W2LJ QRP - When you care to send the very least!

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I can always count on KD2FSI

Posted: 01 Nov 2019 05:19 AM PDT
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Dave KD2FSI read my blog post and watched the video about the mast support
that I posted the other day. He sent me a message on Facebook:

"Hey Larry,

I just finished reading your blog and watched the attached video about
anchoring Jackite type masts and thought I would share a picture of my
setup before you run out and buy ratcheting straps.

I use cam-jam cord tighteners; they are lite-weight, easy to adjust and you
don’t need hose clamps to attach straps to your PVC holder pole. I also use
heavier tent stakes with a nail type head that can be easily pushed in or
hammered in if necessary. This setup works great in grassy fields, but not
so well on a rocky mountain tops or sandy beaches or any other place where
you can’t drive in stakes. And that is why I came up with my pack frame
mount. "


Dave was a software engineer by profession, and he has the ability
to "think outside the box" that I only wish I had. To me, he's like the
MacGyver of Amateur Radio. I look at his solutions to things and always
end up thinking, "Why couldn't I think of that!" He has a gift, he truly
does.

This looks like a less bulkier solution than those ratcheting straps. I
can use Dacron antenna rope that I already have, and a search online
revealed that my local Home Depot keeps the CamJams in stock. I'll need to
go and buy a new piece of PVC, anyway. For the life of me, I can't find
where I put mine.

I emptied the back of the Jeep of all my radio paraphernalia when I moved
Cara to college. I thought I put all of it back, but I can't find the mast
holder! I looked in the shack, I looked in the shed in the backyard - I
have no idea where I put it. And it's not like it's a tiny thing, either.
You'd think it would be easy to spot.

It's probably in the same place where all those socks go that are missing
from the clothes dryer.

On a totally different note, we had a wild night last night! It was rainy
yesterday and we had a high temperature of 72F (22C). In the very late
evening, I would say around 10:00 PM local time, an Arctic air mass started
moving down out of Canada. I had disconnected the antennas thinking we
might get some bad thunderstorms. In fact, I got messages on the cell phone
that we were under a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch until about 1:00
AM.

No thunderstorms, but some rain and some very gusty winds. The weather
station was reading sustained gusts over 25 mph. How do I know this? I
didn't sleep well at all with the wind howling past and shaking the
windows. I couldn't sleep, so I would check the weather display from time
to time rather than just toss and turn in bed.

So today, I feel somewhat like a Zombie from the lack of sleep, and that's
very appropriate! Tonight is NA5N's Annual Zombie Shuffle - hope to hear
you on the air tonight. If I can manage to stay awake, that is! Both of my
antennas stayed up even though the wind tried hard to knock them down. The
question now is, will I be able to stay up tonight; or will I just nod off
at the key?!?

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!