NV6O's Ornithological Problem

Tue Jun 7 10:00:02 EDT 1994

From:   Mark Beckwith, WA6OTU - wa6otu at caltech.edu
To:     Eric, NV6O
Date:   94-06-07

Hi Eric.  Sorry this is probably a few days late.  Northern Mockingbird
gestation if I remember, is about a week and a half.  Once hatched they
only stay in the nest maybe another week before fledging, and once they
go, they don't use the nest anymore.  (It will make a great offering to 
your wife for the Christmas Tree).

The gist is, you should climb up there, and without touching anything, see
if turning the rotator actually has any adverse effect on the nest.  You 
will piss off the adults, who can be VERY bold, and may buzz you (they have
NO fear - I've got a GREAT photo of one attacking a Bald Eagle), but as long 
as you don't touch anything, when you leave, I can assure you from several 
personal experiences that they'll just go back to business as usual.

I think it is entirely possible, depending on the rotor and the shelf and the
exact placement of the nest, that there will be no interferance.  If you 
learn this, you should be able to turn your antenna in spite of the nest.

About fake owls, I know guys out here who swear they work great, but I think
when you've gone out and spent $25 you're less open to accepting reality when 
you see they don't really work (psychologists call it 'denial').  When was the 
last time any of you walked up to a wooden indian and struck up a 
conversation?  Birds are good at figuring stuff like this out.  Plastic owls 
don't work more than about a day.  As for fake snakes - I have no personal
experience to draw from, but I would assume the same thing.  Do any other
subscribers have any different experience with snakes OR owls?

And you guys thought Trey was joking when he drew similarities
between contesters and birdwatchers.

Mark, WA6OTU - wa6otu at caltech.edu

P.S.  Just for my curiosity, anyone else out there count birds?

>From rmarosko at bcm.tmc.edu (Ron Marosko)  Tue Jun  7 12:34:50 1994
From: rmarosko at bcm.tmc.edu (Ron Marosko) (Ron Marosko)
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 11:34:50
Subject: FW: VHF Condx
Message-ID: <rmarosko.279.000B9505 at bcm.tmc.edu>

In article <2DF4BF4A at admin.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM> "Skelton, Tom" <TSkelton at engineer.clemsonsc.NCR.COM> writes:

>How was it on the Left Coast??

They had to be getting central U.S. pretty good. We worked gobs and gobs of 
left coast on 6. Quick way to get VUCC, at least!

73, Ron NFN
---
#include <std.disclaimer.h>
   As usual, the views expressed here do not represent the views of
   the BCM management, staff, or any living person.
+-------------------------------+--------------------------------+
|         Ron Marosko           | The Computing Resource Center  |
|      rmarosko at bcm.tmc.edu     |   Baylor College of Medicine   |
|        kb5nfn at amsat.org       |                                |
+-------------------------------+--------------------------------+

>From Steve Lund <stevel at sr.hp.com>  Tue Jun  7 17:57:24 1994
From: Steve Lund <stevel at sr.hp.com> (Steve Lund)
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 9:57:24 PDT
Subject: FW: Final Results: W3XO/5 VHF Test
Message-ID: <9406071657.AA06039 at srsdcst0.sr.hp.com>

> Who said conditions were awful? These were the best I've seen yet.
>  ------------
> 
> I said they were awful here in the SE USA.  However, as I remember
> I also asked everyone to post how it was locally for them.  In the words
> of Steve/WS4F:  These are the worst conditions in 19 years of
> June contests.  Another person said it sounded like the January
> contest instead of the June 'test.
> 
> How was it on the Left Coast??
> 
I'd say conditions were the second worse for the 21 years that I've been
in Northern California.  Did have openings to KL7, VE8, and XE2, but total
QSOs and Grids were very low.  Never really had a strong opening anywhere,
except for VE6.

Moving the contest date up was a very stupid idea.  The June contest is
usually a 6m Es affair, but the first weekend in June is before the really
good openings occur in Northern California.

Steve WA8LLY/6
stevel at sr.hp.com

>From Jay Kesterson K0GU x6826 <jayk at bits.fc.hp.com>  Tue Jun  7 18:00:33 1994
From: Jay Kesterson K0GU x6826 <jayk at bits.fc.hp.com> (Jay Kesterson K0GU x6826)
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 11:00:33 MDT
Subject: Fake owls
Message-ID: <9406071700.AA16702 at bits.fc.hp.com>

They had a bird problem, around some machinery, here at the HP plant 
were I work. They decided to give the fake owls a try. It didn't
give very good results. One of the maintaince crew has a photo of
a bird perched on the owl's head defecating.....

73, Jay K0GU                    jayk at fc.hp.com

>From Hal Blegen" <halb at comtch.iea.com  Tue Jun  7 23:47:31 1994
From: Hal Blegen" <halb at comtch.iea.com (Hal Blegen)
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 15:47:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: $$$Prizes
Message-ID: <m0qB9vf-0000mSC at comtch.iea.com>

Some year ago Dovetron was kind enough to donate a new MPC-1000
as a prize for a WAS (QSL's required) RTTY contest.  After-the-fact
the FCC indicated that there should be no more prizes offered for
contest that had any direct, monitary value.  No matter how you
cut it, a cash prize is play for pay. I don't think the FCC has
changed their tune.

>From Robert A. Wilson" <n6tv at VNET.IBM.COM  Wed Jun  8 04:12:27 1994
From: Robert A. Wilson" <n6tv at VNET.IBM.COM (Robert A. Wilson)
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 94 20:12:27 PDT
Subject: N6BT going to ARRL National Convention this weekend

Tom Schiller, N6BT, will be attending the ARRL National Convention
this weekend in Arlington, TX.

If you're a contester, stop by the Texas Towers' booth and say hello.
He loves to talk antennas.  Say something like "heard about you on the
Internet."  I'm trying to convince Tom to get with the program and get
himself connected.  Maybe if enough guys mention the Internet he'll
finally realize just how much coverage we have here on this neat
little Reflector.

73,
Bob, N6TV