ShopTalk Sunday: Z’at an IUD 60 Feet Up?

by

Ham Radio Focus today. You don’t need a license to read, though. And lots of hints, kinks, tweaks, and special sauce secrets along the way.

We have been in something approaching “recovery mode” since our consigliere left Tuesday and headed back to the (chillier) Northeast.  Leaving me no “second eyes” and “second set of hands” for the insane antenna mania that engulfs me ahead of winter each year…

The deal with winter is simple:  I cut my teeth on Morse at age 13, or so, with an old Hallicrafters S20-R receiver, hot-rodded with a homemade Q-Multiplier.  With a 60-Watt Eico 763 transmitter. Worked the world and had change left over.  Those old radios in patient hands? Winter nights on the 40-meter band. The glow of vacuum tubes.

I somewhere still have confirmation cards (called QSL cards) from countries that don’t exist: Congo, Rhodesia, South Vietnam – great adventure in its day.

By the way, those “old tech” radios have nearly as hot “signal-to-noise” measurements as most of the modern radios. The venerable HR-10 I tweaked on before the Major’s last visit here was down to -137 dBm on 80-meters, Thus, Morse competition was mainly on aural acuity because in the days before DSP, finely tuned ears were what made the difference.

There were a few “tricks” though.  One of which was using the old metal “cans” [headphones] on your ears.  The fidelity sucked (compared to Koss over-the-ears back when) but metal element headphones have resonances that can prove useful many times.

Antennas: Disaster, Success, Plans

The first pass at my Super-Antenna when we had a house guest was a “no joy” event.  WmoRR wondered if my testing had taken the poor band conditions into account this week. GeoMag storms earlier and all.  Yes, sadly it had.  The “modeled” standing wave ratio (in modelspace) turned into a best case 4:1 when rendered in the real world.

It was while tweaking the backup plan antenna into place, a KS6BKW design, that things began to go south.  The halyard on the tower to raise and lower somehow got snagged around one of the trap on the big beam antenna…

When I said it began to look like a flying IUD in the sky, I wasn’t kidding:

Plus, the end element is now about 45-degrees from horizontal – all adding to the effect.

Snags with the “raising halyard” aside, here’s a view in the sky of the new W5GI “Mystery Antenna” which I picked up last year from K4TR’s shop over here. The details are about a quarter of the way down his home page.

Essentially, the W5GI is not that hard to model.  It is comprised of three sections of antenna wire about 17-feet long either side of center.  And in between them is a piece of 50-ohm coaxial cable that is set up as a linear capacitor.  Unlike my design, this one worked dandy.

Nice, workmanlike build and the results were pleasing.

Which Gets to the New NanoVNA

Amazon delivered some answers to my antenna woes this week with the arrival of a NanoVNA-H4 which is the cat’s meow on this kind of “Quest for Best” holy grail at the end of the coax cable mission.

Here’s what the “regular OCFD” (*commercial, MFJ, at 30-feet) looked like on the analyzer:

This is 80 and 40 meters on the MFJ OCFD.  And here’s a wider view of the W5GI “Mystery Antenna”.

The Antenna works OK on 80 meters, maybe an S-unit better than the MFJ OCFD, but very close.  It’s also pretty even on 40 meters.  But on 20?  Mucho better. Odd double bottom on the SWR plot there.  The middle mini-peak is about 14.200 MHz.

Droning On

I wanted to explain that Saturday afternoon was spent putting the new right front strut on my antenna drone. (Potensic Atom-SE).  Showed up on schedule after coughing up $40 bucks for the part:

The installation video is pretty straightforward.  Potensic‘s are easy enough to work on – at least before a screwdriver landed in my hands.

The thing about drone launching of antennas is that you can spot at 80-foot tree all by itself in the middle of nowhere.  Instead of giving up, you load up fishing line and use that to back-haul paracord.

For these antenna experiments, the test field includes this tree:

Just left of the middle.  Where you can’t even see the antenna and line until you turn on some optical augmentation:

This is absolutely the most fun I have ever had playing with antennas at “useful altitudes.”

I figure a 1,000-foot roll of paracord and a few more spindles of 20-pound (or better) Kevlar leader and we should be busy until next spring.

Except, of course, that means nothing else will get done around here.

So best get back to it.  Got actual real projects next weekend.

Your Shop List 

Cold part of the year is here.  Click over to the big box stores and load up on faucet covers.

Drain water hoses and, if you use them in hot weather, swamp coolers, too.

I bought one of those impact-driver powered wood splitters and didn’t like it worth a damn.  I picked up something a little less dangerous than going all Lizzie Borden with an axe to make kindling. Amoist Kindling Splitter for Wood was $39 on the Zon and it works well.  Looked like it would be simple to repair with the welder if it breaks, too.

That showed up along with some of the other Black Friday goodies like the new 9-quart Dutch Oven. Deal for $59 but off sale now. Been reading up on how people baked bread in Dutch ovens.

Well, that got me to looking at DO baking and cookbooks.  Very interesting info, BUT they all have the number of briquets (so many on the bottom and so many on the lid…). Well, this means when I get to baking on the camp stove (in the Ft. Urepocalypse in the front yard) I will have to wing it a bit.

Elaine’s gotten me to promise some of the other projects around here would be tackled first.  Replacing a couple of feral-cat damaged screens…the list never ends.

On the other hand, having a long list and another day to chomp away on it, seems more productive than sitting and staring at the wall all day.

Active or dead, when comes to retirement.

Besides, the world is going nuts around us. 4 AM today, the news story catches my eye: Private Jets Headed To Global Warming Conference “Literally Frozen On Runway”.

Since the government has assured us of the reality of Climate Change, we’re getting close to doing a special report on prepping for an insane cold snap in an upcoming report…

Hand me the bottle of Cynical Pills, wouldja?

I gotta get moving…

Write when you build something cool (send pictures)

George@Ure.net (ac7x)

96 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Z’at an IUD 60 Feet Up?”

  1. “Since the government has assured us of the reality of Climate Change, we’re getting close to doing a special report on prepping for an insane cold snap in an upcoming report…”

    Twilight Zone – The Midnight Sun

    The Earth’s orbit has been perturbed, causing the planet to slowly fall into the Sun. A prolific artist, Norma, and her landlady, Mrs. Bronson, are the last residents in their New York apartment building. Their former neighbors have either moved north to seek a cooler climate or they have already perished from the extremely high temperatures.

    At twenty minutes to midnight, it is 110 °F (43 °C) and sunny as high noon. Norma and Mrs. Bronson try to support each other as they watch life as they know it erode around them. The streets are deserted, water usage is limited to an hour a day, and their electricity is gradually being turned off. Food and water are scarce and the sea has dried up. A radio presenter announces that the police have been moved out of the city and that citizens must defend themselves against looters, then angrily goes off script before being forcibly taken off the air.

    The scene cuts to the same apartment at night with heavy snow outside the windows. The thermometer reads ?10 °F (?23 °C). Norma, who has been bedridden with a high fever, is being cared for by a doctor and Mrs. Bronson. The Earth moving closer to the Sun is revealed to be only a fever dream, while in reality the Earth is moving away from the Sun, and the world’s inhabitants are actually freezing to death.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midnight_Sun_(The_Twilight_Zone)

        • LOL LOL I am with you Hank.. I loved it.. one of the funniest is I use to read FATE magazine as a kid..while in training school in the military my magazine found me in my baracks.. I was reading a story about this mysterious one room school house that vanished from one point .. and appeared in another serveral miles away.. exactly set up the way it was at the original..
          WELL…. I knew about that story.. it was in a remote region of the wastelands.. and huge ranches all around… so it was pretty remote.I was at an uncles house and one day was with a bunch of the eighth graders.. that started to laugh.. they got their fathers tractors and everything and the kids went to work.. moved the school house the swing sets etc.. to another spot as a joke.. so who would notice at all.. the put the fence together cleaned up the area let weed growth take over.. and set up everything at the same spot.. LOL LOL no one noticed till the teachers came to get the school ready for the coming fall LOL LOL LOL..
          another story in the wastelands was how a cow got on the flat roof of a school.. I know how that one happened to.. a similar as the one room school house.. LOL LOL that ended up in the twilight zone LOL LOL LOL

    • JC, that’s an excellent summation of one of my fav TZ episodes. At least a top 5.
      I like: The one with William Shatner and the alien ripping up the wing on the airliner.
      The one where the old couple decides the man will undergo the “young again” surgery and treatment, and then can earn enough for his ancient wife.
      The one with Burgess Meridith the bookworm, surviving the atomic exchange.
      The one with the small spacemen attacking the old lady in the rural area, then we learn about the origin of the spacemen.
      Thanks!

  3. S20-R was my first ham rx also at about the same age, after the introductory Allied Radio Space Spanner. what a wonderful workd to explore.

    I remember AFRS SW broadcasts of popular radio entertainment shows; anybody else remember those? Circa 1965 or so.

    Got it from a neighbor non working and fixed it quickly, something simple. Heath Qx, oh so sharp, a miracle!

  5. Top O the Morning to Ya G-fiat, Survivalites

    7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year -NONSTOP – Bitcoin trades. This is the WEEK ! The week of the UNCONFISCATABLE Conference in Vegas, Baby.

    -https://unconfiscatable.com/

    Aint no way U can consider Ureself a financial kinda reporter and NOT have EVER attended Unconfiscatable in Vegas..vice grips, ice pick.. puhlease

    Carnivory Dinner, Poker Game with industry titans – really swell Guys & Gals – very cool, extremely Smart group of people directly involved in or interested in, building out the future of Blockchain and crypto.

    Everything Crash is on the way – even the bitcoinz gonna get a haircut, unfortunately I think it will be a buzz cut..for All.
    In meantime, gonna enjoy the ride on the way to $50K BTC.

    PS – Ure ROI on Ham resto v running some BTC Mining Rigs -heat source for lean-2 greenhouse..thats right “green mining”!
    ..Giddyup Rodriquez! https://youtu.be/Kc_EouLBXZ8?si=dLsxTA9xuxsuYw_h

  6. I hesitate to comment on ShopTalk Sundays as I am the wold’s biggest clutz. I took shop class as an option in my high school days when I had dreams of being a research chemist. I failed the class when the teacher was marking my project and fell off a ladder I built because the rung he was standing on disjoined from the whatchamacallit. I once built a dog house that collapsed on my dad’s hunting hound. He never forgave me.

    Even though I wouldn’t survive in the outback without cutting my hand off with an axe, I do enjoy coming here Sundays and reading of the many creative talents out there. It is also a welcome relief from the upside down world we live in today.

    • you should see what Mini Me is doing BIC…. we had a bunch of shoe boxes LOL LOL LOL and they now have what is called MINI BRANDS.. a big hit with the little ones.. anyway he is getting creative.. turning each of the shoe boxes into a different scene..LOL his newest creation is his Hotel.. complete with tables beds etc.. and he had made with some clay two people playing cards LOL..
      ALSO.. you are not some Klutz.. every single person walking the earth has talents.. your talents is in water purification and you created a huge miracle in teaching others that were dying how to get water that would not kill them.. that is an achievement that all of us admire your skills will save millions and millions of poor people in Africa and the world over…… so why not tell a post on how to make a good water filter.. You are one of my hero’s.. god bless you and your achievements.. there is hope for mankind with people like yourself walking the earth..
      God bless my friend.. and have a wonderful day.. as I always say give everyone in your life a hug and let them know just how much they mean to you.. I do this always.. that way if we should pass while away the last memory that they have is how much you meant to each other..

    • “… I once built a dog house that collapsed on my dad’s hunting hound. He never forgave me …”

      So, after sending reply I’ll try to clean Vodka and V8 off keyboard! Snork. Portion inhaled into nose worked itself out and I can smell again!

      Your Ureness: we have all the cooking toys to go off-grid (should backup gas no longer power genset). Dutch Oven cooking is ole as the hills. Nike: just do it.

      LA fam. inbound, I’m struggling over when to kindle the fireplace, set coals for BBQ, finish cleaning Tiger Shrimp, take a shower (so Cuz has full reign of the upstairs bath).

      Maybe I should rearrange the last 2? Check.

      Giant Tiger Prawns – Penaeus monodon
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penaeus_monodon

      Kindling? Oh c’mon George. You’re not doing it right. Stand down the tools and develop hang dog look then … ask the Missus to collect sticks. Works for me.

      Shopping: bought the power bank for Egor Jr. and am considering adding a portable solar array. The price has cratered. Everything is on sale. Except for sails.

      But, that’s another story. Paul Harvey – Page 2

      Sonny doesn’t need a major alt. power plan, just enough to survive for a time. I have a KD greenhouse plan and parts. Will build it if I must.

      Mrs. Egor also has a honey-do novel for me. I pick off one item a week then, though not done, quit. There’s always next week and the girl could be easily spoiled.

      Best Regards,
      Egor

      ps – does it really get cold in Texas, Tex? Me thinks not

      • I use to raise Prawns.. and redclaw crayfish.. as you can see from this advertising.. they are sold out.. my guess is a lot of people are raising them now to get some sort of food protein that is easy to grow..

        https://liveaquaponics.com/products/redclaw-crayfish-adults
        I forget if this is the one that is from Texas or the supplier that is from Florida.. I raised tillapia clams red claw and shrimp.. did pretty good to.. used IBC TOTES…https://www.protank.com/ibc-tote-tanks?
        cut the top off.. and you can connect them in series.. I had two totes.. had tillapia that got up over twelve pounds to.. big sucker that was flipper.. I had to make a defelction screen.. easy to raise.. the water can be used on a garden or in aquaponics.. then you can use the flood drain cut the tote one third of the way down.. and use a tote as a growbed above the fish pond.. It was fun.. the only issue I had was they became pets.. I couldn’t harvest them… if you try it.. it is easy but when you make a nursery to sit at the bottom make it three stage.. quarter inch screen… half inch screen.. then inch.. you could get by with just the bottom two.. then put in a few chunks of pipe at the bottom.. this way the babies have a place to hide other wise they will get eaten.. it was fun and easy to do.. I gave mine away.. the guy that came to get mine said omg look how big that one is.. flipper.. One mistake I made is I had read that duck weed and algae were a hit with them.. so I ordered some on the web.. about a tablespoon full.. is all.. and though wow.. well there is one meal.. put it in.. now I had an automatic feeder so I would check on them ever couple days.. that duck weed and algae was at the right breeding ground and it took off.. the wife says dam we have sewer gas .. no it was that damned algae and duckweed.. ( oh hey they can make crude oil out of that LOL) that tablespoon of starter was enough to fill the tanks.. I had to clean all of that stinky crap out.. but I loved doing it.. I just couldn’t harvest them..

  7. Have to agree that a day attacking a todo list beats anything, well not that.
    Diana has been after me or more like yelling to get the new toilets and tile work done in both bathrooms. I splained to her that this work will need to be subbed out since I don’t have the tile cutting gear anymore and I don’t get down on to and up from the floor like I used to. A friend and old neighbor from the city and his 2 sons who are in the contracting business were set to come down today. I spent most of the day yesterday getting the tile and toilets staged in the hallway outside My Queens bathroom. My bones feel it today. Tim called this morning to beg off a week since another project is running long. I told DIana that it looks like she will have to share my shower with me this week. After “the look”, How about you move all that stuff into the sun room and then you can share my shower with me.
    Should have it all moved by lunch time.
    Stay safe. 73

  8. https://finishtherace.com/ella-ford/over-200-fbi-agents-embedded-within-crowd-on-j6/

    Dam.. did you ever think you would ever hear this from a flaming I hate Trump liberal.. OMG.. I am going to bet on the team that never would ever win at the super bowl this year.. or go with the worst stock picks ever.. it is going to be one cold day in the warmest place ever LOL..

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/bill-maher-says-he-agrees-trump-that-schools/

    • Straight out of the echo stench chamber, Newsmax, known for failed facts, conspiracy theories and pseudoscience:
      https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/newsmax-bias-credibilty-reliability/

      His own appointed judges are out to get him, lol:
      https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-own-judges-are-ruling-against-him-1848853

      Those injured or killed during Jan 6 can sue Trump:
      https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-not-immune-jan-6-civil-lawsuits-federal-appeals-court-rules/

      All his bad boy stuff is costing him big time:
      https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-campaign-machine-is-bleeding-cash-legal-expenses-2023-09-29/

      • “the echo stench chamber, Newsmax, known for failed facts, conspiracy theories and pseudoscience:”

        Well I have to agree with you @C.. because if you have a flaming liberal saying something like that ( or I wonder if that was one of those Russian look a likes that made the comment.. we won’t ever know for sure.. LOL LOL LOL.) If it is a flaming liberal …then it is definantly time to buy a lottery ticket or bet on a team that has never done very good to winning the super bowl because that would mean that its a cold day in Hell when you hear that stuff…LOL LOL C….

      • The same “fact checking” was used to describe ZH by a chop stick wielding Lefty I enjoy antagonizing over on NewsMax. Any news site that gives the Right a fair shake is too radical for the “fact checkers”. They all lean to the Left and anyone that believes them is breathing their own methane.

        Oh, and Trump still fills stadiums and gets standing o’s at football games. Not so much your oatmeal brained Cabbage Patch doll in the White House gets, now does he?

        • I hear ya bill… the lefties had better be careful.. they could easily end up in the darwin awards.. LOL LOL LOL

          “(25 March 1993)
          A terrible diet and room with no ventilation are being blamed for the death of a man killed by his own gas. There were no marks found on his body, but an autopsy revealed the presence of large amounts of methane dissolved in his blood.
          His diet had consisted primarily of beans and cabbage, just the right combination of foods to produce a severe gas attack. It appears that the man died in his sleep from breathing the poisonous cloud that was hanging over his bed.
          Had his windows been open, the flatulence wouldn’t have been fatal, but the man was shut up in a nearly airtight bedroom. He was an obese man with an unlimited capacity for creating the deadly gas. Three rescuers became sick and one was hospitalized.
          https://darwinawards.com/legends/legends1998-12.html “

      • Since our dear c can’t wait for her esteemed socialistic state to take over everything perhaps she’d be happy to go through Star Path Academy’s videos on how his family survived it in his Romanian village. This is the latest one Arpad(?) has posted.

        The secret hyperinflationary cabbage – they dont want you to know about

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNmQseKExGE

        • I just met a young woman that is here from serbia.. she can’t wait to get back home.. even though they gave her a government job the prices of everything is to high here.. hmm great benefits good wages.. slack job with endless days off and a very lucrative vacation schedule.. the golden goose health care package.. what whiners.. they should work a real job getting real wages and see what it is like. LOL LOL LOL

      • too blind to see aye,,, @c
        you say “Straight out of the echo stench chamber,”
        as you Quote directly from that echo chamber

        gut hooked and afraid to face the TRUTH

        Have a nice day c,, as I sing Zippity do dah zippity aye, catchy little tune,, happy thoughts now little c

        Trump won and everyone with a brain knows it
        except the scarecrow believers in the church of satanic main stream news
        cant ya see? c
        conspiracy denier

        I really appreciate Elon for telling them
        “FUCK YOU”
        as Andrew Breibart told them also “Fuck you, Podesta” same bunch of fellow conspirators
        then they killed him
        You @c are siding with the murderous baby fuckers

        WAKE UP OR GO DOWN WITH YOUR FALSE IDOLS

  9. George,
    I had a “time slip” moment on the road this morning. I recall you wrote something about them yourself some years ago.

    I’m on a single lane road and there is a small red car with the word “Fire” in white letters on the hood behind me, that keeps accelerating until he is right on top me. Driver is in his 20’s, dark hair, moustache and goatee beard, wearing sunglasses.

    I decided I didn’t want this annoying person behind me on a Sunday morning, so at the first opportunity I turn right, exiting the road, go to the end of the block, then left, then another left, now I’m back at the same road I exited, waiting to turn right to get on it again, about six cars go by and now it’s clear, so I make my turn. I’m driving for about a minute and a half or so, and I look in my rear view mirror… in the distance I see a small red car coming fast, tailgates me, “Fire” written on the hood, driver with dark hair, sunglasses, moustache and goatee beard.

    I couldn’t believe it. Again?

    There is a round-about just ahead so I go around it to again get away from this guy.

    I guess there might be a logical explanation, but being a red car, I would have noticed if he had pulled over to the side of road, and I had passed him.

    Then I thought about Stu’s dream and I wondered if it was Satan toying with me…

    • interesting. i have been watching that Train TV show series Hell on Wheels. its got Mormons, cowboys, Trains, Indians and Cheyanne, Wyoming. all takes place right around where im at.

      “Cold part of the year is here.”

      it was a blizzard here last night. i went and spruced up my resume to fill out that application for the nuke job and the nuke job is no longer. hmmm. okay no more nuke job. good. that is a really good sign.

      last night about 2 am i went out to smoke. the wind had died down and it was super cold, lots of snow, but still and quiet. lots of christmas lights out. im not where i want to be. but im where im at. im being held here. im in a holding station. since i Trust THE DUDE, He has me still here for a reason.

      i stood out there scratching my balls in my flip flops and sweat pants in the snow and said Have You forgot about me God?

      a couple moments past, the wind kicked up, a big gust, and i got hit in the back with a snow ball. i turned around and a Chicken was on the roof. i dont know how the hell a Chicken got on the roof of the House and if it was Her who threw a snow ball at me.

      but i laughed pretty dang hard and went back in the house.

      ive seen that too. the moving fire sign. many times.

      i went to a different spot to pray, sing, meditate and contemplate. to the guiser that errupts every hour on the hour.

      even when im overwhelmingly tired, i dont understand, and stuff seems to be a mess. and im getting my way or where i think i should be.

      i still get my ass out of bed, do my morning rutuals, help someone else, and go Pray, Meditate, Read, contemplate and sing songs of Gratitude.

      because….

      Circumstances and Events dont define me. Even Good Ones. I am who I am. and God is Good, All the time.

      • The chicken hitting you with a snowball sounds like an inside comparative theology joke. Refer to Joe Campbell’s Occidental Mythology, IV. Watchers of the Dead Sea, page 340 of 736.

      • for clarification: we all decided at the ranch it was an Owl who threw the snowball not a chicken.

        makes more sense.

    • you know JC, i dont worry about Satan. im on the Good Guys side. that is not my department. i do what i can do. God does the stuff i cant do. God does alot more for me than i do.

      one time this very rich and powerful Luciferian said to me, If i was Satan? id kill you!

      3 weeks later he was dead and Im still here.

      so i dont give much thought about Satan. i read the end of The Good Book and i know who wins. lol

      The last i heard The Devil went down to Georgia and lost to a Redneck.

    • and every single night, when my head hits the pillow, in the back of my mind, im praising God as i fall asleep, i think, if i dont wake up in the morning? i did good. i gave it my best.

      every single morning when i wake up? in the back of my mind im still praising God and singing songs and hymms and think, okay then, im not dead yer, another oppertunity to give it my best and do good.

      and when the day comes i dont wake up in the morning. i know, no matter what anyone says or thinks, i gave it my best, ended the day in Gratitude, and I did good.

      and nobody can ever take that from me. not even me. i gave it my best, i did good and i was grateful.

      • Sometimes a weeks vacation where you don’t go much of anywhere, don’t overexert and stay warm can help recharge the spirit. Sleep in, visit on the phone, eat sit down meals at restaurants and see the local sights. Meditate inside looking out the window. You might do a day visit to a ski resort just to see how the other half lives. The objective is to rest and take in the season. I bet there are some good sales on at the outdoor equipment stores in neighboring cities. Parkas, thermals, wool socks and contingency sleeping bags are good things to have in that location. I do a lot of my clothes and equipment shopping for the year around Christmas when everything goes on sale. No need to drop a lot of money or save the world, unless you just can’t refrain from it.
        A lot of people get depressed around Christmas. Get out and mingle a bit.

        • “Sometimes a weeks vacation where you don’t go much of anywhere, don’t overexert and stay warm can help recharge the spirit.”

          Hmm… big question who in the hell gets vacation these days.. the only ones are govt workers and executives.. LOL LOL LOL
          I personally have never been on a vacation….that is why my obituary says.. he went on vacation… loves his family and friends very much and hopes that the temperature is mild where hes going..until we all meet once again..
          anyone that reads it will wonder.. hell he hasn’t ever gone on a vacation anywhere.. and will come ask where I went.. then go down to the local chicken ranch give all the kids some quarters for the games and a fallen Christian toast for me.. https://youtu.be/KDp2MD6voh4?si=aCtgHTReAk_V2JDA

    • OR… was his car accidentally hooked to yours LOL LOL..
      OR… maybe there was a real reason why he was behind you.. I remember once trying to stop a car from going over a hill they thought I was some creep … they sped up.. went over the hill and hit the cow standing in the middle of the road totally out their car almost killing one of them and killing the poor cow just being a cow.. I realize there are a lot of really bad people in the world but the vast majority of them are really not that bad..

    • honestly, this is the closest i have been ever in my life, where i feel like i could breath my last breath when i go to sleep at night. im tired. im soooo tired. i think ive run a really good race. and i happy with my results.

      im at the point i dont even care about the rewards of winning anymore. i just want to be done.

      im not sad or depressed or angry or afraid any of that. i just want to be done.

      ive lived a hundreds life times in the last 4 years. seen more and done more than most people do in a hundred life times.

      and i also know, that means im right there at the breakthrough.

      so i dont know, but im ready to be done.

      if i breath my last breath tonight when i go to sleep? im good. so good with that. im happy, i gave it my all.

      im still here, so God aint done with me yet. i know the foot prints in the sand aint mine. i being carried accross the finish line. that is a fact.

      i spoke to a hopi elder and he said, that is why you were chosen. because nobody else could do what you have done. and even though you are exhausted and feel lost? you are one of the only ones who isnt lost.

      hope you all a very merry Christmas.

  10. “Well, that got me to looking at DO baking and cookbooks. Very interesting info, BUT they all have the number of briquets (so many on the bottom and so many on the lid…). Well, this means when I get to baking on the camp stove ”

    I walked into SAMS club..
    they had this for under two hundred dollars… dam.. I grabbed one put it in the cart.. walked all around the store then put it back..
    How many smokers do I truly need.. I have a wood fired pizza oven.. I have two pellet smokers.. and one that is an electric smoker.. grill.. three or four indoor infrared griddles.. one ( this is really nice and fun.. ) the nordic ware.. Oh yeah baby yeah….
    https://youtu.be/JBHKVAs85Ko?si=A-FoGyUNJQb7QHaI
    .. this one is the one to get..
    https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-36550-Indoor-Outdoor/dp/B007ZKUVPC/ref=sr_1_23?
    a couple of cold smokers and a smoke gun.. LOL so the wife would have had my ass if I had brought the ninja home..
    of course price has gone up a tad.. I think I paid thirty nine or twenty nine for mine.. was a day or two ago.. only gets used in winter time.. the smoke gun .. now that is more fun.. want to have some really nice smoked gouda cheese.. yum.. and you don’t have to do a ton of it.. just what your going to eat..
    get the kit though.. comes with all the covers and extra inserts for other containers..
    https://www.amazon.com/Upgrade-Smoking-Portable-Cocktails-Gifts%EF%BC%88Black/dp/B091L8D481/ref=sr_1_3?
    I can’t find the one I have now.. but I have a vacuum meat marinating pan with vacuum pump on it.. put the steak in it and hit the button.. open it up and cook away.well if you want your smoke injected into the meat.. then this is easy to do.. and works oh so well..
    https://www.prepsealer.com/products/marinating-vacuum-seal-container
    similar to my vacuum sealers.. I don’t dare bring another one of those home either LOL… got a couple.. kitchen gadget.. love em.. the wife cringes when they have a new gadget on television LOL LOL

    • LOOB , Ive been through too many of the $200 vacuum sealers. Ive spent more money replacing them than if I would have simply bought a better unit to begin with.

      Eventually the seals from the old units have all failed despite our best efforts. Good for vacuum sealing jars for short term.

      Considering the amount of foods tossed in the garbage , it got to the point of us buying a more commercial type sealer.

      Bought a VacMaster and havent looked back.

      The vacuum bags are quite an update as well as the unit.

      Yes , pricey. But if anyone is interested , they do go on sale often.

      Zero issues with sealing and zero foods tossed for over a year.

      FWIW….

      • OH my Dave.. I had some of the ones you buy at the big box stores..
        Give Thom a call at pmg..

        https://www.pmgquality2.com/
        I have a couple I truly adore.. I love my snorkel unit.. but the chamber vac is perfect for doining a half cow.. and Thom will walk you through it in any event if something fails.. there were a couple that I had that were not strong enough to do retort canning and they both were quite expensive.. gave one to my brother and another one to my grand daughter..
        for a decent one for jars.. the newest one I got is nice..
        perfect for pickles etc..
        https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Cordless-Regular-Storage-Fermentation/dp/B0C9L6ZMDC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?
        the snorkel one I have is really nice to.. I actually have two of those.. nice and powerful with a double pump..
        https://www.amazon.com/MS400-Compatible-Commercial-Household-Operating/dp/B09FPPLSVS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?
        I bought a auto sealer for our ward.. along with a freeze dryer.. since later day saints believe in being prepared for the storm.. I thought what a nice thing for everyone to get use out of.. but they told me to keep them.. LOL LOL
        https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Continuous-Horizontal-Temperature-0-02-0-08/dp/B08YD5LSPL/ref=sxin_17_sbv_search_btf?
        this is the one I got for the ward.. even put it on a cart to LOL… similar to the one I have for myself..

        https://harvestright.com/product/home-freeze-dryer/?attribute_pa_attribute-size=attribute-size-large&attribute_pa_attribute-color=attribute-color-black&attribute_pa_attribute-pump=premier-pump

        It took me two years to pay it off to.. the one the ward had was just a small band sealer.. which when they closed down the bishops warehouse.. now they only sell canned goods.. which is ok.. I have the can sealers to.. I use to can using can’s.. but then discovered retort canning is really easy and saves a ton of space..
        Oh I had an chamber vac for the ward to.. so I have extra’s.. one breaks down I have another.. the chamber vac I use the most actually had a fuse go out of it.. it was pretty hard to change especially since I am blind.. and my nose has to be almost on the item to see it.. and sending it to Thom was a real expense since it has to be trucked.. ( yup that heavy..) I never did hook up CO2 to it.. but sure could.. long before I got the jar sealer.. I used pvc pipe.. and a brake line vacuum pump..
        https://youtu.be/8LPZfZYDyWY?si=YE3qsEKpGq6C5sLJ
        I made something like that.. It use to have a guage on it.. but I have taken that off and can still use it without the gauge.. I didn’t need to know if I had a perfect vacuum on the jar..
        https://youtu.be/jKmREnrjRUE?si=S_oMX3q5vTJtl6MZ
        what I did different on that one was.. I put a drip jar.. but then your doing jars so that was a waste to.. since the line in and out is at the bottom of the chamber.. I feared that since water boils in a vaccuum at room temperature.. that I could have moisture problems on the hand pump.. ( that is what happened when I made a home made freeze dryer.. dam you had to babysit that puppy.. and I hated that so I just bought one.. ended up to be worth every penny in the end)

      • I actually had two vac masters.. great units but not strong enough to seal retort bags.. those were the ones I gave to my brother and grand daughter.. Now I get all my bags from thom.. nice guy knows his stuff to.. I do buy the one pound retort bags from vacmaster though

    • Dude Loob – pounded earth pizza oven out back the house. Get Ure mini me’s to do the labor, line that sucker with some fire bricks and voila – designed just so – that badboy can double as Naan cooker/Oven..slap that Naan dough on side wall, and youse got fresh warm “Gupta’ bread to go wit Ure Chicken Tikka..YUM! or a Chicken Tikka Pizza = mind blown!

      ..whoops – gonna need yogurt maker for Tikka sauce as well some Tumeric.
      The Luvele “superfood” maker I posted on here is Sold Out and on Backorder..should be getting new onein time for Christmas (present for Daughter/Soninlaw/GrandDaughter. They keep taking my fresh “yogies” for “Gracie Pops”..we take a small plastic bag of Black Berries and mush lightly, this Mush gets mixed into fresh Yogurt and placed into popcicle molds. 14 month old LUVS her yogie pops, she gets one with her dinnerz
      *
      L Ruteri and L Gasseri a super SYNERGISTIC combo SUPER Food. I source the cultures from Cutting Edge Cultures.
      *just like Sourdough starter – 4 Tlbs of current batch = 1 packet cuture.

      • You know.. the best loaf of bread I ever ate was when I was a little boy.. on Thursdays mom baked bread..the left over bread was left to dry out and bread pudding was Sunday desert. store bought bread was unheard of..Anyway we went camping my father forgot to pack the bread. mom made a frame with sticks and my sister and I made muse and coated the frame..she then put a fire inside it then coated it again where it cracked.. then sent dad to the store and she baked bread..it was the best bread I have ever eaten. oh I have a wood fired ooni pizza oven.. my addiction is kitchen gadgets.. the wife fringes when the new kitchen gadget is advertised lol.. now I can count how many radios I have on one hand and still carry a cup of coffee and probably a sandwhich. everyone has one the one thing you cannot live without.. mine is kitchen gadgets and books..i am not sure which one she cringes worse from..
        I totally don’t need another grill or smoker..its the new gadget on the block..kind of like the big easy..
        https://youtu.be/agGr3OxI_xI?si=YW20T8DIeCoVhW4c

      • I love yoghurt to.. making it is great.. once you get the culture working good.. the secret is in the cultures.. after reading your post all I can think of is making a batch of yoghurt or cheese LOL LOL

    • Why do I have this vision of LOOB working part time at the local warehouse store, demonstrating a different appliance or kitchen gadget every week?

      • I sure could.. I could do that with tools to..
        when I worked grocery store I use to dream about writing a kitchen newsletter weekly and have recipes and processing using the coupon items in their weekly ads..

        at the big box hardware stores I was amazed that the kids there didn’t have a clue.They can run rings around me in computer and I totally had to have an 8 year old show me how to use the phone..but strangely they don’t have a clue on how stuff works.
        which is why I am going to teach the little one how the gas is created for a camp stove or how the Amish light and heat their homes..that’s also one of the reasons I believe they will be better off surviving a TEOTWAWKI event. they practice the ancient and primitive lifestyles where even myself would be lost without some modern technology.. we take it all for granted..
        so I made it a point to come in and ask for a different tool every week lol..

  12. “Write when you build something cool (send pictures)”

    That is a good idea to expand your content, with a caveat or two. Rawles’ SurvivalBlog is almost all guest content now. I wouldn’t want to see you go that route.

    I’m happy that you have found a way to lift antenna wires up out of harm’s way. Your drone solution seems a perfect fit for Ure needs. Hopefully you can demo just as easily, otherwise I can see that your pine canopy is going to end up as congested as a low earth orbit.

    Project Sunday has become my favorite of your weekly memes. The political rancor seems to be less intense on Sunday’s, and I can identify with a lot of Ure personal projects. I marvel at your energy and resilience. I spend too much time trying to recover after manual lifting and climbing up on equipment. For me, ladder climbing and manual digging are no longer a safe option.

    I will give a description of the latest little project. I don’t think photos are really needed. I came across a 110 lb feral hog dead on the side of the road a couple of miles east (one country block), a month or so back. Hogs that size tend to run with the herd, so that was an indication that the feral porkers are moving back in the neighborhood after an absence. Several years back, a trust neighbor was harboring a 500 head herd, which migrated out under intense hunting pressure. That herd fed a lot of underprivileged kids, I have been told.

    Most of my property is protected by hog wire, or barbed wire with an extra wire run three or four inches off the ground, with rebar and ground anchor reinforcement at known locations of concentrated attack. Hogs aren’t afraid to go under barbed wire 6 to 8 inches off the ground, or to dig in soft dirt, but will not try to crawl over barbed wire, and avoid digging in rock or gravel (the sharper the better).

    My gate had developed a gap between the bottom and the drive of about 8″ to 10″ inches on one side, so that needed to be fixed. I had a load of hard limestone driveway gravel brought in. I then used the front end loader to build a piggy speed bump under the gate, closing the gap to a distance about equal to the separation between the bottom gate tubes.
    Sprinkling a line of rock under a gate with an acceptable gap will also help. Piglets can probably squeeze through, but are not a vandalism issue. They run around in circles doing the piglet version of “Whee, whee look at me, look at me”, and don’t tear things up like the adults.
    Once the rock packs a bit more, I will probably add another inch or two to the height. I have the base gradually sloped out about 4 ft on either side, so there is not an issue with the vehicle clearance.

    • you know that is a great idea..when the grandson and I make our lamps.. gave his parents a generator but everything else had more importance them running and playing all the time that they didn’t hook up the gas for it or the interconnect switch..
      Since my mini me is scared of the dark.. we will make the gas lamp for him.. I am going to show him how to lull water apart to.. that way he knows.. the boss..( AKA wife) was swapping batteries in the flash lights… funny how many in the new packages are actually dead.. but she was throwing them away and I was pulling them out.. she said what are you doing.. put those back.. I said.. honey i need the carbon rods out of them to buy the carbon rods is twenty bucks.. these are in the trash LOL LOL she said oh no you don’t not another project LOL LOL but honey.. I could take carbon felt and make electrodes .. but.. these are in the trash.. I might show him how to convert carbon felt into an electrode to.. LOL but that would mean getting some acid which I can tell you I ruin one of her pans.. it won’t be pretty.. when I built one project and converted her pressure cooker.. she was not a happy camper LOL
      frequency is the answer.. but the cost of a frequency mod is a little out of my budget right now.. I have something that will work.. but it means altering it slightly..

  13. Hey George, Your antenna raising efforts have taken me back to my youth in the 70s.My next door neighbor, CB handle ‘The Wolfman’ .He was blind and always sold pin joints for a dollar,double size EZ wider,seeds and all.Light one up and usually halfway down would explode like a Roman candle.He lived by himself,a sawed off double barrel 12 gauge next to him in the cushion of the couch. He was a CB guy with a side band setup.I remember when he would talk to guys in Puerto Rico when the skip was right.He had that big 1000 watt linear and when he would crank it up at night I would be watching tv or playing electric guitar and he would blast through twice as loud.Anyway,one day he had me come over and help put up another section of tower and tie up the guywires.I still remember that rush climbing up,swaying in the wind taking my time looking at the clouds……….

    • funny.. an old Retired Ranger called me to ask if I was locked and loaded.. I said seriously could you see me hurting anyone at all.. No nugs in this house.. I do have neighbors that hunt..

        • my barber was just saying that her fiancee just got orders.. I told her keep a copy of his orders.. and get hitched before he has to go..
          I knew a guy that didn’t keep a copy of his orders.. and over ten of his years were all outsourced to the alphabets .. when he went to retire he wasn’t able to and lost his home.. ended up living on the streets in his car at the big box stores parking lot.. the best man ever to the congressman couldn’t get the congressman to sign off on it and he died before he could get his retirement.. keep copies of all that crap.. that way when it comes time.. and they say.. oh hey we have no record you went to the middle east.. you can show them a copy of the orders ..

        • LOOB-
          Every payroll sheet I got in the Navy had my TIS on it somewhere. Surely that guy must have had SOME record of it but this would be way past tense as you described by now. Sorry to hear of his demise. Payroll was always a sh*tshow every month with long lines showing up at the payroll window to get things straightened out every pay day.

          The fun thing about paydays when I was in, though, was we got paid in cash and there was always at least one old bill that showed up in the stack. I still have a ’52 $20 that was in really good, crisp shape that I’ve kept since then. It’s not worth much more than face value but it’s a great keepsake. If I’d pulled my head out of my butt back then I’d have been making offers for anyone that wanted to sell their old bills for a little over face value and kept them but, being married, that was a luxury I didn’t always have.

        • “LOOB-
          Every payroll sheet I got in the Navy had my TIS on it somewhere.”

          YUP he had that.. that is what was so bad.. he had the payrole sheets.. he had the credits for things he did.. but no record of his service that was outsourced to the CIA… the military outsourced left the building.. and no records other than his payrole sheets.. showing he was there but not there.. went to the congressman and the best man in his office was working on getting it straightened out.. I said pull your gear in and camp in your congressmans best man evers office.. when he retired it looked pretty straight forward.. then was sent back.. talked to a social worker that had a couple other Army and Marines that had similar issues.. they could’t qualify.. now if he had kept the actual deployment orders.. then there would’t be any question.. but most people don’t make copies of that.. and it vanishes into the records..
          we had something like that with a decube.. a small sore.. after the first couple of weeks of not seeing anyone keeping or looking at it.. I told the other workers.. keep copies of this.. this one will haunt us..
          sure enough the sore got so big and nasty then went septic.. they pulled us in .. to get us to take the rap for it.. I think the patient died.. but not sure they went to the hospital.. anyway.. they said there is no record of this ever being reported.. that is when I dropped the copies on the table.. there you go all signed off.. remember the thing they teach everyone in medical field . STP .. stabilize and transport patient.. do your job.. if a glorified clerk typist wants to go against it.. then let them.. they make more let them make the million dollar decisions.. that happened to a friend of mine.. someone was going bad.. she wanted to send them in the government employee in charge said no.. she lost her license her home and seven million dollars and she had to go to prison.. the clerk typist.. nothing..

      • There may be useful non-lethal alternatives. I’ve been in situations where it’s either lethal force or no force, and that’s a poor choice. I elected to not engage at that time, though the adversaries received just karma anyway. That’s not always guaranteed. I don’t consider sprays to be of real benefit against determined and/or drug fueled adversaries, and it might be worth reviewing other less lethal yet effective options that provide standoff distance. Many/most readers here either don’t wish to or are physically incapable of successfully engaging in hand to hand combat against testosterone laden 20-somethings.

        There are times when lethal force may be necessary, but it should not be the only option.

        • Who’s talking h2h? I’m talking about taking as many of them with me before they get to me! Old people are dangerous, man!

        • H2H is not an option. At my age, I’d not fight with anything less than a revolver or improvised flame-thrower unless there were no alternative. If I had to fight with just me hands (feet, head, etc), every swing would be a “killing blow,” thrown in the hope I landed just one before my antagonist killed me.

          The less-likely that “death” is a probable outcome, the less likely an actual fight is necessary…

          Sprays are of no value against anyone who’s “hopped-up” on anything. The reason the .40cal came about was cops were dying with their .38 Police Specials in their hand. A stoned belligerent could take a cylinder of +P or .357 or a mag of 9mm rounds, even in their vitals, and still reach, and kill, the police officer before they succumbed to their wounds. Departments were hesitant to issue .45s, and a lot of officers didn’t want to carry them because they didn’t like the weight or the grip safety on the M1911-style autos — hence, the birth of the .40 S&W…

      • So, if someone is raping your daughter or murdering your grandkid in front of you, you would do nothing?

        I’m pretty sure that’s what the Ranger was implying…

  16. “Since the government has assured us of the reality of Climate Change, we’re getting close to doing a special report on prepping for an insane cold snap in an upcoming report…”

    Damn! Am I gonna have to put a blanket on the bed?l

    • I watched climate change in action today.. it was foggy then it cleared up LOL LOL LOL
      global climate changes happen in cycles though

  17. YouTube has gone all-out in its efforts to combat ad blocking. More than half the videos I try to watch in Brave are stopped and a grey shadow is cast over the entire video page while a notice quickly appears then disappears on the screen saying that ad-blockers violate YouTube’s policies. I tried taking the ad blocking out for YT but it still appears on the screen. Luckily I can still view all the videos on Edge.

    • Well, the problem seems to have cleared up. I took the shields down in my Brave browser the day I posted the above message but still got the same notification for a couple of days. Told the brower to notify Brave people and, perhaps, they fixed it?

      • LOL! I use Brave and I get a black screen with audio for five seconds of advertising, then I click “skip” and it’s on to the video.

        • When it first happened I went over to Edge and could view the videos but I had to wait through two long ad videos of people hawking junk. I guess too many people complained because, like I said, I can view everything in Brave again. It’s weird how we all get different versions of YT’s ad blocking retaliation.

    • 1) Get a video downloader.
      2) Download your choice of vids.
      3) View with impunity.
      -=DELETE=- any which don’t measure up to your standards…

      • Real Player’s most recent free video downloader works for just about any YT video. I have a pretty big collection that I keep backed up. None of the other video hosting sites will allow this, however. It may be due to it being the free one. I’ve been wanting to go ahead an buy a licensed version but I think its one of those damned new situations where you have to rent it for a year then pay all over again next year.

  18. I give Dutch ovens for wedding gifts. They are great for simmering spagetti sauce all day or for baking a chicken.

    I’ve done the charcoal thing with the Dutch oven. Easy to burn a pie. You need a metal trivet to put your pan on. I think it would be a great trick for biscuits but I’m not sure about a loaf of bread.

    The only bread I bake now in the oven is with my Dutch oven. Make sure you preheat the Dutch oven before adding the bread. Use either cornmeal or parchment paper for ease of removing the finished loaf. Makes wonderful crusty bread.

      • the kids knowing how I am with cooking things.. got me a toaster oven.. air fryer they call it.. but dam I love this thing.. makes the best toast ever.. you can set it to raise bread.. or gently warm it.. its like my nordic ware grinder.. love that thing.. use is almost daily here.. small easy for one or two people.. you aren’t going to grind a hundred pounds of meat in it.. but heck.. to make a little chicken salad or ham salad for sandwhiches.. perfect.. want to make just enough pasta for two or four.. perfect.. great unit.. use it all the time.. it is my favorite one.. I have the others.. but that one gets used..
        https://youtu.be/_ehcXTtHxC0?si=thyWRQlakHVCGm9o

    • I’ve used a Dutch Oven and charcoal to bake bread, and it was delicious! Parchment paper in the bottom is a must. I wouldn’t describe it as a loaf, but more an “artisanal” bread. Basically a disc shape that rises in the middle.

      • Now that has me interested.. I have never done that.. I have made boston brown bread in a can and made french bread in a small length of gutter.. but never baked a loaf in a dutch oven.. lately I have been craving bread bowls.. little Hawaiian loafs hollowed out.. and plan on making some.. I might try the dutch oven route to see how it goes..

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