Mr. Wizzard/Dale/Yoda would have been proud...

As I mentioned in my last article, I have been doing quite a bit with the Ham radio this past winter. In fact, I joined an Amateur radio/emergency services communication club here in Sidney and have enjoyed learning more about this hobby from some pretty smart guys there.

One of the things the club is going to do is take part in what are called "fox and hound" events. Better known as radio direction finding exercises, the over-simplified objective of the event is to find the emanating source of a radio signal. The club will send out an operator who will find a place somewhere in the county and begin sending periodic radio signals of very short duration. These signals could represent anything from the emergency transmissions from a downed aircraft to (what is more likely) someone who has his hand-help radio stuck "open" (keyed up and broadcasting) without his knowledge. This happens quite often in mobile units when the hand mic might fall down between the seats, wedging open the PTT (Push To Talk) switch, thus tying up the frequency and rendering it inoperative.

The fun thing about this kind of activity is the "hounds" have to build a portable antenna which is used to locate the radio signal and enable them to triangulate the "fox's" location. We have to know the area, how to read a compass and a map, and most importantly, how to build the antenna.

Here is an antenna I built for this exercise. It's pretty cool and seems to work. We'll see. My wife thought I was building a divining rod so I could go out and find water. Another nice thing about this is these kinds of events are pretty cheap to participate in -- this antenna cost me about $10.

Now, those of you who know me know I just can't go out there with this antenna that looks like something from some spy novel and play this straight. So, I'm thinking I should maybe dress up in a full body, aluminum foil wrap and a silver football helmet and walk around like that. What do you think the locals would say about that? Better yet, maybe I should get out my old Army protective mask and wear my uniform and walk around through the fields. Bet that would cause a stir.

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't. (Henry Ford)

Hooah

Hello America, and all the ships at sea...

This is a new area about which I will be writing, but it is not a new hobby. I have been a licensed Ham radio operator since 1991. I got into this hobby right after I got back from Desert Storm and had two pretty smart fellas (Dale Vesper - W8HCI/silent key, and Scott Swink - KB8JOY) help me through all the studies required. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to do the Morse Code part to get my Technician license. The FCC might have had enough foresight back then to see that cell phones would make a major dent in electronic communications, especially among young people. So, if amateur radio was to continue or have a chance at growing and thus keeping the band widths it already had from being gobbled up by cell phone companies, it had to make it easier for newbies like myself to get into the hobby. They were still looking for radio geeks, you just didn't need to be an electrical engineer to get into it.

Since obtaining that first "ticket" I basically continued to operate on what is called 2-Meter communications (144-148 MHz). This is pretty similar to what most people think of when they think of CB radio -- i.e., it is pretty much an open communication line, regulated by the operators themselves, used pretty much for what is called "rag chews" and just general conversation. Operators must be licensed by the FCC and usually operate with hand-held or mobile units. Hams, as they are called, also perform a great deal of public service, to include weather spotting, communication services for community events, emergency communications in the event of natural disasters, and so on.

Well, the next step for me was getting my General operator's license in 2007. This allowed me to move up from the VHF/UHF frequencies to HF. Basically, this meant that I was now able to communicate with the whole country and stations around the world. Here is my "Ham Shack": (l-r) Yaesu VX-6 Tri-band hand held radio (2 meters, 70 cm, and 220 MHz); Power supply; ICOM-735 HF multi-band Transceiver; Z-100 LDG Electronics antenna tuner; and an old B/W TV Pam and I got back in 1980 (soon to be outdated with digital TV reception).


Since I have been on the HF airwaves, I have been able to make contacts in 22 states, an island off the coast of Maine in the Atlantic Ocean, the Virgin Islands and to a guy in Bulgaria (the bands were really open). My goal is to make contacts in all the states in this country and then try for other countries. I probably wouldn't have been able to do this is the FCC hadn't stopped requiring Morse Code for all its licenses.

Although this isn't a cheap hobby, it really is fun. It's kinda like Forrest Gump's thoughts on life being like a box of chocolates and never knowing what you'll get when you open it up.

A good amateur radio contact is as stimulating as rich, black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.

Hooah

Mr. Rogers would be proud...

I missed the big blow last week by a few days, but I have finally installed my weather station. And it's pretty cool being able to look at the monitoring device here in the kitchen to see what the wind is like, or the temps. and the barometer. I looked on line on eBay for one of these stations, and could have purchased one there. They sell the wireless LaCrosse stations that do all the basics (measuring rain, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, relative humidity, temperatures, wind chill) and also connect to your computer so you can track data for periods of time.

I assume you would then print out graphs and charts on wind, rainfall, and temperatures. I suppose if you're really into weather, or chart making that would be the way to go. However, I'm not into it that much. I'm pretty much a "what's it doing now" kind of guy, so I picked up the one at Wal-Mart. It is the same as the more expensive ones, except it doesn't connect to the computer. It does have an internal history mode which can give a visual readout for some period of time (I have not finished digesting the whole instruction book yet, so I can't tell you how long that period is). In any event, it's kind of fun just stopping by the monitoring device to see what is going on. Since I have convinced myself that the wind blows here every day, I have not been disappointed. Those little cups go flying around under the pointer thingy all the time. Kind of impressive. I just hope when the big winds come back, those things don't get to going so fast that they lift that whole end of the building off the ground like a helicopter.

The little box on top is the rain gauge and the bird house is really a cover for the Thermo-Hygro sensor (how's that for a fancy name for a thermometer-thingy). The instruction book suggests that this piece be installed in a bird house to keep it out of direct contact with the elements. So, I drilled some holes in it all over the place and stapled some screen on all the inside walls to keep the birds and bees out and there you have it.

I'm sure someone who just happens to be driving by and notices this on the shed (a.k.a. Lakefront Cottage, a.k.a. Remote Climatological Readings Gathering Station) will be impressed and think some real smart guy lives here.

Well I guess you've figured out by now that retirement gets boring in February and this is just something to play with. You would be correct. However, one thing I have noticed is the little thing on the display that shows climate and temperature trends shows that everything is moving in the right direction-- which means golf and fishing can't be too far down the road.

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. (Pepper Giardino)

Hooah

I hear you calling...

Following our weekend trip to New York earlier this month, we spent another day with an agent, looking at more real estate, concentrating on the Delaware Water Gap area in Pennsylvania -- specifically looking in the boroughs of Milford, Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, as well as Bethlehem and Nazareth Townships. The latter are outlying areas of the towns of those names. These Townships are pretty nice areas and have lots of things to offer -- shopping, community events and festivals, downtowns, modern hospitals, and are all within 1-2 hours of Brooklyn (depending on traffic). Some other things they all have in common are the beautiful scenery and proximity to fishing, golfing and other recreation venues.

The creek shown here is called The Bushkill. It is very cold and a pretty swift creek with a mixture of river rocks for a bottom. I'll bet there are some pretty good sized fish in there. I don't know how people there fish it -- using a fly rod or bait casting, but I think I'll have to find out. The trees on the sides could be a problem to normal fly fishing, but I guess roll casting would do the trick.

Now that I have a better idea of what fishing opportunities really look like over there, I'll have to do some "'splorin and practicin" so that when Quinn is big enough to go with me, I'll know how to open this up to him.

The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing. (Babylonian Proverb)

Hooah

Quinn, the Subway Guy...

Pam and I just returned from a trip to NY to visit Doug, Danika and Quinn. What a nice visit it was, complete with two very nice days of upper 50s/low 60s. It was a bit windy, especially on Saturday, but that didn't stop us from going out walking on both days.

Saturday, we bundled up The Quinn and got on the subway and went to a place called The Dumbo (I think) -- it was down by the river and near the Brooklyn Bridge. It seemed like a very nice, up-and-coming place. Lots of people down there walking, jogging and just being out of their apartments.

Quinn is shown here riding the train, acting just like a native New Yorker -- minding his own business, not making eye contact with anyone. He did have to look up once though to see what Grandma was up to and what that crazy guy next to her (me) was doing.

While we were in a Starbucks, some girl came by, walking two pot bellied pigs on leashes. They had little blanket coats on like dogs do, and they were certainly getting lots of attention. I know Doug used to say that guys liked to walk dogs on the Green at college because that was a chick magnet. If she is using this as a guy magnet, I'm not sure I like the underlying message. Oh, well -- such is life in NY.

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. (Walt Streightiff)

Hooah

Midwinter update on life here on McCartyville Road...

Well, it's almost the end of January (thank God). Not that I have anything against January, or for that matter even winter -- it's just that I don't like short days with lots of clouds, daily wind chill numbers that rival my average number of putts per hole this past summer (2,3,4,and even 5) , and actual temperatures that closely resemble my average daily fish catch for the past year (0,1 or 2). I'll admit I'm a creature ruled or at least highly influenced by the sun, warm temperatures and mild breezes. This picture of the thermometer in the garage pretty much tells a lot of the story. This was one of the warmer days during the last couple of weeks.














I kinda like that old line from Carl Reiner: "A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water."

I don't even care so much for myself, but I also feel badly for all the birds and the rabbit friends I have in the back yard. I have gone through 4-50# bags of bird seed so far and have one left. I doubt that will make it through till the grass reappears and they are back to fending for themselves. The family of rabbits that lives under the barn and the deck got some lettuce the other day and some store-bought, cut up salad carrots (you know the kind -- the ones that look like little bullets). And I don't mind feeding them all, I just wish the birds would quit having a poopfest on my roof and the roof of the shed. Makes me think they're an ungrateful lot.

I also feel bad for Miss Pam (my fishing boat, not my wife) and PK (again, my canoe not my wife). There they sit all winter long out by the Lakefront Cottage (aka...our shed), covered up to keep the snow and ice out, waiting for the weather to break and the lakes to thaw. The motor (it doesn't have a name) sits on the mount I made for it in the garage. While it's a little bit warmer in there, I'm sure if it could talk, it would tell you that it has a better life than the boat. Maybe that's why it starts right up in the spring and runs like a top all year long.

A friend of ours sent us some advice the other day -- she said as we get older, there are some things we should try to do each day. She said we should try to make at least three people smile each day. Can I count our dog , the rabbit and the birds? Course, I don't know if they know how to smile. She also said we should sit quietly, alone for at least 10 minutes each day, reflecting on things, life or whatever. I've tried this --usually in the morning with a nice, hot cup of coffee, only to wake up at 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon with a stiff neck and Bailey nudging me, wanting to go out to do her business. Oh, well.

It's a good thing I have another hobby to fall back on. My HAM radio contacts are up now that the sun spots are on a better cycle. The other day, I talked to Francis (N2FF) who lives on Long Island in NY, used to teach HS English, and had also been in the Army. I also had contact with Jim (W4HE) who lives in South Carolina. He used to live in the Dayton area, was assigned to WPAFB, and doesn't miss this weather. Dave (K4I/W4AVA) was running a special events net in conjunction with the recent inauguration. Dave is in Alexandria, VA. and when I saw his address, I knew pretty much where he lived -- I remember that area quite well from when I was stationed at the Pentagon. Great place to visit.

Anyhow, that's what's going on here. I guess I really do have lots to do -- just not the things I might want to be doing. But those times will come soon enough and that is what makes them so enjoyable.

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. (George Santayana)

Hooah

A trip back in time... a long, long time ago...

I came across an interesting old yearbook of sorts -- the book that was published by the Army recounting my Initial training at Ft. Jackson, SC in 1970. Well, it wasn't put out by the Army just to recount my days there. They did this for every cycle going through Basic Entry posts back then. I assume they still do it today. I hope so.

Anyway, it was really fun looking through those pages. Isn't it amazing how long it takes you to look through such a simple, old book. It was even more of a treat to find some old Polaroids (if you have to ask what a Polaroid is, you're too young) in the book that were taken while I was there. Real Estate agents always talk about location, location ... location. Well, this picture of our "Company Street" at Ft. Jackson, SC fits the bill 'cause I don't think anything else imaginable could have been put there and lasted this long. I was convinced that the Army sent out people in planes to find the most heavily treed area they could that contained pretty much nothing but pine trees and scrub oaks with the dirt being nothing but clay (a.k.a. MUD). They were then to throw in lots of mean bugs and snakes and and call it an Army base.

Well, that's what I remember of Ft. Jackson. These two pictures (above) show two things the drill instructors were constantly looking for: goofing off behind the barracks and standing around with one's hands in one's pockets. I am confident to this day that had the DI seen us in either one of these situations, I/we would have been peeling potatoes until some time last week.

Another memory of Basic was the time spent shining boots. You know -- they don't shine boots anymore. In fact, except for special units and times, soldiers wear a kind of suede boot (kind of like those saddle shoes we all wore as teenagers). Now you don't do much more than knock the mud off them. I think these young soldiers have lost a bit of military history and tradition. Most of them will never know what Kiwi polish even is. Too bad.
One of the other things I found was a picture of two friends and myself. I remember these guys were pretty important to me back then, but I've lost contact with them since then. That's another of those "too bad" things. Walter Byrd is on the left, and Roger Bentley is in the middle. You're right, that guy with his hands in his pockets on the right is me. Boy, what a lean, mean fighting machine!! I think my waist back then was somewhere around 28". It's still "somewhere" around that -- kind of like Cleveland is "somewhere near" Cincinnati.

Saving the best for last, this picture is of Pam's visit following the 7th week of Basic. That was the big pass weekend for everyone. Boy, looking at this picture, I sure looked like a pup. Pam was pretty much a hottie even back then.

Quinn, when you read this, I know you'll probably get a smirk on your face wondering about those weird clothes and you'll find it hard to believe that Grandpa and Grandma were ever that young. But allow me to take liberties with the title of a very good book written by LTG (Ret.) Hal Moore and Joe Galloway and say: "We were cool once, and young."

You know you've reached middle age when a doctor, not a policeman, tells you to slow down, all you exercise are your prerogatives and it takes you longer to rest than to get tired. (Anon)

Hooah