beric Dunn.  I figure the kids will like this better, since it's a keyboard and not a microphone they'll probably be less reluctant to get on the air.

Using Amateur Radio to Enhance Engineering Education @ IMS2016

On Tuesday May 24th I moderated the panel "Using Amateur Radio to Enhance Engineering Education" at the 2016 International Microwave Symposium, hosted by the IEEE.  My panelists were all university professors who have integrated amateur radio into their engineering courses.  As discussed in my article "Amateur Radio in Education" (IEEE Microwaves, April 2016) the panel discussion centered around the value of hands-on understanding that amateur radio brings to engineering students.

Each school has its own implementation of amateur radio into their curricula.  UC Davis uses amateur radio for projects that need transmission i.e. to control drones.  Tribhuvan University uses amateur radio as a tool to teach RF principles, and for humanitarian purposes during earthquakes.  Carnegie Mellon University (both the Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley campuses) have active repeaters and host Field Day sites.  Cal Poly SLO also has a repeater, but they also use amateur radio so much in their courses that freshmen EE undergraduates are required to get Technician licenses - and I'm told that in the coming school year they'll begin requiring graduate students to get their General Class licenses.  I've named this policy the "Derickson Doctrine".

Presentations from each of my panelists are available for download:

Dr. Dennis Derickson AC0P, Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo (download)
Dr. Bob Iannucci W6EI, Carnegie Mellon University - Silicon Valley (download)
Dr. Xiaoguang Liu AI6DW, University of California - Davis (download)
Dr. Sanjeeb Panday 9N1SP, Tribhuvan University - Kathmandu Nepal (download)

Note: This panel was reported by ARRL news release thanks to Ward Silver's help.