* Turkey Weekend Antenna Project This weekend, rather than do the traditional S.S.T. Sandwich (also known as a Hot Brown) we instead head into the outdoors to field test a new antenna design I came up with a while back. It’s not as boring as it may sound. I will keep it simple, too, so everyone … Read More
All three tube-type oscilloscopes are gone. So’s a signal tracer, two full-sized vacuum tube voltmeters (VTVM’s). And an early Heathkit Signal generator. Poof. In a cloud of fury powered by Mrs. Olson. Headed to eBaying in future weeks. (Email me if interested.) I’ve decided that for the balance of my seventies, I’m going to focus … Read More
Today, we’re going to turn you into a competent basic radio operator. It may be a much longer report than usual, but it’s a four-day weekend for many, so what the hell, right? Much of this morning’s discussion will apply to radios other than the ATS-25 (and its many variants) that may be purchased on … Read More
Money first. Then a ton of interesting projects that keep us busy. We’ll do a “photo-stroll” around the shop (as of Tuesday morning) so you can get more of a feel for what Making and Doing are like outside the confines of cubicles and 300 square-foot living spaces. And why retired is usual just tired. Hosed … Read More
With the return of George2 (KF7OCD) to family lands, the interest in having a “rock-em-sock-em winter on the low frequency ham radio bands is back in focus. There’s a whole PowerPoint on what needs to be done. But when it’s warm is a great time to launch antennas into trees. Or, climbing gear-equipped sons. It’s axiomatic … Read More
Sorry to report the anti-Alzheimer’s light project (designed to flick at 40 Hz to potentially improve cognition) didn’t get completely finished this week. Too little time and too much else going on. But we did make a good start on assembly, so let’s go from there. We begin with the pile of parts. (See last … Read More
Yes, we are going to build something (first of 2 parts today) but there is a TON of important background to wrap-around before heading into the shop. So, from the beginning…NONE OF THIS IS MEDICAL ADVICE. You are reading ravings of a crazy man – pure and simple – right? We have, over the years, … Read More
Yeah, well…since we do call this the ShopTalk column, every once in a so-often, we like to actually build something. Big, important, flexible, resilience oriented toward local manufacturing and sustainability builds. What we’re doing today is a whole “soup to nuts” build of a Sainsmart 3018 Pro CNC that I’ve had sitting in the project queue … Read More
With the return of G2 to family lands this past week, we’ll start with the father-son diet challenge part. Because I’ve watched my son’s approach to dieting and it’s really interesting. Almost Goggins-like hard core… When left (gun-banning) Washington State, he was about 200 pounds. A week later he was at 184. The secrets he used … Read More
Since I lived full-time on my 40-foot offshore capable sailboat for nearly a dozen years up and down the West Coast, I should begin with a sailing story. When I bought the boat (following a legendary expensive divorce), it was a dandy cross between Peter Pan’s adventures and living in Superman’s “Fortress of Solitude.” Just like … Read More
Although I got the major PITA project I’ve been putting off partly done Saturday, the real satisfaction came from wiring up the BBQ outlet this week. However, it was a fine study in how “little projects” can turn into Big ones on the clock. The idea sounded simple enough. We had run an extension cord from … Read More
Prepping note: The battery on the old Kubota is on its last legs. It’s a 51-R series, and they ain’t cheap. So, I was trying to get the maximum possible service life out of it. Put it on an 8-amp charger and then got into some pulse charging on top of that… Even after 2 … Read More
Our usual Sunday commentary on the non-news, non-financial aspects of Life nearly didn’t happen this morning. Due to a chance encounter with the Marquis de Yard. Unlike the Marquis de Sade, whose works are horny, sketchy, and mean at some levels, the Marquis de Yard was supposed to provide a good time. A few hours with … Read More