Oh, Boy....New Toy....

 Gee, I wonder why Jim ripped his radio desk apart, besides the fact it was filthy, per SLW.

I dragged the PC out to the garage, popped the covers and air filters off, and blew out all the accumulated dust, lint, dog hair, etc, etc. Scrubbed the keyboard and mouse, too, and then attacked the now naked table with Endust

All the old gear I had out went back to the workshop, as I was going to need some desk space.

Hmmm....the FedEx version of the Brown truck of Happiness came by earlier and deposited a couple of things.

Wonder what they could be....?

Why would I need a new power supply/speaker unit?

For this, maybe?

Whatever it is was sure packed well. The inner box had this cardboard/foam cradle to securely hold the boxes' contents.

VERY clever packaging, allowing you to swing the "handles" up, and extract the contents.

Cradled as if in a lover's arms when all packed up.

But what, Jim, Is In The Box? The briefcase from Pulp Fiction? The sacred stone from the Temple of Doom?

Nope, just Yaesu's latest and greatest HF~50MHz, 200 Watt transceiver, the FTdx-101MP.

I haven't made any contacts with it yet, but the receiver seems to be quite a bit "better" than my previous Yaesu FT-1000D. Signals pop up out of the noise, and it has more bells and whistles than I may ever use.

It has a built-in "Band Scope", really a Spectrum Analyzer, that let's you see all the signals in a given slice of the band you're operating in.

It has Dual Receivers, so you can monitor different frequencies, or even bands, to see if any activity pops up. I'll probably park the second receiver in the 50MHz band, so I can see if that band is "open".

For now, until I learn how to use all the adjustments it has, I put it in Single Receive mode.

One of the really neat things it has is a DVI jack for an external monitor, so I hooked it up to one of my old 24" Dell monitors.

And there are USB ports on the front of the radio for a keyboard and mouse. The mouse allows you to select/change menu items, and the keyboard lets you enter ASCII text for a variety of things.

I'm going to retire the FT-1000D, and strip it for parts to sell. I love the radio, BUT I bought this one based on it's cosmetic condition, and threw snake eyes on the functionality. I've fixed half-a-dozen issues with it, it has several I *can't* fix (unobtainium parts), and when the RF output power dropped from 200 Watts to 15 Watts the other night, with no ALC indication on the meter, I threw in the towel and got my little Elecraft K2 out. I joked with SLW about how it was a good thing I'd cut up my credit cards when we moved here or I would have driven down to HRO in Denver the next morning and bought a new radio.

WELL......we discussed it, and since I've been saving my nickels and dimes for a new radio since we moved here, I had about 60% of what I "needed". She got out her card, told me to buy what I wanted, transfer the funds to her, and pay off the balance. Since I can strip about $900 worth of good, functional parts out of the malfunctioning radio, and then sell the hulk for ~$400. That will pay off the balance and rid me of that jinxed radio. To be fair, if I *ever* find another FT-1000D locally that's in good shape, I'll be on it like stink on you-know-what. They're that good, and if you want to do microwave stuff with transmitting and receiving converters, they're superb radios.

For now, I'm beat. Saw the Doctor Monday afternoon for some shoulder problems, and we also talked about some other things I was experiencing. She agreed with me to reduce the dosage of the Metoprolol I take from 50mg to 25mg, and for the first time in months, I wasn't getting a bit faint when standing up, and that's only on the first day of the lower dose. BP and pulse rate are fine, but we agreed that losing 50 pounds and becoming much more active called for a review.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow....

My Uncle on D-Day.....

 Taking a break from radio to post this.

I'm not sure where my Dad was on D-Day, other than "Somewhere In The South Pacific", but I do know where my Uncle Clarence was. Uncle Clarence, or as we called him, "Uncle Diddi" (NO idea where the nickname came from) was. 

I'm sure this picture will give you a pretty good idea.

As far as I was told many years ago, he went in the night before (the midnight insertions), but I don't know if he parachuted in, or went in a glider. He has his jump wings, but I didn't know about the glider patches until my cousin posted this picture. And knowing very little about WWII Army uniforms, I don't know what the blue "stripe" on his cap is called, or is for, or the "halo" around his jump wings is for.

Update - The Blue stripe signifies he was Infantry. The red background of the "Airborne" patch, and parachute patch, indicate he was in the "Command Division", which probably goes along with his rank. It also explains why there's just a glider and parachute on the patch instead of a specific Division marking, like the Screaming Eagles, 82nd Airborne, and the others had.

I also didn't know he was a Sergeant before. Can't tell if there's rocker there or not, and I don't know what rank he mustered out with.

I'm very happy my cousin posted her pictures, and I'll have to bug my sister about what she has left of Dad's things. I never knew much about where he was in the vast PTO, except that he island-hopped along with the Marines and Army.

I am profoundly grateful and eternally indebted to the Greatest Generation for their service, sacrifice, and example.

May God Bless you all, and may you spend eternity close to Him.

Museum Ships Weekend

 Put on every year at this time by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station, NJ2BB.

It kicks off at 0000Z, about two hours from now. I checked my antennas the other day, and tightened up all the connections, and swept them to see if anything had gone wonky over the winter. I'd noticed the VSWR on my 20 Meter vertical seemed high, which started this exercise. WELL.......in the process of rearranging things a bit here, I accidentally swapped the the two cables into my selector switch. OOOOPS! Swapped the cables back, and things went back to the way they were before.

And now ALL the cables are properly labeled so I don't mess things up again. Until the next time....

Last year I worked 8 ships, and I'm hoping I can contact a few more this year, including my friends on the Iowa.

Band conditions are a bit spotty right now, so we'll see what happens as the weekend progresses.....

Have a good weekend, y'all!

Dead Juniper Removal

 Which taught me an important lesson in being careful with Roundup! In the process of trying to keep the weeds down, I (thought I) carefully sprayed Roundup on *just* the leaves of the weeds coming up through the junipers. In retrospect, I should have gone in the garage, and got the other sprayer loaded with Weed-B-Gon, as it just targets "broadleaf" weeds.

Anyway....Over the last three Summers, the poor junipers got enough on them to slooooowly kill them, as seen below.

Don't worry, Pebbles. We have a Reforestation Program under way for your little private forest!

And holy smokes, this stuff is hard to cut! My Makita powered thought 8"~10" diameter sections of ash and apple wood without breaking a sweat, but took as long to go though a 2" juniper trunk as it did to go through 6" of ash, and it actually slowed down once (fresh batteries) as I was worrying through the trunk.

This one was first to go....

I'll worry about getting the trunk/root bits out later. Some of the completely dead sections just pulled right out, and the sawdust covered ground at the base of the trunk feels very spongy, so I'm hoping they won't be too hard to get out of there. I also pruned some of the scraggly parts of the still OK junipers, and then went back behind the pile to start in on this:

Some of the dead stuff is completely tangled together with the still OK plants, requiring some careful cutting, and much pulling, groaning, and sweating. I'm tempted to get the truck in here, put a tow hook in my hitch receiver, and YANK the stuff out.

It's very aromatic as it's being cut, though, reminding me of a "Balsam" scent. This immediately changed my mind from "Throw It ALL In The Trash" to "Hmmmm....Might Be A Nice Firewood Addition After I Strip All The Twigs Off".

Thoughts? Might at least provide some colorful flames, and a nice aroma.

The bad thing about this is junipers are considered a "9" on a scale of 1-to-10 for causing allergic reactions. I didn't have any skin reactions to it, but my sinuses are a bit plugged today. And I got about half the "free firewood" stacked-and-racked in the garage. Took four wheelbarrow (see pix) loads, and we still have MORE.

Another problem we have to take care of are these:

We've been overrun with these mushrooms this year. I couldn't see this group before because they were under the ex-juniper. I think the dead, now carved, cottonwood tree and all the moisture we've set them off and running with the knob cranked up to 11. We've been using vinegar, which nukes them in about 12 hours, so at least the "fungicide" we're using is cheap to buy! Our next door neighbor uses vinegar and salt on his weeds, and it seems to work OK, and he says it doesn't seem to bother the lawn.

After being run ragged today by TLG, I caught this snap of SLW and TLG taking a break:

Hope y'all have a good week....

Memorial Day

 Wasn't really going to post anything as you guys (and gals) always do it better than I do, but then I saw this on FakeBook:

"All Gave Some, And Some Gave All"........God Bless and keep our fallen Veterans.

Woodpeckers.....

 A few weeks ago, we saw an unusual bird in the backyard. SLW thought it was a pigeon, but while it somewhat resembled a pigeon, after doing some searching, I decided it was some type of dove, or perhaps a Northern Flicker.

Well....the last week or so I could have sworn I heard a woodpecker banging away on a nearby tree. I heard it hammering away most of today, too. SOooooo...I started looking at "Colorado Birds", and then the "Woodpeckers" subsection on the wikipedia.

Son-of-a-gun, the Northern Flicker was listed as a woodpecker!

And this is almost exactly the same bird we saw in the backyard:

 

Anywhoo....Looks like we have some new neighbors in the area, as I don't recall hearing any here before. I wonder if some of the newer birds we've been noticing this Spring (Cardinals, Blue Jays, and lots of Ravens/Crows) are refugees from the burn areas of last summer.

Hopefully they won't be as intrusive as the %%$$%%!! Canadian Geese that spend Winter here.....

Sorry, But Ain't Got Nuttin'!

 Been in one of my periodic posting slumps. Doing yard work, configuring a drip system for SLW's new plants, sawing and stacking wood, and goofing off with TLG doing "Science Experiments" and whatnot.

Well Seasoned Fool invited the three of us to see some alpaca shearing at a relative's place in Pierce, CO. TLG was a bit overwhelmed with all the people, but looked at all the animals being sheared, and was interested in the peacocks they keep, but wouldn't get too close to them. He got a bit rattled with all the thunder and rain, and wanted to go home, so we left after an hour or so.

I learned that both alpacas and llamas are related to camels, of all things, which explains their spitting. Apparently if they get really agitated they can expel the entire contents of their stomachs, and hurl it up to 10~12 feet! YOW!

WSF has quite a collection of pix over at his place, and he explains things far better than I can.

We're supposed to have decent weather for the next week or so, and hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of the wood cut up and stacked so it'll be ready for the Winter.

And I'm getting back to work on the front bumper of the Supra. Have some sanding to do, another wipe ("skim coat") of the "Bumper Bite" followed by some sanding and priming, and then (ALL fingers and toes crossed) a coat of the special black flexible bumper paint.

Then I can put all the lamps and grille back in, and DRIVE it!

RAIN! And a Prayer Request for Our Daughter-In-Law and Her Unborn

 And quite a bit today, about .2", which puts us at .5" for the month. 

Also had some small hail, but nothing like we sometimes get.

Hopefully we'll have a good rainy season here this year, and get the reservoirs up.

The prayer request is for our Daughter-in-law, who's now in her 5th month. She's under more stringent medical guidance after her first pregnancy, and she had an ultrasound last week that revealed a disturbing item. The umbilical cord is not centered in the placenta like it normally is, and as a result the restriction, the baby is only about 50% of the size he should be now.

I'm not sure what the prognosis is for this condition, but it's serious enough that my Sweet Little Wife asked me to ask my friends to pray for her.

Thank you all.....

100 Years Ago This Month

 A massive Solar Storm clobbered the Earth. Auroras were seen at the Equator, and telegraph and telephone exchange office erupted into flames from the huge voltages induced in the copper wiring.

This happened towards the end of Solar Cycle 15, a nondescript cycle with nothing extraordinary, until this happened.

Sunspot AR1842 appeared, and began blasting the Earth with Corona Mass Ejections, unknown at the time.

If it happened today, it could cause major disruptions with our communications systems, and possible knock-out the GPS satellites. They're hardened quite well, but Mother Nature has a way of laughing at man's puny works.

 Good reason to keep those paper maps and a good compass!

Complete article is here, at the SpaceWeather Archive site.

Fixed The Faucet Splitter

 In fact, I went and did it right after I posted. Took about 45 minutes, and at least 20 of that was spent looking for my cordless Dremel tool. I gave up, and brought down the plug-in Dremel tool, which had an flexible shaft attachment with a flap whell in it, so I started there.

Cracked/split fitting:

Buffed with the flap wheel:

The legendary "TIX Solder" and flux:

And for a source of Thermal Energy, I have my trusty Weller SP-80, 80-Watt Soldering IRON:

This ain't yer Daddy's wimpy Temperature Controlled Soldering Station! No siree, this here's a gen-you-eine Soldering IRON, and it has a SOLID COPPER tip about the size of a 50 cal slug:

 It's 2" long, and a half-inch in diameter. In the battlespace of "Heat The Connection As Rapidly As Possible", it wins handily in this application.

Applied the flux after cleaning the brass again with an alcohol wipe, plugged in the iron, and went for a cold soda from the fridge. Applied the iron to heat the metal, and then flowed in the solder. After cooling, I cleaned all the flux reside off, and carefully re-tinned the tip of the iron with plenty of rosin-cored solder to get any of the other flux off. It has chloride compounds in it, and they're very corrosive if not cleaned off.

Ready to return to service:

Hey, I broke it, so I get to fix it!

Friday!

 And work continues on getting the backyard cleaned up, the damaged gutter repaired, the weeds beat back, and the trees fed and watered.

Dropped 475 bucks at the Home Depot last week, and I've been putting the items to good use.

The gutter guys came by today, and quoted us $600 to replace the damaged gutter and downspout, paint the gutter, and replace the busted "gutter guard" that keeps leaves and other trash out of the gutter on that end of the house.

Mixed up a batch of "Roundup 365", and sprayed the gravel beds, back porch and driveway joints, and the window wells so nothing gets started in them.

Fed the maple tree and crab apple tree with my "Ross Root Feeder", and watered the ash tree with my "Corona Deep Root Irrigator", so they're good for a couple of weeks.

Got the hoses, sprinklers, shut-off valves and other miscellany out of storage and ready to go. One of my two-way water faucet adpators surprised me the other day when I hooked up the hoses, turned the water on, and it started spraying everywhere. I'd left it screwed on the faucet, under the styrafoam "freeze protector", but it had some water in it, it froze, and split the cast brass body. I'll have to dry it well, clean the metal, notch it out with my Dremel, and then solder it up with some "TIX Solder", and return it to service.

Itty-Bitty, Teeny-Tiny split, easily repaired. Should hold 60PSI no problem, but couldn't withstand the pressure generated by freezing water. Probably a post will follow.

I sure don't remember my Dad doing anything special to the outdoor water faucets when I was growing up in Northern Illinois, and it gets pretty cold in the Wintertime. I remember people having frozen pipes, but they were usually the water pipes to the house from the city water system. Here we put little insulated houses on the outdoor faucets, and use special "Freeze Rated" types. They're also anti-siphon faucets, which is a Good Thing, as sucking dirty yard water back into the house is probably a Bad Thing.

And I've been sawing, stacking, moving, and sawing some more on the pile of wood we "harvested" from the fallen tree, and the sections of the crab apple the arborist generated. Looks like we'll have several Winter's worth of firewood, perhaps more. I suppose I should look into the Do's-and-Don'ts of storing some of it outside, off the ground, and somewhat covered, as otherwise it'll take over all the storage space in the garage, and that's hard-won territory I'm not willing to give up.

Beautiful day here today, high 70's and partly cloudy. Wanted to spray the weeds, but the NWS is calling for rain, so I'll have to watch the weather radar closely. I just hate spraying 30 bucks worth of chemicals on the yard and have them washed away the next day. I'd get the granular stuff, but that means getting a spreader, storing the spreader off-season, maintaining the spreader.......naw.........I'd sooner pay more per application, and be done with it until the next time.

And I'm perusing nextdoor.com and craigslist for a snowblower, "global warming" be damned. I know what I want, I have a truck now, and as soon as I find one, it's coming home with me.

Honest, Beans, I'm on the hunt now......

Y'all have a good weekend!