Some fun pictures…
From the local flooding on Sunday, January 22, 2017 in Long Beach, CA:
Movie 1: https://w6grv.com/myfiles/DSC_0022.MOV
Movie 2: https://w6grv.com/myfiles/DSC_0023.MOV
Movie 3: https://w6grv.com/myfiles/DSC_0024.MOV
Movie 4: https://w6grv.com/myfiles/DSC_0025.MOV
For comparison of curb heights, see this picture of a tree limb that fell down in the storm a couple of days before the flooding: Tree Picture.
- Power Pole Connectors September 7, 2015
The 2 meter radio had been in a box since we last moved. The cable that matched the IC-28A power cord was lost. This weekend, to get it back on the air, I rewired the power supply with Power Pole connectors.
The first step was to understand what was needed. The Astron RS-20A was only powering the keyer, and the Icom IC-28A uses about 6 to 8 amps when transmitting. The #12 gauge wire should be fine with the 20 amp supply and equipment that draws less than 10 amps. I needed something that would handle the two pieces that I currently had, and a place to easily plug in some other equipment in the future.
I needed to make one 3-foot cable with power pole connectors on each end to go from the IC-28A to to the RIGrunner 4005 power distribution box, replace the 2 meter radio’s power connector with power pole connectors, and use the pre-made cable from the power supply to the power distribution box. The crimp connectors appeared to big for the keyer’s fine wires, and the keyer had connectors that easily plugged into the power supply. Re-wiring the keyer was left for another day.
Since this was my first time with these connectors, I made the 3-foot cable first. There were plenty of wires and connectors for practicing. The hardest problem I had was twisting the #12 gauge wire tight enough to fit into the connectors without a strand of wire poking out. After trying it a few times, and learning how far to strip the wire, it became easy.
With the first cable made, it was time to cut the connector off the 2 meter radio and put on the power pole connectors. I wanted to leave enough cord on both the radio side and the old connector side to put power pole connectors on both. However, I was concerned that there was only enough cord to put connectors on one or the other.
The wire in the power cord looked to be in good condition and putting the new connectors on went well.
The cutting and crimping was all done. The cable was connected from the power supply to the RIGrunner 4005 unit, and the newly-made cable was connected from that unit to the IC-28A 2 meter radio. One of the hardest parts was finding a place to put the power distribution unit. If I end up liking where it went, it will get screwed down, but for now this will work well.
The radio was connected to an antenna. the cables were checked. It was time for the smoke test. The power supply was turned on, the keyer still worked, and then the radio was powered on for the first time in close to ten years.
Everything came on and works well. The initial purpose was to get this old radio back on the air, but the bigger benefit is having the shack wired with common power pole connectors. My equipment (someday to include the keyer) has the same connectors as my local club and many others use. The equipment can quickly be swapped around when needed.
Continue reading → - A Simple Project October 18, 2014It sounded simple. Add a common ground for the all of the radio equipment in the shack.
Ground wire is attached to the copper pipe
Some of my equipment, like the linear, had a ground wire attached to an eight-foot solid copper ground rod, but some items still needed a good ground connection.
My brother gave me a half inch copper pipe. I bought some ground rod clamps, mounting brackets, and the best copper wire I could find. There was not an easily accessible place to mount the copper pipe without re-arranging desk and equipment. So, under the desk looked to be the next best place that was close to everything and in an area where I could get to it.
After some measuring, I cut off about 10 inches of pipe, attached the clamps, and then began to fasten it to the desk. At this point, I was lying on my back, twisted under the desk. I didn’t have enough hands to hold the pipe, screw, and screwdriver all at the same time, and even if I’d had enough hands, I didn’t have room for them. Also, I couldn’t see the marks that I had made for the screws.
After a number of attempts, and a couple of new marks on the wood, I finally got the pipe attached. The hole in the wall is jammed with coax lines to the antennas, and it took some struggling to get the new thicker copper ground wire out to the ground rod. Once that part was done, it was easy. One end of the wire was attached to the ground rod, and the other end in the shack was attached to the copper pipe using one of the ground clamps.
It was now ready to connect to the equipment… but I used up all the copper wire.
Continue reading →-
- Parts for the station ground connection
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- Copper pipe ready to attach to the desk
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- The pipe went on the board in the back under the desk
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- Best location was on the board in the back right toward the bottom
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- Not perfect, but the copper pipe is attached to the desk
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- Ground wire is attached to the copper pipe
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- Snow posed for her portrait October 19, 2013
- Trip to Washington State in 2005 November 21, 2011
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During the summer of 2005, Dot and I took a trip to the state of Washington. We drove north and spent a night in Trinidad, CA, where a our view was that of a couple of goats. Their feeder was just outside of our window. Then we went up the coast, stopping in Crescent City CA, and up the Oregon coast. Once in Seattle, we headed east, spending the night in Leavenworth, WA. From there, we went to Omak and Riverside Washington. The next day we drove back south, passing through central Washington and Oregon.
Continue reading →
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