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 (Ben Dover’s Economics)
(Part 2 first.) I had an odd hose failure of a 25-foot drinking-water safe hose this week. The male end of it simply blew off in the low 90s heat. First good warm-up of the season, by the by.
So, I ordered the requisite 5/8ths hose barb with GHT (garden hose thread) male fitting.
It arrived. I put it on and? Damn think leaks. Flaw in the brass. Chineseum metal failure (CMF).
Well, maybe because I should have gotten a 1/2 inch barb, too. Since softening the 5/8ths hose and sliding it on with a heat gun *for softening the hose) may have been a little, oh, excessive.
About here, son G2 wanders by. “More ‘enterprise level’ shop work, Dad?”
(cursing) I ordered disappeared into the office to order a 50-pound sack of 1/2 inch barb male pieces with hose clamps. But they only come as a set of so many….which means I’m out $20 bucks in parts and a week of monkey- motion plus a side of packages getting lost in shipping hell. There’s a portal somewhere in the Dallas area that opens up and gets important shipments. It’s like magical.
Oh – while I was waiting for the repair parts, I bought a new hose. 25 feet, drinking water safe for RV.
Yes. Exactly so. Less expensive to buy a replacement hose that than a pocket full of reusable (but wrong-sized) brass fittings.
Herein, please observe a key lesson about Life, economics, and how “the odds” bite us all, now and then. What that lesson is, however, remains unclear…
Burn the Trash
Walk with me, bubba. Tuesday morning.
We don’t get a lot of trash to burn, but the first stop on “shop days” is the burn barrel where the latest assortment of flammables is touched-off.
Lighting this off appeals to the “firehouse family” in me. Call it the “incendiary gene.
Depending on day, I might “help things along” with a 1/2 cup of gasoline, maybe some 2-cycle mix that’s gotten too old, a spray can of WD-40, some hairspray (used as a parting agent on the 3D printer glass bed for certain kinds of adhesion problems). Other times, an orange juice bottle refilled with diesel fuel does the trick.
For additional entertainment, depending on moisture, burn-bans, and winds, I will occasionally toss in old spray cans which make a nice, satisfying “…ker-whuuump!” when they explode. The more contents in the can, the larger the “...whuuump” part.
Visit the Gun Range
Visit the Gun RangeJust up the hill from the Burn Barrel is the tractor path up to the gun range.
From the shooting table, looking (telephoto) 100-meters downrange, this is what’s seen:
Saturday, the target was resprayed. Looks sharp now.
Yes, there’s a frame for catching bullet fragments (splash) and chunks of backstop (spalling), too. If you ever put in a “plinking range” it makes your setup much safer. Texas Outback Gun Safety Awareness Program (TOGSAP)…
100-meters with the AK is fine for an old man. G2, on the other hand, with his AR and fancy (been to the ME) aimpoint on it, does a fair silhouette grouping at 400 yards. He likes the idea of stand-off defense…which has a lot to recommend it. My idea is being somewhere else…
Back to the project list.
Hose Repairs (Part 1 – the Foreplay)
Neighbors joke “If I need anything, George usually has two or three of them…” Which is not entirely untrue.
Monday, it was hot here and the 3-year old short hose up by the lean-to greenhouse was hot – What laying in the sun, and all. Male hose end – a cheap crimp-job in China, fell off.
Now, with most people this would be a “throw out and buy a new hose” but we learned long-ago to keep several spare hose barbs with clamps included, so we could keep hose costs low. Texas sun is a killer of plastics.
A trip over to the Green Monster (*roll-around) chest and there on the bottom shelf was the heat gun.
A stop in the hardware aisle with “hydroponics and clamps” and there was the perfect hose barb – just like we’d been planning.
Key point here: Turns out Elaine didn’t use that all-in-one ProStormer tool kit much, so for a lot of bench projects, I will go to that kit. Seems like a good “starting point” assortment, rather than rummage through the “detailed tool” collection.
For example, the hose was a simple “cut off the end with a serrated edge rescue knife” (standard carry item). Done. Were it not carried, a visit to the “sharps drawer” could reveal razors, scrapers, scissors, PVC cutters, coping saws, glass cutters…where the list genuinely goes on for hours.
To the Green House!
Reader Elanore was asking about greenhouse operations when it gets hot as we’ve just slid into the 90-days of “Hell Weeks” in East Texas. She’s up in Okie-lahoma and greenhouses anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon become problematic from now to, oh, the middle to end of September. Just gets too hot.
Remember, though, we planned on this, so a swamp cooler – Hessaire M37 was selected (we have a backup,, too). And we wired in a cooling thermostat because our cooler has an off/on but no temp control.
This, as I remember, was about 18 bucks at Amazon. They have a little switch on the back to flip function from heating to cooling.
In the summertime, we can set, oh, 80-degrees say, above which the swamp cooler turns on. They can be used the other way – as a heater control. There’s a small (hard to see) slide switch under the cover on the back. Works great and will help to keep the power bills low.
Under conditions this week, it was shutting off the cooler for 8-12 hours a day, but the duty cycle will increase as the gates to hell open wider in July.
There are other things in the greenhouse of interest at this time of year, too. For example, here’s the Ozone generator hard at work.
I run this an hour, or three, a couple of three times a week (depending on memory and attention). These run about $80-bucks on Amazon and they do reduce greenhouse mold. Too much is bad for plants, so experimentation is the answer.
The result of all this finagling is that it’s been cool enough that the tomatoes are still setting the odd bloom:
And after a good tickling with an electric toothbrush, we may have another tomato for the table. I’ll cut the tomatoes way back next week.
Honestly, for survival gardening, you want “outside“ and you want to can and freeze. But the greenhouse is a year-round test bed for wild ideas. Root cellars are problematic here or anywhere in the South.
One of which is?
This is my “south polarization stick. Reader Hank out on the Big Island built one of those Boyd Bushman patents – the south monopole – which supposedly helps plants grow better. He also included some Hawaiian pepper seeds, so those are in the ground and we’ll know soon enough if they survive my “black thumb” plant killer schemes.
Electronics Projects
This is the Anti-Alzheimer’s light we’ve been monkeying with for the past several weeks as time allows.
We would encourage anyone doing experiments with this kind of light flickering tool to read up on an effect called Flicker Vertigo – and one of the best papers out there is here; Human Factors & Aviation Medicine March-April 2004 (flightsafety.org). ” Before using this device on a regular basis, I’ve decided to await more information on the impacts of 40 Hz flicker on personas who are susceptible to flicker vertigo. We ain’t doctors.
It was going to take a few days for some overseas sourced polystyrene 1 uF cap0acitors to arrive, necessitated by high-frequency switching noise from the cheap 3D printer 12V power supply.
So, I took delivery on this solar cell (mini battery maintainer).
The idea is that the flickering light frequency (40 Hertz) should fire the solar panels and generate a nice clean signal to be measured on a meter.
Once it’s been used for this project, then a plug-in will be added to one of the tractors and it will resume life as a battery maintainer.
The best frequency setting was as $22 flicker tachometer. These normally squirt a bit of laser at a piece of reflective tape. A photo sensor reads the reflection. Easy to set the speed of damn near anything.
EXCEPT you don’t need the tape. I just aimed it at the light and adjusted for 2,400 RPM which equals 40 Hz. (60 seconds times 4o flashes per sec.) RPM.
Now, the new problem is? Is the tachometer drifting or is the flicker device?
(I c an hear Hank laughing, already. “A simple audio generator, a couple of resistors and a transistor (J-FET, anyone?).” Too simple. I’m trying to adapt to G2’s indoctrination into “Least steps living.” Expensive course, so far.
Ham Radio Bench
An old Heathkit HR-1680 receiver was resurrected this week.
I’d picked it up for $100 on eBay and after about $10 worth of parts, it should resell around $150-$200. Not like I need additional radio gear but when you have two “extra class hams” eyeing HF there’s a fair bit of “My troubleshooting is faster than your troubleshooting…” that goes on.
Pappy always gets the last laugh, though:
After ragging and nagging to get the main shop bench cleared? Wouldn’t you know whose new shelving clogged up the workspace again? G2’s!
I won’t bitch too much; he’s busy with his EMT job so I do cut him some slack. Though less than when he was on a travel team.
All worked out, though: The FedEx lady who delivered the shelving box turned out to be a rockhound. She’d spied a small piece of petrified wood in the gravel in the driveway.
“Sure…it’s yours!” I told her. “Let me get you another little rock for your collecting…”
In the shop I have a bag of hardball sized Amethysts from a space-time experiment.
You should have seen her eyes light up. “My God…it’s my Birth Stone!”
Yeah. When things are rolling in the shop, we’re being the kind of humans we’re supposed to be. Something Magical to it. I envy the Disney Imagineering crews that get to focus on fun stuff (and nearly unlimited creativity tools) and somehow they get paid at the same time.
All part of being Gods in Training, I figure. Point is, a well-lived life should be fun every day. If it isn’t, time to talk to the Boss.
You.
Write when you breakeven.
George@Ure.net
I have to say IMO a visit to your compound would be more fun than could be imagined.
We have a new UPS driver starting this next week. Lacy our current one, a drop dead gorgeous red headed farm girl is getting married and will be taking time off. She brought her cute young blonde named Makenzie replacement along Friday to say so long and to introduce her to “the boys”, our 2 Pyrenese so she will be able to get out of the truck when she makes her deliveries. Even though while they are intimidatingly huge the worst they may do is slobber all over her. She gave me an envelope to give to the boss/Mrs. When she got home and read it she got all misty eyed. We are going to miss her.
UPS is losing a good one. And I would like to meet the hiring person who keeps coming up with these attractive delivery drivers.
Stay safe. 73
My UPS guy for the past several years has been a Pacific Islander – around 6’4″ – 260 and a face only a mother could love. Nice guy, we joke around a lot – sometimes stops long enough for an iced tea.., still can not pronounce his last name.
I had a Fedex guy who delivered to the office before I retired. Big as a house and would do anything for you. Name was Tofa. Never in the years I was there did I EVER see him without a huge smile. Been retired 8 years and I still get emails from friends there telling me he asked for them to tell me he said Hi.
If you find out who that HR person is, please get him/her a transfer to Texarkana. I can’t even keep the intelligent male UPS drivers here. Every time I get one trained to find our place, he gets moved to another route, and I have to train a new one.
Out in my jungles we have an all-female post office. Only an occasional male temp gets brought in from Hilo. I have the best postal delivery reliability that UPS and FedEx cannot match. FedEx has contract personnel that have screwed up and lost two shipments locally for me. Last one the tracking said it was delivered at 2:30pm. I was in the garage and saw no one. And no package was delivered. But I love my USPS gals.
Suggestion. Try:
https://parcelsapp.com/en/tracking/
What Tisunov has done is agglomerate every parcel tracker he’s found into a Savvy Search for mail order junkies. When he finds a new tracker he incorporates it into this page. My current “lost package” went from China to LaGuardia, NYC to Miami, Miami to Hollywood, and was delivered to an address in Hollywood, FL via USPS on May 26th.
I don’t live in Hollywood, FL. I don’t live within many hundreds of miles of Hollywood, FL, so I knew my parcel had gone astray nearly 3 weeks ago. USPS tracking shows the parcel getting to NYC, then the tracking stops and as far as the post orifice knows, my parcel is still on a carousel at LGA. Two days ago, they finally took my word for it, that the parcel had been lost.
‘Point is, Tisunov’s page tracked it to its mis-delivery on May 26. USPS tracking still has not.
“a week of monkey- motion plus a side of packages getting lost in shipping hell. There’s a portal somewhere in the Dallas area that opens up and gets important shipments. It’s like magical.”
A woman I know.. ( stunt woman in Holiwood calif.. wonderful young lady) anyway we were talking and she was reminiscing about fresh garden goods..
that year I grew some of the finest mini mellons you could ever find anywhere.. size of a grapefruit or softball.. one was one serving..
so I said hey no problems I would send her a couple of melons for her and her significant other.. some carrots a couple of mini muskmelons tomatoes onions.. you know a small garden box of goodies.. so I packed it real good.. double bagged everything and put ice packs on it.. and shipped it same day perishable to her..
It was at the post office the next moring tracked right to it.. she took in the number.. they refused to give it to her.. this went on for a week.. I called daily saying she is walking in the door right now.. ( I had her on the other phone) now give her the package…
those morons half of them didn’t speak english.. this went on for a long time.. finally I said dam it girl .. I don’t know if you should get it now or not.. that stuff was fresh when I sent it.. but its gotta be getting ripe..
a year and a half goes by.. I get a call.. what do you want me to do with this stinky box.. it was leaking out of the box.. I said.. well since I sent that perishable and you guys refused to even give it to her.. I thought I would let you smell rotton watermelons for a while.. just throw it away.. big city and employees that not only can’t read to dam lazy to do work is the problem in that situation..
I went to oklahoma city once.. never again laziest people on the planet banks that have so much wealth in them from oil that they won’t even look at a regular hourly waged earner.. told my banker you guys need to build a bank there.. visited the hospitals. and health centers.. omg.. fly me home if I get sick….signs at the zoo that should read don’t feed the employees LOL LOL.. the only good thing I seen in that city was the beans.. and the shrine of the bombing.. most reverent site I have ever seen.. more reverent than arlington cemetery.. the sadder thing I see in the wastelands.. what I seen there is migrating to the cities here.. not a good thing..
“Neighbors joke “If I need anything, George usually has two or three of them…” Which is not entirely untrue.”
thats what they say about me to.. my grandson said to me one day.. I said I think your dad may have one of those.. and he says.. Papa dad doesn’t buy tools you buy tools..
my debate lately is one of the members of the tow council was commenting that getting interesting booths for the upcoming community fair.. and two boys that are looking to do something..
I have been contemplating bringing out the fluffer and the popcorn canon.. ( have you ever tried your G… LOL I got the big one .. I only use a cup in it to much and it scorches.. this guy didn’t put any oil or salt in it.. I usually put in a quarter cup of oil…. most people are a little leary on them)
and the grain extruder.. just so the kids can show everyone else how it was done..
https://youtube.com/shorts/ju5SH673bow?feature=share
here is the one like what I gave everyone a couple years ago..
https://youtube.com/shorts/QKYFrCRf_ic?feature=share
the extruder is fun.. especially if your going to make something like cheese curls.. nothing in it but corn meal.. best to take corn and soak it.. then let it dry off.. grind it inot a semi moist meal..
the reason is as the grain if forced to the end it heats up forcing the meal to come out the end.. the grain expands rapidly once it hits the cool air.. great gadget.. can make serials.. what is funny is making wood pellets or getting oil from grain all works similarly.. but it would be a fun thing to let the grandkids do..
I have a niece in NY that was laid off.. and she was going to start goign to craft shows.. I had planned on sending the two units to her.. deifinately draw a crowd.. but the cost of shipping was to much for me..
https://youtube.com/shorts/pBw6MqlIpFM?feature=share
I got the stuff to show the kids how it is done.. making corn puffs and cannon corn is fun and teaches the kids.. but the opposite reason is.. IF.. things go the way I expect it to go.. having a tradeable talent.. in every downfall of the economy.. food drink were all priceless… during the depression in the gold rush years.. a cup of water was three ounces of gold.. a bath meal and getting laid was ten US Dollars its equivalence in gold.. Its still like that in argentina and zimbabwe… puffed wheat and corn doesn’t take to much to get a lot.. during the recession in the early eighties I used my plate making skills to etch glass.. and I did stained glass.. but that isn’t a necessity it is a luxury.. and I believe during a time of this recession .. it will be different..
What can you do, when someone offers you 26 (high-quality, American-made with hickory handles) mattocks for $28, or 62 (fresh & certified) 10 and 20lb drychem fire extinguishers for $80? You can’t buy one of either, for that kind of money…
Exactly LOL LOL LOL
I actually picked up the extruder and the popcorn cannon as a twofor.. I can teach the kids about how the process works.. both work on the same process as does harvesting oil from grains.. but because I am old now.. and things go to hell like they are.. then I could trade the guilty pleasures of street food..
a three dollar box of rice Krispies is only a quarter cup of rice puffed up.. expanded rice or wheat is shot out of the cannon.. the third cool thing is .. I have another interesting kitchen gadget.. gave them out for gifts last year or the year before.
my grandsons fiancee loves puffed wheat.. and my grandson came up lauging and said grandpa you need to show her how this is made.. so I did and she of course got a small one for the shelf..
“My God…it’s my Birth Stone!”
I wonder what kind of “woo” was her take away. Maybe her friend had a dream. “A guy with wood is going to show you his jewels.”
Finding a good hose is an expensive job now days. They used to be cheap as the dickens and I’m talking about the good ones, too. If you can see into the new hose you’re about to buy look and see if it has one of those danged ribs going down the full length of the inside. This has kept a good hose repair from being successful with me on many occasions. The rib refuses to compress properly and leaves channels for the water to go through when the hose is pressurized. I’m not a good enough surgeon to cut it out but YRMV. The more expensive hoses usually don’t have this feature.
Here in S indiana, we’re well below our average rainfall, though I have not checked to see the true total. Since the end of May, we’ve had nearly NO rain. My pond is down 2 feet,too. Supposed to have it all day today and my gardens & fruit trees are thirsty! My water hose system ran into snags, as well, with half of them having splits in them. Must be the year for it? I’ve also put in more misters around my home to keep the herbal gardens healthy, didn’t realize they’d be needed so much.
By chance, did you happen to dream anything unusual? I woke from a dream about bizarre electrical storms and can’t put my finger on how or why it was prominent in the dream. Just wondered if anyone else had such dreams lately.
Re: “ShopTalk Sunday”
feat. marshaling resources
Folks,
It was Sunday desert wear by the servant of the people as he warmly welcomed the photogenic UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment to the palace. Her Excellency Miriam Alheiri apparently possesses a post-graduate degree in mechanical engineering from a German institution of higher learning. “Ukrinform” informs that the Minister and her foil conversed regarding the Plan for the Reconstruction of the Ukraine.
Mr Ure, You’re looking for 40Hz? Where’s the O Scope?
which one? (the Kenwood or the Tek?) I figure no one would spend for a scope. A 22 buck rpm meter? May6bve
Nice.
It’s an interesting approach, and rpm meters are useful for many things. Scopes are too, and a cheap scope interface to a laptop is probably useful for many folks, presuming that the time base is accurate. Many newer tools from China(like inverter-welders) provide portable and economical ways to do things that were never practical before.
I make 5-foot hoses for the bibs in my walnut orchard. The Chinese brass leaks. So replace the washer, apply silicon gel, and throw away the clamp. Buy American made hose clamps, which don’t strip.
Thanks George
Can you explain a bit more about what’s going on in your south polarization stick picture? I’ve been playing with some electro-culture ideas and this looks interesting. Thanks.
Yo Mr Wizard,
Are you still doing Acoustic Levitation research. Like the song says – “ what’s the frequency, Kenneth?”
Have you ever heard Indian (Hindu) “ sound rounds”? special building blocks, marked with circle in center, one each wall/side. Tapping, specific frequency, the stones at same time lifted/elevated whole course up . Found in the ancient temples – the first one being Mahalingaswami Temple, still has a “sound round” building block at eye level/street level.
Indian cat goes by name of Praveen Mohan on YouTube – video of above mentioned temple demonstrating the acoustic quality of the Stone (s)
Be advised watching his work will expose you to ancient knowledge that seems lost,forgotten and suppressed.Hard to wrap head around..
RV?
What RV? You haven’t mentioned any adventure with an RV to my memory.
Let us in on the preps here, this is a direction I am starting to go.
No, we don’t HAVE to and RV – this is a hose FOR an RV, Big.
Gas hog? If you can’t be happy wherever Here is, no amount of money will change that.
Well, it is interesting to me because of the Browns two-step skedaddle plan first about 50 miles out of town to the ‘Farmlette’ and then a further hundred miles away from any population to the “self-organizing collective” in another state.
Already thought about buying a clapped-out towable RV to locate to the SOC. Now that house-1 is paid for looking to start construction of the cottage for her, the pole-barn Office/shop/ garage-dominium for me on the mountain top. Could have a couple of RVs there under the pole barn roof as temp guest rooms and then if fit really hits the shan and spreads out of Birmingham we can tow away to the far woods.
I’ve been under the weather the last few days, but managed to score a WW2-vintage jeweled Original Vibroplex with padded USN case, last night. It’s not my first Vibroplex, but it might be the prettiest…
“And why retired is usual just tired.”
The Literal translation of ‘retired’ is… “tired again”.
Would I laugh at you?…. No Comment. ;-)
It’s kinda weird being in your time zone, but way up north for a family reunion. Sun till 9pm? My body thinks it’s on another planet. And now when I get up early, I actually have to wait for your 8am posting time, instead of being the ‘caboose’ of daily comments.
So this week’s. Printed box fiasco was done with a hose, eh? I would think you would do the economic research FIRST…. New hose vs. repair parts and delivery times. You DO study economics, don’t you?
Hope your pepper seeds sprout there in ‘hell’. Keep ‘em wet. And those Ozone generators are a godsend in the humid tropics, where EVERYTHING grows black mold. I use mine on the interior rooms of the house periodically when things start to smell musty.
Hollywood Legend James Woods Takes One Look at Twitter, Knows Exactly What the Left Is Doing: ‘Political Hogs’
“Twitter is an amazing place. As crazy as the postings can be, if you’re familiar with patterns and algorithms and political party bots, you can easily identify trends.”
https://www.westernjournal.com/hollywood-legend-james-woods-takes-one-look-twitter-knows-exactly-left-political-hogs/
Conservative AI Chatbot ‘GIPPR’ shut down by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI
GIPPR AI, an implementation of the ChatGPT AI chatbot designed to curtail the original version’s widely documented leftist bias, has been shut down by ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
A project of TUSK, the conservative-created web browser and search engine designed as an alternative to censorship-prone options like Google and DuckDuckGo, was called GIPPR AI — a nod to Republican President Ronald Reagan’s nickname “The Gipper.”
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/06/08/conservative-ai-chatbot-gippr-shut-down-by-chatgpt-maker-openai/
Soros Declares That His ‘More Political’ Son Will Take Over $25B Holdings
Billionaire Democrat party-donor George Soros is turning over control of his enterprise to his younger son Alex, who says that he is “more political” than his leftist father and who previously claimed that he was ashamed of their family’s extravagant fortune.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/soros-declares-that-his-more-political-son-will-take-over-25b-holdings/
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro says ‘petroleum-based product’ fire caused I-95 highway collapse
Officials say a tanker truck carrying a “petroleum-based product” caught fire under the interstate near Cottman Avenue, causing the northbound overpass to collapse. Traffic was brought to a standstill after the incident, which occurred along I-95 in Philadelphia, according to reports.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/pennsylvania-i95-bridge-collapse-update-shapiro
This can’t be right. Anyone familiar with fires can tell immediately by the flames (and armed with the knowledge that those trucks ONLY carry petrol, diesel, kerosene, and #2 FO in their tank compartments) that the fire was obviously diesel.
We all know that a diesel fire can’t cause a reinforced concrete and steel structure to collapse, right?
Don’t ask WH that question.
As a matter of fact, two different gasoline truck accidents under two different branches of Birmingham’s Malfunction Junction where I-20/I-59 cross I-65 were brought down within a year of each other by trucks being cut off and crashed by inattentive teenage drivers.
Both branches rebuilt in record time by a “throw out the rule-book” state highway department that told bidders you will be done by this date. Every day early gets a small reward. Every day Late nets a massive penalty. Guess what, both came in a couple of weeks early, and traffic each direction was not badly affected.
Then the same happened in Atlanta a few years back and their Blue City admin could not keep their mitts off of the process, and they stumbled around replacing their overpass on the famous “Connector” for a while longer, but still got it repaired.
Just had to have “Federalism” where the states told the Federal Highway Department and their FARS “We got this, thanks.”
An RV is a handy thing to have when attempting an owner-built home. Thievery and vandalism are a lot easier to control at a building site if the owner is there full time.
Nonetheless, you will want to secure the road access. A barbed wire fence covered with hog wire is a good investment. You would be surprised how many hogs just come strolling down the road looking for property to vandalize.
The main gate needs to have both the closure AND the hinges secured to stop removal. I have three (3) locks and chains on all access gates. The cost is justified by a single incident. I had someone try to beat the hinges off the entrance gate. The miscreant got about halfway through before he realized there was a back-up chain and lock. While the nuts and bolts were already tack-welded, I have since used gorilla glue to keep the hinges from being beaten down. Welded hinges are a possibility, but the back-up chain and lock works.
Electric gates are too easy to defeat. About 3/4 of the crime committed against property owners nearby has involved theft of electric gate parts, or removal of an electric gate to facilitate trespass. Electric gates are no deterrence against a pro.
Use game cameras for access monitoring.
Yep. Got a hidden cell phone-connected game camera covering my gate with its electric opener. The electric opener is not obvious, and there’s a lock hanging on the gate (appears locked). The camera even covers my mailbox across the road.
Our place is 3 miles from the nearest highway and on a not-very-well-maintained gravel (dirt) road, so we don’t get a lot of transient traffic. Our biggest concern is trail rides by the nearby riding club. Lots of horses, 4-wheelers and pickup trucks, complete with loud music.
“Our biggest concern is trail rides by the nearby riding club. Lots of horses, 4-wheelers and pickup trucks, complete with loud music.”
Yeah, never saw the point to that — either loud music or loud partying. When I’m out in the middle of nowhere, I actually want to hear Nature, not just see and smell it…