Hello All....... it's been a few months since I have been on here, due to an error in this computer (I gotta blame something LOL). Funny thing happen one day when I turned this cpu on..........it wiped out every bookmark I had put in, along with some doc's. Dunno.... couldnt figure it out, so had to start all over, and I finally remembered this forum. Had to do a search to find the url though, but now I am back. See some new folks have arrived, like Allan K0BG. Use to talk to him on 17m mobile and he runs a old cb whip of 108" as I recall, or something like that.
In the good news department, my health and xyl's is still Okay, so dont need any of that Obama care yet........or should I say I havent had to meet with the "death panel" yet LOL.
My RV is stuck behind my sons in his sideyard, and unable to retrieve it until he gets home someday from all these wildfires out here on the Commiefornia landscape. He has a special 5th wheel hitch which wont fit mine, so only he can move his. We are going to try and take a vacation the end of the month of Sept to OK, AR, MS and GA, maybe.
As far as ham radio is concerned, I have been having a good time playing with the ham satellites still, and really enjoy it. Meet alot of nice guys on there, but ragchews arent too often, being those birds are going 18K MPH, time is valuable, hi. Attached is a photo of my new antenna arrangements. I put out a call for a Want on the West Coast 40m swapnet a month or so ago for some satellites yagi's for 145 and 435 mhz. Got a call from a fellow over in Lompoc, near Vandenberg AFB, who had a pair of KLM's that were in good shape for $200 for the pair. Xyl and I drove over and brought them home, and I just finally got them up in the air, even only being 12 feet up, sure makes a difference. Went out and got a cheap Radio Shack rotator, as my old Alliance U100 wouldnt hack the torque needed. Made the cross boom from a piece of 1" electrical sun resistant pvc and drove a 1" wooden closet rod inside it for strength. The yagi's are fixed 25 degree elevation, and I can work the majority of any pass within 5 degrees off horizon out to 3000 km. Do have a time with direct overhead passes, but can work the beginning and end of those passes fine once the bird has gone beyond 40 degrees or so. Also, they have polarity switching, which I just hook up and that made a real difference in receiving, especially SO-50. Radio is still the dual band Kenwood TM-731a FM xcvr running full duplex, and hopefully someday I'll be able to get a SSB/CW xcvr for 2m and 435 so I can work those 3 linear satellites. Havent been on PSK or other digitals, as I have had 2 laptops crap out on me, and not worth fixing, so waiting to get another. That will also be used in the RV when on the road.
So..... that is the latest on this end. Hope everyone is fine all around. See you got a tower up Jim, that's great...
73 de John W6ZKH