Yeah, we're down to 5 cats, a bird, 6 bunnies, and a dog. The cats
are getting up there in age, the bunnies are about 3-5 years old,
The dog is 3, and the bird is 12. The bird will likely outlive us.

You forgot the partridge in a pear tree. <G>

My wife always makes that joke, :)

Or a partridge in a pair of trees. :P

What gets me is that you see the price on a rig, but then you have to
buy all these accessories.

Yep! Fortunately all I needed when I got my IC-7300 was a power
supply, a USB cable and an antenna. The antenna has been the bane of
my existence, and it looks like I'm going to have to drop the $80 on a
new wire. If it would stop raining here, maybe I could get outside and
fix the stretching issue.

We're in a stormy weather pattern here right now...with rain and storms forecast here much of next week. If I can ever get the BBS into the cloud,
I won't have to worry about as many downtimes.

THe good news is, it's supposed to stop raining soon.
The bad news is, it's just going to switch over to snow.

I talked to Virginia, KC5SAM, in Frontenanc, MN (her brother, George,
N3ZKV, in Rincon, GA, are faithful checkins to nets), and she noted the
snow that they had up there...and that more was forecast.

We haven't had much of a winter here in the last few years, so I think
we're overdue.

I listen in on nets I hear on HF from time to time, but the only net I actively participate in is the weekly FCARC (Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club, my local ham club) net on 2m. Unfortunately all I have for
VHF/UHF is one of those cheap, BaoFeng HTs. It seems to work though.
I'll probably look at getting a 2m/70cm radio next year.

I just operate "internet radio", but I'm thinking of an HT with out of
band receive on 2 meters, on my train trip next June. I plan to have the
laptop computer and Verizon Mi-Fi on the trip, to be Amtrak Railroad Mobile.

The only digital stuff I've gotten into heavily at this point is FT8, mainly because it's so simple to set up. I'm about 4 confirmations
short of getting a "Worked All States" badge on QRZ (and probably
LOTW).

Lots of folks are using FT8 on the digital modes now...as poor as HF conditions have been, it sure helps to get those contacts.

Which reminds me, my buddy is pestering me to update my QRZ.com
profile, which is something I should probably do at some point. I'm
just not very good at listing information about myself when it's not
part of a conversation.

I update mine every so often...but, considering I've been a ham nearly
30 years, I have quite a bit there.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Winter is a Sysops friend...Thunderstorms are the enemy.
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Re: I finally got my license
By: Daryl Stout to DaiTengu on Sat Oct 24 2020 09:28 pm

You forgot the partridge in a pear tree. <G>

My wife always makes that joke, :)

Or a partridge in a pair of trees. :P

Reminds me of the old "Dead baby joke"

What's gross? A dead baby nailed to a tree
What's grosser than that? 10 dead babies nailed to a tree
What's even grosser than that? A dead baby nailed to 10 trees.

We haven't had much of a winter here in the last few years, so I think we're overdue.

Last year was pretty mild here (Wisconsin). It got cold early, but then was warm all through the end of November and December. I'm an avid ice fisherman, and ice fishing was completely rubbish.
Lake Winnebago never froze enough to drive on, and many winter events were cancelled in February due to the warm temperatures and sketchy ice conditions.

I'd really like to see a good, hard freeze in late December that will set us up for a nice ice fishing season this year. I really need it.

The only digital stuff I've gotten into heavily at this point is
FT8, mainly because it's so simple to set up. I'm about 4
confirmations short of getting a "Worked All States" badge on QRZ
(and probably LOTW).

Lots of folks are using FT8 on the digital modes now...as poor as HF conditions have been, it sure helps to get those contacts.

12m was open today, briefly, but I'm still having antenna issues, so I haven't been able to get a decent SWR on anything above 20m (nothing tunable).

I'm working 80m on FT8 as I type this. although conditions don't seem to be that great.

DaiTengu

... This tagline's just for you.

---
þ Synchronet þ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Reminds me of the old "Dead baby joke"

You have too much time on your hands. :P

Last year was pretty mild here (Wisconsin). It got cold early, but
then was warm all through the end of November and December. I'm an avid ice fisherman, and ice fishing was completely rubbish. Lake Winnebago never froze enough to drive on, and many winter events were cancelled
in February due to the warm temperatures and sketchy ice conditions.

I never tried fishing for ice cubes <G>. Seriously, most folks forget
that ice freezes from the top down, and tragically, many folks lose their
lives from hypothermia by falling through the ice into the frigid waters.
There is quite a bit of winter weather in the southern Plains this morning (Monday) with winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings across portions of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas, among other areas.

I'd really like to see a good, hard freeze in late December that will
set us up for a nice ice fishing season this year. I really need it.

I'd like the cold to kill the insects off...but it has to come in hard
and fast, so the critters don't have time to burrow into the warm ground.

12m was open today, briefly, but I'm still having antenna issues, so I haven't been able to get a decent SWR on anything above 20m (nothing tunable).

In talking to folks yesterday, 20m would be great, then conditions would
drop like the proverbial rock. I'm hoping with the time change this coming weekend, that might help things.

... This tagline's just for you.

You're so kind. :)

Daryl

... Who needs veggies and nutrition? Give me the luscious fat!!
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Re: I finally got my license
By: Daryl Stout to DaiTengu on Mon Oct 26 2020 08:09 am

Last year was pretty mild here (Wisconsin). It got cold early, but
then was warm all through the end of November and December. I'm an
avid ice fisherman, and ice fishing was completely rubbish. Lake
Winnebago never froze enough to drive on, and many winter events
were cancelled in February due to the warm temperatures and sketchy
ice conditions.

I never tried fishing for ice cubes <G>. Seriously, most folks forget
that ice freezes from the top down, and tragically, many folks lose their lives from hypothermia by falling through the ice into the frigid waters.

Yeah, that's part of what made it awful last year. It froze, then melted on top, then started to freeze again. You'd wind up having 4 inches of slush with about 3-4 inches of ice below it. While 3-4 inches of ice is something you can walk on, it's no fun sitting in 4 inches of slush while trying to fish.

more then a few ATVs and Snowmobiles were sunk last year by people not checking ice conditions.

I'd like the cold to kill the insects off...but it has to come in hard
and fast, so the critters don't have time to burrow into the warm ground.

I watched a video the other day about how insects survive over winter. Some are capable of dehydrating themselves, and increasing the sugar in their .. blood? whatever they have, which effectively turns their innards into a kind of anti-freeze.

Up here, we'll get at least one or two days every winter where it's -20F with a wind-chill that puts it below -40. But the dang bugs come back every summer.

12m was open today, briefly, but I'm still having antenna issues, so
I haven't been able to get a decent SWR on anything above 20m
(nothing tunable).

In talking to folks yesterday, 20m would be great, then conditions would drop like the proverbial rock. I'm hoping with the time change this coming weekend, that might help things.

80m was nice last night, but I need to shorten my antenna a bit, as my SWR is too high on the General phone portion. The CW/Digital portion is great, though.

DaiTengu

... Life is a hereditary disease.

---
þ Synchronet þ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

lives from hypothermia by falling through the ice into the frigid waters.

Yeah, that's part of what made it awful last year. It froze, then
melted on top, then started to freeze again. You'd wind up having 4 inches of slush with about 3-4 inches of ice below it. While 3-4 inches
of ice is something you can walk on, it's no fun sitting in 4 inches of slush while trying to fish.

I'd rather sit in a nice warm Jacuzzi...preferably with a good looking
female (remember, dirty old Sysops need love, too). <G>

more then a few ATVs and Snowmobiles were sunk last year by people not checking ice conditions.

And, I guess they were worthless afterwards....plus, I know those things aren't cheap.

I watched a video the other day about how insects survive over winter. Some are capable of dehydrating themselves, and increasing the sugar in their .. blood? whatever they have, which effectively turns their
innards into a kind of anti-freeze.

Several years ago on Easter weekend, there were intense thunderstorms
across the state. I had traveled to a church in Lonoke, about 30 miles
east of Little Rock, for a sunrise service. With all the nearby rice
fields, I thought the mosquitoes would carry us off!!

In that regard, it's the female mosquitoes that come after humans, as
there's something in our blood that they need for their eggs to mature.
The male mosquitoes, on the other hand, suck fruit juice. I first read
this in a science class 50 years ago...so, in looking back, I surmised
"So, the male has to get himself stone drunk, before he finds a woman
to make love to!!" <G>.

Up here, we'll get at least one or two days every winter where it's
-20F with a wind-chill that puts it below -40. But the dang bugs come
back every summer.

Not to mention the rodents as well. I think of the QWK Mail Tagline
"Don't you wish Noah had swatted those 2 mosquitoes??". <G>

80m was nice last night, but I need to shorten my antenna a bit, as my SWR is too high on the General phone portion. The CW/Digital portion is great, though.

I have that Solar Data deal on the BBS, showing the band conditions. I was hoping with the time change this weekend that might improve things a bit.

Daryl

... If you hear an Onion Ring, please answer it.
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