This week seemed to fly by considering the two days off last week for the holidays.
On the radio side, tomorrow afternoon will re-string my stealth wire antenna that came down during the nor'easter storm a few weeks ago. The cause was the weight of the snow on the line, not the wind. I am a big fan of magnet wire antennas, mine did stay up and made it through Hurricane Sandy. That is one tough antenna in my book.
Maybe even an hour or so of QRP would be nice this weekend.
Last Friday I picked up a Roku streaming device for my viewing pleasure. A very cool box and a review will follow in the next few days.
T.G.I.F.
Building Kits, Small Circuits, & Amateur Radio Stuff!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, November 23, 2012
This & That
Hope everyone had a wonderful time with family and friends yesterday or if you were alone you made the day special in your own way.
We spent the day at my brothers house with plenty of food, desserts, and football on the tube in the background. It was a very nice Thanksgiving. Last night was sweatpants and relaxing with a beer or two.
Today is the big shopping day titled Black Friday. With the stores and highways packed it is a good day to stay at home, always some cleaning up to do in my garage and basement. Besides with free shipping online and great prices why fight the crowds.
I have a small fish pond in my yard, so while its still somewhat warm this afternoon, going to pack up the filters and pump and get ready for old man winter. No fun sticking your arm in a freezing cold pond in December.
Did a quick look this morning on Amazon for amateur radio products and this very affordable HT caught my eye.
BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-180 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS FM HT. Prices start at 36.99 and up with free shipping, can't beat it. This would make for a great back up HT to keep in the car glove compartment or when running around. It feels like I spend hours in my car picking up my kids or waiting for them, most times with a good book. But a cheap HT would help pass the time.
OK time to go read a few blogs and maybe look for a deal or two.
We spent the day at my brothers house with plenty of food, desserts, and football on the tube in the background. It was a very nice Thanksgiving. Last night was sweatpants and relaxing with a beer or two.
Today is the big shopping day titled Black Friday. With the stores and highways packed it is a good day to stay at home, always some cleaning up to do in my garage and basement. Besides with free shipping online and great prices why fight the crowds.
I have a small fish pond in my yard, so while its still somewhat warm this afternoon, going to pack up the filters and pump and get ready for old man winter. No fun sticking your arm in a freezing cold pond in December.
Did a quick look this morning on Amazon for amateur radio products and this very affordable HT caught my eye.
BaoFeng UV-5R 136-174/400-180 MHz Dual-Band DTMF CTCSS FM HT. Prices start at 36.99 and up with free shipping, can't beat it. This would make for a great back up HT to keep in the car glove compartment or when running around. It feels like I spend hours in my car picking up my kids or waiting for them, most times with a good book. But a cheap HT would help pass the time.
OK time to go read a few blogs and maybe look for a deal or two.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Self-Taught Teen
A very impressive story about a 15 year old homebrewer. It is amazing what he goes through to source and locate his parts and building materials.
Best of luck in the future to this young builder!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A Day Late!
On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to leave his place of residence, that request came from his wife!!
A classic show!!!
A classic show!!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Nat Geo Preppers Show
Over the weekend I watched a few episodes of Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic channel. An very interesting show which offers the viewer a few solid ideas for surviving a disaster or worse case scenario.
Some of the prepping was over the top but if anything ever does happen on a large scale these people will be in pretty good shape. I witnessed first hand 3-4 females on a gas line wanting to fight each other last week, so things can get out of hand fairly quickly. In this day and age, adult females no less fighting over gasoline, who would have ever thought you would see that. Maybe this show is on the money with being ready.
Besides the usually supplies I was happy to see one guy mentioned ham radio as a useful tool of communication when the lines go down. Guns and bullets were big on the show. One of my work customers mentioned to me he has stocked up on bullets to be used for protection or to trade for food.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/doomsday-preppers/galleries/meet-the-preppers/#megan-hurwitt-the-young-urban-prepper-42386
The new season begins tonight on Nat Geo channel, should be interesting.
Some of the prepping was over the top but if anything ever does happen on a large scale these people will be in pretty good shape. I witnessed first hand 3-4 females on a gas line wanting to fight each other last week, so things can get out of hand fairly quickly. In this day and age, adult females no less fighting over gasoline, who would have ever thought you would see that. Maybe this show is on the money with being ready.
Besides the usually supplies I was happy to see one guy mentioned ham radio as a useful tool of communication when the lines go down. Guns and bullets were big on the show. One of my work customers mentioned to me he has stocked up on bullets to be used for protection or to trade for food.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/doomsday-preppers/galleries/meet-the-preppers/#megan-hurwitt-the-young-urban-prepper-42386
The new season begins tonight on Nat Geo channel, should be interesting.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Future Emergency Ideas
It has been a few days since the two storms have passed and everyday life is back to normal. The parents beach house in hard hit Ortley Beach is another story and we might not know the overall damage for another week or more.
My home lost 25 shingles from the super high winds and were reattached by my roofer at no cost, he is on the holiday gift list. During the storm we lost power at 10:00PM and did not get it back for ten days. Thanks to my neighbor for lending me a receptacle on his generator. This kept the basics going and the house semi warm with space heaters. We owe them a dinner out over the next week or two. A few items on my to do list for future emergencies include:
Generator
Stock up on water supply
Portable lanterns
Two thick extension cords
Small TV antenna in case my Verizon Fios goes out
Inverter
Batteries
A big help were my sleeping bags which kept my kids warm at night.
This list is sure to grow but its a good start. This is the second year in a row we lost power, 3 and 10 days.
Here's a tree that came down across the street from my house. When it hit the ground my house shook. Just glad it fell in that direction.
My home lost 25 shingles from the super high winds and were reattached by my roofer at no cost, he is on the holiday gift list. During the storm we lost power at 10:00PM and did not get it back for ten days. Thanks to my neighbor for lending me a receptacle on his generator. This kept the basics going and the house semi warm with space heaters. We owe them a dinner out over the next week or two. A few items on my to do list for future emergencies include:
Generator
Stock up on water supply
Portable lanterns
Two thick extension cords
Small TV antenna in case my Verizon Fios goes out
Inverter
Batteries
A big help were my sleeping bags which kept my kids warm at night.
This list is sure to grow but its a good start. This is the second year in a row we lost power, 3 and 10 days.
Here's a tree that came down across the street from my house. When it hit the ground my house shook. Just glad it fell in that direction.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Power!
Well 10 days later my power just came on at 4:00PM this afternoon.
It has been a long cold week and will be glad to get back into a routine again starting tomorrow. My neighbor was able to keep me going with 1 outlet from his generator which powered the TV, light, and a space heater.
It was a pleasure to heat up the house and tonight will be nice the read the local newspaper.
10 days is a very long time without power.
More tomorrow.
Goodnight!
It has been a long cold week and will be glad to get back into a routine again starting tomorrow. My neighbor was able to keep me going with 1 outlet from his generator which powered the TV, light, and a space heater.
It was a pleasure to heat up the house and tonight will be nice the read the local newspaper.
10 days is a very long time without power.
More tomorrow.
Goodnight!
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