page started 2/9/07
On Monday, February 5th, 2007, WA8ZWJ left the Dayton area and headed to Spring Hill, TN. Last month John N5AAA, and Jan, KA9VQS, started moving into their new place there. Our first objective was to run electricity from the breaker box to where the new ham shack will be in the basement. We ran two lines of 12/3 - one for 115 volts and one for 220 volts.
In the photo top right below you see the place where the conduit and wire exit a trim box near the breaker box. Middle left below shows the conduit running along the ceiling into another trim box on the other side of the stairs. We ran conduit down the wall into a box and then split the two circuits - one going to a series of quad outlets for 115 volts and the other to an outlet for 220 volts for the amplifier.
Below in the top two pictures you can see the 3 quad 115 volt boxes and the 220 volt box installation completed.
The next task on our agenda was to enable easy access for coax into the shack. This was accomplished by drilling a large hole and them filling it with PVC pipe. The coax will go through a 90 degree elbow on the outside to prevent weather from coming in. Inside the pipe terminates about a foot and a half above the floor. At this point we pretty much ran out of time.
The bottom two photos show John in his office upstairs and a shot of the front and garage end of the house.
Below is shot of the house from another angle as well as a shot of the guest room.
Then on Wednesday, February 8th, 2007 John and I got on the road heading towards Valley Mills, TX. On our way through Memphis, Max, KC4YG met us for an early lunch. After we left lunch John checked our progress on the GPS and determined that at the present rate of travel we would reach Hoss and Margareth's by 9:11 PM - so, it would not be necessary to spend the night in a motel! So, we will have an extra day at the Lazy K Ranch!
During our trip we had several conversations with WA5ZAI, N0BIX and W5JCS on 40 meters as we rode along. It was great having them ride along with us!
This morning Hoss needed to go to Carl and Alice Chandler's Gun Shop here in Valley Mills. Their computer needed some attention. While there we took advantage of Hoss's gun club membership and shot a few rounds for fun. After our shooting outing we enjoyed lunch at the Crawford Coffee Station!
This evening we will go to the Bunkhouse BBQ! Yee haw!
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The Bunkhouse BBQ was wonderful! Max, I am sorry to report, for your sake anyway, that the Bunkhouse wins as our favorite over the Memphis BBQ. However, we must admit, that to truly compare the two, it is difficult because we had different BBQ offerings at each place. My brisket and ham dinner was delicious!
Below you see Rick, one of the proprietors of the Bunkhouse BBQ.
How can you argue with a knife that big?
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OK! Los Tres Amigos played IOOK nets on Sunday morning, 2/11/07 and had a great time visiting with the IOOK!
Muchas Gracias al todos! John and Keith did manage to get their walk in this morning before breakfast and radio skeds! :-)
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Monday, 2/12/07
This morning started off with drizzle and fog but turned out to be a beautiful day with the high near 70 degrees! Delightful!
Today John and Keith replaced a pair of ballasts in one of the light fixtures in the kitchen.....let there be light!
Below you will see a snap shot of the entrance to the Lazy K Ranch - what a nice warm breeze today!
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Today (Tuesday, 2/13/07) we went into Waco and visited the Dr Pepper Museum - Dr Pepper was originally called "The Waco" because it's formula was invented here! After our visit at the museum we met Ron, AA5RT for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Tonight we will do a repeat visit to the Bunkhouse BBQ before he head for Yuma tomorrow morning.
Our last night in town before heading out for Yuma we delighted in the Bunkhouse BBQ again! Jesse was "at the helm" when we arrived. However, before we left, Rick showed up and was able to present Margareth with her perfect cheesecake he had baked for her to enjoy while Los Tres Amigos went to Yuma for the hamfest! Yee haw!
We left the Hosscienda before 6AM on Wednesday. We stopped in Lampasas, TX for breakfast at the Country Kitchen Restaurant and saw the two "good old boys" playing poker, as usual! Also, the skeleton head of the long horn was displayed at the restaurant. Below, you will see a number of pictures of the numerous windmills that populate the horizon as we passed through western Texas.
Keith and John took turns driving the first leg of travel from Valley Mills, TX through western Texas. Those of you who were following our progress via APRS may have noticed that we were traveling slightly in excess of 80 MPH. That is because the speed limit in west Texas is 80 MPH! It may be rough on the gas mileage, but, it does make the miles go by faster! Yes, there are more wind mills here too!
Below you can see that the weather had cleared as we reached New Mexico. Delightfully sunny, we stopped for dinner in Mesilla at La Posta Restaurant for supper. As we were walking to the restaurant, Hoss found a sign he had been looking for. It says "On this site in 1897 nothing happened!" He has been looking for this sign for some time! :-) We found a familiar motel in Lordsburg, New Mexico to spend the night.
Below you see how clear the sky was during our continued trip west. It wasn't long after breakfast that we crossed the border into Arizona! We attempted to contact the IOOK on our scheduled times with little luck. You can see that the amplifier was doing it's thing with peaks at about 55 amps! We had one short QSO with N0BIX before the band faded on us. However, we had two great QSO's on different hours with two different stations - one at Kona, Hawaii and another on Maui! We did receive a "one liner" APRS message from KC0JP that he had heard us but was not able to copy us well enough to contact us.
As you can see in the photos below, the terrain changed the further west we traveled. It never ceases to amaze me how, for a few miles, you can have huge boulders and then dry open desert for many more miles as you travel west.
The folks in charge of the hamfest gave us a royal welcome as we checked into the hamfest Thursday afternoon. They are a fun yet dedicated group that it is a pleasure to deal with. Thanks to YARHO for their efforts!
Los Tres Amigos went to the Cocopah Casino for dinner. Upon our arrival back at the motel, we got a phone call from Tom, W3TOM who stopped by for a nice visit. Breakfast Friday morning was at Penny's Diner (you can see Tom, W3TOM and Debbie, KA3VNF in front of some of the interesting memorabilia there). Then we went to the hamfest site and began setup. We were soon visited by Ralph, K7YUM who maintains the local EchoLink repeater we are using. As you can see, more members of the YARHO staff checked in with us to make sure all was OK with our site. As you would have expected, Flat KBob was the first out of the van and into the booth!
Charlie, NN3V was next to arrive and was promptly met by one of the YARHO gang with questions about EchoLink! A bit later our new large hamfest banner came past the flea market space being drug behind an airplane! Pretty neat! Tom, K8BTE was the next IOOK'er to arrive! He was followed by Big Al, KB8FJB and Lenore, KC8VSA. Finally John, KF8KK, Lou, N8KXM and Sandi (no call yet) arrived! Our IOOK compliment for this hamfest was complete!
Below the IOOK has a general visit session early in the activities during Friday's portion of the hamfest.
Soon thereafter, Ted, KD8BXJ and Dottie, KD8BXK were assimilated into the IOOK by Tom, K8BTE and John, KF8KK. Then John, N5AAA presented Lou, N8KXM with a surprise brisket sandwich from the Bunkhouse BBQ! Lou was ecstatic! He then kindly shared tastes of Bunkhouse BBQ with those present! Our Vice Presidential Air Cap continues this year as you will see below. I am sure better photos will follow. Finally, as we returned to the motel for a short respite before pizza dinner, I grabbed a shot of the temperature. What an absolutely gorgeous day we have had!
After a full day in the flea market, the gang met for pizza at Village Inn Pizza which is around the corner from our motel. Below, pictured left to right and top to bottom are: Lou, N8KXM; Sandi, no call; Debbie, KA3VNF; Tom, W3TOM; Charlie, NN3V; and Tom, K8BTE.
Pictured below are: Big Al, KB8FJB; Lenore, KC8VSA; John, N5AAA, John, KF8KK; Dottie, KD8BXK; Ted, KD8BXJ; Hoss, WA5ZAI; and Keith, WA8ZWJ.
I think the photographer of Hoss's picture caught him in the middle of singing for his supper! "Eye, Eye, EYE eye, canta y no llores...cha cha cha!"
Below, Tom, W3TOM is caught telling a whopper! It is a multi whopper because he is already up to number two!
As you can well imagine, pizza and suds were consumed with enthusiasm! Of course, as Big Al always says, we all got fed up! Har!
Below Los Tres Amigos prepare to head to breakfast bright and earl Saturday morning!
Saturday morning found the "hard core" hamfest goers at breakfast bright and early! The cactus plant with the unusual bloom was found just outside the entry way! As would be expected, the Marine Corps Air Cap continued throughout the day.
The gang all met at the flea market space about 10:30 AM on Saturday morning for our annual group picture! Yee haw for the IOOK!
Below you see Jack, KC7DUU atop the ladder taking our group photo! Many thanks Jack! In the middle right below you will see a photo of Hoss with his son, Ron and daughter-in-law, Kristen who came down for a visit. Below that you will see Dottie, KD8BXK, writing post cards in the afternoon sun. Next is John, KF8KK and Ted, KD8BXJ working on correcting a programming error on Ted's HT. It turned out to be a faulty remote speaker jack that is intermittent.
In the photo above left we all wondered how and why Lou and Sandi were up on the top of that building across the way from our booth! Of course, Flat KBob oversaw all of the goings ons for the weekend!
Below John, N5AAA tells a whopper to new IOOK'er, Dottie, KD8BXK while Hoss, WA5ZAI tries to figure out one of the settings on his new camera.
Ted, KD8BXJ brought along his Kenwood TM-D700A to install in his pickup truck. Being a wise new ham, he hoped the IOOK Technology Center would advise him on proper installation. Charlie, NN3V, Chairman of the Technology Center, asked his most trusted member of the installation team, Lou, N8KXM, to head up the assault...er...a...installation. Lou enlisted the assistance of several other Technology Center members and the installation was on it's way! Having the hamfest there sure made it easy to pick up those last minute hardware items always necessary when doing a task like this!
In the bottom two photos above, Lou assembles the rig and tests out the DC portion of the installation.
Next we see N5AAA under the dash fishing and hiding wires after the control head has been mounted. Then Lou finesses the coax to provide a water proof hidden entry point. Center below Lou mounts the bracket for the remote speaker. Finally, Ted enjoys his first contact with the new installation! Yee haw! Way to go Technology Center!
Below left we see Big Al's (KB8FJB) Texas Bug Catcher has really caught some bugs! Below right Zed W. Jay chats with W8TVC in Michigan via EchoLink prior to the EchoLink Seminar.
Prior to the hamfest, Jack, KC7DUU, put out a request for someone from our group to volunteer to present some kind of seminar. Charlie, NN3V, Chairman of the IOOK Technology Center, graciously volunteered to make a presentation on EchoLink! Charlie organized an informative Power Point presentation on the subject and Jack, KC7DUU, had his laptop with EchoLink running on it available as well. Lou, N8KXM, assisted with the seminar as well. Twenty five hams attended the seminar which was very well received! Dave, W8TVC assisted with the demonstration from the Traverse City, Michigan area via EchoLink. John, N5AAA, pushed the buttons and assisted with the radio link locally.
Saturday evening we all attended the Buzzard's BBQ at the hamfest site.
After dinner door prizes were awarded. The IOOK was VERY lucky for our group won five of the twenty or so prizes!
Bottom right above is Jack, KC7DUU!
Sunday morning after breakfast, John, N5AAA Tom, W3TOM and Debbie, KA3VNF drove about 20 miles west into the California desert for some fun in the sand! Below right you see Tom after his return to the hamfest dumping the sand from his shoes! They all had sand in places they didn't even know that had places and a fun time was had!
Below you see the top three prizes for the hamfest which were drawn on Sunday morning. They are brand new Toyota Hybrid cars ready to install radios and antennas! Sadly, no IOOK'ers won any of the top prizes this year.
tic
As the day progressed the IOOK'ers headed away from the fest. Charlie actually made a last minute sale as he was in the car and ready to leave! Yes, the Vice Presidential air cap continued.
Above right you see Lou, N8KXM Sandi, and John, KF8KK with their heads hanging as they walk towards the front gate to leave.
As Los Tres Amigos headed east, we came across John, Lou and Sandi as they fueled up the pickup truck prior to heading back to Phoenix. Top right is a snap shot of the fairgrounds entrance as we passed it on our way out of town.
Above you see some more of the BIG ROCKS that are along the highway. They are absolutely huge!
We had a nice extended QSO with Ted, KD8BXJ and Dottie, KD8BXK on their new radio as we traveled eastward. We stayed overnight on the east side of El Paso (about 600 miles from the hamfest). As we rode along we had several conversations with Bob, N0BIX and Don, KE8NK. During the EchoLink seminar we had learned that there was a version of EchoLink now available for the Macintosh computer called EchoMac. Since N0BIX only speaks Mac, we told him all about it. During the course of several QSO's during the day, Bob downloaded the software, validated his call sign and made the necessary set up adjustments. We learned later that Bob even made his first EchoLink QSO with Dave, W8TVC in Traverse City, Michigan later that day! Pretty neat! We arrived in Valley Mills, TX about 4:30 PM on Monday.
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Well, it is Thursday, 2/22/07 and we head towards Spring Hill, Tennessee tomorrow. Yesterday during an errand to the hardware store the van just could not help but turn into the Bunkhouse BBQ for a light lunch! To summarize the last few days, we have done some minor chores and run some errands. Keith caught the photo of John below in the rear view mirror as he cat napped on a trip into Waco yesterday. :-) Last night we played radio and Skype and caught up with the gang. John and Keith have continued their morning walks and Hoss has enjoyed the afternoon warmth by taking some walks as well. This morning three deer were spotted as we walked. They crossed the road in front of us. Today our chore was to replace the ceiling fan in Hoss's radio room. So, you will see a series of shots showing the progress of the installation.
Above left, John just could not resist simulating a power whack while Hoss's attention was distracted! Har! Let there be light and moving air!
We have thoroughly enjoyed the HOSSpitality here at the Lazy K Ranch! Many thanks to Margareth for all her efforts and fantastic dinners!
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(Sunday, 2/25/07)
Well, we finished our stay in Texas with a Saturday evening trip to the Bunkhouse BBQ! Fantastic! To our delight, Jan and Murray, former neighbors of Hoss and Margareth's, showed up at the Bunkhouse BBQ while we were there, so we had a delightful visit with them as well!
Our trip back to Spring Hill, Tennessee on Friday was not much to write home about. We had difficulty hearing much on Mid-Cars. We did get to chat with Hoss one time. We also got to meet with Max, KC4YG again as we passed through Memphis. We presented him with a sample brisket BBQ sandwich from the Bunkhouse BBQ! We shall see how he feels it compares to Memphis BBQ! It took us a bit more than 15 hours total to make the trip. Just remember John, "We ain't got none!"
According
to Max, "The BBQ brisket sandwich from the “Bunkhouse” was absolutely
great!!! Thanks again!
We spent the day Saturday pounding the vertical support pipe and ground rods into the ground. Then we reassembled and installed the Cushcraft R8 6 meter through 40 meter vertical. Yee Haw! It works! We used it on the nets this morning.
We ran out of daylight and energy and managed to kind of set up a temporary station so we could check into the nets this morning.
After playing radio this morning, we set to installing the dual band vertical that John purchased at the Yuma hamfest. After the erection, we worked on setting the shack up. The computer/radio desk and two additional table are set up in an "L" configuration. The area is truly a work in progress.
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Monday, 2/26/07
Today we first adjusted the tuning on the vertical so it is resonant at 7.210. Then we worked on installing the G5RV. We ended up putting it in the edge of the tree line at the back of the back yard. We attempted to rent a ditch witch but there was just not enough hours remaining before the rental place closed to complete the task. :-( So the G5RV feed line will have to buried at another time. As you can see in the photo below, we installed the KXM twist in the ladder line to reduce wind load. We anchored the coax to the ground where the entry point into the ground will be. The coax runs up the yard and then follows the same path as the vertical coax into the shack. Below left you can see the dual band vertical on the left, the HF vertical near the corner of the house and finally the Hustler vertical on the back of the camper. Finally, you can see a photo of John while he talked with Hoss as we tested the vertical vs. the G5RV. Initial tests seem to indicate that the G5RV has a better signal to Hoss and it also has a lower noise factor than the vertical.
Well, this pretty well ends up our trip to Yuma and
back. Tomorrow I head back to Dayton. Thanks to those of you who
have remained in contact with us either via APRS, HF, VHF, EchoLink or another
manner as we have traveled across country. I want to offer a special
thanks to John, Jan, Hoss and Margareth for their wonderful
hospitality. I have had a delightful time! I have learned a lot the
last few weeks and it has really been a fun time! Thanks to N5AAA, WA5ZAI,
K8BTE, NN3V, N8KXM and WA8ZWJ for contributing photos for this page.
Thanks to all of you who made it a fun trip!
Finally, I want to thank Marian for being so understanding! God bless you!
Best 73, Keith, WA8ZWJ
P.S. tic stands for Tongue In Cheek! I hope we gotcha on that one! Har!
page completed 3/1/07
