Does it just seem odd that all I get to do is repair stuff? So far in the blog that is all I have had to write on… but it seems every day that is what I do?
Today started slow… updated some notes on what I want to get done when I next get home… things for the motor home and things for the house, etc. I didn’t get started too early… actually spent the morning just internet and email – then out to lunch and back home… set on the back porch for some time – to get in the mood I guess, but anyway I finally got into it and determined that I could get the antenna tripod mounted on the barn – either use it for ham antennas or at the least get ready for a weather station or something else?
With the motor home backed in I can reach the ceiling of the high portion so I used that to get a starter hole and with multiple trips up on the roof and on the motor home and then back on the roof, I finally got the it mounted and tied down… put up the tools and went to set on the back deck again… then it hit me again – I had that mobile antenna that I had used before mounted on a big aluminum reflector… so looking in my junk pile I found a 10 foot antenna post – and set out to mount the antenna on that pole and put it up— oh not so fast… the coax connection to the antenna was corroded and in bad shape… so… another repair was required… redo the connection to the antenna , clean it up a bit, mount it on the pole get it ready and drag it to the roof…
Once I got the pole mounted on the tripod then —- I had to drill a hole in the eave and get the cable through the shop to where it could be used… then put a new end on that to hook up to a radio… strange this worked out so well as the coax was just the right length to get to the operation location… but at about 6pm I had finally gotten it all together and used my new HT – the Yeasu VX-8R to test it out… worked great for only being 31 feet off the ground (altitude 1004 ground plus 31 – according to the 8R GPS to the base of the antenna)… from there I was able to hit the Enid repeater and several OKC machines with the 5 watts… and could hear the APRS stations in several areas… something the “ducky” never did… maybe when I get back in September I can give it a real test and maybe even get a APRS digi set up or something to use it for ?
Then I was reminded that the backup light on the Jeep was out – just another repair… so we (son and I) went to Walmart, purchased the correct bulbs – why do they put two in a package when you only need one? – and then went to pick up something to eat… the ladies had gone to “football 101” so we were on our own… anyway got home, rushed through eating and then got the bulb fixed – shortest repair I have made in weeks and it worked – but now I have that damn extra bulb? Oh well it will get lost and I will be forced to go buy two when I have to get another… a marking and profit ploy or our age…
After that I sat on the back deck and drank a glass of wine and talked to my Dad for a good time… discussed all the latest in family news – which usually is pretty space but keeps us both up to day…
So my day was just another day with more fixes and repairs with out any big disasters… so far.