As a late-in-life ham (my terminology), the price comparison of paying the freight for Life Membership in the American Radio Relay League may not seem like it’s worth it. Financially, at least. But, for various reasons that many late-in-life amateur operators understand, it took me from eight years of age in getting the bug to […]
When all helicity breaks loose…
I learned a new word last Saturday: helicity. During my Skywarn advanced storm spotter training, Brian Koenecke of the National Weather Service here in Jackson MS taught participants about key elements of meteorology. The “helicity” of a turbulent flow of air—sort of like a bed spring gone awry—was one of the elements that NWS tracks in […]
Grounding…a heated floor in Mississippi?
Being on the 2nd floor, I was especially concerned about an RF ground. I read and re-read a lot of the current websites on RF grounds, saw folks call one another names, and figured I was going to be out of luck! To make it worse, the builder and electrical contractor had placed my electric […]
Shack layout
With the decision to put my office and shack on the second floor, we worked with the house plan designer on “what” it was I needed. Not having done this before, I’m sure that I would do it differently if there were a second time. But, here’s what happened. The layout on the left shows […]