Tower Christmas Tree

Well, this week I got the bright idea to decorate the new tower in the form of a Christmas tree. I made a star out of 1/2" pvc pipe and put lights around it. Then Louise and I mounted it about 35' in the air and ran a pair of light strings down from it to the ground at an angle.

When it got dark, we took a look at it and it doesn't look too bad. We will, however, turn it off and wait until the day after Thanksgiving to light it again. I may try to take a time exposure picture and post it later.

Also, tonight is my debut as a net control on one of the local 2 meter repeaters. I would tell you that I'm not nervous but I would be lying. It's kinda like getting ready to give a speech in front of 100 people; its not bad after you get started but a little scary beforehand.

Deer gun season opens Saturday and I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss a work day at a friend's Habitat for Humanity house. This is a great program and if you get a chance to participate, I would urge you to do it.

Success at Last!

Well, I finally got the tower project completed and the tower is standing upright. Now I can move on to other tasks. I can't believe the difference this height makes in my radio signals. In fact, I committed a faux pax as soon as I got the tower up. I ran in and turned the radio to 146.91, the Broken Arrow repeater, and made an almost instant contact.

As it turns out, the guy was in Nashville, TN, which was amazing on 2 meters. I knew I wasn't supposed to be working him off the repeater but I couldn't get loose without coming across like an a**hole. Eventually, I got off though. My apologies to all the guys listening to the 146.91 repeater.

We had a very enjoyable visit with Dorinda, our daughter-in-law, and hated to see her go back to Atlanta today. She and our son will be back for Christmas, however, so we can stand it till then.

I don't have a lot planned for this coming week. I'm gonna work on the fifth wheel trailer a little bit, getting it ready to go to South Texas in January.