Iraqis arrested in MY town for terrorism

Two Iraqis were arrested in MY town and charged with over 20 counts of terrorism, including using IEDs and sniper rifles against US troops, and trying to export money and stinger missles to Al Queda.  The AP story is copyrighted, but here is the web address: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TERRORISM_CHARGES_IRAQIS_KYOL-?SITE=KYBOW&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

An Off Center Fed Dipole for 80m Through 10m (and maybe 6m)

Well, here I am…thinking about antennas for my base.  It can get frustrating when you begin comparing various antennas and the prices.  I guess fortunately for me (?), I’m too poor to be worrying about a big Yagi or Quad.  Wire from Lowe’s is the way I went.  At the present time, I have a mono-band dipole up with a 1:1 Balun Designs balun.  I’ve been pondering for some time whether to put up a fan dipole or an off center fed dipole.  Numerous radiators with a fan dipole mean possible SWR interactions and more tie-off points to find, and tree limbs to cut or avoid.  Plus, my yard is too small to have a regular 80m.  So…along comes the storm this week with 70+ mph winds, effectively destroying a lot of a big maple tree in the front yard.  I guess I now have a way to get an ocf from the tower to a tie-off point for 80m on the short side, and a long run by the back fence for the long side.  I hate to lose a great shade tree…  So, I ordered a 4:1 ocf dual core balun from Bob at Balun Designs, and I am trimming tree limbs and wondering what it costs to cut the rest of the tree down…  Wish me luck!  73, Steve

Severe Storm This Week

Well, the storm that came through with 70+ mph winds didn't produce any tornadoes in our area.  I'm glad about that.  It did bring down a large portion of a maple tree in my front yard, and left at least 4 top limbs hanging by slivers.  I spent most of the day Thursday with a chainsaw cutting up limbs and dragging them to the street.  It could have done a lot of damage to the house, but we got lucky with only a soccer ball sized hole in the roof, about 5 feet of gutter damaged, and a foot rest for a lawn chair killed.  Turns out the insurance company won't pay on a tree, because it isn't considered property.  I'm hoping the tree removal company is affordable...

Great You Tube Channels

I enjoy watching videos of hobby interests.  YouTube has a lot of really good uploads, but a few are at the top of my list.  Steve, WG0AT hikes with his two pet goats--Rooster and Peanut.  They do QRP contests and activate SOTA summits.  They even hike to the top of mountains and camp out.  Many videos are set to music and Rooster and Peanut voice their opinions during the video in the form of captions...


The other channel is Randy, K7AGE.  Randy publishes "how to" videos on a variety of ham radio topics.  He also travels a lot and takes radios to other countries, where he does DX.