From the old man

I once worked for an old man who I really respected.  He was a Barge Engineer with the same company that I work for now.  He did teach me quite a bit and glad to have worked with him.  He got cancer many years ago and had to quit the company.   He beat the cancer but unable to return to work.   We still keep in touch, more on the phone than social media.  This fishing plaque is something that he handmade and sent to me, I just need to put a good picture in it.

Installing My Ham Radio Gear

Tonight, I did something with Amateur Radio that I normally don't do.  I served as the Net Controller for the LaSalle Parish ARES/RACES Net, (Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services). The purpose of this net is to provide training for emergency preparedness; as well as provide a basis for the establishment of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service in the event of an emergency. This net is called each Monday night at 19:30hrs local time on the amateur frequency of 147.105 (+ Offset) with a tone of 103.5. I can recall only checking in on a net a few times since I have been a Ham Operator. It was not too popular here where I live. Since I have got back into the hobby, I learned that another Ham had started the planning of this Net and it's launch. I have tried to fill in on this net a few times but it just never worked out. However, tonight I was able to do it and it went pretty good. Knowing that I committed to doing this, it gave me incentive to get out in the Ham Shack and do a little work. The new Power Supply, 2M Radio, and J-Pole are set up.

Below is a picture of what it looks like so far.  This is the old desk that I got for Christmas back in 1987 or 88.  It's been around for a long time, so I cleaned it up a little and put it in the shack.  

I received some tips from a friend of how he waterproofs his connections to the antenna, he used Scotch 33 Electrical Tape, Rubber Splicing Tape, and more Scotch 33.  He told me told to use some ScotchKote but there was not available at the local Ace Hardware but they did have some liquid electrical tape, so I tried it out.

Michael Martens, KB9VBR, sells this J-Pole Antenna at a reasonable price, he says that you have to make 5-6 wraps of the coax about 1 ft from the connection, this make the Balun since you have to match the coax to the antenna.

I used two each 2IN worm gear clamps to attach the shaft to the push up pole.  I wish I would have taken some pictures of it once I got it complete.

I attached the pole to the building and the J-Pole is about 25ft in the area. So far, it seems to be doing good.

The Astron Power Supply

I have heard many good things about this power supply and I am hoping that I made a good buy.  Eham.net rated this unit 4.7 out 5, that's pretty good numbers in my opinion and that is out of 150 reviewers.  I will be setting it up tomorrow and putting a load on it to see what it will do.

Linear DC Supply 13.6vdc 20 amps with Meters, Output Voltage: 13.8 VDC (+/- 0.05 V) Internally Adjustable (11-15 V)

Continuous Amperage Output 25 Amps

ICS (Surge) Amperage Output 35 Amps

Solid State Electronically Regulated

Fold-Back Current Limiting- Protects Power Supply from Excessive Current & Continuous Shorted Output

Ripple Less than 5 mV Peak to Peak Full Load and Low Line

Maintain Regulation & Low Ripple at Low Line Input Voltage

Three Conductor Power Cord

One Year Warranty- Made in USA

The Best Wallet

After surfing the web looking at EDC websites, for some reason I have found looking at what other people carry interesting.   I kept seeing Saddleback Leather Products.   I became curious to what these products were.  I checked out what they had and decided on a new wallet.   After 1 year and 4 months of use, the wallet still looks new.  The material is well made.  I am so impressed that I had my wife order a couple for her brother and nephew.

General Thoughts of an Amateur Radio Operator

More to come I'm sure.  I have been in the process of setting up my Ham Shack, it's been a slow process as I have been tied up with other things.  I have a few pieces of new equipment ready for the installation.  I was able to purchase an Astron 35 amp power supply and a Kenwood 2M Radio radio that I will be using as a base station.