Took me so long to type that in and edit it, that now it’s tomorrow. Er, something.
Monthly Archives: May 2004
Eight Days a Week
As in, how long it’s been since I wrote something here :>
So last night sucked. Well, kinda. I worked fairly late, and then headed up to the Sarnoff club meeting at 19:30. Ended up staying there until almost 22:00 chatting with a few people, including David (N0YMV) and a few others I had met before, a couple I’d talked to on the air but not yet seen in person like Dave (K2ULF). Finally got home around 22:30, had dinner, hung out a bit, and around 00:30 saw an email about a possible problem at work. I headed back up to work and got there around 01:00, hung out with the guys who were observing remotely (connected from Princeton to a telescope at Apache Point, NM) and worked on a couple issues that were going on there, and ended up getting home around 04:00 after getting gas and taking my time — as well as calling out for anyone else who was awake on the repeaters at that hour. Nobody was. Talked with Bruce WA2ZST on my way in to work, he was chatting with someone else about roads and towns in South Jersey where I grew up and taking me back to my old stomping grounds. Pretty funny when you hear someone up here talking about Bridgeboro Road and how it cuts a straight line from Moorestown to 5-points in Beverly, and I know exactly where that is.
Anyway, since I was in so late and got home so early, I left an email saying I wouldn’t be in today, and I wasn’t. Woke up around 10:30 to someone banging around in the parking lot, and went back to sleep until Steph came home around 15:30 from her class. Realized what time it was so I got showerd and dressed right quick, loaded the bike onto the back of the truck and we headed out to Princeton to go to the N2ARC station at the American Red Cross on Alexander Road. Met up with Gerry (N2GJ) and a couple other folks I hadn’t really met before, we checked into a net that was taking place in Connecticut I think, and then Gerry showed us the station setup and the equipment. Was very nice, because I think this is the first time that someone’s shown me a station setup and actually made sure I knew what I was looking at and how to work it. Granted I already know how to work a 2m rig, and a bit about APRS and how it works, but to have someone show you how to change antennas and retune the radio is a lot nicer than pointing at a black box and saying, “That there’s a HF rig,” and that be the end of it. While I’m saying good things about him, let me point you to his website – n2gj.org. Check out his list of famous hams too!
After that, we headed over to Pep Boys and picked up a new lock for my hitch (so I wouldn’t have to keep putting the bike rack in the bed of the truck, or leave it hanging off of there for anyone to pull the hitch pin and walk away with it) and then shot up to Dick’s Sporting Goods for Steph to pick up her bike, and me to drop mine off. We got all the accessories we’d need for hers, and Jay looked over mine and said an overhaul was in order. Clean up the cables a bit, regrease things and make sure everything is in adjustment. Also I’m getting a kickstand and a new seat, the one I have on there currently is … well, not too kind to the posterior. Picked up a new water bottle for each of us too, an insulated one that will keep the cold stuff cold. Woo, flashbacks to an old McDonald’s commercial. She tried out the bike in the parking lot there and then later when we got home, and she likes it a lot. Originally was looking at road bikes (the old-style “10-speed” kind with the curved down handlebars and such) but ended up getting a “comfort bike”. Wider tires like a mountain bike, but less aggressive tread; shocks on the front fork and I think on the back as well; spring seat that’s a little wider also; and adjustable in multiple ways for making your ride more pleasurable but still able to go from the asphalt to a dirt road like the ones that parallel the D&R canal around here. All good.
After that we headed over to Town & Country for dinner, and what a dinner tonight! Usually I’m just happy with an order of chicken fingers and fries, but tonight we were both in the mood for a real dinner. Chicken fingers were the appetizer, then I had a sliced london broil with mushroom sauce (wasn’t bad, just brush off the vegetation) and baked potato(e), Steph had this seafood sampler platter that was huge. And everything came out in courses that were well spaced, I had time to let each part settle before the next plate came out. It wasn’t our normal cheap diner run, but it was definitely good. Hell, I’m still full from it all now, and that was a couple hours ago :>
Well, this oughta make up for not writing in awhile. Anniversary is tomorrow, and Steph is going to stay in her class until it’s over (summer course, only meets three times – she doesn’t want to cut out early, and I don’t blame her in the least) so we’ll have our nice dinner out this weekend. And, I talked with someone at Universal Radio this morning, I think my order is going out today or tomorrow. Meaning, with any luck, I’ll be able to get on the local repeaters from the apartment with the HT on a bigger and better antenna, instead of having to go out front on the HT or (as I have been doing) sit in the truck on the mobile rig. That’ll be kinda nice.
Hangin’ with the Police
So I got a call this morning from someone at the Ewing Police Dept. Only, I was kinda expecting it. I contacted them to see if they still have a ham radio station at their emergency operations center, something that Kip had told me they had (last he knew, anyway). Turns out that they don’t, and the person I spoke with said he would know what it was – because he’s a ham too. So I emailed Kip and Bob (since Dave mentioned his name as someone he’s working with on a new comm center) and told them what I found out, and now I’m not sure what’s going on. Both of them mailed me back separately, so I don’t think either knows what the other said, and both seemed to be ready to make the next step. Aughh! As long as both of them are at the club meeting tomorrow night, should be okay. I can talk with everybody in one room and sort out the details.
I know there was other stuff I wanted to write in here, but I don’t remember what it was now. Guess I’m coming down with CRS a little early.
Feeling Like the Little Dutch Boy
Did a round of patching on systems over the last couple days. Hopefully that’ll stem the tide for a little bit at least. Looking forward to checking out the apt/yum repository features of Fedora and being able to have machines auto-update themselves at predetermined times. That would be very nice, something I’ve wanted for the last couple years but now I don’t have to write it myself.
Spent some time up at the club shack this past weekend, and started writing the shack manual. So far I’ve got some basics in there, but just want to expand on it a bit. For example, there’s a bunch of antennas there that I’m not even sure what they’re for, and some that I’m not sure if they work. There’s enough people involved with everything though, I should have no problem getting all the information I need.
Making this a short one, partially because I don’t have much on my mind, and partially so I can get started with the LDAP stuff I’ve been pushing aside for so long — seems like something else always comes up that requires immediate attention.
Sax and Violins
Gotta love the Talking Heads.
I was rudely awakened this morning by the trash truck, who showed up at the ungodly hour of 9am. Would’ve been okay if we hadn’t slept with the windows open last night, so it was quite loud in the bedroom. Oh well. Got showered and dressed just in time for Stephanie to come back from her morning errands, so I hung out with her for lunch and then headed up to the club shack. Nice having a key now, I don’t have to rely on someone else being there, and I don’t feel like an idiot if I just want to scan around and listen a bit.
Heard a few stations on HF, don’t remember which bands now. Most interesting was just before I left when I heard a station from Bermuda, on 6 meters! Hey, I’m thinking, I can respond to this one, I’m licensed for anything above 50MHz. Only problem is, I don’t know which antenna (if any) we have that can be used on that band. Oh well, there will be more I guess. Didn’t hear anyone on 2 meters sideband, though perhaps nighttime is better for that. Since I’m new to all of this, I have a bit to learn, and so far my exposure has been to 2m FM work on repeaters and some simplex, that’s about it.
Tomorrow I’ll probably head up there a little earlier, and might spray myself down with tick repellant and mow the lawn there. If I can get a good chunk of it done, and we can keep it down, it may keep some of the ticks away too. I hate those damned things.
Also chatted with Gary and Gerry at different times on the local repeaters; Gerry called me out of the blue on his way home, since he’d heard I would be at the club station. I talked with him (N2GJ) and his wife (N2ATJ) for awhile until they got home. That was a neat experience, to have someone that I’ve not actually talked to on the air call me unexpectedly.
When talking with Gary, he asked if I could do something for the club, namely as I learn about the station equipment and such if I could document it so they could have a “station manual”, something to give people new to the shack so that they know what is what, and basics of how to use it. Examples would be things as simple as which power supplies do what, which antennas go where and such. Sounds like something I can do, so tomorrow I’m taking the laptop up there with me so I can make notes and type things up as I go. After playing a bit with the 2m/440 rig there, I’m also going to make a “Memory Index” so that people know which memory channels are what, and where they are. I didn’t even know that a couple of the repeaters I wanted to use were programmed in. Ideally I could make a list of repeaters (over time) that can be heard and reached by that rig, including bearings to point the beams for best reception. Yes, one should use a vertical antenna for repeater operations, but if all you’ve got is a horizontal beam you might as well point it in the right direction.
I guess that’s all for now. Downloading OpenOffice for the Mac in the background, and waiting for John and Aimee to show up (John sent an IM about a half hour ago that they were just leaving, so they should be here in 10-30 minutes depending on traffic).