mastodon 4.7.3He/Him
Ham radio op N3VEM. Into HF mostly, but also run a repeater, and dabble with rockets a little bit as a cross-over hobby.
#UnitarianUniversalist - Respecter of the living web & justice is for everyone.
Ask me why I don’t own a microwave.
I have a day job, but it's not what defines me - I'd rather talk about #HamRadio, #ModelRockets, #SocialJustice, #Electronics, #DIY, #Making or anything else you are passionate about.
Might swear a little when angry. Sorry.
This makes up for the stress/heartbreak of dealing with the storm damage at home...
On a work trip, and a coworker who lives here said, hey - I have a bunch of old ham gear from when I was a teenager that I want to give you.
Most of it was working when last used, so hopefully they won't take too much work to bring back to life!
Now I'm all loaded up for the ride home😄
After swearing I wasn't going to get into the business of keeping lots of crickets for the shack lizards like I did when I was a teen, and was instead going to just "subscribe" to mail order crickets, the frugalist in me won it.
Here is the N3VEM cricket farm, up and running at a good rhythm now, with a fresh batch at feeding size every ~3 weeks. This produces more than I'd need for our lizards, but the chickens enjoy all the extras as a special treat every couple weeks.
Something that pops into my head from time to time, and I'm not sure why -
I always loved Calvin and Hobbes. As an early teen I built a shortwave receiver kit my dad got me, and it was on a news show I came across on a shortwave station on that receiver that I learned that Bill Watterson was retiring.
I still love Calvin and Hobbes, and I still love radio.
Coincidence? Maybe not...
Will be headed out tonight to see my eldest in "The Prom" - it's her first time in a theatre performance that isn't a camp or school thing, where she had to do the whole tryouts, callbacks, etc.
Looking forward to it!
I may or may not have just used a butterfly knife to strip a 4awg cable.
Don't tell OSHA.
My evening project was swapping the second row captains chairs in our family vehicle for a full bench seat, because with the new baby, we didn't all fit any more.
I managed to not bleed at all, but there was cursing involved.
Anyway, now all 8 of us can go places at the same time😄
Since the SBE Model 33 has a handle, that makes it portable, so it might become my POTA radio when I start getting out again during some work trips the rest of the year 😜
I had installed an inexpensive hand winch on my mast to make it easier to raise and lower for antenna work, and I'm glad I did, because otherwise I'm not sure how I would have lowered this twisted mess from the trees falling on it, because I couldn't telescope it down with all the bends in it.
First couple #monarch chrysalis for the season!
I'd like to invite you all to the screening of my first ever movie.
It's a suspense/thriller called "Little Bunny Foo Foo"
@HopelessDemigod@mstdn.social pretty decent - just some shingles and aluminum to replace still on the playhouse, and the mast stuff to sort out - everything else is pretty much back to normal (other than now having a giant pile of wood to split) Since we have a surviving Radio Shack that's run by a ham, they carry antennas, so I'll get the replacement antenna this week sometime, and get it up at least temporarily while I figure out where/how to pick up a mast without having to pay a giant freight charge.
@HopelessDemigod@mstdn.social @Quantensalat@scicomm.xyz lol - indeed. I feel like I might be the only person left who gets their TV over the air, and has exactly 0 subscriptions to streaming services.
Where my #Hawaii and #Wyoming #HamRadio peeps at?
They're the only states I need for WAS. I've worked them both in the past, but never confirmed on LOTW.
I'm on the east coast, but I often stay up late so would be willing to do a sked for some evening after your dinner, when I can be sure my kids would be asleep so I can play radio for a bit.
@kb6nu@mastodon.radio - you didn't secretly start a radio show in central PA did you? I'm in an Uber and on the station that's on the morning show person sounds so much like you that I thought at first he was listening to the ICQ podcast or something 😄
Fun fact-
I'm pretty sure I've got the only chicken coop & run that has doors from a presidential mansion!
Back story:
The Wheatland estate - President James Buchanan's home in Lancaster PA, was doing some repairs and was throwing out all the wooden screen doors (they weren't original). We salvaged them from their dumpster and used them when we built the coop and run.
#HamRadio and #Electronics #DIY crowd...
Favorite budget Oscilloscopes for general DIY, audio, and RF use?