Prepping: Ham Radio Weekend

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Oh, boy. Did I screw up the calendar, or what?

This weekend features one of two major ham radio events of the year as far as we’re concerned.  This is when prepping gets put to the test as hams go all-out for Field Day.  Details on the ARRL website here: 2024 ARRL Field Day Theme: Be Radio Active.

In keeping with this (and it’s how I seem to remain lucky!) there is a ShopTalk Sunday article on getting a well-equipped, very flexible ham radio setup going.  (A subscriber asked for a shopping list.)

Ifs you’re a fan of verbosity be sure to drop by Sunday as Ure turns “Get and Icom 7300 and an inverted vee….” into a 2-thousand-word ramble.

In the meantime, you might wonder what the “other ham event is” we like.  Is it CQ Worldwide?  The FISTS Morse sprints? Working at moving up in the Straight Key Century Club?  All worthy, but no.

I’m talking about Straight Key Night which you can read about at another ARRL page (curiously titled): Straight Key Night (arrl.org). January 1, a fellow ham reminds.

On your “out and abouting” this weekend, if you notice a collection of geezers and their pleasers in a field with a bunch of wires up the sky, that’s likely what’s going on. Ham Radio Field Day.  Don’t be shy about walking out and asking ’em “Whatcha doing?” (Be prepared for a 2-hour explanation).

For us, it’s always a matter of going through the Rules for the event with a fine-tooth comb to see what we can use as our “multiplier.”  This year’s Rules (Field Day Rules (arrl.org)) looks like we’ll be:

  4.7. (Class E) Home stations – Emergency power: Same as Class D, but using emergency power for transmitters and receivers. Class E may work all Field Day stations.

Pretty sure solar panels qualify so with almost 6 kW of panels and 3 kW of sine wave inverters, all I need to do with double-check a couple of antennas and drop mains power to my office building.

In earlier times, I’d make up a good “self-challenge” to interleave with the Contest.  Like “Hmm. Can I work all 50 states (51 if we count Mexico, or 61 if we include Canada) during this year’s run?”

That’s gotten to be too much work, though.  A dozen (or three) contacts and attention deficit kicks in. “Honey! Where’s the beer?” Then it’s time to read a book or go play with 3D printers or work on hydroponics…

Markets – Meh!

The markets are looking a bit like a high may be in (*for a day or three) in our Aggregated view of things.

Which may not be a Big Deal – but roll with me here while we look at the differential moving average crossings.

See it?  Upper right corner?

If this (little high) a couple of days ago holds, the Future MIGHT be telling us: You had a wave 1 up (*green box on left) then a pullback and now Wave 3 up -= which could be complete.  Now, we may see a decline and one more big up move.

Imagine the markets going up to the Trump sentencing, but then that being overshadowed by the Olympics carnage (*didn’t get the memo?) but then ONE FINAL BLAST into the Labot Day weekend.

What we come down to is wondering if Trump Sentencing Day will be a “buy the rumor – sell the news” event (which seems more intuitively comfortable). And since my consigliere thinks odds of Trump being taken into custody and remanded to jail on the spot (judge has a ton of discretion in this) marching Trump out is what the War Party (and the judge with…um…a healthy ego?) would love to do.

And then the protests begin and markets quake – followed by events in Paris and…yeah.

We will be reading G.A. Stewart’s Age of Desolation (Nostradamus) site carefully. The markets could have a small pullback here and then march up next week.  Because we are in summer holidays now and markets tend to become ebullient ahead of parties. But this ain’t financial advice. Remember, we still don’t have a crypto wallet. We invest in things like solar panels and food production, instead. Especially on reading Did Ripple mislead investors? California lawsuit targets CEO’s statements on XRP (cryptopolitan.com).

It all comes down to a good Summer ponder: Will it turn out to be wisest to Make Money or Buy Future Goods.  Goods and ammo are the local bet.

Wars

Consigliere is a nervous sort.  Says the resignation of a key leader in the Israeli cabinet last week may indicate Netanyahu is closer to pre-emptively nuking Iran than the mainstream yaplers.  Similarly, the distancing of the IDF from Netanyahu could be an indicator, too.

There is some basis in fact for his concerns: Ex-Israel general: Gaza war is ‘purposeless’, Netanyahu’s cabinet must resign – Middle East Monitor and Israel PM Netanyahu dissolves war cabinet, two key cabinet ministers resign (aninews.in).  Oh, it’s possible…or is it?

Seems the “word is getting around.”  Israel Loses Allure for Millionaires As War Shatters ‘Safe Haven’ Image – Business Insider

We’re only a week out from Iran’s elections – Iran’s presidential candidates talk economic policies in 2nd live debate ahead of June 28 vote so if there are hardliners coming to power, right Israel strike first?  Netanyahu may have the “horsepower” to make the call now.  Later?  Not so predictable, and as we figure it, questionable.

For now, the key border to watch is Lebanon.  As we have explained, Israel would love to pick up more offshore rights to the energy-rich Leviathan oil and gas fields – off Lebanon.  So, it’s totally unsurprising to read US officials to CNN: Israel preparing for ground and air assault on Lebanon – Khaama Press and back that by wondering Does Israel really want to open a two-front war by attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon? 

Where this MIGHT lead?  We still have that “middle game” to put it in chess terms. Stu and I briefly passed lightly over it in conversation last night.  Imagine Israel fighting Hezbollah all the way to Syria (which sets up the biblical Damascus thing). And that lights up Cyprus and then the Greeks get involved and now (not exactly in love with NATO) how does Turkey play this?

I mean “world war” is lining up fresh players by the day.

Then we look north.

Ukraine War

The Battle of Donetsk is on: Ukraine, Russian pressure on all fronts against the backdrop of the fall of the last Donetsk strongholds.

For now, though, Russia has held back on a direct assault on Odessa – and that means food is still flowing from the region. Odessa ports handle more grain, Constanta less (portseurope.com).  When the food shipments change, we think the odds will change of expanded fighting in the south of Ukraine.

What we really find interesting is how the British press has gone lockstep with the war expansion and use of NATO forces directly against Russia (which is very, very dangerous); Putin makes another nuke threat to West – despite dropping three bombs on own territory. (Which were Ukraine drone attacks, not literally Putin’s doing.)

We would not be surprised to see a Russian atmospheric nuclear test in July because that would fit a lot of the linguistics floating around ahead of events (like Global War and supply chains collapse) this fall. An atmospheric nuke would send an extremely clear message and would come close to linguistic fill.  Let’s see what Stu has to say on that notion.

It would be a ballsy move for Putin – wouldn’t give NATO an excuse – and yet it would put the world on notice.

Then There’s Taiwan

Satellite images of China’s shipyards worry US – USPACOM: “Our only hope is the ‘Hellscape’ Plan to save Taiwan”

It’s almost a lead pipe cinch that Biden and the War Party are going for war with China.  Evidenced by US approves $360M sale of drones, missiles to Taiwan | Fox News. Which China takes as provocation.

Where this all kicks back into markets is with NVidia now larger in economic terms than England, the West could face something akin to “instant financial disaster” in the event China seizes Taiwan. Recently, you see, Nvidia CEO to increase investment, build 2nd supercomputer in Taiwan – Nikkei Asia.

Cue the proxies! Escalation in the South China Sea As The Philippines Accuses China of Violent Confrontation.

When she all blows, it’s gonna be epic!

Messes for the Mindless Masses

Are the conspiracy people wrong? DC_Draino on X: “Thanks to undercover video, we have learned today alone that: Biden’s State Department admits the regime is trying to replace Americans with illegal aliens, and Disney is discriminating against white males in hiring The “conspiracy theorists” remain undefeated” / X

Oh, wait! BREAKING: OMG: Senior VP at Walt Disney Details Discriminatory Hiring Practices and “Code Words” to Avoid Legal Action: “There’s No Way We’re Hiring a White Male” (VIDEO).

Passing on Pasta?  Darden Restaurants Reports Mixed Results as Olive Garden Sales Decline.

Hot Button Reads: We trust you’re bright enough to differentiate between Judaism (the Jewish religion) and Zionism which is a political agenda?  If so, then it’s OK to read Scott Ritter: The Zionist Experiment Is Finished – The Washington Standard. May be too plain-speaking for some.

Passings:  Donald Sutherland, Hunger Games and Kelly’s Heroes actor, dies.

Clickbait ju jour: Bianca Censori’s Breasts Nearly Spill Out of Barely-There Top in Paris. It might get you interested in getting a degree in “clothing engineering” though…

At the Ranch: Solar Soldering

With Field Day this weekend, off to solder the new MC4 connectors on the solar.

Long ShopTalk Sunday coming up and the updated charts on Peoplenomics tomorrow after we see how far “down is” today.

Last but not least: A compliment to Microsoft.  Found a ton of new/additional voices in read aloud voice options and web reading. Only a few of them work worth a shit after all the updates were applied. Way to go!

Do I really need a world class collection of social agenda political correctness choices cluttering up (and slowing down) my system?  Again, conditioning is everywhere.

Where’s my melting pot?

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net – ac7x

47 thoughts on “Prepping: Ham Radio Weekend”

  1. Straight Key night is January 1.

    Feel free not to post this, it is long, but modern car battery changing, which I did on a 2019 VW this weekm can be daunting…:

    You don’t just remove the old battery and put the new one in anymore, modern cars have a computer that needs special treatment. If you DO just carefully remove the old battery (always remove the negative terminal first and wrap the positive cable from the car in something like an old rubber glove so it doesn’t touch anything) and put the new one in, when you go to start the car again many computer settings may be lost like windows, radio settings, engine performance, driving avoidance systems etc. Your car will probably run but the dashboard will be full of flashing lights some of which will go away once you’ve driven some miles but some not, maybe.

    So, knowing all this I have an OBDII analyzer meter specifically for my brand of car, VW: https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-Functions-Vehicles-Diagnosis-Injector/dp/B07WD9B7GR/ref=sr_1_6?

    And knowing that a safe way to change batteries was to keep 12v going to the car while the main battery was disconnected, I also got a cable that plugs into the OBDII port under the dashboard near the steering wheel and then plugs into an independent source of 12v such as a battery bank or jump starter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BHX1X8?

    So, after viewing a youtube video doing this for my car, I got 13mm and 10mm wrenches ready and:

    Plugged the OBDII cable into a power supply and into the OBDII port under the dash.

    Removed the negative cable from the battery, then the positive cable, enclosing the positive cable end in a rubber glove should it touch anything.

    Unscrewed the battery hold down bolt and plate at the bottom of the battery and removed it to replace later. This leaves the battery free to take out.

    Then I removed the heat ‘blanket’ surrounding the battery saving it for the new battery.

    Then I slid the battery toward the front of the car until it was loose from it’s slot and lifted its 50lb out of the car. Be careful with that!

    Then I cleaned the battery box a bit.

    Then I lifted the new battery into the battery box, fiddling with it to get it to fit into the slots in rear bottom of the battery box. Basically I tipped the battery down into the box floor and slid it back into the slots. If you weren’t aware of the slots this would stop you short!

    Once the battery was in place, I replaced the hold down bolt and metal plate and tightened it down.

    Now I carefully replaced the ‘blanket’ around the battery. In my case the new battery was bigger and I had to extend the blanket with gorilla tape a bit.

    Then I sprayed a little white lithium grease on the new battery terminals, you could also use petroleum jelly; this is to prevent corrosion.

    Then I attached the Positive cable terminal from the car to the positive terminal of the battery and tightened it. This is a good time to make sure you placed the battery in the car correctly, with the positive terminal of the new battery in the same position as the positive terminal of the old battery!

    Then replaced the negative cable onto the battery negative terminal.

    OK, battery installed! I removed the OBDII cable from the OBDII port under the dashboard.

    I started the car! No problems, no settings were lost because I used the 12 supply cable to the OBDII port while the main battery was disconnected!

    All finished, right!!

    No, the car computer has to be told about the new battery! If you replace with an identical or very similar battery you may be able to get away without doing this.

    I connect my OBDII meter to the port under the dash and go to ‘Special Functions’ then to ‘Gateway 19’ where procedures for ‘adapting’ the new battery into the car computer are located. I go thru some menus and answer 4 things: manufacturer of the new battery (I choose unknown and enter three zeros), the Ampere Hours of the new battery (70; my old one was 60), the serial number of the new battery (I just put in ten number 2’s), and the last item was the chemistry of the new battery. My old battery was ‘wet’ – my new battery is an absorbed glass matt battery, or AGM.

    So I search thru the menu list for AGM and the only thing I see is “Binary-AGM’ – so I choose that. Other choices were obscure, one was “Fleece” !

    So I disconnect everything, drive the car up and down the driveway and go inside. I look on the internet, that odd choice of chemistry bothered me. Turns out lots of people have had this specific problem, what to choose for an AGM battery! Many many people and finally I get to somewhere/someone who seems to know. I should have chosen “Fleece” for the chemistry of my battery!

    I go back to the car, connect the OBDII meter and change the chemistry to Fleece.

    You may wonder what Fleece chemistry is? Well “they” say that in the translation of “absorbed glass matt” into German (from which the English menus are made) somehow the cloth like texture of the glass matts between the lead plates of the battery came out ‘fleece.”

    • This is one of the many reasons that I truly HATE modern cars! The computer thinks it’s smarter than you, so when you turn off the key, the radio keeps playing unless you turn it off. If you open a door and close it, the interior lights stay on unless you start the car. The idiot things try to anticipate what you might do, even though they have no idea what you will do. A CAN bus runs all through the car for no reason beyond saving a dollar or two worth of copper for regular wiring. The computers(several) are logging all kinds of useless information and making adjustments down below the noise floor. That’s not what we buy cars for, its to drive them. I’ll be changing a battery in my most modern(2008) car eventually, though it’s gone dead several times from the parasitic engine off load. I’ll be replacing it with a larger size – the largest I can jam into place. I won’t do the OBD backup thing – too much work. The lights can flash and complain as much as they wish. My favorite car(1997) has a stupid wrench light, along with the regular SES light, and it stays on for about 15 miles after I disconnect the battery for any reason. How do you do real work, like changing a starter without disconnecting the battery? Leaving 12V attached will almost always result in a spark to ground with indeterminate results. We’re stuck with this nonsense until we either all modify our cars for maintainability or the government and corps stop their idiotic design micromanagement of our vehicles.

    • You’re driving a diesel?

      If’fn your OBD-II gives you cause, try replacing it with a Ross-Tech VAG-COM.

      The central computer (ECM on steroids) wants to know specific battery type so it knows exactly, the output and charging params of the battery. I haven’t looked at the VW tech since about 2010 so I don’t know whether the ECM “adjusts” its input to mate perfectly with the anticipated voltage and current, based on battery type and alternator output profile (or if it modifies the alt profile to fine-tune it WRT the battery type). It’s incredibly unnecessary, and supreme overkill, but I wouldn’t put it past the Bosch engineers.

      BTW, I plan to be working on my 1970 Buick by the middle of July. It’s convertriple top motor needs a rebuild. Know what doesn’t need a rebuild? Anything electronic…

    • Hillary on the ballot would be yet another reason to aggressively campaign for President Trump!

      • If they do it…. I believe they will let it sit until the very last minute.. or until after he gets the job the second time around then afterwards propell the vp up to president and she will slide in as VP or wait until just before the election then have kammy purebred drop off.. then shove her on it.. no one will have a choice..

  4. (“Passing on Pasta? Darden Restaurants Reports Mixed Results as Olive Garden Sales Decline.”)

    All the brick and mortar businesses are showing a reduction in client traffic.. Its some scary stuff.. as prices go up.. people spending goes down.. the edge of plastic.. people that I know have been using plastic to even out their lifestyles.. spend it now pay later is coming to a close..

    • Personally, I enjoyed my $4.68 bacon (thick, 4-slices), egg (2 large), toast (slathered with fresh-churned butter), and bottomless coffee (served with fresh cream and honey), this morning. I know I can make it for a buck-50 less, but ya never know who’ll pop up in the local greasy spoon. Today I was by myself. Yesterday the guy in the next booth was a world-famous jazz trumpeter whom I’ve known for nearly 50 years, who just came off a brief tour…!!

  5. if you want some ideas as to the NVDA ponzi check out Just Dario on X – if its still up he went back and had photographs of their partners I believe in Singapore and parts thereabouts – more recent posts are still there …..

  6. Per your assumption of a ramp up to war with China. I am doubtful.
    Without China we don’t have steel, batteries, basic drug chemicals and a whole lot of electronics and energy components. Without those components, the US economy grinds to a rapid stop.
    It is all speculation, of course, but it seems to me that cutting some kind of a Hong Kong deal re Taiwan will be the preferred choice in order to keep industrial basics flowing. To rebuild industries here, in a fractured climate future, will take decades.

    • Without China prescription drugs will virtually disappear – when the downers disappear there will be a lot of very F__ked up folks

      • Sadly.. I read the daily news and realize that they downers don’t have to disappear.. there are a lot of very F___ed people right now.. and they all seem to be the ones in charge of this shit show..

    • The Chinese offer $10,000 EV cars. America can’t compete. We just don’t see $10,000 cars from F/GM/TSLA.

      KBB indicates the cheapest U.S. car is the Chevy Traxx @ $20,400 and it’s made in South Korea. South Korea is a long distance commute for any American worker.

      The next cheapest American jalopy is the Buick Envista @ $22,400 and it is also a Chinese/South Korean collaboration.

      .gov can shield Americans from the $10,000 value cars but the rest of the world moves on pushing American workers further and further out of reach.

      The Cheapest New Cars of 2024

      https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/cheapest-new-cars/

    • The Bidenistas usurped the USA back in 2020. They have no interest in helping America do anything. IMHO, they’d start a war with anyone just because they can.

    • We DO have steel, drugs, and electronics/energy components. We do NOT have lithium, nor have we either massive power transformers, or the ability to build them.

      However, without us, China does not have enough of a market to sustain itself.

      In a massive boycott, China goes down before the U.S.
      In a war, we both go down, but I don’t know, and haven’t seen a credible analysis regarding who hits bedrock first, or how hard the U.S. hits. I kinda think that question moot, because the loser will become the looser — then everybody loses…

      • (“However, without us, China does not have enough of a market to sustain itself.
        In a massive boycott, China goes down before the U.S.”)

        Hmm.. I am curious would the ripple effect take them down first..with the sanctions.. and the fact that ninety nine percent of what we put in the cart comes from a company that is owned by China.. and they have more corporate farms than Bill Gates.. An acquaintance of mine.. owned a company that recycled .. he was almost put out of business when the chinese bought the grain export elevators.. the turkey you get for thanks giving and xmas.. raised and processed by a company owned by china.. the beef you buy at the local market.. unless it is a private meat packer like the one we have process ours.. comes from a meat packing company owned by china..USE to be that the local pork processor here the employees and the USA got first dibbs on products.. the company store you could get a full loin for under five dollars.. and case of hot dogs for under five dollars.. ( they were five cents a package for employees) today the USA gets the products that they produce but China gets first pick and there isn’t a company store anymore.. our cookies..
        come from Mexico.. golden oreos.. are all made in Mexico.. the snack packs.. were sixty dollars a package plus shipping .. you couldn’t buy the snack packs west of the Mississippi so you had to order them from NYC.. that ordered them from MEXICO.. to get them at Lowes.. that sold them.. the cost of thirty two ounces of cookies was aaaI believe a hundred and thirty plus shipping.. NOW you can buy them from Mexico.. online and get them cheaper.. like two dollars a box or something like that.. plus shipping.. in 2008 when the recession bailout of GM.. a company in mexico that was making auto parts.. wanted a dollar an hour for forty hour work week.. GM’s response was if your going to hold us up in robbery like that.. they would get the parts made in China.. here the workers make a month several years living wages there.. per month.. we have a huge cost of living in comparison..
        I would love to know what they sell solar panels for.. I know what I can get them for here.. but what are the costs on those over there.. if we are paying a hundred plus.. then they are probably paying below ten dollars a panel.. the steel.. phew.. I believe I read someplace that the steel from the twin towers was shipped over to china to be remade into steel for here.. we are so dependent on everyone manufacturing what we use.. I believe we would suffer more than they would..
        it would hurt them.. but then we thought sanctions would hurt Russia to.. with the vast majority of the smaller countries.. that we have HELPED? militarily tired of our bully attitudes that have signed agreements with china and russia.. they still have the vast majority of the planet as business …
        I still can’t get the bassinette we wanted to buy for our great grand daughter.. its not for sale in the USA.. we got something else that is kind of nice..
        Its like the pallet of empty beer cans I got.. for twelve dollars they upped the amount because shipping was the same either way and since I buy from them regularly they just figured oh what is the difference.. they still made money..I want to know how much that scrub pad I get for dishes costs.. its ninety nine cents here.at the dollar store.. works great I don’t have a problem buying it for a dollar its awesome.. but was the price even a penny…probably not.. if their annual wage per year is a hundred and twenty five dollars a year.. living expenses.. then they can’t be charging that much there.. if retail on top of the line dishwasher in turkey made with parts from china factories is four dollars and fifty cents.. to sell for four hundred and fifty here.. and the annual wages for a factory worker is twelve fifty a year.. ( that is why it is four dollars and fifty cents.. one third of a yearly salary only the rich can afford one.. a regular worker would have to save and make it a lifelong purchase )
        We shipped manufacturing there for that reason.. big buck billies pocket book needs to be filled.. its the business model.. we dumb down our kids.. even our doctors and our medical are produced from there and the doctors get cheap education .. go to the VA count how many americans there are as physicians.. and how many are imports.. working off the schooling..

        • “and the fact that ninety nine percent of what we put in the cart comes from a company that is owned by China.”

          Less than 5% of my purchases contribute anything at all to China or to anything that’s Chinese-owned (and that’s assuming Samsung source their lithium from China…) It is not difficult to buy American. It simply requires a little study. I don’t buy Nathan’s hot dogs or Eckrich bologna because they’re Chinese.

          You can choose to do something about our financial enslavement to the Chinese, or you can whine about it. I choose to take action…

    • I forgot to add: What we don’t have is “enough” of anything, and President Houseplant has ensured that our strategic oil reserve is so depleted that we can’t even tap our resources, let alone fight.

    • Average price for a home in California is now $900,000. Ppmothly payment, without insurance or taxes is $6,000. No wonder we have a severe homeless problem. Way to go Dems.

      • https://www.indeed.com/l-california-jobs.html?vjk=9e5a127567da9132

        and from the looks of it.. the jobs.. ( not counting the jobs at burger kind and McDonalds etc.. are averaging out around twenty to thirty dollars an hour.. How much is rent.. the last time I had checked rent.. for the big cities.. it was two grand a month just for a bunk space.. not an apartment..
        Even around here.. the average cost of a low income home is two hundred grand.. a federally assisted low income place is a thousand a month plus utilities.. and the average wage is between twelve and twenty.. on the page of jobs it shows the gross wages of even federal jobs.. and the position with the FBI would have to work sacking groceries to afford a home..or have another postion.. what is home insurance car insurance car payments in the california.what are the electric bills the garbage.
        I believe that is why the vast majority here are living on plastic.. I am sure they are there to.. once plastic ends.. it will spiral out of control in a very very short time..

    • That IS a sexy looking car, though. More like a space ship. But if I had 4.6 million to spend on a car…

  8. eyes on the Prize . Whats this we see hidden underneath the noise [Viterbi :)] ?

    Why it appears the Gov [has elected to] run out of ink to paper over losses.
    https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/if-japan-exhausts-intervention-slush-fund-treasuries-may-wobble-mcgeever-2024-05-01/

    Ergo: One of the top 5 banks in Japan dumps UST.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/norinchukin-sell-63-billion-sovereign-124008692.html

    Who owns all the banks in Japan?[almost all]
    https://www.crunchbase.com/person/yoshitaka-kitao

    Strap in for a rocket ride. Of course the preps have been years in the making, it’s great to be early on this, Buffet Style!
    here’s tidbit from 2019 the year of maximum distraction.

    https://www.coinspeaker.com/sbi-bank-japan-ripples-xrp/

    Disruption plans on a historic scale.

    https://timestabloid.com/sbi-ceo-states-what-impact-victory-against-sec-could-have-on-xrp-price-and-ripple-ipo/

    Havent covered rest of world yet. But Ripple’s been busy during the sec Lawfare kabuki.

    https://www.doubloin.com/learn/ripple-international-partnerships

    https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/xrp-is-the-next-bitcoin-if-we-solve-a-multi-trillion-dollar-problem-ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-202309170354

    Got Blockchain?

  9. “Field Day” has always been fun for me. The accomplishment of a set of “field expedients” and creative kluges with minimal resources has always been a delightful puzzle with a clear binary “deliverable.” (On-air — Yes/no.) Very McGuyver.

    From there (1969 & forward) I never missed a Field Day.
    And from there grew my abiding primary fascination with ham radio as a useful and crucial backup when EVERYTHING else is off.

    (My, WoRR, Principle 1: “What isn’t drilled, won’t work.”
    Principle 2: “When stuff succeeds, you get CONfirmation, When stuff fails, you get New Infomation, and you Learn New & Better Stuff.” Principle 3: “Don’t pre-empt. Things that can’t possibly work sometimes do, and are worth trying.” Principle 4: “Patience and discipline are everything.” Principle 5: “When it stops being Fun, stop doing it.” Principle 6: “Teach enthusiastically and gladly share.” Principle 7: “Ham radio is embedded and protected in Federal Law because it is seen as a useful Public Service. Contribute something.” )

    Ham Radio has many compartmentalized sub-pursuits. Contesting, County Hunting, DXing, CW mastery, Message handling, SWLing, Building electronic things, Etc, Some are on-air operational, some are shop skills, some are public service and preparatory, etc etc.

    A Very Worthy Pursuit, regardless of any particuar specialty’s fascination.

    Civilians often misunderestimate ham radio as equal to CB, but it’s more sophisticated by parsecs. It is NOT a bunch of ignorant uneducated jackasses bellowing and bloviating and making funny noises over a radio set they do not vaguely understand. (Still, CB has Real Value. “Emergency Relief comes on trucks, and trucks all have CB.”) (Ch 19 is 27.185 AM.)

    Ham Radio is independent, individual, infra-structure-free, and its wide physical distribution over the map makes it all but indestructable. Highly survivable. “Nodeless.”

    With a little learning, one becomes a fully grokking Intuitive Radio Practitioner, and “able to see in Radio Light in the mind’s eye.” (If you’re a ham, you will get that: if you’re not, you probably won’t.)
    ———————————————–
    “UrbComm Net” — if & when the balloon flies:
    3.999 LSB by Night, 7.295 USB by Day.
    (“7.295” is a change-udate from 7.299 LSB.)
    (NO NCS, No “Head-shed,” locally self-organized. Recognition phrase is “Business Model,” slipped inconspicuously into the conversational stream.
    Special Listening Periods on the :15 and the :45 minutes.
    NO tuning around to dodge QRM — “spot” frequencies — WAIT patiently for QRM to clear.

    May God bless and protect us all in the coming great storm.

  10. I learned how to change a battery, gap my spark plugs, change a tire, and how to jump a battery in a special “girls only” class. You had me at 50 pound battery. That was very interesting and amazingly complex.

    • Amazingly complex, and unnecessarily so! Blame the manufacturers!

      Congratulations on learning the basics of ICE based car maintenance.

    • Yes maybe the new one was 48 lbs. I was worried about that but it wasn’t too bad, it’s only for a short distance from and onto a dolly. I think most cars would run without all this hoopla in the battery change, but not sure I would want to find out!

  11. LOOB
    Do you have any recommendations for an ice cream machine? The very wide price range has me confused as to how to narrow it down.
    thanks

  12. Yo G, Donald Sutherland as Oddball in Kelly’s Heroes was one of the all time classic characters. “its a mother beautiful bridge”. ” Stop with the negatives waves Moriarity”. One of best “war” movies ever….

    • Kelly:
      Well, what do you think, Oddball?

      Oddball:
      It’s a wasted trip baby. Nobody said nothing about locking horns with no Tigers.

      Big Joe:
      Hey look, you just keep them Tigers busy and we’ll take care of the rest.

      Oddball:
      The only way I got to keep them Tigers busy is to let them shoot holes in me!

      Crapgame:
      Hey, Oddball, this is your hour of glory. And you’re chickening out!

      Oddball:
      To a New Yorker like you, a hero is some type of weird sandwich! Not some nut who takes on three Tigers.

      Kelly:
      Nobody’s asking you to be a hero.

      Oddball:
      No? Then you sit up in that turret baby.

      Kelly:
      No, because you’re gonna be up there, baby, and I’ll be right outside showing you which way to go.

      Oddball:
      Yeah?

      Kelly:
      Yeah.

      Oddball:
      Crazy… I mean like, so many positive waves… maybe we can’t lose, you’re on!

  14. “Putin makes another nuke threat to West”

    Putin has set himself up for a one off selective assassination w/possible First Strike on the Russian Motherland.

    Recall Little Bush’s speech, which people loved. 911 got him a mandate, second term. Just change a noun or two.

    “THE PRESIDENT: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition *elite global* forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq *Russia*, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

  16. https://warnews247-gr.translate.goog/diethnh/hpa/h-alwsh-twn-hpa-ek-twn-esw-kinezikes-mustikes-uphresies-mia-anasa-makria-apo-19-amerikanikes-baseis-apokaluptika-stoixeia/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

    hmm… that is interesting.. along with the FSB and a general saying that the Russians have seeded our coastline… Hmm.. NAW…. Joe Biden is a man of honor and ethics with a high moral back ground.. he is right he isn’t allowing a secret army to come in as a trojan horse move..
    Doing the port deal with the makers and distributers of the Club K defense system was a smart move as well.. we all should be greatful for his guidance through these troubled waters that Trump put us in… Well… heck I almost gagged and threw up in my mouth a little bit even just typing it LOL LOL LOL what morons.. and then to disregard and toss out all the warnings by our own generals that sound like a broken record.. a set of agencies that are more worried about people going to church than the people they are bringing across… …

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