Occasional thoughts and deeds of an Engineer
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  • Lunch + Fellow Ham

    Posted on January 31st, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    SAM & I had lunch today with a fellow amateur radio operator.  What a nice time we had at the little restaurant in Gulfport, FL.  The talk went on and on so by the time we left it was almost 1500 hrs.  It turns out we had much in common – Flying, Sailing, and Amateur Radio.  The wives liked each other too.  Of course, we agreed to meet again in the not too distant future.  After lunch we went to their condo over in Town Shores and it turned out we looked at their condo maybe a week before they bought it:  Small world.  Tonight I have listened to two different nets and killed time trying to decide what project we might do next.

  • The Ugly American

    Posted on January 29th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    The Trump ban on all Muslims from 7 countries went into effect but most people had not even heard about it.  I just happened to hear about it from the Yahoo Evening News. I guess people do not care too much since there was not much of an uproar on TV.  We will sure be the Ugly Americanⁿ again.

    We shall see what effect this has on terrorism but I would guess not too much inside the USA.  However, we will never hear about it since the government agencies charged with preventing terrorism will not be able to say anything but the party line.  As a result the ban will look good for the policy.  To me it seems like a retreat to McCarthyism.  I am glad I am not traveling overseas anymore since with my accent there would be a big bulls eye centered on me.

    ⁿ  BTW – The Ugly American was a  multi-million-copy bestseller that coined the phrase for tragic American blunders abroad:  In the episode that lends the book its title, the “ugly American” is Homer Atkins, a plain and plain-spoken man, who has been sent by the U.S. government to advise the Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan on engineering projects. When Atkins finds badly misplaced priorities and bluntly challenges the entrenched interests, he lays bare a foreign policy gone dangerously wrong.
  • A new temporary antenna

    Posted on January 28th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    Ok, the VSWR was so high on the first temporaryt antenna I was afraid I would cook the final amplifiers.  Steve to the rescue and I picked his old comet up at this afternoon.  SAM went with and made a dash to the house and had it up in about 15 minutes.  The forward Watts were 25 and the reflected was so low I could not hardly measure needle movement – Thanks Steve. Needless to say, I can now reach out and touch everyone I want to plus a LOT more from Clearwater to Sarasota.  I then proceeded to manually program many new frequencies.  As a result, I checked in with the Eagles Net on NI4CE VHF tonight for the first time in 4 years: I recognized a couple voices and calls.

    The weather turned cool here and the inside temperature has hovered at 66°F all day and the temperature outside is in the low 50’s so if the inside goes below 64° the heat will come on.  This cool temperature trend will continue for the next week or so.  Yuck.

    Cheers from Moore.

  • Temporary Antenna

    Posted on January 27th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    Today I went over to Don’s house and picked up his homebrew antenna and erected it.  Well, it works but not too well.  The forward/Reverse

    The Captains

    power is 5:1 and this is bad.  I am afraid of burning out my finals.  In the course of discussions, W3RX came on and said I could use his antenna until I get this resolved with The Antenna Farm.  I am sure Steves Comet will work much, much better.  I go to get it tomorrow about 1400 hrs.

    SAM went to a bunch of Garage Sales and one Church Sale.  The church one was sort of a bummer – it was down on Central and that should say something.  It was a zoo.  They had it set up with one single choke point and people could not get in and out fast enough.  Enough said.  Right now SAM is out walking the dog.

    I have not been back on Facebook for even a week and the Haters do not like what I have to say.  I am also regretting having sold my boat.  I now have no escape path since they are sealing the borders.  South for now but that can change in an instant – much like Germany in the early and mid-30’s. – a border can be closed at the stroke of a Executive pen.  Perhaps I am being melodramatic but then again perhaps not and time will tell.

  • New Antenna – Broken USPS

    Posted on January 26th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    Well, my brand new $86 antenna came in broken.  It is a pretty stiff rugged device made from tubular fiberglass.  You really have to work hard to break these but somehow USPS managed to do it – badly too.  Totally amazing!  I really needed this to be able to talk on the radio down here.  I do not have the heart to write much more right now.

    I have taken the time to take a picture of the break and now it is in the blog.  I am listening to Allstar 27225 on my node 43584 and using the hotspot  to send to the internet.  Isn’t technology wonderful?

    I just came back to finish this blogline.  I was out sweeping the porch while SAM is out walking the dog.  I did not do too good of a job since the next wind will bring down a lot more of the leaves, twigs and other detritus.  The tree in question I believe is a Poincianas and has red flowers in the summer.

  • A Lowes Day

    Posted on January 25th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    We went to Lowes this morning to return an items and to get a roll of seamless electrical tape.  The tape is for sealing an outside connection of one sort or another.  In my case, I want to seal a coaxial cable up at the antenna from moisture intrusion.  It is a temporary antenna setup but still I do not want to ruin a perfectly good cable by letting water get to the foam core. Anyway, a roll costs $5 but should save much more.

    After that we went to the Italian Market to get bread and, of course, a “few” other things.  When we returned home we ate some of the booty.   That pretty much killed the outside day. I did a few technical things but spent more time listening to amateur radio.

  • Weather: The New Breed

    Posted on January 24th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    I have been meaning to post the link of a new breed of interactive weather maps that has lots of applications for pilots, sailors, farmers and everyday users.  So here it is in all it’s linked glory.  The only reason for me to do this is so i will not forget where to go to get it 🙂

  • New Day Dawning

    Posted on January 24th, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    The day dawned at 0800 when the pool guy awoke me banging around the pool.  I’ll bet he was surprised to see me laying on the back porch couch.  As is my habit, when I awake around 3 -4 AM I come back to the couch and read or just go back to sleep.  It is  toss up as to which but after a long trip I usually go back to sleep.

    The rain crows are out there cooing, like the doves of the North they have that coo’g sound that I like to try to imitate.  I used to be good at it but now something in my vocal cords do not allow the exact tones.  Too bad,  I used to be able to call them in much closer but now I am ignored just like a foreign bird.

    I just finished breakfast, my usual, and I just checked the motion detectors to see if there was any activity on the two I have set to take pictures of any trespassers. There was nothing seen.  One of the light bulbs was burnt out so it needs to be replaced.  I think I will change it to  CF type so it lasts longer – they do last longer if you turn them on and leave them on for 15 minutes before turning off.

    Todays agenda – well, I had one yesterday but this morning I forgot what it was.  I do want to go to Harbor Freight just to see what they have.  I have a few internet chores to do too.  Sounds like a full day to me! Moore later

  • Today’s activities

    Posted on January 23rd, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    We left this morning to change the oil in the car but first we went to CVS to get some Plackers and mouthwash but they only had their brand so we bought them as a trial. We then went over to the Italian Market on 22nd for some sheep cheese and grape leave wraps and finally, on the way home, to Lowes to get some Delta faucet repair kits.  Whew, that was a mouth full.

    After that I became a house body.  I tried to find the water shutoff wrench I bought a few years ago to no avail.  When SAM came home she found it for me.  Now I can go out to the street and shut off the water while I repair the sink faucet.  Maybe tomorrow will be a good day for that.

    I am half way through he book “A Wolf Named Romeo”.  It is a good read and is a study in people.  It is much like our people in the election this year:  We have the people who want to kill this wolf, who has not hurt anyone, just because they are scared and mean.  Then we have the other side who have interfaced long term from close range with their own dogs and have not had a problem.  The book is about the efforts of the latter group.

    OK, so I’ll say good night.  BFN.

  • Sunday at Martha’s

    Posted on January 22nd, 2017 cwmoore No comments

    We awoke to the gentle breezes flowing through the palms with their proper rustling and rubbing against the house.  How nice that sound is when the wind is reasonable.  I awoke at my usual time of 0830 hrs after a good amount of sleep. The humidity is like a gentle caress against the full  sleeve sun top I am wearing.  The shorts feel good too as it has been awhile.  We turned on the news and quickly changed channel because even FOX is questioning their new President.

    The full sun shows off the agitated movement of the trees  and it is nice and I am content, if a little sore from the trip, and the pool is crystal clear with gentle ripples.  I sit here writing this blog via my mobile phone hotspot.  I called Brighthouse this AM and they want $50/mo for service as a new customer so I declined.  Maybe I can wean myself away from the internet this way.

    The Raspberry Pi CCTV at home are working well but I wish one of the CCTV had a wider angle lens.  Upon return I will change out the Pi Cam for a web cam aad thst should help out.  Now I need to find one of the MS World Cam I like on the used market.  (grin). I include a picture of our youngest kid Abby.  Moore Later.