A Growing Concern
Anyone who spends any time on the internet has one eye peeled for scammers. I've used eBay for many years for many online purchases and have generally had a good experience. Usually it's small stuff like like LEDs and bike parts for the DateTrike, coax connectors and cable for my radio, new or used test equipment, or [...]
I describe here a simple RF current probe that can be used to directly measure RF currents in wires and cables using an oscilloscope. The probe features "clip-on" operation, using a common clip-on RFI suppression ferrite core for the sensor coil. This was "take two" for coming up with a suitable current sensor for measuring [...]
It started out nice, as it often does. This year our set-up was much the same as last year. The DateTrike with the solar canopy was ready to go from last year. Once again we took the RV, the DateTrike in the trailer, with the plan to also set up a tent and to resurrect [...]
Over the winter I started work on constructing the three-element hex beam that I designed previously. This is "take two" on the basic hex beam idea, having first built a large 30m bamboo pull-up hex beam a few years ago. I've had time to figure out what I like and don't like about that first [...]
In the fall I like to scatter fava beans on fallow garden areas so that something will be growing there over the winter. Favas are a great cover crop around here because they will germinate and grow even if planted in November. I also scattered a bit of crimson clover along with the favas, but [...]
When it comes to understanding the performance of HF antenna systems, there are only a few tools. You can measure the impedance match with an antenna analyzer, you can model the antenna to see what you might expect the antenna to do, and you can listen and talk on the air to see how well [...]
My bamboo pull-up hex beam has been a work horse antenna for the last couple of years. It underwent a few changes from the initial design. I removed the 30 meter wires because the antenna was just too large to turn easily and get up and down between the branches with the space needed for [...]
After a two-year Covid hiatus, Burning Man was back for 2022. We planned this year to stay for the entire event including the temple burn on Sunday evening. The weather was very hot and dusty, but the art was hotter. Our Playa Home The first dust storm destroyed the pop-up shade garage. But the rest [...]
With Burning Man in the future, the DateTrikE needed to be off the grid, the trike's cloth canopy to be replaced with solar panels. This is all mildly expensive, so I wanted the solar canopy to be able to do double-duty as solar for our RV. The canopy needed to be lightweight but still robust. [...]
After more than twenty years of growing squash here in Eugene Oregon, I never saw a squash bug (Anasa tristis) until two or three years ago. Since then they have become much more common and there have been reports from many local gardeners having to deal with them. I knew what they were, however, because [...]
Squash Practice 