tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post3773337157336942031..comments2024-03-26T20:17:30.126-07:00Comments on Every Blade of Grass: Life and Work On the House Continue.....drjimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-89202914987615964762018-01-18T14:53:30.276-08:002018-01-18T14:53:30.276-08:00If I go through the vanity call program I can get ...If I go through the vanity call program I can get the same call as I have now, but with a "0" instead of a "6". I'd like to do it, as I'm old-fashioned and believe your call should represent where you live. It bugged the daylights out of me to see a "1" callsign in SoCal because that's the only call available with the owner's initials in it. It also REALLY bugs the daylights out of me to see a Technician with a "W1XY" callsign. Especially if they've only been licensed 90 days, don't know doo-doo from Shinola, and their entire collection of Amateur Radio equipment is carried on their belt.<br /><br />Harsh? A bit perhaps, but then I also think a lot of the regulations that were done away with were done away for "Social Justice" reasons rather than solid technical reasons.<br /><br />The FCC used to be a lot like NIST; pretty independent, and run by Engineers. Every since the lawyers took over the FCC, the technical standards have gotten a bit too lax.....drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-77887371608106601492018-01-17T20:01:34.102-08:002018-01-17T20:01:34.102-08:00I meant 1x2 call above - oops!I meant 1x2 call above - oops!Minstrelhttp://reynosawatch.org/minstrel/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-65800316339250592272018-01-17T19:58:52.242-08:002018-01-17T19:58:52.242-08:00Sounds like you're well on the way to getting ...Sounds like you're well on the way to getting the home station on the air again. You should be there soon.<br /><br />I have been thinking about getting active again - there is a lot of amateur radio activity in the area. I actually applied for a vanity callsign so I can replace the "6" with a "7," appropriate for Arizona. I am in competition with about 30 other applicants for a W7 2x1 call, so maybe one of these days I will win the vanity call lottery and have a shiny new callsign with which to get back on the air.Minstrelhttp://reynosawatch.org/minstrel/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-44644256480426627022018-01-17T19:19:57.890-08:002018-01-17T19:19:57.890-08:00I've seen a couple of vertical antennas here, ...I've seen a couple of vertical antennas here, along with several weather stations, so there is a precedent in the neighborhood.<br /><br />When my 24' vertical was on top of the 12' back in Long Beach, nobody ever mentioned it. It was painted a similar color to blend in, and it must have worked some.<br /><br />I REALLY don't want gleaming aluminum peeking through the trees and advertising itself.drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-73674151659637875932018-01-17T15:05:43.088-08:002018-01-17T15:05:43.088-08:00Hopefully the neighbors will appreciate you effort...Hopefully the neighbors will appreciate you efforts to minimize the visual impact. If they thought things through, the would appreciate a means of communication exists independent of commercial services. Well Seasoned Foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16670165728759453075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-64579630311015243022018-01-17T12:22:51.166-08:002018-01-17T12:22:51.166-08:00Oh, I agree 100% with you. If your recycling progr...Oh, I agree 100% with you. If your recycling program in one area gets a minimal amount of certain items that are difficult to handle, like Styrofoam, it winds up in the landfill. OTOH, if you have a large volume of these difficult materials, you'll find a better way to deal with it.<br /><br />The tower project will get coordinated with our in-law, as he has all the heavy equipment required to dig the hole, pour the concrete, and erect the tower/antenna. Tentative schedule is to dig the hole, frame the the fixture to position the tower legs, and then pour the concrete. Tower and antenna assembly will happen as the concrete is curing, then hoist it all into position. drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4901205574058136834.post-38136854016882476992018-01-17T00:14:51.518-08:002018-01-17T00:14:51.518-08:00A lot of your 'So-Cal' recycling was being...A lot of your 'So-Cal' recycling was being loaded on ships and sent to (Communist)China for processing, but due to poor sort control stateside, lots of the recyclables were found to not be recyclable. <br /><br />In reality, recyclables are only profitable if one of two conditions exist.<br /><br />1. 'critical' material - something that has enough value after shipping it long distance that it's recycled value is lower than 'new' material. Examples would be aluminum, steel, copper, and so forth. Does not include paper or plastic.<br /><br />2. 'point processing and use' - this is for all other materials, such as paper and plastic. This stuff is only economically recyclable if the processing plant is reasonably close to the source of supply, and the end-product of the recycle-processing plant has customers reasonably close. Paper products, and re-used plastics fit this bill.<br /><br />If you remove subsidies, then the whole recycle system breaks down to "Is there a need for recycled materials?" and "Can I make money off the end-product?"<br /><br />Case in point, City of Miami collected lots and lots of glass, found no buyers for the glass, eventually ended up grinding it up and using the resulting 'glass sand' for beach renewal. Cheaper to grind it up and 'throw' it away than to pay someone to take it off their hands.<br /><br />In my own city, there was a 'paper recycler' who got all the waste paper from City Government. They eventually went out of business, leaving a warehouse full of paper, because the bottom fell out of the waste paper market and it wasn't economical to ship from our city to a processing plant (city where processing plant was located was economical to recycle due to no travel/shipping distances.)<br /><br />Look at reclaiming gold and silver from 'e-waste.' Only economical if you have either really expensive systems that process a huge amount under very strict environmental restrictions, or you send it to a third world nation where child and prison labor is used to break it all down by hand (and dying from poisons etc.)<br /><br />Oh, well, enough diatribe.<br /><br />Can't wait to hear how the antenna erection goes.Andrewnoreply@blogger.com