Radio - Wanna Be a General, Part 7

Hello, Frank here.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to finish preparing for the general exam today. I'm going to have lower back surgery here in a few days, and I am going to be out of service for a while. This is the same reason the radio posts have been sporadic and far between. I have an old back injury that I decided to reactivate in full force. So, if I spell the word excruciating correctly, it's the word I use to describe my stabbing pains, which will soon be over. Hopefully. So much for my whining routine.

Okay. I'm on page 47 of Romanchik, and this manual ends on page 66, and that's where we will be at the end of this post. As I've stated more than once, if you have your Technician, then you know how to get in touch with the ARRL. You know how to find a mentor, or Elmer. And you know a little bit about safety. 

Speaking of safety, know the safety rules, follow them. If you want to cut corners on an antenna, wonderful. If you want to open your radio up and start whacking diodes and resistors, wonderful. But, never compromise on safety. Yesterday I was doing a little soldering. My tip was a little shaky, and without thinking, I reached down with an unprotected index finger, and stupidly, stabilized the tip of my soldering iron. After I got finished with my diatribe of expletives, I promptly stuck my burnt finger in my mouth. Next, I pulled out my trusty commercial handheld radio, called my wife on GMRS 20, and asked her to bring me the burn cream. Those were not the exact words, but for family publication, it will do. And if you think you'll never do something stupid......

Okay, let's go. Operating procedures. If you're using Romanchik, then you know that all of the bold print words are the answers, and he surrounds it with the question. It gives you the number and letters where the question comes from. Example: G2A05. It talks about sideband, upper and lower, which is the outside part of the carrier. This is stuff you should already know. Now, I'm not an old salt at this stuff, but I do not remember everything I've learned in the past. By the way, this is not on the test, but if you use 11 meter, or CB, channels 30 through 40, folks use the lower sideband, even though the ham bands 10 and 12, are upper side band. Also do a google search, CB Free Band. With your HF radio you can listen to all of these frequencies. And if you have a modified HF radio, you can also broadcast on these frequencies. As you know, that is illegal.

You need to know what "CQ, CQ, CQ" means. And you also need to know what CQ DX means. Read pages 48 and  49. These are things you will need to know for the test. But most of them are just common courtesy. Page 50 starts CW, which is morse code. Whether you ever do CW, or you ever plan on doing CW or not, these questions are still going to be on the test. And they will be on the test, therefore, you will need to know the information about CW. Pages 51 and 52 are some very general rules. Remember, if you see a question about 'all these choices are correct', that is not the answer every time, but more than not, it is. Know what QRP means, and always use QRP.

I'm on page 53. Most of these terms are not going to be familiar to you. Most of you will never use these. But if you choose to, know what they are. RTTY, for example, means radioteletype. It has been around a long, long time. But, as usual, this information will be on your test, and if you never plan on using this information that is fine. Learn it long enough to pass the test. I know there are guys in ham radio that hate this type of teaching technique. Some of them believe that you should study and know everything, even if you're never going to use it again in your life. There are those types everywhere. We're not talking about studying for a medical exam here. So. If you're in a crowd of old guys, talking about how you did, and you talk about the techniques learned here, it might be one of those good days to be quiet and listen.

Okay, I'm on page 55. Electrical and RF safety. You know that microwave oven you have in your kitchen? Microwave is just a band of RF. If you don't know what you're doing, DON'T DO IT. And you will not see this in any safety manual anywhere. But, if you are going to do something that you know you are not supposed to do, then do it at low power. Those brain tissues that you fry are not going to come back. We all do things that are stupid, trust me, I know. And we all do things we're not supposed to do. But if you're going to to it anyway, do it at low power. That does not mean it's okay to go out and stand in a puddle of water, and work on an electrical outlet. That is categorized as ultra stupid. Okay. Read about safety and RF safety. Again, if you see, "all of these choices are correct", in more cases than not, that is the answer, but not every time. 

This is a good time to know how to ground your equipment. And if by chance you are one of these guys, that took a sharp hit to your head when you were a child and find some pleasure in climbing towers, follow the safety rules. I can never understand how anybody would want to climb a tower. To get me up a tower past, oh, six feet, there's going to have to be a raging water buffalo at the base of that tower. 

Okay, on page 57 it talks about AWG12. This is probably the size of wire that carries most of your electrical outlet current. So, now you know about what size #12 is. Okay, remember, the bigger the number, the smaller the cable size. #22 is a whole lot smaller than #12, and #6 is a whole lot bigger than #12. Ground your equipment. When you're working on a piece of equipment, turn off the power. And, even if the power is disconnected and unplugged, you can still fry your piece of equipment if you touch the wrong capacitor. Know what you're doing. And you say, "If I don't know what I'm doing, how am I going to learn?" Find a mentor through your local ARRL. Find one you get along with. If you're going to be the type of person that follows the rules 100% of the time, then find somebody that has that same belief. If you're the type that's going to experiment a little bit, then find someone that has that same type of belief. I would guesstimate the numbers are about 50/50, so just ask around. Don't be afraid to ask. Tell the mentor what you want to do, and if he says you can't do that, then ask him to direct you to someone who will teach you what you want to know. It's no big deal.

Page 59. Rules. There's a lot of stuff here that doesn't seem to be particularly important, but it is on the test. Get out one of those ICOM band charts, a pencil and start playing with the edges of the bands, and this stuff will come to you pretty quick. There is a lot of it on the test, so therefore, you will need to know it to pass. 

And you might say, "Well, I can't transmit on the 60 meter band." So, what do you do? It's legal to transmit there, but your radio won't do it. You open up your radio. Is that legal? Yes. Will it then be legal to transmit on 60 meters? Yes. Will your radio then transmit on the CB frequencies? Yes. Is it legal? No. So, is it legal to open up your radio? Yes. Okay. To open up your radio means, to allow it to transmit on frequencies that it was not initially designed to transmit on. Can you go inside your radio and smash a diode and now transmit on 60 meters? Yes, you can. Is it legal? Yes, it is. One more time. After you open up your radio, you will also be able to transmit on many frequencies that are illegal. Remember, you can listen to any frequency in the HF spectrum legally. Also remember, your HF radio is a first class shortwave receiver. Okee-dokee?

If you notice on the bottom of page 60 it says, "None of the amateur bands are shared with the citizens radio service." That's in this country. CB radio in other countries has different frequencies, but that's not on the test. But again, do a google and check out CB Free Band.

Proceeding right along to page 61, a few more rules and regulations. Talking about antennas. An antenna is probably the most important piece of equipment you will own. It does no good to have a $10,000 radio and a poor antenna. Now, I did not say cheap antenna. An inexpensive long wire antenna, or dipole, will do an excellent job if it is erected properly. Don't forget that either. You'll not impress your friends with a high dollar radio if you cannot produce an intelligible signal. Read the last paragraph on page 61, this is our government at it's best. One other free piece of advice. If you see FCC in the answer, the majority of the time, that is the correct answer, but not all of the time.

Alrighty. Page 63. More stuff you will see on the test, and it's going to be there. Go ahead and learn it. And the last part deals with volunteer examiner coordinators. There is a little bit more information about ITU. That will be the answer on at least one of the questions. 

Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen. That's it. Call your local ARRL, find out when they do testing. This is ham fest season, and many of them offer testing. If you have been taking the practice tests and you're scoring 85 or above, then it's time to go take the test. If you don't think you're going to pass the first time, then take a handful of $15.00 bills. A little humor there.

I talked on the radio to a gentleman in northern Ohio last night at 28.302. That's the first time I've talked on the radio in about a month. The last guy I talked to was in Argentina. He was also on the 10 meter band. As stated before, I don't contest, I have nothing to prove about how much my equipment costs. I listen to shortwave every chance I can, which is not very often. I am not intimidated by a man that has a $10,000 radio. I am happy for him, if that's what he truly wants. I'm also happy for the man that likes to contest. I've told you before, ham radio has lots of opportunities. Connected to my HF radio, is a dipole antenna and an A99 antenna, which is considered to be a CB antenna. I use it for 10, 11, 12 and 15 meters. It works great. I also have a couple of antenna switches that I use the A99 and the dipole on my legal CB radio. I like CB, but my antennas work for both. If you want to take an HF radio and open it up, that is not illegal. It just depends on where you use it. If you don't do something stupid, no one will notice you. 

Please go back and read some of the other posts. The information is put in a simple manner, and I hope you enjoy it. Here in a week or two or three, depending on how my back surgery goes, I'm going to put out a post about survival radio. If you believe there are hard times coming, then you might want to be able to talk to your buddy down the road, who might have an old CB radio in his truck. If he hunts, he probably has a couple of GMRS handheld radios, and you can talk to him, too. If you have an HF radio, you can listen to, and talk to folks, all around the planet. With a commercial VHF/UHF radio, you can talk on the ham frequencies, GMRS and MURS. Some of the above mentioned frequencies are not legal. But in a collapse situation, I'm not sure that will be an issue. Just don't get stupid. Wish me well on my surgery. I wish you well on your test.

We'll talk more later. 73, Frank

Growin' and Pickin' the Garden

The garden season is well under way here. I picked a bucket full of squash a couple of days ago. Soon we will be into the canning season again. We have canned up one batch of beets, which I will be sharing with you before long. The cucumbers are beginning to bear, the green beans are blooming, and it won't be long until the potatoes are ready to dig. We have been getting, and will probably get rain just about everyday for a while. I just hope there aren't anymore high winds or hail to damage the garden. Here is a tour of what is happening so far.

The green beans are blooming.

I planted two small rows of sunflowers by the green beans.



 





The potatoes are doing well this year, at least on the surface. Some of them are starting to die off, so it won't be long before we are able to start digging them up.

We have canned a batch of beets, and the ones that we left growing are still increasing in size. They will need to be harvested before long.

I think I have figured out why my onions never make bulbs. I plant them too deep. I really hope next year I can grow some real live onions. I wonder if I can grow a fall crop? I have never heard of anyone doing that. It's pretty hot here until about the end of September. I may just have to try that.

 The cucumbers are blooming and have some tiny little cucumbers to show.

The sunflowers are doing great. They are strong, healthy plants.

A storm semi blew over about half of the corn yesterday. I got most of it standing kind of upright again. Around here folks say it needs to be knee high by the 4th of July. Well, it's way past my knees, almost to my shoulder.

The purple hull peas have plenty of competition from the grass and weeds, but they are growing well. They should be blooming before long. I hope to get them some relief sometime soon.

The squash is growing very well. We are having to battle a few squash vine borers, so I put some wood ashes around the base of each plant. Surprisingly, we have seen very few squash bugs this year. Last year I was picking leaves with bug eggs on them everyday and feeding them to the chickens, along with squishing many bugs. This year I have squished about five or six bugs and haven't found any eggs at all. Weird. We have seen quite a few assassin bug nymphs around, and that is good.

The okra didn't germinate or grow well this spring. We had some late frosts and some cool weather, plus a lot of grass and weeds, but the okra is just now starting to grow. It hasn't filled in all of the rows and I'm not sure if I will replant the bare spots or not.

The peas are just about finished. It has gotten to hot for them, so we are waiting to pick the last few peas. I haven't figured out how to get enough peas to freeze a few quarts or can a few jars. Each year so far, we have only had enough peas for about five or six meals. I may not grow any next year and spend the time and effort on something else. It is nice to have something to eat out of the garden early in the spring, though. The tomatoes are doing very well. They are nice strong plants and have started to bloom as they take over the pea trellis.

The carrots are growing, but don't seem to like this end of the garden as well as the other end, where they grew last summer. The peppers seemed to have grown about six inches overnight. They are very happy with the hot weather we have been having. They are starting to bloom.

Overall, the garden is doing well, despite of all of the weed competition. Lately, we have had other priorities. You see, Frank is getting ready to have back surgery, so we have been somewhat otherwise occupied for some time. For instance, this evening we actually drove 30 miles to town to get some Kentucky Fried Chicken. We haven't done that for over five years. And, you know what? It wasn't any good. We talked about it for a while then realized that the chicken probably tastes just like it always has. It's our tastes that have changed.

It reminds me of when we first moved to Alaska. Before our move we were consuming our own meat, milk and eggs, just like now. After we had been gone for about six months we came back to our family doctor for a regular checkup and blood work. A few days later at our appointment, the doctor asked us what we were doing different because our protein levels were low, which had never happened before. The only answer we could come up with was that we had changed to all store bought meat, milk and eggs. It's something to ponder, huh?

2013

The time may come, sooner than we would like, when there are no more rides to town so someone else can cook for us and feed us. There may come a time that what we can grow or raise is all there is. There may come a time that the only medical attention we can get is what we can provide for ourselves. I can only say that I am glad that day is not yet upon us. But I feel it coming a little closer everyday. Don't wait until it is upon us. Get what you need while the gettin' is still good.

Until next time - Fern

A Re-post From The Deliberate Agrarian

Hello, Frank here.

A day or two back, I ran across this article by Herrick Kimball at The Deliberate Agrarian. Some people will find this article thought provoking, others may find it questionably insulting. Whichever way you find it, I hope you will read to the finish, along with the comments on his website. 

A small commentary of my own. What we see in life and what we have been taught and told, is not always correct. Some small examples. How can guys from two different churches both believe that the other one is wrong? Why are we still taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America? We now know that the Gulf of Tonkin event never happened. What we do know, is that almost 60,000 American soldiers, and possibly millions of other soldiers, died because of the Gulf of Tonkin event, that never occurred. Are there questions about 9-11? A while back I watched the video presented in Mr. Kimball's blog. Very compelling information. Depending on how you interpret this data, it could shock your fundamental beliefs down to your core. Hope you enjoy his article.

We've posted his article here, but if you want to read his article and the comments that follow, please go to his website. This article was posted in it's entirety with permission from Mr. Kimball.

We'll talk more later. Frank

  "Freedom Isn’t Free"
(And Other Propaganda) [By Herrick Kimball, The Deliberate Agrarian]

Dateline: 5 June 2014

“Freedom isn’t free” is described by Wikipedia as: “a popular American idiom, used widely in the United States to express gratitude to the military for defending personal freedoms.”

I’ve been thinking of this phrase lately and I don’t agree with the supposition it promotes. While I am grateful that America has a strong military, and I support American soldiers for their bravery and the sacrifices they make, I strongly disagree that they are “defending personal freedoms.”

If our military, under the direction of whoever directs them (ostensibly, the President), were defending the personal freedoms of Americans, through various military actions all over the world, especially in recent years, then why am I less free that I’ve ever been?

The fact is, as the American empire wages war in so many different nations, and is involved in destabilizing subterfuge in others, We The People live under a government system that is taking away more and more personal freedom.

No matter what political party is in charge, our enormous government bureaucracy continues to inflict more and more regulations on us. Increased regulation does not equate with personal freedom. Our government also routinely invades our privacy, which is antithetical to freedom. Our police forces are becoming more and more militarized. We all know this is the case, and some people are more aware of it than others.

It is not only ironic that with more militarization, America has become less free, it's also alarming. 

Americans are told that we have to give up our freedoms (and support a police state) because of the threat of terrorism. It so happens that fear is a powerful motivator. You can get people to willingly give up basic freedoms and rights if you can first create sufficient fear. 

Creating fear in the people is a propaganda art that governments, including our own, have employed for a very long time. Average Americans are easily manipulated by government fear mongering. But is the fear of things that might or could happen reason enough to give up freedom? Patrick Henry didn't think so…

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

Americans venerate men like Patrick Henry who not only said such words, but actually believed and acted on them. Yet few modern Americans share the sentiment. Or, if they do, they are deceived into thinking they are free when the are actually in bureaucratic chains and treated like slaves. Or, if they do believe Patrick Henry, and they do expect to have personal freedom, they are looked at like they are a little crazy.

This discussion begs the question of why we are seeing an increase in the loss of American freedoms in recent years. The reason, as you probably know, goes back to 9/11. America was attacked. Fear swept through the nation. The government responded with "shock and awe"warfare on foreign countries (and millions of people in those countries) that were no threat to the United States. And the American police state was given a powerful boost. 

There is an old saying that "war is the health of the state." In times of war, the citizens rally around the central government, volunteer to serve in the military, and accept the loss of freedoms. They also assume the costs of the war. Thus it is that it's in the best interests of a central government to perpetuate wars, or to define a common enemy that is a threat to the nation.

Most people in America were in favor of  going after the Islamic terrorists that attacked us on 9/11. I was among them. But my neighbor, Mr. Murphy, was not in favor of the war. He was an older man who saw action in the Pacific as a Marine during WW2. He was very angry at George Bush for taking America to war in the Middle East. In recent years, I've come to think more like Mr. Murphy.

My mind changed when I saw Building 7 fall. The 47-story building was never hit by a plane, yet the entire structure collapsed into it's footprint at free-fall speed. It is stunning to watch the film clip of the collapse. If I understand correctly, it is the first and only time that has ever happened, without using carefully-placed demolition charges. 

If you go to Architects & Engineers For 9/11 Truth and watch some of the documentary evidence they present, you can't help but conclude that Building 7 did not just collapse as a result of some fires. That sort of thing doesn't happen. At least it doesn't happen according to many professional architects, engineers, and people who build tall buildings for a living. They question the official story given for the collapse of Building 7.

Many Architects and engineers (and people who demolish buildings for a living) have no doubt that Building 7 was demolished with explosive charges. If this is true, if the government has attempted to cover up the truth about this event, what else are they not telling the truth about. 

Many of the same architects and engineers (that are not working for the government) also believe the World Trade Center towers could not have collapsed like they did on 9/11. Once you learn about Building 7 and wrap your mind around the probability that the official story of Building 7 is not true, you can't help but wonder about the official story about the collapse of the Twin Towers.

The 9/11 disaster provided the justification for America's prolonged war in the middle East, and the significant loss of personal freedom in America. Were these actions based on deceptive pretenses? My mind doesn't want to believe it, but there is a lot of evidence that this is the case.

If you have never heard of Building 7, or you have not seen the building fall,check out Architects & Engineers For 9/11 Truth. You'll notice that they aren't the kind of people who wear tinfoil hats and talk about UFOs. They are serious professional people who question the veracity of the official story. There is more to all of this than meets the eye. 

And when you hear that "freedom isn't free," I hope you will remember what I've written here today.

The Subtlety of Kefir

We have now been 'making' and consuming kefir for five months and I am still learning how to best care for, and produce, the kind of kefir we like best. Two of the previous posts, Trying Kefir, and Kefir, A Regular Part of Our Diets, give a lot of information about the history and caring of kefir. This time I will try to share some nuances of how kefir ferments and thickens and how to get the best, consistent product for consumption.

When we first received our grains, there were about two to three tablespoons. The directions indicated that this amount of grains needed about two and a half cups of milk to 'feed' them. We initially used whole, store bought milk since our goats were not producing at the time. A few weeks later, we were able to switch over to goat milk. It didn't really seem to matter to the kefir which milk we used. There were no noticeable differences in the end product.

After a while, much quicker than I expected, the grains grew and grew. So I began experimenting with how many to keep and how many to discard or store. I began keeping an extra jar of milk and grains in the frig as a back up supply, and the extra grains beyond that we feed to the chickens.

Over time it seemed that the kefir was becoming thinner and thinner, and I wasn't sure why. I went back and re-read the information from Dom's, The Kefir Lady and Five Acres and a Dream. I still didn't come up with a reason, or what I could do different. I had read that if the curd and whey begin to separate, there are too many kefir grains, so I gradually began to decrease the amount of grains I was using each day. That didn't work, if anything, it produced a thinner product that still separated somewhat. So I went back to these references and read again. 

Hhmmmm......then I went back and read my posts again as a last resort. What I realized from the pictures was that I was using about a fourth of the grains that originally arrived in the same amount of milk. Even though I thought I had too many grains because the curd and whey was separating, I actually had too few. So I got the extra grains out of the frig, and added them back together. I'm glad I had them or the process would have taken a little longer.

Over the next week or so, the kefir gradually began to thicken up and resemble what we had originally been making. There seems to be an optimum amount of grains that will grow quickly and make a very smooth, thickened, nice tasting kefir. I think I am now closer to being able to maintain that balance. For a while, I thought I was going to lose the grains because I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what.

Another thing we have learned, is that after straining, the kefir will store well in the frig for about two days before the flavor becomes more tart, or sourish tasting. We still choose to drink the kefir with a few teaspoons of maple syrup. Kefir has become part of our daily 'medication'. Several times a day when we happen by the frig, we will drink some. The previous articles outline the health benefits so I won't go back into them here. We feel that this daily intake has been a major factor in our ability to stop taking medication for acid stomach and reflux. Medication that we had both been taking for years, not knowing the major impact it was having on our bodies.

There are many natural things we are discovering that we can use instead of commercial, chemical products. Sometimes it takes a while to really understand how things work, but for us, it is time well invested. So, don't give up. Keep trying. Whatever it is you are trying to learn more about may not always go very well. But with time and effort, you may prevail.

Until next time - Fern

The Nutrition of Beets

Beets are one of the first things we harvested from the garden this year and they are much bigger than last year. I'm not sure if that is because of the type, the location, or all of the rain we have been getting, but they are growing great.

We canned beets last year and will be again in a few days. What we didn't do last year, that we tried recently, was cooking and eating beets with a meal. I know of other folks that really like them this way, but we hadn't ever tried it until now.

How did we cook them? Easy. Trim the roots and stems, and boil gently for 15 minutes. Drain off the water, slide off the skin, slice or dice to desired size, add butter, salt and pepper. We fixed two large beets which was too much for one meal. While I was removing the skins and slicing them, I thought they had cooled too much, so I put them back on the stove on low to reheat and evenly distribute the butter.

Our first beets, squash & onions of the year. Canned beans from 2013.

I was very skeptical. I'm not a big beet eater at all. Until we canned beets last summer, I didn't eat them. Frank did, but not me. Now, I will eat our beets with a salad or something, but not just eat them. I was very surprised with these simply cooked beets. Guess what? They were good! I expected them to be a little bitter and tough because they were so big. So I was prepared to not like them. Instead, we both liked them. Great! Now we have added another item to our diets that are healthy and that we can grow and preserve. 

So, what is the nutritional value of beets? Here is a list of nutrients.

• Vitamins A & C
• A small amount of protien
• Calcium
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Phytosterols 

Beets contain nutritional qualities that are good to have on hand, whether fresh, canned or pickled. They can add to your health in a variety of ways now, or in a survival situation. I think one of the benefits of beets is how early in the season they will produce food. You can eat the greens, which are also very nutritious, fresh or cooked long before the root reaches an edible size. Beets can withstand a light frost and produce better in the cooler temperatures of spring or fall, so you can also grow more than one crop a year. We are going to try canning this spring crop, then growing a fall keeper that will be edible for humans and livestock. We just have to figure out the best way to store them.

According to Mercola.com, beets have a number of health benefits.

• lower blood pressure (beet juice)
• boost stamina (beet juice)
• fight inflammation
• anti cancer properties
• rich in valuable nutrients and fiber
• detoxification support

The links above provide some interesting information about beets that I didn't know. It's good reading about what we are eating.

2013

There are many different levels of learning about any given subject. It's kind of like peeling an onion, there are many different layers. I think I may just write about them next, or it might be squash, or peas.

Until next time - Fern