That they should be NPO  ;D

Gil.

Oh yes... Danner has an excellent reputation as the best boot you can possibly buy. I'm sure there are others as good or better, but they cost $330 for the models I like, which is as much as I'd want to spend. Now they have so many, it will be hard to narrow it down... I filtered them by Military types first, then temperate climate to cover it all. Looks like those might do:

http://www.danner.com/boots/dannerr-usmc-rat-temperate-steel-toe-military-boots.html

http://www.danner.com/boots/

Gil.

Well, Ray, I am glad 30m works for our situation. We've had better success with it than 20 or 40, including that memorable time you heard me on 2W with the antenna inside.. Now if I get a 30m end-fed, it should be a piece of cake! PAR has a 30/40 antenna which sounds great. It probably would work for 20 with a tuner. Anyway, if I manage to bring a woman camping with me, I'll remember to explain to her that you can only wear the mosquito net by itself.. I need to find some technical reason for that..  ;)

Mosquitoes can certainly make a bad situation suck even more. Especially if you can't sleep because of them. I remember a show about a couple lost in the Amazon Jungle. They couldn't sleep at all because of the bugs and were exhausted rapidly. Not only that, it drove them literally crazy. Not to mention possible diseases transmitted by their bites...

Ticks are something I worry about too, and that is why for the woods, I like pants that lace at the ankle...

For Christmas, I think I will get myself a pair of Danner boots. You never know what you'll step on either...
I am shopping for a good 4-season tent too, but unfortunately the best ones are all orange!  :-\

Gil.

Thanks. For the K1, I had to spend a few dollars, but much less than the Elecraft $40 tilt stand...

Gil.

Well, I assessed the damage tonight while setting up for a QSO with RadioRay. There is a ton of little twigs on my second floor deck  ::)

The QSO was short because I was attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes, so I missed half of what Ray was saying. The state is well known for it's shark and alligator attacks, but mosquitoes come at a close third. In a SHTF situation, they would count for many casualties. Thank God I had a tube of Benadryl in my bug-out bag, so I didn't off myself going crazy scratching all night. By the way I heard a story about a missionary jumping off an island cliff because the no-see-ems drove him mad, so don't laugh ;) Seriously though my preps do include Benadryl, a mosquito net and insect repellent. I hate mosquitoes, can you tell?

I want everyone to know that Ray was using 100W!  ;D I think an intervention is in order! We both gave a 559 report and I used 13W in my Buddistick on 30m... But hey, I think when you get old you start using a cane just because it's easier  ;D

Also notice the mini airport bottle of Cointreau on the table, which helps greatly with Morse Code. Now I drink it for every QSO... Works every time. It doesn't make you copy better, but you just don't care anymore.. Add a small cigar, and it's Ham Heaven.

Thank you again Ray for the much needed practice!

Ya'll have a great week-end  :)

Gil.

It is rumored that Yaesu has a successor in the pipeline... Anyone heard anything about it?

Gil.

If they are the variable type, then forget what I said..

Gil.

When you buy the capacitors, make sure they are NPO types, which means more temperature-stable...

Gil.

As soon as you mentioned that last time I suspected a capacitor issue... I can swap them for you Tim, but it's gonna cost you another hot chocolate...

Gil.

Sorry to hear that Tess, my best wishes to your husband.

Gil.

I've seen it over and over in group survival shows. Half of the group does all the work, the other half does nothing and waits for the others to feed them. Pathetic. That's how the socialist systems of Europe work. Same here, but to a lesser extent. When there is a real emergency however, those who are prepared will take care of their own...

Gil.

Thanks Ray, that gives me a reading plan!
Gil.

Quotethat the state cannot have an "official" religion

Thanks Skip, my bad. It's been a while since I read it, and I need to brush up. In all practicality, it comes to the same result.. It is my opinion that mixing them up isn't good practice. I am an admirer of the constitution. It is the background image of my laptop on which I am typing now. I will check out the Federalist Papers, as I haven't read them yet.

Welcome on the forum and have a great week-end  :)

Gil.

I couldn't agree more. As to the image of preppers, it might improve a little, but I fear, not much, even though more people might store food and useful items. The "public" pictures preppers holding a rifle and wearing plate carriers and mag pouches. To an extent, it is of course true. They do not imagine that they would have to defend their food against looters. They, of course, wouldn't last a month.

"Preppers" image is better now that the term has changed from "survivalist." which became synonymous with "right-wing gun nut" or worse. However, a bit of that image has survived (no pun intended).

A way to improve our image would be to mention the term "prepper" when participating in community events. There are plenty of opportunities in Ham Radio. Like "Prepper's Community Emergency Service." You get the drift...
Also, before learning more about Ham Radio, I had no idea you could send a radiogram. I still don't know how to do it. Nobody knows they can communicate that way! It should be common knowledge. We wouldn't have to worry about our bandwidth diminishing in that case.. It would make a great short TV news report. Stranded Grandma sending a radiogram to her son to pick her up, the Ham operator has a prepper's banner on top of his radio... Gee, I sound like a politician  ::)

Gil.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140877277712