I feel your pain Dave. I got the ice but was spared ending up on my
backside this morning by a dusting of wet snow that had stuck to wet ice
before everything froze last night, creating a very course sandpaper
like surface. They weren't so lucky 12 miles west in the next town.
"Like a bottle" is the phrase of the day there.
This late fall and early winter has been brutal. I got a touch of
frostbite three times repairing an HF antenna past the "safe" season.
Well, more during reinstalling than repair. I guess that is why the
repaired antenna is working so great! The 144 antenna remains broken in
half and I am questioning whether I will even attempt repair. Eventually
I will... but I dread it. It is several days of work getting to it and
getting everything back up working alone. When I do take that on, I will
think long and hard about reducing stacking distances in the VHF/UHF
stack. I need to review what you wrote on that some years back. That
wouldn't fully solve the problem of getting to the top antenna in the
stack, though, unless I stack them very close together. Unlike my HF
mast, that one is not safe to climb. OK, safety of the other one is
probably debatable but I do it anyway.
Evenings and 222 Activity Night are still mostly the nebulous stuff of
dreams for me. I haven't seen one in ages. But I am making progress
towward breathing life into the 432 amp!
[sigh] QWERTYitis time for me...
73,
Paul N1BUG
On 12/30/2025 3:09 PM, Dave Olean wrote:
Well , it is Tuesday and the time for getting on the 222 MHz band this
evening. We had some serious weather come through on Monday that covered
everything in ice. As a result the road up the hill is alternating
between a raging river and a skating rink. The antennas are still iced
up, but I am not sure how badly as I have not been able to get up there
yet. I was hoping to walk up but the temperatures are very cold, under
20 F and with strong winds. I was outside this afternoon, checking out
the stream on my property, and decided that it is too cold for me to
attempt the walk up. I was afraid of getting frostbite on my face. I
suspect that I am going to miss the festivities if the truck cannot get
past the ice patches. 4WD does no good on ice.
Still, any Tuesday is the time to get on 222 MHz, so please get on and
make a few contacts and look for other stations with 222 gear. This is
your last chance in 2025. Next week is in 2026. I am sure that the new
year will be good for 222 MHz. I plan to be around and hope to also have
my 144 station run ing again. I am so close, but just could not get
enough help to finish the new tower. It will have to wait for Spring!
Activity starts around 00:00 UT on the East Coast and can go to 0200
or later as you head West. The Moon is up so some EMErs will be around
for sure.
73
Dave K1WHS
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