The Rack Is Back

 Finished with the new cables, and got the gear back in the rack.

 The new Reel-to-Reel on the right is going to need an overhaul, which I expected when I bought it. I knew it was going to need new belts and a relube, but it has some mechanical issues relating to the tape transport. Looks like the "Reel Table" heights are wrong, and the tape scrapes on the reel flanges. NOT good! But I think it was a fair deal, as it's pretty nice cosmetically, the heads show no wear, and I got it for half the price he was asking. It was a typical eBay transaction, where the seller wanted "Grade A" money for a "Grade C" item. It had languished on eBay for about a year, always in my watch list. After watching it for-evah, he made me a "20% Off" deal. He answered a few questions, and I countered with a "50% Off" price, and he took it. I have all the parts, but this guy is "Number 4 on the runway", as I have one item getting finished (it's already sold), the just acquired SX-1080 to go through, and my other TEAC 4300 that I really should go through now that I have better equipment.

And I still have a pair of Hallicrafters radios and power supply for the transmitter to go through, a pair of Drake "4-Line" twins to go through, and a Heathkit SB-401 transmitter to finish, along with my homeowner/housework/yardwork duties.

And working people always say "Retired People Have So Much Time To Do Things".........yeah, right.

Hope you all have a Blessed Sunday, I have to get back to chasing Grandson #1 around. He discovered we have a Nintendo Wii a couple of weeks ago, and he and I are having duels playing Mario Kart.

 

Where The Rubber Meets The Road....

 Getting my audio rack put back together after The Great Hip Incident. Since I now have two Reel-To-Reel tape decks, I had to add some extra cables for Deck #2. I also added a cable to the AUX input so I can easily connect to that input when the time comes.

And the SX-1080 arrived the other day. I was upstairs in the bathroom, and SLW was out in the back yard, so I missed the delivery and had to go claim it in person.

It's very clean, in better condition than described, and was a relative bargain as these go.

2" of Rain and More to Come

 Everything is soggy, green, and growing like crazy. This 2" gives us a total of 5" for this month and last month, and it's only 4 June. I'm hoping we'll have a cool, moist Summer to help the reservoirs fill and the crops grow.

It also makes the ground nice and soft for driving in ground rods, an item on my punch list that should have been completed by now, but The Great Hip Incident kinda threw my schedule for a loop or three.

Work continues on other projects around the house and shop, but I just haven't felt like photographing the progress. Sometimes it can double or triple the time it takes to do the actual project, and I'd rather just get things done!

SCOOOORE! Mint Pioneer SX-1080 For A Fair Price

 Got reeeal lucky on this one.

It's super clean inside, with a very nice cabinet. The bezel around the tuning dial is free from the nicks and gouges these usually pick up.

I'll be the second owner. This was at a repair shop, and the Owner / Tech of the shop passed away suddenly. It's "Some Assembly Required", and in unknown functionality, but the seller has all the parts, and a list of what was done, and what was about to be done, to it. From the pix, it looks to be all there, and if anything is missing it would be some hardware, which I have from other junked Japanese equipment.

The cosmetic condition alone makes it worth the $1200 I paid, and one in this condition, properly serviced, is worth about $2500. But I didn't buy it to make money on it. I bought it for the same reason I bought my Supra....I always wanted one, and the affordable ones always need a little work, just like the Supra. The SX-780 I did this to is for sale, and the SX-980 that replaced it will also be for sale as soon as this one is back in service. The Supra is NOT for sale.

All in all, it looks like a nice receiver. I just have to make it sing again.

Only In Northern Colorado....

 ....Do you hear a radio call to the Larimer County Humane Society to respond to a motor vehicle accident involving a wild turkey.

The dispatcher said "The driver said it was a BIG one, and all he could see were feathers flying everywhere".

No word on the condition of the turkey.....

Remember Our Fallen.....

 

Discharged From Home Care!

 The home care Nurse was here this morning for my "Final Exam" and discharge. I'm ahead of what The Numbers say in terms of repetitions for my exercises, and in the "Timed Events", like standing/sitting so many times in 30 seconds, various balance tests, and some cognitive tests. So it's another hurdle passed, even though I still have some weakness in my right leg.

All the bits and pieces to install the drip irrigation system in the front garden arrived today, so I can get started once I figure out how to neatly plumb it in to the faucet. I bought a solar-powered timer for it, but seeing as that requires you to leave the faucet open, and considering my record of making leak-free garden hose connections, I think I'll pass on it.

And there's some more rain coming in, but as usual, I think the heavy rains will miss us.

Beautiful Day!

 78*, sunny, light breezes, what a wonderful day. The apple tree picture is from before all the rain started, which knocked all the petals off. It was already starting to drop them when I finally grabbed a picture of it.

They don't seem to be particularly fragrant, and nowhere near what the lilac and lavender are, which you can smell all over the front and side yards when they're blooming.

 And being such a beautious day, my son and I went to the NOCO Record Show at one of the local breweries to see what's out there in new and used vinyl.

Also found out we have some really good record stores here that charge fair prices, and carry re-releases along with used records.

So, I bought a few. It's a good thing I had limited ca$h with me, or I would have come home with a truckload. Ca$h was King, resulted in discounted prices and some fun haggling, and no receipts.

The Foreigner 4 and Bob Seeger albums are used, but very close to "pristine". No visible scratches or scuffs, and play great. The King Crimson album is scratched and scuffed on both sides, and one of the tracks I like has a big, nasty scratch through it. I should have pulled it out to inspect it, but it was sealed, so I didn't open it. Caveat Emptor! The two albums peeking out from behind Foreigner and KC are two new re-releases from the Eagles, pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl. One says "Made in the Netherlands", and the other just says "Made in the EU".

So vinyl has quite a strong following here, both as used items (Caveat Emptor!) and as new releases. I was talking to the young guy who was the DJ, and noticed he was using Technics SL-1200 turntables. I commented I had an SL-1210 MK5, and he about wet his pants. Yes, it's that good a turntable, and damn near unbreakable. Several people noticed the tee-shirt I was wearing and asked about Reel-To-Reel machines. Pretty soon I was talking to several of them, and while many have considered a Reel-To-Reel deck, the lack of anybody around here willing to work on them makes them a bit gun-shy. So I might hear back from one of them, I might not.

And I've gathered up all the bits and pieces to install SLW's drip irrigation system for her front garden area. Made a crude (for me) sketch of where the 1/2" Main Line will run, and how much I'll need, and counted plants. After that it gelled, I realized I'd need a whole bunch more stuff than came in the "Starter Kit" I bought last year. Took about another $175 @ Home Depot to square that away. Parts should be here (FREE Delivery!) by Wednesday. Now that I know all the bits and pieces that make up a system, it should be easy install. I ordered enough "extra" stuff so that SLW can expand it with parts-on-hand, while leaving plenty of spares. The stuff is plastic. It ages, gets brittle, and breaks. Better to have the stuff in stock to fix it immediately. I'll also have to fab a blow-out adapter so I can winterize the system, but that's easy-peasy. I even splurged and bought the solar-powered, programmable timer to control the water coming out of that spigot.

SLW has a history of turning on the water and forgetting about it.......

Discharged From PT!

 YAY! The PT gal was here today for the last time, and she said I was doing very well. Passed my "Final Exam", and she told me (again) that I was doing better than I felt I was, and to just keep doing the exercises "As Needed" to help strengthen the muscles in my right leg.

Next week the nurse will come by to check some things, and then my PT/OT In-Home Therapy is finished.

Picked up another1/2" of rain overnight and today. The new grass we planted in the backyard hasn't come up yet. I think we need some warmer weather, and then it should pop up out of the new dirt we covered it with.

The speaker project is rolling along nicely. I rebuilt the crossovers after deciding I just didn't like the circuit board I bought to build them on. Even though it's sold as a "Universal Two-Way Crossover Board" it still required some modification, and the parts weren't held down. So I rebuilt them as separate crossovers, one for the woofers, and one for the tweeters. It just looks neater, and will be easier to mount them in the speaker cabinet. I still have to "foam" the inside of the enclosures with some of this stuff to deaden any internal reflections. Then I have to wire them, mount the crossovers, check things again, and glue/screw the remaining cabinet side on. Then off to the garage to sand, fill, and paint them.

Rainy Days, Up Days, and Down Days

 Still getting some showers and sprinkles. The new rain gauge indicates a bit over 3", while the one on the weather station indicates about half that. It might be the software I'm using to log the wx data, so I'll have top address that. The little PC it's running on is running an out-of-date version of Ubuntu, my screw up as I wasn't watching for updates, and missed the chance to update it to a newer version. SO......I'll have to nuke the drive on it, and do a clean installation of a current version. This will also allow me to update the software package for the weather station to a much newer, easier to use version. I'm also going to fill the new rain gauge to a known amount, and dump it into the rain bucket on the weather station. I'll check the station's console to see if it reports the correct amount, and that will confirm if the problem is the weather station hardware, or the software I'm running. Just don't feel like dragging a ladder out in the rain, and climbing up to pour the water into the collector. I don't think SLW would want me out there in the rain, teetering on a ladder, either!

Yesterday (Mother's Day) was a Good Day. We had the kids, grandkids, and my son over for dinner, some game playing, some Lego building, and a nice, warm fire in the fireplace. Drives the chill out of the house, and when it's 45* and raining, it gets chilly here. But, after chasing kids around all day, crawling around on the floor to load the fireplace and light it, and going up and down the stairs numerous times, I'm paying for it today.

Yes, today is NOT a Good Day. It's a crummy day; rainy, overcast, and only about 50*. And my right leg is screaming at me. Well, not actually screaming, but more like "Hey, Blockhead! You're not even 7 weeks out of surgery. Knock. It. Off.....!" Two Ibuprofen should calm things down, but it was a chore to get up today, stumble around in the shower, swap out the day/night bags for the catheter, get dressed, and get down the stairs. DEFINITELY a "Plateau Day" in my healing, and hopefully tomorrow will be not so trying.

Or so we hope......

Definitely Spring!

 Grass has greened up, the trees are leafing out, and TLG put his little "Fairy garden" back together today. It's the first time he's been here since The Great Hip Incident.

Hope you have a Happy and Blessed Sunday, and remember to be thankful for the little things....like a child's laugh.,....