text spacer seasonne.mara.net/pdf/newsletters/2018_news_dec.pdf · do you get tired of golf? you...

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TABLE OF CONTENTS SPACER

• GEO

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT• A MONTHLY MISSIVE FROM WD4HXG - RADIO - IS IT A FAD?

GRANDMA MARA’S RAMBLINGS• THOUGHTS OF AN OLDER PERSON - GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS

FEATURE ARTICLE• ADD A FIELD STRE

TECH AND OTHER STUFF• A BIT MORE ON THE LG WASHER• LESSONS FROM A LOOP• DIRECT CONNECTION vs. WIRELESS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY• CHEAP INK JET PRINTERS• WIND YOUR OWN COIL STOCK• COPPER vs SILVER

ANNUAL MEETI• ITEMS DISCUSS.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH• EDNA FERBER

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DI-DAH-DI-DAH-DIT• WHEN DOES TOO MUCH STUFF MAKE YOU A HOARDER?

2

3

3

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5

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8

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CHAPEL BULLETIN BOARD MARA NOTICE• REACH OUT AND FIND SOMEONE

IT’SNOT THE

HOLIDAY

SEA$ON

IT’S THECHRISTMAS

SEASON

http://www.blog.skywaywest.com/2012/03/cable-vs-adsl-what-should-you-choose/

http://ne.mara.net/newsletters.pdf















MARA

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

GEORGE FRANCIS GRATTO

VE1GFG

We regret to inform you of the

passing of MARA North East

member George Gratto, VE1GFG.

George

ARTICLE SPACER

Body text is Palatino Linotype 11pt regular

HEADING TEXT is Calibri 14pt boldQUOTE TEXT is Calibri 14pt boldCaption text is Calibri 9pt boldText in picture is Calibri 8pt regularReferences at page bottom are Calibri 8pt boldURLs at page bottom are Palatino Linotype 8pt italic bold…continued to/from text is Calibri 8pt bold

Figure 1 - Bucket and pole strapped to theside of the lawn tractor wheel.

ARTICLE SPACER

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

n 1922 the author E.P. Edwards wrote the piece

shown below that was published in the August

1922 edition of Radio Magazine. He queried

the seeming insanity of the "New Fad" called radio.

I remember similar phases in desktop computing

and mobile devices (the current cell phone) with

many asking the same question. If you want to see

more of what piqued the interest of our ancestors

96 years ago visit the below URL where you can

view eleven months of the magazine published in

1922.

For years, and until 1920, the typical drummer’s story held sway in the smoking compartments of our trains. Then, with enactment of the 18th Amendment, it was “how to make it” and “where to get it.” Now, the talk is all radio.

Has the country gone mad over a fad? To many it would seem so and, in many respects,

the present furore is unfortunate, creating an unprecedented demand which nobody was prepared to meet.

In consequence the population of the country is divided into two classes, those who are clamoring for radio equipment and those who are trying to manufacture it - the latter class being almost as strong numerically as the former.

As a result, the market will shortly be flooded with good, bad and indifferent devices and the public, together with the legitimate manufacturers, will suffer from the activities of the radio “bootleggers” whose number is legion.

Radio will not supplant the wire telephone on land; it will not take the place of the phonograph or the daily newspaper; it will occupy a field of its own creation, and supplement rather than supersede. Radio is destined to play one of the most important roles in the world’s history.

It will do more than any other one thing to stimulate the “back to the land” movement, by bringing news, crop, market and weather reports to the farmer and his family, thus giving him that element of human contact, the lack of which has driven so many of our people from the farm to the cities.

Ifrom the keyboard of WD4HXG

https://vimeo.com/33926047

VE3HKY

Figure 1 - Flooding from Hurricane Florence,Photo from the website of timesunion.com ofa residence in New Bern, N.C., Sept. 15, 2018.

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

Has radio come to stay, or is it a passing craze? That is a question which many of us are asking. A little psychological reasoning seems to

satisfactorily answer the question. The favorite indoor and outdoor sport of the

American people is centered around the pleasure they derive from “kicking.” This national trait of being dissatisfied with things as they are, coupled with the ability to criticize constructively, is what has put us in the forefront of progress and invention.

Do you ever get tired of your phonograph? If so, isn’t it because you get what you want when you want it with a minimum of trouble, and with unvarying results?

Do you get tired of golf? You would if, you could steadily improve your game to a point where you could play every hole in par with certainty. True, you burn, break, sell or give away your clubs at irregular intervals, but you do not stop playing. Why not? Isn’t it because of the element of uncertainty in the game?

This same element of uncertainty attaches to billiards, fishing, matrimony and many other well known sports.

In radio we have a deadly parallel introducing all kinds of uncertainties, such as static, interference, fading and “birdies.”

Do you not think that from the very “nature of the beast” that our people will find the keenest enjoyment in that competition for better results, which will lead to the perfection of an art that is now only in its infancy?

Also of notable interest in the January 1922

edition is page 5, 'Radiotorial', right hand column

about two thirds of the way down the column.

There, possibly the first use of facsimile with radio

as the transmission medium is documented. The

US President Harding's photo was sent from

Annapolis, Maryland to Paris, France in just under

twenty minutes. The last paragraph on the page

contains the statement, "Wireless movies in every

home is not an impossible dream".

What technological achievements will our

descendants enjoy in 2114, a mere 96 years from

now?

https://books.google.com/books?id=IGpOAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA7-PA70&lpg=RA7-PA70&dq=radio+rook+coil&source=bl&ots=cS4Utw27Ji&sig=rnnFRXTHuDhAHpaxp3v8q0BfFv8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjB_LuZ9vbeAhUJ3FMKHVc_BjA4FBDoATADegQIAxAB#v=onepage&q=radio%20rook%20coil&f=false



http://timesunion.com/



MARA

HEADER/TEXT SPACER


VE1GFG




George

ARTICLE SPACER



Figure 1 - Bucket and pole strapped to theside of the lawn tractor wheel.

ARTICLE SPACER

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

randma has been picking up little things all

throughout the year as presents for Walter. I

assume he has been doing the same thing for me, as

he has a cabinet in his workshop that he keeps

locked and won’t let me see inside.

I kind of like the Christmas season. I would have

the tree up and decorated the day after Halloween

except Walter would grumble that I was “rushing

the season a little”. He is okay with the first of

December, so that’s when we start bringing out a

few things each day. The tree usually goes up and

gets trimmed by about the tenth. I’ve noticed

though that he doesn’t complain when I start with

the Christmas baking early on!

December is the busiest time of the year. There

are so many concerts and pageants and programs

and parties to attend. As I mentioned in last year’s

December’s newsletter, Walter and I cut back on

the office/work related occasions and parties we

attend. Family take precedence over anything.

Grand children take priority over everything. If it

wasn’t for the fact that the grand kids want us to be

at their events and are disappointed when we

aren’t, we could most likely just stay home. It won’t

be too many more years when they have families of

their own, and we won’t be as important in their

lives, so we might as well do it right while we can.

Wendy will be home for a few days during

Christmas. She tells me how busy and stressed her

life is in university, and how she is enjoying most

every minute of it. It will be good to see her again,

if only for a short time.

In her last e-mail of a few days ago, she was

telling me of the excitement in the physics

department at the university when the kilogram

was recently redefined. We both agreed that it

would be something only physics geeks could

appreciate!

She also said she is into the countdown period for

when her boyfriend will be returning home from

his mission. Grandma can’t imagine why!

As is usual this time of the year, everyone here at

Grandma Mara’s Ramblings wish you all a merry

Christmas, and hope that you get at least one toy

under the tree.


VE3HKY

Figure 1 - Flooding from Hurricane Florence,Photo from the website of timesunion.com ofa residence in New Bern, N.C., Sept. 15, 2018.

HEADER/TEXT SPACER


randma has been picking up little things

all throughout the year as presents for

Walter. I assume he has been doing the

same thing for me, as he has a cabinet in his

workshop that he keeps locked and won’t let me

see inside.

I like the Christmas season. I would have the tree

up and decorated the day after Halloween except

Walter would grumble that I was “rushing the

season a little”. He is okay with the first of

December, so that’s when we start bringing out a

few things each day. The tree usually goes up and

gets trimmed by

about the tenth. I’ve

noticed though that

he doesn’t complain

when I start with the

Christmas baking

early on!

December is the

busiest time of the year. There are so many concerts

and pageants and programs and parties to attend.

As I mentioned in last year’s December’s

newsletter, Walter and I cut back on the office/work

related occasions and parties we attend. Family

takes precedence over anything except grand

children who take priority over everything. If it

wasn’t for the fact that the grand kids want us to be

at their events and are

disappointed when we

aren’t, we could most likely

just stay home. It would be

very easy to become

hermits, Walter and I. We

have about everything we

need right here in the house

to be comfortable. It won’t

be too many more years

when those grand kids have

families of their own, and

we won’t be as important in

G

their lives, so we might as well do it right while we

can.

Wendy will be home for a few days during

Christmas. She tells me how busy and stressed her

life is in university, and how she is enjoying most

every minute of it. It will be good to see her again, if

only for a short time.

In her last e-mail of a

few days ago, she was

telling me of the

excitement in the

physics department at the

university when the

kilogram was recently

redefined. We both agreed

that it would be

something only physics geeks could appreciate!

She also said she is into the countdown period for

when her boyfriend will be returning home from his

mission. Grandma can’t imagine why!

On a less happier note, Walter and I have

acquaintances who are still not back in their homes

after hurricane Florence. These are the one’s whose

properties were seriously damaged with major

water ingress and the resulting mold growth. The

term “dragging of feet” comes into the conversation

whenever we talk to them about their insurance

companies and the time being taken to come to a

final settlement. At least, all of them have alternate

places to live in the meantime - either with family or

in friends’ basements.

As is usual this time of the year, everyone here at

the Ramblings wish you all a merry Christmas, and

hope that you get at least one toy under the tree.

And, if you aren’t home in your own house, that

you will be very soon.

I’ve noticed though that he doesn’t complain when I start with the Christmas baking early on!

Figure 1 - The old kilogram.It’s that little cylinder insidethe three glass containers.

She also said she isinto the countdownperiod for when herboyfriend will be re-turning home from his mission.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/historic-vote-redefine-kilogram-changes-forever-way-we-measure-mass-ncna936606











PACIFIC ANTENNAS TRAP 40/20 DIPOLE

The snow is gone (at last!) but so a

HARBOR FREIGHT

Out here in southern Alberta, I’m only an hour

away from the Canadian-

MARA

ANDOTHER

HEADER/TEXT SPACER


VE1GFG




George

ARTICLE SPACER

For most of my life,I have been quitehealthy!

2 https://qrp-labs.com/qcx.html



FROM THE DESK OF THEPRESIDENT

Figure 6 - Drawing ofproposed guy linering

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTENNA-SWIVEL-STAKE-USED-WITH-MILITARY-48-

MAST-POLE/151629001653?hash=item234dcaf3b5:g:He4AAOxy7rdRENeW

http://www.n5dux.com/ham/files/pdf/index.php

all kinds of ham information, both qrp and qro, from antennas

to test gear, tube and transistor.

1.625” ID

cut to slip

fit over small

end of the

pole.

3.5” OD

MORE ON THE LG SOLUTION

For a few weeks after trying the reset trick, our

LG clothes washer would die again if we waited

longer than about ten minutes before running

another load. To revive it, we had to perform the

two button reset as covered in last month’s

Newsletter.

Then for some reason, the time between loads of

wash got longer before we had to reset. Perhaps the

system board got tired of giving us grief!

We’ll find out when we return west in early

December.

LESSONS FROM A LOOP

For many years I had a 500 foot diameter loop fed

with home-brew open wire feed line behind my

shack back east. If you look in earlier newsletters

you can find details regarding the antenna and feed

line construction.

At one time, figuring that if big was good than

bigger must be better, I added more wire to bring it

closer to a thousand feet. On air tests didn’t give

the results I’d hoped for, and computer simulations

using EZ-NEC backed these findings up. In this

case, “bigger-is-better” wasn’t true, so after a few

months, I went back to the shorter length.

Using trees for supports is cheap and very

convenient if you happen to

have them and they are in the

right spots. The downside of

that is they are prone to move

in the wind. Sooner or later, at

least two things will happen;

first the antenna wire will

stretch and eventually break,

and two; the rope lines will

saw their way into the major

limb or fork over which they

run, and then the limb will heal over and seize the

line in its grip.

I’ve had both of these events occur. Having shock

cords from the rope line to the insulator and the

antenna wire delays the work hardening of the

radiator, stretching, and breaking - for a time.

Eventually, the shock cords will stretch, weaken,

and break. In order to keep the antenna up should

a shock cord break, I’ve always had a smaller

diameter piece of rope in parallel with each shock

cord. This rope limits the maximum stretched

length of the shock cord.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can easily do

to prevent the cutting/healing into the tree. I have

seen suggestions that you run the support rope

through a piece of garden hose (which rests on the

limb). How you do that up at the top of a tree is

difficult to imagine. Accomplishing the task can be

done but with difficulty.

When it happens, the only real solution is to

replace the line. Using larger diameter or a

slipperier rope will help for a while.

I found that using a sling shot and a spinning reel

with 10 or 12 lb. monofilament line with a one

ounce weight would work to place a starter line

over trees up to a medium height. For anything

taller, a “spud gun” is much easier to produce

successful results, usually on the first try.1, 2

If using a spud gun, make sure you have

sufficient line on the reel! Nothing quite equals the

sight of a long trail of fishing line disappearing into

the sky after snapping free from the reel.

Wear safety glasses during any of these line

flinging activities.

1 http://ne.mara.net/pdf/newsletters/2013_news_oct.pdf2 http://ne.mara.net/pdf/newsletters/2013_news_dec.pdf

Figure 1 - Power ON -OFF button.

Figure 2 - Shock cordand hooks. These areavailable in differentlengths and colorsat hardware stores.

SHOCK CORDAND HOOKS

LINE TO TREE

LINE TO ANTENNAINSULATOR

LIMITING LINE

Figure 3 - Drawing showing the installation of the shock cord andthe lines from the tree and to the antenna. The limiting line isalso shown. This is normally slightly shorter than the maximumstretched length of the shock cord.

ANTENNA

https://qrp-labs.com/qcx.html














http://www.n5dux.com/ham/files/pdf/index.php

MARA APPLICATION NOTE

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

HEATHKIT HG-10B VFO

HEADER/TEXT SPACER

ARTICLE SPACER

REPORT OF THE

ANNUAL MEETINGThe annual meeting of the Mercury Amateur Radio Association was

held on the 29th of September, 2018 beginning at around 10:25 AM

Eastern, after nearly a half hour’s worth of technical difficulty with

SKYPE.

Present were

Chuck - WD4HXG

Bruce - N3IA

Charlie - WB4FLM

Dave - N3GRH

Harvey - KB8MUP

Pat - KB8TME

Dave - VE1VQ

WD4XHG, as president, presided over the meeting. He determined

that there was not a sufficient number of members on hand to

constitute a quorum, so that any business discussed could not be

voted upon. Discussion followed on the items below:

1. It is proposed that we re-establish the time for the annual meeting,

in the spring season of the year. The date suggested was the

Saturday following the spring Conference weekend of The Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

2. It is proposed that we set the date for the 2019 Annual Meeting as

the 13th of April, 2019.

3. It is proposed that the wording of Article VI - Amendments be

changed from “…all members have been notified by mail of the intent

to amend the constitution and/or By-laws at said meeting.” to read all

members have been notified by e-mail of the intent to amend the

constitution and/or By-laws at said meeting.”

4. It is proposed that if a general annual meeting has not been called

by the date in item #1 for a given year, that the general membership

may initiate a general annual meeting without approval of the Board

or the Executive.

The above proposals were agreed to by all present.

Since there was a quorum of the Board of Directors present

5. Charlie, WB4FLM, was reaffirmed as the HF 75 meter net control

station.

6. Steve, K2KEL, was declared re-elected as Vice-President and

7. Dave, VE1VQ, was declared re-elected as Secretary.

Charlie, for a period not to exceed infinity, and Steve and Dave for a

period of two years.

Chuck will do a mailing (USPS) to all members listed on the

membership page at this time, advising them of the April 2019 annual

general meeting and inviting them to attend (by SKYPE or other

electronic means). It will be suggested in the letter that if they cannot

attend, that they allow their vote on the items (to be listed in the letter

to them) to be cast by proxy by someone of their choosing, who will

be attending.

The meeting adjourned around 11:45 AM.

WIRELESS vs. DIRECT CONNECTION

I ran the same test (wireless vs. wired) on the

network in the east when I came out in late

October. The speeds here were around 73 Mbps

download and 12 Mbps upload for both connection

methods (with a ping time of 15 ms). However, in

this case, the laptop is within four feet of the

wireless router as compared to the opposite

diagonal corner of the house basement out west.

So if you are really (really) close to your wireless

point you may not suffer any loss in speed as

compared to wired. The only way to know is to run

speed tests on both. Connect to http://www.speed

test.net/ to check for sure.

Out of curiosity, I ran a speed test with my

iPhone 7 set as a Hotspot. Ping time was 84 ms,

download speed was 7.72 Mbps and upload speed

was 2.61 Mbps. Nothing to brag about, but better

than no connection at all, or when you are in a

hotel and have suspicions about the security of the

in-house network.

CHEAP INKJET PRINTERS

I was in one of our Atlantic Canadian grocery

chain store locations the

other day to pick up some

food items. Like most of

these places they also

have other non-food

sections such as

electronics, with the usual

cell phones and

accessories. They had a couple of stacks of Canon

TS3120 all-in-one printers on sale at $34.99 plus tax.

According to the product specifications, the printer

comes with a set of standard size cartridges (not the

starter ones some manufacturers are so fond of). I

checked on the price of regular size replacement

cartridges at Staples.ca and found the black one

was $20.99 and the color was $26.99 for a total of

$47.98. Cheaper to throw the printer away and buy

a new one rather than buy replacement cartridges.

Amazon.ca shows that model printer has been

replaced with a newer one. So most likely stock is

being cleared out.

I take all of my various brands of empty ink jet

onceagain cartridges to Costco for refilling. They tell me I

should get 3 to 4 refills before I have to invest in a

new one. Sometimes I get a very serious looking

warning when I install one of these refilled units,

telling me that I’m using a non-brand cartridge, and

that it may cause damage to my printer. So far, I’ve

never had a problem. At about half the price, it

works for me!

There are also sources on E-Bay and Amazon

selling refills. I have an older large size format

Canon that it is getting more difficult to find

replacement ink cartridges for. I’m going to have to

investigate those sources or throw out a perfectly

good printer.

My next all-in-one (print/copy/scan) ink jet printer

for the office will likely be an EPSON with the ECO

tanks feature (which according to the specifications,

“includes enough ink to print up to 14,000 pages

black/11,200 colour - equivalent to about 30 ink

cartridge colour” cartridges). While not inexpensive

to initially purchase, over time you save money on

having to buy ridiculously small ink cartridges that

let you print a couple of hundred pages containing

very little information, before running dry.

Ink jet printers may be cheaper to use per page

than laser but they are still excellent money-makers

for the manufacturers, which is why they sell the

printers so inexpensively, making the profit on the

small sized cartridges. If you only use it for the

occasional small print job in your house, they won’t

cost very much to use. If you use them for (even a

small) business or for jobs involving lots of color

coverage, you will be very popular at the cartridge

store. You will come to know then why so many ink

jet printer users are complaining about the size and

cost of replacement ink.

WIND YOUR OWN COIL STOCK, ETC.

Not all that many years ago if you wanted a large

air wound coil for the base of a vertical antenna, or

an inductor for the pi network of your transmitter

project, or perhaps a tuner you were constructing,

you went to your local radio store, or you sent off

an order to a supplier for a piece of Air Dux.

Good luck finding it now! If you do, be prepared

to part with a good chunk of your credit card.

So, if you have thechoice, stick withwired.

Figure 4 - Canon TS3120. Comes in black or white color case.

Years ago if you wanted a large coil forthe base of a vertical antenna, the inductor in a transmitter PI network or a tuner you went to the radio store and bought a piece of inexpensive Air Dux. Good luck finding it now! If you do,be prepared to part with a good chunk of your credit card. However, for those of you who care tospend a bit of time and wind your own, take a look at a shortarticle by K0FF on www.ehamhttps://www.eham.net/articles/23124

http://www.speedtest.net/



For those of you who don’t mind spending a bit of

time, you can actually make a very nice looking

substitute. Take a look at a short article by K0FF on

https://www.eham.net/articles/23124. His method

may be used for any size of coil.

Large variable capacitors with plate spacing that

will handle up to five hundred watts are scarce

these days. Ten-Tec used to sell the same ones they

used in their tuners, but in kit form. Now that the

company is “no more”, that source is gone. There

are transmitting air variables to be found on EBay

but they are “dear” in price. Building your own

antenna tuner may soon be a thing of the past.

Variable capacitors with small plate spacing

suitable for QRP operation are still available at

prices not quite as bad as their higher powered

siblings.

Another good reason to go QRP!

Figure 5 - Examples of AIR DUX coil stock. The blue, black and white boxes were a familiar sight to those of us who built our owntransmitters and tuners.

PLEASE NOTE:

CHRISTMAS IS CANCELLEDApparently, YOU told Santa that YOU have been

GOOD this year…

He died laughing!

COPPER vs. SILVER

Back when two meter FM was first exploding,

and before there were many store-bought rigs

available on the amateur market, people would

convert old VHF tube transceivers taken from the

taxi, trucking, or emergency services. Those from

oil delivery trucks or city works department snow

plows and salt trucks were the least desirable.

Some clearly showed the users frustration with

two-way radio in the beaten up microphones and

front panels.

At the time, I worked for a two-way radio

company by the name of PYE Canada. PYE was a

major player in things electronic, mostly in the UK

and Europe. PYE Canada was a subsidiary of some

sort. Being a lowly tech, I was never high enough

up the corporate ladder to find out exactly what.

Another tech working for the company (who was

also a ham) and I got a couple of the half decent

looking trade-ins (PYE FM Ranger) that were

destined for the landfill and did the conversion

down in frequency from the 150-175 MHz band.

The service manuals for them, like typical British

manuals, had all of the technical information

necessary for every frequency version world wide

(complete with part numbers).

We ordered all of the necessary parts and in due

time in they came. All except for the silver plated

transmitter stage coils. We started the conversion

with what we had, and eventually had working

units. The receivers had 20 db quieting at 0.3

microvolts. The transmitter output peaked at

slightly over 7 watts with coils made from #14

copper wire. This was a little low from pre-

conversion readings of 12 watts plus.

Several weeks later the correct coils came from

the United Kingdom. Replacing the copper coils

with the silver plated ones brought the power

output up to over 12 watts once again.

Because we were verifying our transmitter’s

output frequency (input for the local repeater) on

the shop’s frequency standard every day, area

hams used us as their standard! Remember, this

was way before inexpensive frequency counters

were available.

https://www.eham.net/articles/23124

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, ple

ase c

onta

ct u

s.

By e

-mail - v

e1vq@

eastlin

k.c

a

By H

F ra

dio

- Satu

rday m

orn

ings - in

form

al ro

und

table

sta

rts a

t 0630 E

aste

rn w

ith fo

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l ne

t begin

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at 0

715 E

aste

rn o

n 3

.8725 M

Hz S

SB

. No tim

e s

hift

for S

tandard

or D

aylig

ht S

avin

gs.

If you c

hoose to

join

us, th

ere

are

no d

ues - a

nd w

e

will n

ever e

ver s

end m

issio

narie

s to

your h

am

shack!

LATTER-DAY SAINTAMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS

CQ-CQ-CQ-CQ-CQ-CQ

If you are an amateur radio (ham radio) operator and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we would like to hear from you!

We are the Mercury Amateur Radio Association (or MARA), formerly the emergency communication arm of the Church. With the changes in policy over the years, we are no longer associated with the Church in any capacity. Instead, we are a social group made up of members of the Church and their friends who are amateur radio operators.

If you have an interest in finding out more about MARA or if you are simply interested in learning about amateur radio, please contact us.

By e-mail - [email protected]

By HF radio - Saturday mornings - informal round table starts at 0630 Eastern with formal net beginning at 0715 Eastern on 3.8725 MHz SSB. No time shift for Standard or Daylight Savings.

If you choose to join us, there are no dues - and we will never ever send missionaries to your ham shack!

LATTER-DAY SAINTAMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS

C Q - C Q - C Q - C Q - C Q - C QHere is the MARA notice you can print out and pin to your ward or branch chapel notice board.

Use the one that best suits the space available to you, or you may enlarge or reduce the size to suit.

Unless you are the Bishop, the Branch President, or the building representative, it is always best to ask for permission to post it. Doing this keeps toes from feeling like they have been stepped upon.

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The Mercury Microvolt Newsletter is always looking for articles or pictures of interest to LDS Hams.

If you have a radio related project, or simply something you think might be of interest to the readers,please contact Dave [email protected]

Perhaps it’s an antenna you made or a new station you assembled, a two meter mobile installation, a new hand-held or an HF rig you bought, a field day operation or a mini DX-pedition to the field behind your house, that you could write about. Whatever it is, we would sure like to hear about it.

AR

hen does stuff get to the point where

you have too much of it? When does it

become clutter and you become a hoarder?

Some years ago, just before a Christmas, when the

children were small, I had this thought that the

house might be reaching its falling point where it

would collapse under the weight of the material

things we kept bringing into it. It never did give

way so I guess I didn’t have to worry about it.

The last few times while home in the east, I’ve

been cleaning out the garage I’ve used as an office

for many years. Now I’m doing the same with the

barn. Individual trips to the landfill with a small

Honda don’t really seem to make much difference,

but over time I can see more free space in the

buildings.

Lest you think it was all me, you have to realize

that my grandfather and father have had a hand in

this collection of stuff over many years. They both

came through wars and the Great Depression

where, out of necessity, they were forced to either

repair or go without. Broken items were saved for

spare parts. They would be appalled, as would

many of those of that time, at our throwing out

rather than repairing.

Being a frugal ham fits right in with my

forefathers. I save things - just in case! You never

know when you will need those few feet of magnet

wire left over from some previous project. Or what

about that box of old house keys that never seem to

fit any lock you have around. Or the batteries that

were used in cell phones and digital cameras that

no longer reside here. Or the defunct fire alarm

panel system boards I’ve been keeping for parts. Or

the boxes of Ethernet cable with a few feet

remaining in each one. Or…

Okay, some of it has to go. Perhaps the batteries

and the keys. The pain shouldn’t be all that bad!

Should it?

Until next month,VE1VQ

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