Sick as a dog

So what exactly is it to be sick as a dog? I really don't know, and just about any other day I would probably take the time to look it up and write about it here...maybe another time. But today I'm sick as a dog: double ear infection, sinus infection and sore throat. Both of my boys are sick, too, so I probably caught something from each of them. Oh well...that's how it goes...it's flu season. So here it is the last week of January and I'm already taking sick days...that bites. But I guess that's what the days are really for...not to stay home and screw around. None of that today...I'm going back to bed.

A Day Off

It's 12 Noon, and I'm starting my second Red Bull, so I'm ready to face the day. I took the day off to catch up on some reading for my E-Business Security class at Keller. I've only got two more classes after this one, and then I will have completed a Master of Information Systems Management (MISM) degree. I will be done on June 19, 2005, and after 2+ years of hard work, I'm really looking forward to finishing up! Today will be spent reading for class, cleaning up the apartment some and making lots and lots of photocopies. With any amount of luck, I will actually have a chance to do some regular "day-off stuff" which for me would include watching some Netflix movies I've had sitting on my desk and perhaps a little time with my ham radio hobby. I also have had a chance to update several ham radio Web sites that I maintain, including The Plainfield Radio League, Plainfield RACES/ARES^® and Will County ARES^®. I have been meaning to update these for some time, and since I had the time today I went ahead and did it.

After a couple of hours, hunger is starting to set in, and I'm running out of Diet Pepsi, so I'm going to have to make a run to Jewel and re-stock on necessities. It's only 10° F outside right now, so I'm not looking forward to the cold Arctic shock, but that's living in the north in the Wintertime! I'm probably going to include in my run a stop at Best Buy to purchase the King of the Hill 3rd season and the 5th season of The Simpsons. That's going to be a problem, though, because I far underestimated the size of DVD/CD cabinet I would need when I bought one a few weeks ago. It might be necessary to purchase a pal for this cabinet! My dad also clued me in that I can find a desk for my ham shack at Ace Hardware (or at "Ace sets the pace", the old slogan my dad still uses to refer to Ace Hardware), but I may wait on this until this weekend. A day off is what you make of it.

RoboSapien, Part Deux

RoboSapien now has a name. The kids and I decided that his name would be SAMM, which is short for "Self-Actuated Mechanical Man". This, too, is a nod to a former roommate of mine from college, Samuel D. Gibson, about whom I have a number of delightful stories that may eventually be told in this blog. The boys tested out Samm to his limits, walking him around everywhere and making him dance and "talk". They were most impressed with his ability to lean backwards, crouch and "fart". Boys love robots and things that fart--somethings will never change. I have to take some pictures to post here.

I began the audio book "I Robot" yesterday, which apparently takes place around the year 2058. It was written by Isaac Asimov as a series of short stories in the 1940's, and it's always interesting to me how the science fiction authors of long ago (like Asimov or even further back to Jules Verne) saw the future. It's especially interesting to me when Asimov talks about the first robots being produced in the early 21st century, as that is where we presently live. Asimov is noted for his forward thinking, and the accuracy of the terms he uses in dialog and descriptions in his book. His terms are reinforced in our minds by their usage in other science fiction and television shows. I just get a kick out of hearing "the first robots were produced in twenty-oh-three" or something like that.

Back in 1979, I begged and pleaded with my parents to buy me a Big Trak for Christmas. They caved, and I was in possession of the most wonderful toy imaginable. It was my first computer and my first robot! It had a 16 step programmable interface, and it was the coolest! You could make it go down the hall, drop off something by your sister's door via it's companion trailer (that would lift and go back down) and return back to you. Very cool for dropping off a walkie-talkie with masking tape wrapped around it so the "push-to-talk" button would stay depressed--a nifty 1970's 11 year-old's 27 MHz spy technique.

But soon I was in possession of a Texas Instruments TI-55, THE scientific calculator to have. This was my first computer, and I was the envy of my junior high school math club friends. Having this TI-55, it should be noted, did not get me better treatment from bullies, but it did add hours of enjoyment that offset the constant beatings we "nerds" enjoyed at the hands of the less cerebral. The TI-55 was much better than my father's scientific calculator--his was a very early calculator that had a green fluorescent display and took a 9-Volt battery. The TI-55 had a 16 step volatile memory and was powered by a rechargeable battery pack. A couple of years after that, I got a TRS-80 Pocket Computer...the original PC-1 which had 1.9K of RAM, and was programmable using BASIC. More about computers in another entry...

K9NYO is QRV, Part 2

With the rigs and equipment in their places last night, I woke up this morning eager to light the candle in the new ham shack. The window-sill-mounted "Bugcatcher" was in the box and began to rear it's ugly head. This kind of an antenna is called a "bugcatcher" because of the large coil at the bottom of the antenna, which, when mounted atop a vehicle, catches bugs and other fly-bys. I had an antenna like this one atop my 2002 PT Cruiser for some time, and that, combined with an apex in the Sunspot Cycle, provided me with some choice HF DX from the mobile rig during the daily commute. Anyhow, the bugcatcher required first a choke coil about a foot and a half from the base, so that was my first move. Then I attached the counterpoise wire and ran it around my room. While tuning up the antenna, funny characters appeared on the LCD screen of my electric blanket control and my $14 bed-stand telephone bit the dust. It's safe to say that I will need to attend to some stray RF. But before long, the antenna was up in its "temporary fixed" location, that is, where it will be when used. The window screen must be replaced when the antenna is brought back inside and the window is closed and locked. The next step, of course, was to put up "wallpaper". I have a number of certificates, as well as my "ticket" (my amateur radio license from the FCC) that required posting around the shack. Also up, but not pictured, is the 2005 CQ Magazine Classic Radios calendar...thanks to Mom & Dad for that Christmas gift. Also not pictured is the kitchen chair I'm using as a perch. In the middle of the picture and sort of blended into everything is my awesome Heil microphone on a shock-mount attached to a boom. Next to it is an antique goose-neck Astatic mic I use for VHF/UHF. For HF there is an Icom IC-718 with DSP and SSB filters. Above it is an MFJ Versa Tuner II. Next to the HF rig is a seldom used antique Vibroplex Vibrokeyer (I have carpal tunnel syndrome and can't operate CW with a key). For VHF/UHF there's an Icom-2340H, which is on its last legs. Atop the "rack" is a Realistic Pro-76 hand-held scanner an a Yaesu VX-5R sitting in a drop charger. In the left of the picture is a Dell Inspiron 600m Centrino laptop used for digital modes like PSK31, RTTY or SSTV. On the shelf above the computer is a Realistic DX-390 receiver I bought for $50 at Dayton in 2004. This rig is used for SWL or to listen back to transmitted audio on HF. Eventually I am going to put a table between the two cabinets, but for right now, here's my humble little shack.

K9NYO is QRV

My boss graciously let us out early yesterday (New Year's Eve), so I took advantage of the extra time by running over to Radio Shack and picking up some connectors and looking for pre-fab furniture at Target. I found a couple of cabinets and stackable shelves, and it seemed like just the thing for the K9NYO ham shack at my apartment. I went by my Mom & Dad's for New Year's Day dinner, and I packed up the ham shack there. Earlier I put together the cabinets, so they had been sitting there all day waiting for ham gear. It took surprisingly less time to put everything back together than I thought it was going to. I would still like to get a table to put between the two cabinets, but this will work for now. My next step is figuring out what I'm going to do for an HF antenna. I bought a window mounted "bugcatcher" style antenna that MFJ sells, and I'm going to give that a try. Otherwise I may put a dual helically-wound whip dipole type antenna in the attic. I've ordered the "Stealth Amateur Radio" book from the ARRL, and I may find some other ideas in there pertaining to antenna possibilities. I hooked up the Realistic DX-390 to my laptop this afternoon and tuned to 14.070 MHz to monitor some PSK31. I was using MixW2, and it worked surprisingly well with this receiver. I'm looking forward to getting back on the air and operating PSK31 and SSTV.