Hi Tim, the parts are not hard to find or expensive, but I've been buying radio stuff instead!

Gil.

I pounded mine into the ground using a fence post pounding gizmo, it was very easy...

Gil.

Thanks Jim. There won't be any plastic in that antenna, only a Delrin block for the connection and adjustments...

For HF I have an end-fed dipole but I want 80 and 30m, so I have to come up with another solution...

Gil.

I did read one entertaining book where South African time travelers bring AK47s to the South, but I forgot the author's name or title.

Gil

Hello Tim,

I am missing the lock, trigger and a few other small parts...

Anyway, one may wonder what America would be today if the South had won. Slavery would have been abolished, just a bit later, due to worldwide pressure. The States would be much more independent of course.. Big Brother would be Baby Brother.. Who knows..

Gil.

Hi Ray, it's a Lehigh County flintlock, .50, 40" barrel.
I wonder if I'll ever finish it...

Gil.

Dave Benson is supposedly working on a new version... Who knows when that'll come out though...

Gil.

Ray, check this out... Haven't had time or money to work on it... The stone was a gift from my ex girlfriend's little girl...

Gil.

Time and money that could be used for other things more pleasant to think about. Maybe because I don't own a television or care about sports, I have time to look around and get worried. We would be fools not to make some preparations. Unfortunately we are surrounded by fools. Like those lounging on the Titanic's deck laughing at people putting life vests on... Because of course the boat couldn't sink. If I was 25 and not 45, I would pray for it to hit the fan. Now I know better. I am nowhere near ready, and that little voice is screaming in my ear to hurry up. Intuition is nothing more than data processed by our brains unconsciously. Usually those feelings of uneasiness are well founded, because they are based on observation and powerful processing outside of our grasp. Like Tim, I had no worries five years ago. Today is woefully  different. I just hope nothing goes down before the spring.. One thing is certain, as Luck hints, we are on our own. That is why I urge people here to get on the air and call each-other. I just had a nice long QSO with RadioRay on 30m :) Bless him for being so patient with my slow-as-molasses Morse copy speed. We need to know who we can trust and exchange information with. Remember that everything has an end, and that includes the Internet. The Internet doesn't run on servers and fiber optics, it runs on money. Everything does these days. Money isn't green, it's black and it comes out of the ground. How reliable is that given what it takes to get it out? So they just print more monopoly bills.. I feel like sailing on a cardboard ship and there is a suspicious black cloud ahead. Everyone is partying. The captain and crew are stashing money in their shirts, heading to the lifeboats with a smile and a gun handle sticking out of their pants, while I'm at the bow getting more gray hairs realizing that there aren't enough life boats for everyone. I'd rather be partying too, but now the warning bells are too loud. I want to scream to everyone that they are fools and we are going to take the plunge, but I know they'll just laugh and think I'm crazy. What is that whooshy sound under my feet?

Gil.

I almost finished the SW+40 PCB tonight. I am missing R24, the 500 Ohm variable resistor, and I want to change the values of some resistors and capacitor. The next step now is to order those parts and build the digital frequency display, which should arrive soon...

Note that I did not use the IC sockets, which for 8-pin ICs I think is a liability I don't need. I have not found out yet if the crystal cases should be grounded, as this is not specified in the manual, but there is a ground pad for it.. The build was very easy and straight forward.

Gil.

Jefferson Davis. I was at his house on the photo...

Gil.

Different needs, different solutions:



Gil.

QuoteNot that there is anything wrong with folks motivated to help to provide assistance after an emergency, especially under more normalized conditions...I just think (for me), these are not normal times and we need to develop skills for maintaining contact on a more personal/non-continuity-of-government type level. Just people talking to people.

Amen!

Gil.

Nice, but I don't think all those add-ons are needed. The radio and a battery in a smaller case would be better. These days, most radios have SWR meters built in, and the fan plus breakers and whatever else he has are more for show than really needed. Something to remember about a go-box is that you may one day have to carry it on foot for long distances... He has a power supply, an amp and charger... Hum... You can get a brand new 75W Yaesu Ft-2900R for $170... No amp needed. A battery booster? I don't even know what that is. The battery he has next to the chair is big and heavy...

Sorry, I don't mean to criticize so much. I'm just a minimalist. If all that stuff is hauled up in a car, fine. I like to think of worst case scenarios...

Gil.

The SOTA tuner is great, I have one too! I plan on building a second one and put it in a strong cast aluminum box..

Gil.