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Old 09-30-2014, 07:42 PM   #1
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Default snuck off to F D Roosevelt SP (GA)

We snuck the 5th wheel and ourselves down to F D Roosevelt state park this past weekend. Left Friday AM and returned Monday afternoon. About an hour and 20 min drive. There and back on 1/2 a tank.

Very restful. TV reception quite poor and no cable. No internet. Surprisingly we had some cell phone coverage.

But the bummer was, no broadcast radio, either. There is a radio station near here that has bluegrass gospel programming we wanted to hear, along with a ball game and some news. Bummer.

Crawled up on the roof to find out why. Hmm, the broadcast antenna was GONE.

Replaced it this afternoon with one from AutoZone. The split ball mount happened to be largely compatible with the original so that was an easy fix, as opposed to ripping the whole thing out.

Took a look around, came back down and spent $100 at Camping World.

It drizzled off and on most of the time. Nice and cool, no A/C required. Quiet. Beautiful park. Didn't get too many pictures because of the overcast. Made a peach cobbler in the dutch oven to help celebrate the people in the next spot who were having their first trip ever in a new RV. Such fun!

We were in spot 203 which gave us a nice view of the lake.

Came home feeling rested.
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Old 09-30-2014, 09:39 PM   #2
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Did you go south down to Manchester and then west on Hwy 190 or did you climb the mountain going south out of Warm Springs?. I can imagine poor tv reception. Beside a little far from tv transmitters in Atlanta or Columbus even though it sits on top of Pine Mountain the camping area is a bowl. And, since it is the largest state park there is not a lot of population to justify cell towers. If you went to Chattahoochee Bend State Park it would be much the same out in the middle of nowhere. I had a taste of that in a state park on the Texas/Louisiana border, no OTA tv, no cell reception.

I thought it was a nice park also. Looking at their web site there seems to be quite a bit of activity on weekends. A farmers market near the swimming pool, musicians, hiking, something different every weekend. Since you mentioned making Peach Cobbler I see they are going to have a session on Dutch Oven cooking on the 25th but they charge $10 a person for it and you need reservations but it appears you will eat their food.
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Old 10-01-2014, 07:44 AM   #3
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Radio signals are vertically polarized - antenna goes straight up, television antenna is horizontally polarized and tuned for UHF - lays flat.
Television - regardless if you are in a camper or inside of your house, is totally reliant upon the user having the proper sized antenna and using a low loss coax - so you don't throw what little signal you have - away in the coax.
I experienced this phenomena many times when I did advisement work for a television antenna manufacturer.

You would also need to know which stations were within range of your location and which direction they were in.
At one time, all of the major camper manufacturers included a Winegard television antenna with their premium camper packages.
The Winegard antenna was designed for use with VHF television reception and did not have elements for UHF.....
The newer antenna designs did not lend themselves well for camper reception - with the exception of one - the Antenna's Direct XG 91 antenna.
You can either mount it to the rotatable mount on the roof, or you can carry it inside of the camper and deploy it when you get to your final destination.
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Old 10-01-2014, 01:01 PM   #4
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Mr Ham you are like an encyclopedia of knowledge. What is your name and call sign so we can get to know you better?
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Old 10-01-2014, 01:11 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by electricflyer View Post
Mr Ham ... What is your name and call sign ...
By golly, I've been wondering that same thing.
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Old 10-01-2014, 04:21 PM   #6
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Back on topic...

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Originally Posted by electricflyer View Post
Did you go south down to Manchester and then west on Hwy 190 or did you climb the mountain going south out of Warm Springs?
I drove the backroads per the GPS. Approached the park from the east on HWY 190. The truck did really well on the hills back there, but I avoided the ridge on Pine Mtn until we got to the park office. My GPS says the office is at 1360 ft and the dam is at 840 ft. My ears pop coming into the campground!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by electricflyer View Post
I see they are going to have a session on Dutch Oven cooking on the 25th but they charge $10 a person for it and you need reservations but it appears you will eat their food.
I'd love to go do that! But my son gets married Nov 8th and something is up every weekend until then. Probably not going to make it.

Here's a pic of the cobbler. Beauty, ain't she?
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File Type: jpg DSCF0179.jpg (72.6 KB, 21 views)
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Old 10-01-2014, 08:09 PM   #7
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Just wondering the route you took. The grade going south from Warm Springs is a very steep grade and close to a mile and even without a trailer would cause a downshift (a couple times). When I went there I came off of I-185 through Pine Mountain (without a trailer) and was a little hilly but not bad at all.

The cobbler looks good enough to eat!!!!!!!!!!! Where are you going to camp next time and I'll let you fix one for me too.

I mentioned the farmers market on Saturdays as they have fresh vegetables, eggs, etc.

Best wishes for your son's wedding.
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Old 10-01-2014, 09:31 PM   #8
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Quote:
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Here's a pic of the cobbler. Beauty, ain't she?
Save some for me. I'll be right over.
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Old 10-03-2014, 05:57 PM   #9
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Save some for me. I'll be right over.

I had such fun giving it away. Usually I go visit a neighbors site and the speech goes something like this:

"Excuse me, I've gotten myself into quite a fix here. Having a problem that I do hope you could help me with."

At which point concern and sympathy gush forth, "Sure neighbor, how can we help?"

"Well, it seems we have way too much home made peach cobbler and ice cream than just the two of us will ever eat. Do you think your crew could come over and help us finish it off while it's still warm?"

Always gets a laugh, and I am seldom turned down.

I am discerning, however. I do not reward bad behavior on the account of human (large or small) or animal. If you want cobbler, play nice.

***************

Here's the site and the view of the lake looking out the picture window.
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File Type: jpg DSCF0182.jpg (113.9 KB, 16 views)
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Old 10-05-2014, 02:30 PM   #10
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One thing on broadcast radio.. Never hurts to carry multiples (I think I have 4 in here if not more) but if the whip breaks off, most any piece of wire will do.. Not all that well, but if the station is close, most any piece of wire will do.
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