Netflix Instant Picks for November, 2011

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

TV in 1931 ; not a lot to choose from. It hasn't changed much!

Television.   In my humble opinion, it really is the pits.  I can’t seem to find anything that I care to watch.  Most of the time I would rather read a book or do a little ham radio.  Television just does not have much to make me get excited.  And yes, I do subscribe to cable TV.  The only reason is because my wife insists that we keep it active so she can watch a few of her favorite shows.  It is not worth a fight.

Do I watch any television at all?  Yes.  I like to watch CSPAN, especially in the early morning.   You get intelligent and unbiased discussion of numerous current topics in politics.  Then of course I get to watch Greta each Tuesday morning.  I don’t think my wife likes Greta too much.  I’d watch Greta if she was interviewing Little League players about the size of sand grains that are usually found near first base.  I also watch Survivor, the first and only reality series that my wife and I subscribe to.  We have been watching it since the beginning and hope to continue until the show ends.  Unfortunately a small crimp has been placed in my playbill.  I now work nights and usually don’t get home until 9:30 pm.  The only way for me to watch Survivor is by using the VCR (a pain to set
it up) or on the computer.  Oh well, Jeff will understand.

What else is there on TV?  Well, you can always subscribe to Netflix and watch the TV selections that they provide.  Netflix has TV shows that are as recent as 2010 series or as ancient as some stuff that is over 50 years old.  Is any of it worth watching?  You bet it is!  Let’s look at some of my current suggestions:

Island at War; 2004,6 episodes

This is a British import.
It is all about a Channel Island in 1940.  It seems that Britain abandoned any semblance of military presence on the islands shortly after Germany began its bombing blitz on London.  What happened to the unprotected residents of the Channel Islands that reside between the coasts of Britain and France?  This short series deals with the very real specter of German invasion and control of the islands.  I have only watched the first
episode; but, if the remainder are as interesting as the first I will rapidly complete the series.

Check it out for yourself.

Twilight Zone; 1959, 138 episodes.

This series remains one of my all time favorites.  Rod Serling wrote most of the episodes and he appears at the beginning of all of them (sort of like the way Hitchcock did with his films and TV series).  When you watch Twilight Zone you will be introduced to almost every future star of 1960’s and 1970’s TV programs.  They are all there, including William Shatner as in impulsive gambler on a restaurant fortune-telling machine.  These 30 minute black and white episodes have a timeless quality about them.  They are as fresh today as they were in the ‘60’s.  I never tire of them.

Collision; 2009 Masterpiece Contemporary, 5 episodes.

This is another short run British series.  It’s the old buddy cop movie with a twist.  The two buddies are a man and woman who, if I remember, are former husband and wife.  They are presented with a massive roadway collision which at first appears to be the typical chain reaction mishap.  They dig deeper than their superiors want them to and an elaborate web of life stories is unveiled.  This is a very well done miniseries that will
have you riveted to the TV, even though it is in the typical British slow pace.

The Unusuals; 2009, 9 episodes.

The storyline is described as “a dysfunctional squad of New York homicide detectives” who do a poor job of ‘going by the book’.  I think you will appreciate how these
detectives transcend the paper cutouts that are the current rage of nighttime TV.  This is another one of those series that leave me scratching my head when I realize that it did not come back for a second season.   (You can watch the series for free on Hulu!)

Life on Mars; 2008, 17 episodes.

Did this one get by you like it did me?  Again, I just don’t watch TV, so it is easy for a series to pass me by.  It is very well that I never knew about this show back in 2008.  I would never have had the patience to wait a week to see the next episode.  A week?  I don’t even want to wait for the advertisements.  That’s the great thing about television series on Netflix, there are no advertisements.  You make your own by pressing the Pause
button.

So, what’s with this program?  A present day detective (2008) is run over by a car that he absent-mindedly walks in front of.  Apparently he does not die because when he
wakes he is walking into his precinct house just like any other day.  The problem is that everyone there has long side taps and bell bottoms.  It is 1973, not 2008.  Sometimes I would watch 3 episodes in one night… this show is better than beer!  Don’t pass it up. (Note: Get a look at Gretchen Mol who plays Sam’s girlfriend in 1973!)

That’s it for November.  I am seriously considering dumping the mail portion of Netflix.  I’m lucky if one movie makes it here each week.  Likewise, it is getting more and
more difficult to find good stuff on the Instant View service.  Help!  What are your recommendations?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Feed line Issues Revisited

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

Scotch 2228 Moisture Sealing Electrical Tape - Good Stuff!

This is a scene right out of Cady Shack. Where's Bill Murray when you need him?

How do you weather-proof your feed line connections and the coax itself?  Some coax claims to be direct-bury or buriable (my word processor spell check does not like that word).  Just cover it over with dirt and forget about it.  That idea never appealed to me so I have always insisted on running short lengths of PVC and placing my coax inside that conduit.  The last time I did this I
neglected to seal the underground junction of the two 10 foot pieces before placing it under the soil.  Water got in.  Of course, there was no harm since I had to dig it up anyways.  My original plan was to bury the PVC and then snake the RG8X coax through it.  That works well for about the first six inches.  Then it won’t go anywhere.  You can do it with RG8, the thick stuff, but not RG8X.  So, I dug up the PVC, glued together the underground portion, dropped the coax through it and then snugged the 90 degree angles at each end.  That went well enough.

It looks like somebody used too much of that purple PVC cleaner goop.

Next, how do I keep the connection between the short length of coax coming from the antenna and the feed line dry?  In the past I would wrap it with a very fine product called Coax Seal.  It came in 5 or 12 foot x ½” rolls.  The product is quite flexible and nicely conforms to the connectors and keeps water out.  I would also cover the whole mess with electrician’s tape just to be sure.

Recently when I wanted to purchase some more Coax Seal I ran out of luck.  My old standby, Radio Shack, no longer sold it.  They are not the source of ham radio supplies they once were.  I was lucky to get out of there with a roll of solder.  I checked  online sources and found that a 12 foot by ½” roll was going to cost about $6.00 plus another $6 for shipping at most places.  That didn’t  sound like a very economical way to make a purchase.  I know, I could just buy $50 worth of other stuff and it would even out; but,  I did not need all that other stuff!  Where to go?

I went to my local box store, Home Depot.  I came away with something called Duct Seal.  They use it to seal those heating ducts that are in your house.  It said it was moisture resistant and I recalled seeing it used on holes in the house that the cable guy made outdoors.  I gave it a try.  Once again I smothered the my PL-259’s and barrel connector with the product.  Then I wrapped it all in electricial tape.  The first time it rained I had big mess of goop and plenty of trapped water.  That was a failure.  It looked like I was going to have to order $50.00 worth of Coax Seal.

I made one more desperate search of Home Depot and I happened upon Scotch
Professional Grade 2228 Moisture Sealing Electrical Tape.  Wow, that name sounded like a description of just what I was looking for.  For about $8.97 I got a 1 inch by 10 foot roll (that would be equivalent to 20 feet of one half inch material).  The stuff works great.  Since it is so wide it does not take much to cover up the connection quickly.  It stretches nicely and adheres tightly.  I put it to use and did not use any electrical tape.

One more way to recycle a water bottle.

The only other precaution I am now using is my water bottle.  I surrounded the entire junction with a plastic water bottle to help keep the majority of the rain out.  So far it is working well.  I expect it will get through the winter just fine!  Bring on the DX.

Note: While cutting a hole in the bottom of the water bottle I managed to let the craft knife slip.  This produced much blood and four stitches to close up the wound.  It’s kind of like those old cartoons in QST where the guys only put up antennas when it is snowing.  I am real good at injuring myself.  Maybe you can learn from my mistakes.  Always cut AWAY from your hand.

 

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Impressions from a ride home

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

Route 95, southern RI; woods, blacktop, and hawks on light poles

It’s a crowded parking lot. If I back the truck out straight and then swing left there will be plenty of room to then go out the way I came in. Why is that guy turning back to look at me? Had I taken his parking spot when he went out to lunch? Well, the space is open now.

The sixties Mercedes for sale is still parked outside the Esso station. It has to have been there at least three years. I wonder if it has that air ride system that used to rot away.

Freeway entrance on the right; not many cars at the driveshaft place next to where I used to work.
I can see the old box truck in the front yard of the shop; being laid off makes me not want to go near the place.

The traffic isn’t that bad as I merge with the right lane of route 95 south.
I’m staying in the second lane at 57 mph … I don’t care who wants to pass me; I’m not putting up with all that merging traffic and disappearing lanes.

I’m getting real hungry… I missed lunch today because of waiting for John to come by to do the well water samples. Maybe I’ll stop at McDonald’s for a couple of hamburgers? No, go straight home. There’s some steak in the refrigerator. I have to eat quickly because I told Ed I would come over to take some pictures for him and maybe fix his camera.

This traffic is pretty light. Another 30 minutes and I’d be caught in the first wave of the rush home.
The truck is a joy to drive. It only has 30,000 miles on it because we have been using the small car. The Civic does 36 mpg.
We’re down to two lanes now. I’ll have to stay to the right. I’m not pushing it to 70 when I only get 16 mpg.

It’s a dark day. Those clouds are almost black. They are a dirty blue.
Three cell towers off to the left, their bases obscured by the tree line. One of them has its red light on.

This huge truck is pulling out from behind me to pass. He’s only feet in front now in the second lane. Will he pull in behind that guy who is 500 yards ahead or pass him too? He pulled in. Surprising, he had the speed.
A state police car is coming up quickly on the outside lane. He’s way back there. I’ll bet that’s what the truck driver saw.

The gray police car is passing me now. He is moving pretty fast.

This is the long stretch. Not much happening and the driving is easy. Maybe I’ll get off and take route three home. It’s slower. But then I won’t pass McDonald’s. I decided to eat at home anyways so that does not matter. Staying on 95 … I’m way past any of the route three exits. There’s the route 102 exit, Alton Jones. We used to take the kids there on busses for field trips. So long ago. Now I live even beyond that distant place.

Dead raccoon in the breakdown lane. He was there yesterday. A really fat one. He had a good life.

Two state police cars in the grass flanking a gray pickup. Both officers are out of their cars. The pickup driver is standing on the grass near the first cruiser. He is in handcuffs … what does the detained man look like?… closer now … a white guy … he is looking forward in the same direction as the traffic flow on 95. He thinks that is where he belongs, not here in cuffs, his good day ended. His hair is swept back like Elvis, a distinct brown color, his jacket is black leather (shiny new). None of this seems to match the baby face. The cops are not close to him. He seems to be standing alone. Are they searching? The license plate on the nearest cruiser is 317. I am past now. How much can you see at 60 mph?

Another dead raccoon on the side of the road just beyond the police and their suspect. His wet and scraggly body is like the closed parentheses to the scene I just witnessed.

Getting closer to my exit now.
There are some very large birds walking around on the grassy area beside the road. Are they large crows feasting on road kill? Too big, might they be vultures? Turkey vultures are ugly. I see them well now. They are turkeys; seven of them. I always count.

Exit 3B. I’m in the exit lane and slowing down. The lake is coming up on the right.
Six minutes to home.

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Netflix Instant Picks for September

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

I once again have what I believe is an impressive batch of movies that are all offered as Instant View (streaming) selections through Netflix.  All of the featured flicks on this list rate 10/10 on my scale.  As a bonus I will also include a couple of runner ups that I rate at 8 or better.  They may not get you real excited but they at least won’t make you feel like you wasted your time by watching them.

The Way Back, 2010, 2 hr and 13 min.; History / Adventure / True; Rating: 10/10

The Russians also had labor camps during WWII.  The people in those camps were a mixture of nationalities.  They were incarcerated for reasons of religion, politics, and ordinary criminal offenses.  The camp described in this movie was in Russian Siberia.  This brutal true story tells of the escape made by a small band of prisoners who were determined not to die in prison.  The goal of their trek was to reach India; that is one incredible walk.

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Collin Farrell

 

Tattoo: A Love Story, 2002, 1 hr and 35 min.; Romantic / Independent; Rating: 10/10

Sarah is a very straight and proper elementary school teacher.  Then one of her students brings a tattoo artist into class for show and tell.  This is not your typical romantic comedy.  The film was cute, funny and different.  You just have to watch it – don’t let the
kooky storyline scare you away.

Starring: Megan Edwards, Virgil Mignanelli, and Benjamin Burdick

 

Suspect Zero, 2004, 1 hr and 35 min.; Mystery / Detective; Rating: 10/10

We begin with a FBI agent who has a rather poor past performance.  He has made some big mistakes in the past and is presently on the downside of a lackluster career.  Then he uncovers a very strange coincidence regarding a string of murders.
It seems that all of the victims were themselves serial killers.  Sounds a little like Dexter, doesn’t it?  This is an awesome original film that is sure to keep you in your seat (no bathroom breaks with this one).

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss

Apocalypto, 2006, 2 hr and 18 min; Adventure / Drama; Rating: 10/10

A Central American Indian tribe is raided by Mayans who are in need of people to sacrifice to their sun-god.  The action centers on a heroic native who is determined to escape.  Mel Gibson directed this awesome and gruesome adventure.  Put aside any distaste you may have for Gibson and let this movie make your heart beat fast for its entire length.  I thought I was going to have a cardiac arrest during this one!

Note: This movie contains brutal violence and significant historical inaccuracies.  Just watch it for the pure animal excitement, great acting, and splendid photography.

Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer

Jane Eyre, 1996, 116 minutes; Romance; Rating: 10/10

The classic Charlotte Bronte novel comes to life once again in the form of a movie.  This is one romance that many have heard about and an equal number have read.  Now it is the time to watch the movie.  The director Franco Zeffirelli has created a wonderfully rewarding film.  Classic romance at its best.

Starring: William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joan Plowright

 Now for a couple of runer up films:

Who’s Harry Crumb, 1989, 89 minutes; Comedy, Mystery; Rating : 9/10

If you are a John Candy fan, as I am, this is a must see movie.  Candy plays Harry Crumb, a bungling detective and heir to a detective agency run by a creep.  This movie is great fun in the John Candy tradition.  It is a bit dated but well worth the watch.  I recently watched an old interview with John Candy where he complained that Tristar Pictures did a terrible job of promoting the movie and the result was a bomb.  I’d have to agree – this is a fun video that has taken lots of bad press.

Starring: John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts

The Broken, 2008, 1 hr and 28 min.; Rating: 8/10

This one is about a woman who runs into her double (doppelgänger) and as a result her life gets turned upside down.  This mystery will have you bewildered for the duration.  You may figure it out right at the very end.  Strange, brutal, interesting.

Starring: Lena Heady, Richard Jenkins, Asier Newman

That’s it for this month.  If by any chance you watched one of these films after I recommended it and you liked it, let me know!

 

 

 

 

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Getting The Coax In

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

You won't get through to the floor above with a 4" drill bit!

How many different techniques for bringing a signal into the shack have you experimented with?  I’ve tried a number of them.  My first shack, outfitted with a Heathkit HW-101 transceiver, was in the basement.   Immediately to the left of the HW-101 was the foundation, sill plate, and as yet unfinished studded wall.  There was also a single window.   When I was using an end-fed long wire as my radiator I merely tied it
off outside the window and then continued inside with a short insulated extension that slipped under the frame of the closed window and terminated it at a post on an MFJ antenna tuner.  Everything changed when I switched to a G5RV fed by coax.  That time I drilled a hole directly through the outer shingles and plywood wall and on through my new inner wall (diagonal furring strips).  I lined the hole with a short piece of PVC tubing that was filled on both ends with Coax-Seal putty.

Things changed when I moved up one floor to the now vacant bedroom left to me by my son when he moved away to college.  I placed a copper-clad panel between the window and sill and studded it with through-mount SO-239 connectors.  These afforded me
access to a roof-mounted VHF antenna, a tree-bound G5RV, and a ground mounted
Gap Titan vertical.  At this higher elevation  the ground wire was getting a little longer than I wanted it (10 meter in-shack radiation was sometimes a problem).

Then we moved to the new house which is a colonial; two full floors and a basement.  First I adapted the window panel to fit my new second floor window.  Later I decided to change things because I wanted to install the shortest possible RF ground wire and put
the screen back in the window (I now have one-piece screens, they do not move
on a track).  An advertisement for the MFJ soffit entrance panel got me thinking about a new entrance for the transmission line.  If I purchased the MFJ unit I would have to figure out how to remove a section of the soffit that makes up part of the overhang of my second floor room.  I found that this involved the removal of lots of nails, molding, and panels.  I like to keep a job simple.  My solution was to drill a hole directly through the soffit right on up to the floor of my shack.  My soffit is covered with vinyl siding.  Under the siding is what looks like 3/4” plywood followed by about 9” of insulation-filled space which is topped by the floor boards and rug of my ham shack.  My room also has walls and a bookcase; I did not want my drill bit to come up in either one of those places.

So how did I do it?  I first made very careful measurements as to where I wanted the entrance hole to emerge from my rug.  This was in the corner of the room and about
5” from each adjoining wall.  If I missed my mark I could end up in the wall or under the bookcase.  I dropped a weighted line (plumb line) out the window and measured from the place on the rug where I wanted the hole to the edge of the line going out the window.   Then I went outside and marked the point on the soffit that was exactly
the same distance from the string line as the prospective entrance point was.  All I needed now was a depth measurement.  I measured from a point 5” inside the window to the outside vinyl siding.   Then I was able to find the intersection of the two lines; I had my drilling spot.  I purchased a long 5/8” x 16” spade bit (it will make a clean hole that is 14” deep).  I could have got one that was 1-1/4” in diameter, but that would have more than doubled the $10.00 price.  I drilled the hole from the outside and in spite of my careful measurements I was about 2” off, but not in the wall or under the bookcase.  I then opened up  each hole (floor, siding, soffit) with a 1-1/4” spade bit that only had to penetrate less than one inch on both sides.   Then I attempted to feed the coax through the hole.  That did not go well.  Although the hole was large enough the coax tended to go off to one side or another and never quite make it to the shack floor.  I solved this problem by

PVC entering hole which will be finished off with chrome wash basin bushing

cutting a piece of ¾” Schedule 40 PVC and lining the hole with that.  The end that protruded into the shack was terminated with a ¾” connector that is usually used to connect two lengths of PVC tubing.  The connector prevented the PVC from falling out of the hole.  On the soffit side I used some liquid nails to glue a chrome sink drain surround over the hole to make it look better and that was it.

The PVC pipe has been cut to size and capped with a 3/4" connector.

Now all I have to do is run in a ground wire and attach a ground bus bar to the wall where the coax enters.  I may also close off each end of the PVC with some sort of plug such as a piece of rubber or flexible plastic with radiating cuts in the middle to allow the coax to pass through.  I will tightly close off each entrance point with Duct Seal (a kind of putty used by electricians) so all weather and insects will remain outside.

List of Materials and Special Tools:

(1) 5/8” x 14” spade bit (wood boring bit)                                  $10.00

(1) 1-1/4” x 4” spade bit from a set                                                $1.50

(1) 1 pound package of GB Duct Seal                                            $ 1.75

(1) ¾”  Sched. 40 PVC junction                                                     $ 0.40

(1) 10’ x ¾” SCH 40 PVC pipe; ID 3/4″, OD ~ 1-1/16″              $ 3.00

(1) Wash basin drain surround                                                     junk box item

From top: 3/4" PVC connector, 3/4" ID PVC, 5/8" bit, 1-1/4" bit

 

 

Lots of room for cables; now all I need do is to weatherproof the entrance.

 

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Netflix Instant Picks for August

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

My wife and I love to watch movies and our favorite way of doing that is by accessing our Netflix account. Some of the movies come in the mail as DVD’s.  The other way we watch them is directly on the TV by way of a Roku interface.  We get all that for one monthly fee that is less than $10.00 per month.  Now Netflix has announced that the service will be split into two, DVD in the mail and Instant.  You have the option of subscribing to both or one or the other.  Of course the monthly combined fee for both is quite an increase (I believe it goes up to $16.00 per month).  We like the service so much that we will be keeping both delivery methods active.  They are worth it when you watch a lot of movies.

One criticism of the Netflix service has been that the older and less popular movies are reserved for the Instant service while the latest and greatest must come by way of DVD in the mail.  We have found that this is true so far as getting the latest big budget movies.
They tend not to make it to Instant for some time.  The idea that the Instant movies are of a lesser quality is probably due to the fact that there are so many available,
many of which are indeed turkeys.  It is possible to find plenty of good ones if you search, though.  The list that I am providing here may help you find the winners a lot sooner.  These short movie reviews are all for films available through the Instant platform.  I have judged every one to be superb.  If you find that your taste matches mine you will be able to spend less time looking for movies and more time watching them by just taking my advice and selecting these films.  Each film has a link to a You Tube trailer so you can get a better idea of what I am talking about.  Let’s get to this month’s list!

 

My Name is Modesty, 2004, 1 hr and 17 min. ; Action/Adventure; Rating: 10/10

Modesty Blaise is a cartoon super-spy who comes to life in this engrossing movie.  The film traces her beginnings as an abandoned orphan and her ultimate rise to the position of casino manager.  The action and the story are top-notch.  I was really surprised by
this one.  Watch it!

Starring: Alexander Staden, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Raymond Cruz

Beautiful Creatures, 2000, 1 hr and 29 min.; Action/Comedy; Rating: 10/10

The director sets the stage by presenting to the audience two women who are both abused by their boyfriends.  As things move along the two become accidentally acquainted and end up getting even with their abusive partners.  They get way more than even – lots of violence and blood in this one .. all done with good humor.  We could classify this as a female buddy/comedy/action movie.  This British flick was lots of fun.

Starring: Rachel Weisz, Susan Lynch, Jake D’Arcy

My Name is Jerry, 2009, 1 hr and 40 min.; Quirky Independent; Rating: 10/10

Sometimes we will watch 3 or 4 Instant films in a row for about 7 minutes each.  That is just enough time to determine that they stink and we have to move on to the next one.  We were unsure about this one and thought it might end up fitting the 7 minute category.  We were wrong.

Jerry is a middle-aged book salesman (read that as suit and tie, straight as an arrow) who makes some sudden and significant changes to his life.  These changes include hanging out with punk rockers and getting to know his daughter. Great movie!  (Isn’t that strange, two movies that begin with ‘My Name is’?)

Starring: Doug Jones, Katlyn Carlson, Allison Scagliotti.

Operation Condor, 1991, 1 hr and 29 min.; Action / Comedy;  Rating: 10/10

If you enjoy Jackie Chan movies, you will love this one.  He is at his energetic best throughout the film.  He plays a guy who is somehow roped into looking for long-lost Nazi treasure that is supposedly hidden in the Sahara Desert.  The plot consists of
tissue paper, but who cares?  The action is nonstop and Jackie is always surrounded by beautiful girls.  Enjoy!

Starring:  Jackie Chan, Carol Cheng, and Eva Cobo

Texas Rangers, 2001, 1 hr and 32 min. ; Western;  Rating: 10/10

This is the story of the origins of the Texas Rangers.  Leander McNelly heads the band of poorly trained recruits.  This has to be one of the best westerns ever!  Be forewarned
that there is excessive violence.

Starring: James Van Der Beck, Rachael Leigh Cook, Ashton Kitchner.

That’s it for this month.  If you want to encourage me to make some more of these lists, just provide some feedback in the comments section. There are a lot more recommendations where these came from.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

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Installing a new Antenna: Gap Titan DX

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

Moving day was full of wind, rain, and flying November leaves. The day was made even drearier since my ham radio antenna (a used Gap Titan DX vertical) along with lawn furniture and a ladder were all stolen the day before. Seven months later it was finally time to put up a new antenna and the Gap Titan DX was once again the choice. My old one had served me well for many years and it was a used antenna when I got it. A new Gap couldn’t help but perform as well or better than the old one. I placed my order with hamcity in California. The drop shipped package arrived in only one week; I barely had time to think about the planning of a mount for it! I can highly recommend hamcity – they had the best price and superior individual customer service.

After deciding on the location (ground mounted, some 20 feet from the house … a bit close but out of the way) the next big decision was the mounting procedure. Gap sells a nice mount made of aluminum. It runs about $100 with shipping and it goes two feet into the ground. It can be used with or without cement; personally I would use cement.  I looked at a couple mounts from other companies too. They all had the main feature I was looking for, the ability to tilt over. Some of them needed to be used in such a way that their own length would add to the length of the Gap, something I did not want. That would only complicate the tuning. I did not get the Gap tilt mount because it only went two feet deep and could never come out. I didn’t like putting nearly $100 worth of equipment into a hole. So, I went to see my friend Bill, KB1CWE. He has about 5 different vertical antennas of varying dimensions ground-mounted around his house. He made all of his own mounts. He used a flagpole-like configuration. Each of his mounts consisted of two steel poles flanking a central steel mast upon which the antenna was mounted. He never uses any guy wires because they are not needed. His mounts are massive devices that only the most severe hurricane could possibly threaten. All of his materials were scrounged from leftovers from his days as a machinist. Everything Bill makes is extra heavy duty and has the appearance of the craftsman’s touch. These mounts were no exception. I decided that I needed to copy his general design but that it would have to be something more in tune with my lesser skills and materials. It’s tough to build to a standard set by someone who is in his 90’s (Bill).

My next stop on the planning trail was to the Gap Antenna discussion group on Yahoo. There I found a really neat design offered up as a pencil sketch (and long distance photo) by Mike (WB9L). His choice of materials was pressure treated lumber and standard 1-1/4” OD steel pipe (the type required by the Gap vertical for proper mounting). I liked his design so much that I used it with only slight modifications.

I tend to purchase materials in waves. I’ll go to the Home Depot or Lowes and get some of the parts and then return another day for more. I never seem to enter with a complete list. The first item on my list was a 10 foot steel pole. I found a nice 1-1/4 section and took that home. Then I tried to attach the Gap insulators around it. That is when I found that I had purchased a 1-1/4” ID (inside diameter) pipe rather than 1-1/4” OD pipe. Trip number two was a couple days later. I got the right pipe (it cost about $10 less), a couple 8’ two by fours and one 8’ two by six. I also purchased several 3/8” galvanized stove bolts and matching wing nuts and washers.

I knew that the difficult part was going to be drilling those holes through the pipe. How do you make the pipe immobile while drilling and how do you make sure that all the holes (3 of them) are properly lined up with each other? My solution was to make a temporary V-block out of a two by four clamped to some plywood that was in turn clamped to my drill press table. This made the drilling a breeze and all the holes lined up just right. I then used the drilled holes in the pipe as the template for marking drill points on the two by four sides of the mount. The next step was to bolt the pipe to the two by fours and attach the two by six backbone to the whole unit. The two by six was cut just below the pivot point (the top bolt) and the cut end was attached above the pivot point. That way when the antenna tilted over the mast would be supported on the top and bottom and project out at 90 degrees. I chose a tilt height that matched the height of my sawhorses so that I would have a natural support for the antenna when it came down for maintenance.

Of course, things did not work out exactly as I had planned. I drilled the holes in the two by fours on the wrong side (ignoring the notes I had placed right on the wood surface!). It worked out anyways, but I do have those holes just a bit close to the edge of the studs. It would have been better to have them more towards the center. I also was counting on digging my hole three feet deep. That would give me a total of five feet of mount above the ground. Unfortunately I was only able to get down about thirty inches due to massive rocks. The mount and pole were centered in the hole and cement was poured around them into a form. I also stuck an old ½” four foot ground rod into the hole alongside the mount. It all seemed to work out well until I finally got around to mounting the antenna on it.

The antenna had to be built next. The one major recommendation I have for building the antenna is to follow the instructions. Don’t think just because you did it before or know what has to go where you can just do what you want when you want. I made the mistake of deciding early on to thread the yellow feed line out of the hole on the side of the antenna lower section. I ended up having to back it out because you can’t get the insulators on AFTER threading the feed line. The insulators must go on the antenna first. Also you may find that the Titan instructions say that you are provided with “a 4’ length of Dacron with a ring terminal”. That is incorrect. The antenna comes with only 18” because 18” is more than what you need. The antenna went together very easily. It also attached to my mount without difficulty. The only problem I had was when I went to put on the 40 meter hoop. I could not reach the hoop mounts even with a step ladder. I had made the pipe mount too long (10’ total). The only solution was to take the antenna down and cut off three feet of the mounting pipe. I didn’t trust my mount so I tried to tilt it down using a rope to lower it. No good! The mount and antenna twisted a bit, I almost killed my wife who was there to guide the antenna to the saw horses, and I managed to slightly crack the cement mount. All you have to do is to trust the tilt. Walk it down alone and it works with very little effort. Likewise for putting it back up. I found that I was able to do this with very little effort and maximum control.

The only other glitch I had was with the coaxial cable connection. My soldering job worked the first day (great SWR on every band) but by the second day something was wrong. I found out that there was a short between the center terminal and shell of the connector I had soldered onto the antenna. I then put on a new connector and did it right. The next job will be to lower the Titan for minor adjustments of various elements to further reduce the SWR. Then I have to decide on a permanent method for getting the cable into the house and making a proper station ground. But then, this is the kind of stuff I like and it is way more satisfying than Internet communications.

———————————————————————————————————————–

Partial list of materials for the antenna mount:

(2)EA 2x4x8 pressure treated studs for mount sides

(1)EA 2x6x10 pressure treated board for mount backing

(1)EA 1-1/4”OD galvanized steel pipe for mounting pole

(3)EA 3/8×5-1/2 carriage bolts with washers and wing nuts for securing pipe to boards & making pivot

(6)EA 3” lag bolts to hold long 2”x6”x6’ backing to 2×4 sides

(6)EA 3” finish nails to hold 2”x6”x2’ backing to opposite 2×4 sides

(3)EA 40 lb bags of ready-mix concrete

Copy of original plan proposed by CapnMike on the Gap Antenna Yahoo Group. Click to enlarge.

(1)EA 10″ cardboard concrete post form

The total cost of the mount, excluding the steel pipe which is also required for any available commercial mount, was under $20.00.

Just for comparison, if you look below you will see how my antenna was mounted at our other house. I did not use a tilt mount. The mounting pipe (painted black steel) was inserted into a PVC pipe. The entire mount had to be lifted out of the pipe so as to take the antenna down. This was impossible to do with only one person and rather difficult with two. I do not recommend that method.

 

 

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Small Objects

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

Treats: soreness, aches, pains, headache, frosted feet and unbroken chiliblains

 I have always had a fascination for small objects.  They never had to be flashy or very valuable; they just had to be interesting and possibly unique.  I remember a military cap, the kind with a stiff bill out front, when I was a kid.  Was it mine? Did the older kid who lived on the third floor just show it to me one day?  I really don’t know.  It is just one of those memories that go so far back that it is no longer clear.  The only thing that I am sure of is a sense of wanting to own this really neat object.

 

As you might expect I have picked up many of these quaint items over the years.  They rest in draws, shoeboxes, and assorted hiding places that I tend to readily forget about.  It has not been all that easy to share this interest with other people, until now.  The arrival of digital photography and Internet social networking sites make it simple to display and discuss those things that one has a keen interest in.  So, do me the favor of looking at these items.  You will recognize some right away.  Others may be unfamiliar or even strange.  Let me know what you think of them.

The first item was at one time found in the bathroom.  Musterole was the brand name for something called mustard plaster.  The idea was to rub this cream on affected areas and thereby relieve irritation.  It was described as a counter-irritant.  You have to read the instructions closely though to find this gem: “Do not bind or cover tightly after application.  In rare cases of very sensitive skin MUSTEROLE may produce a more severe irritation than is desired.”  I guess that is sort of like the medications that we take nowadays for depression.  They often carry the warning “may encourage suicidal tendencies”.

Many years ago (almost 40 years) one of my ninth grade science students gave me a peculiar gift.  It was something that I had never seen before or since.  This item claims to be a minerallac statiscope.  You just hold it up to a surface that you suspect would make a good point for the discharge of a static electricity charge you have built up on the scope.  A convenient place might be someone’s nose.  If there is a significant charge on the scope you will not only get the ordinary spark and scream but will also light up the little discharge tube inside the scope.  It’s great to take along when attending a winter party held in a living room that has a nice shag rug.

 

This next item is quite curious, or maybe not.  I need help with this one.  I purchased it thinking I was getting a neat desk accessory that sharpened pencils.  Insert the pencil in the hole, rotate the mount and you get a sharpened pencil.  That’s what I thought would happen.  To this date I have not yet sharpened a single pencil with this thing.  Can you figure out what it is really for or why it doesn’t work?  I have provided an inside view for the mechanical engineers reading this.

  

Small objects are especially interesting if it appears that they are very finely crafted.  They use wood and brass rather than plastic and tinned steel.  I have slowed down my acquisition of such objects lately but when at a recent yard sale I noticed something that begged me to take it home.  It is a small ruler (a machinist might call it a scale).  At least it looked like a ruler at first glance. 

 A little more investigation revealed that it could be used as a caliper also.  This Lufkin No. 372 folds together so seamlessly that at first I had difficulty determining how to open it.  My wife had to show me!  And yes, it is made of boxwood and brass.

The final item for today (aren’t you glad I am keeping it short today unlike that time I wrote about all the books I read?) is a lady’s compact.  I don’t even know if women use these anymore.  Watch a good detective movie from the ‘50’s and you will see them in use (along with the other standby, the cigarette).  A compact holds a mirror, powder, and a powder puff.  The idea is for the woman to put a little blush on (I think).  At any rate, this is no ordinary compact.  This one commemorates the 1939 New York World’s Fair.  It boasts a dynamic rendering of the fair administration building on its cover.  Very cool.  One more truly neat small object.

What small objects do you keep around the house?  Send me some photos so I can put them in a later “Small Objects” blog post.  Otherwise I may have to dig out a few more of my own next time.

 

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How to Read Digital Library Books on Your iPad

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

Screenshot of the Bluefire app library page. The book "Meet You in Hell" is a library book.

I read electronic books on my Kindle. The easy way to get them is to download from the Internet various free items (public domain) or purchase them directly from Amazon. The difficult way is to download them from my online digital public library (in my case that would be OSL, Ocean State Libraries, in RI). Those books must be in Mobipocket format and I need to convert them using some Python script in command mode. I am told that by October of 2011 Amazon will allow libraries to loan digitized books in Amazon format (AZW) at which point the method I presently use will no longer be necessary. We shall see.

I also read electronic library books on my iPad. The books that I am able to read are either in PDF or EPUB format. The process is a little involved but I think I finally have it down. The method below should work well if you have either a PC or a Mac as your main computer. I have a PC. If you find any problems or errors with these instructions, please let me know so I can make modifications if necessary. Feedback is appreciated. Also note that there may be other ways to do this.  I am just describing what works for me.

1. You must have a library card for your local library. This card will usually allow you to have access to the state library association web page. You use the library card ID number to log on to your digital loans section of the state library organization. Read all instructions that the library provides.
2. Install Adobe Digital Editions on your PC (OSX, Windows or Linux). Run the program. “The first time you run Digital Editions, you are prompted to authorize the application by entering an Adobe ID. If you don’t have an Adobe ID, you are provided with a link to get one. Then, when you purchase an item online or borrow one from a library with Digital Editions, the item is automatically “tied” to your Adobe ID, rather than your computer. This way, you are free to move your items to up to six computers and six devices that have been authorized with Digital Editions.”1 Remember this ID!
3. Install Apple iTunes (the latest version) on your PC. It is already on your iPad.
4. Install Bluefire Reader on your iPad.
5. Download the book you want to read from your library. Make note of what folder you saved the book to. You will need to know this later.

Go to the Bluefire home page and click on the “Help” button. The first Help topic under the “FAQ” section is “Can I open my Library Books in Bluefire Reader?” This topic has a link that you must now click on, Using Library Books in Bluefire Reader. After arriving at the link you should print out the entire 4-page document. It contains the instructions you need to use.
6. Follow the instructions you just printed out. Please note the following hints:
• The section titled “Downloading with Adobe Digital Editions” says “When Digital Editions sees the .acsm file it will automatically download the PDF or ePUB file, which is the actual eBook…” In my experience, this does not happen. Rather, you should first find the .ascm file that was downloaded. If you specified a directory when you did the download from the library (see above) that is where you will find it. Next, right click on the file name. A menu will appear. Click on “open with”. A submenu will pop up. Here you choose “opens in Adobe Digital Editions”.
• Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) will open and the book should appear in its library. You can now read the book on your PC, but that is not what you are trying to do. You want to read it on the iPad, so, continue with the next steps.

7. Go back to the Bluefire Reader instructions that you printed out. Begin reading on the third page under “Transferring eBooks to Bluefire Reader”. Follow the instructions to the letter and you should be reading the library book on your iPad in no time. Please note that you will have to attach the iPad to the PC by the USB cable that came with the iPad. Do that first. You may find that iTunes opens right away and the iPad starts its sync and update sequence. Let all that happen. You don’t want to continue trying to transfer a book to the iPad while it is updating. Also, if this is the first sync performed since loading the Bluefire app on your iPad, it is necessary for iTunes to update its app list.
8. If all goes well the library book will appear in the ‘library’ of the Bluefire Reader app on your iPad. When the library loan time is over (3 weeks at my library) the book will no longer open. Also, some libraries allow you to return a book early. That’s another story.

1 a quote from Bluefire Reader web site, http://www.bluefirereader.com/help/libraryBooks.html

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Attack of the Killer Drones

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Kenneth Carr

The worst part was the sound of their bodies clacking against the tin tuna can, a natural amplifier.

What makes you queasy or freaked out? For some people it can be as little as a dirty diaper in need of changing. For others it is the sight of blood or the smell of vomit. The situation that is most likely to elevate my yucky index is the sight of a massive amount of insects all in one spot at the same time. I have experienced this phenomenon on several different occasions.

I remember once while mowing the lawn when I spotted what appeared to be the quivering body of a bird on the grass. I got a couple of sticks with which to pick it up so I could place the sick avian friend into the nearby woods. When I got real close I suddenly realized that the bird was not sick, it was dead; and, it was still moving. There were so many maggots on its body that they completely reconstructed the shape of the bird with their own wiggling white wormy forms. When I picked the mass up, chop stick style, it literally dripped maggots. That was not a pleasant experience, but it was not the worst.

Then there is the time we were climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire. We camped out at the shelter half way up the mountain. The shelter campground was quite deluxe because it had outhouses with running water. Unfortunately we were informed by the station attendant that there was no potable water available that day, but we could still use the outhouse toilet. That was OK. I approached the outhouse and just before entering I heard a low frequency buzzing sound. Maybe there was a bee inside. I’d have to be watchful. Then I opened the door. As the door springs were still creaking I was met by a moving black cloud that was bouncing off the outhouse walls and covering every available surface (including the barely visible toilet seat). It was a massive swarm of flies and the slight buzzing was now a manic roar. I bolted (as in ran quickly) and got as far away as possible from that privy. I was a good 20 feet away before I heard the door catch up with me and finally slam closed. That was not a pleasant experience, but it was not the worst.

My wife and I spent most of this past Monday cleaning out the shed. When we moved here 7 months ago we stored many cardboard-boxed items in the shed. It was time to go through the stuff and put it in more secure and weatherproof plastic storage bins. The goal was to get rid of every cardboard box since they are very susceptible to moisture and rodents. Things were going along rather well. We emptied and crushed lots of boxes. The items were placed in nice clean and airtight plastic bins (totes) and the contents of each bin were meticulously penned on each end panel. Finally I got to the back of the shed. Only a few boxes were left. It was when I pulled off one of the last few boxes that I had a Stephen King moment. The top of the box below the one in my hands was completely covered with by a squirming, clacking, jittering mass of swarming carpenter ants. The entire mass was in motion and I COULD HEAR THEM! I immediately dropped my cardboard box of old radio tubes and ran out of the shed as fast as possible, almost running down my wife in the process. I said some rather tasteless words (a lot of them) and made quite a few shameless shrieks. I yelled for my wife to get the Raid from the garage while I stood guard over the glistening black mass. As soon as the bug bomb arrived I began spraying. As I sprayed each layer I would get a tenuous grip on a box and drag it out of the shed. The last box sat atop a wooden play stove that I had built for our girls over 30 years ago.

View of play stovetop ‘tuna can burners’ with resident winged carpenter ants

The top of the stove has four gas burners that are made of tuna fish cans with some heavy wire looped over them. As I removed the final box the sound of the winged carpenter ants was suddenly amplified. It sounded like thousands of tap dancers trapped inside a tiled public lavatory. Actually it was the ants that were nesting inside each tuna fish can. They were stacked abdomen to thorax like black sardines with antennae. These sardines were not standing still. After another session of uncontrolled screaming and jumping (I now felt that ants were falling from the rafters and landing directly inside my shirt, whether it was actually happening or not) my wife appeared from the background with the bug spray and I proceeded to douse those lousy creepy arthropods with a steady stream of poison. It was hours before we finally closed the shed and declared the lower level pest free. There were still a few boxes in the overhead storage area. They could wait until tomorrow. It was time for a shower, clothes change, and a few beers. That was not a pleasant experience, and it was the worst one, so far.

Posted in Nature: Plants and Animals, Backyard, Woods, and River, Occasional Commentary | Tagged | Leave a comment