Homestead mailing list

[Chris Clarke <hstead AT nc.rr.com>]

Don,

Good to hear from you.  I have missed the familiar faces of homestead
list...   I think that it has been 18 or 19 years ago that I joined... :D

How has the sunspot cycle been for you this year?   Any good HF DX?

Good luck with the building projects.   As other have said, it is hard to
find dedicated folks to do anything.

Have fun,

Chris Clarke
Apex, NC


On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 10:57 AM, Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net> wrote:

> I spent from the end of October to the end of February mostly sitting
> around and walking only with crutches after leg surgery to straighten
> the leg.  During that time I played with the radio, spending time on the
> HF and 2M bands.  Before surgery I put some metal in the air.  I also
> started maintaining the local repeater and I am the net control for the
> Sunday night net.  We can be found in the Ozarks on 147.390+, no tone.
> I am an electronics engineer but with little RF experience so more
> things to learn.  I also spent the time and passed my Extra Class
> license plus becoming a VE.
>
> I also spent time designing a house that we hope to build this summer if
> we can get builders to respond.  This is the Ozarks and there is always
> something more interesting to do than work.  We had three that bothered
> to come by and only one has bothered to send a bid.  We were told by the
> bank and others that builders are hungry but we have not seen it.  As
> part of that I was recently given enough Oak to build the stairs and
> some of the trim.  The builder that appears to want the job will more
> than likely get it.  It is a small county, the builder's wife is the
> nurse that prepped me for surgery and his mother in law was our
> grandson's third grade teacher.  His partner is the cousin of the friend
> who is giving me the Oak.
>
> I also caught myself up on technology so researched the world of SBCs
> and thought up some projects but those will have to wait. Arduino,
> PIC-AXE, Raspberry-Pi, BeagleBone, oh my.
>
> One of the more interesting things I looked into was 3D printing, I
> think that is a real game changer in many ways.  Prices are way down,
> some good ones under $1000.  Some are built with parts from the same
> printer.  Want a high capacity magazine?  Someone will have written a
> program for one and you can print all you want.  Why worry if wears out
> quickly because it is PVC, print more.
>
> I have also been to the Bay area three times, Los Angles twice and
> Denver three times, over the last year dealing with family issues. I
> have a very good friend whom I would do anything for who is getting up
> in years and is ailing.  I suspect I will be making a few more trips
> before a final trip in the not too distant future.
>
> Also our almost 3 year old grandson has a very rare form of cancer in
> his eye.  He is responding well to treatment but those treatments
> require my son to make trips to Sloan Kettering in New York.  They think
> there is only one more trip then the treatment will continue in Los Angles.
>
> My sister in law fell and shattered her leg into her knee joint a couple
> of days before I went in for surgery.  She had severe injuries and
> required several surgeries.  She was about two or three weeks behind me
> in recovery and brags that she has one more screw than I do in her leg,
> I am missing a screw.  She was a heavy smoker until just a couple of
> years ago when she was diagnosed with COPD and that was a leading cause
> of the extent of the injury.  My doctor said that smoking is one of the
> worst things you can do for your bones especially if you are female.
>
> Other than that it have been a slow winter and spring is reluctant to
> arrive.
>
> --
> Don Bowen           AD0BR
> "A man must keep a little back shop where he can be himself without
> reserve. In solitude alone can he know true freedom."
> -Michel De Montaigne 1588
> http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html
>
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