Saturday, July 02, 2011

I'm a sucker

for the 4th of July.  Always have been, since I was a kid.  This might have something to do with that.  This is one of the very first cartoons that I remember seeing.  It probably wasn't the first; but it hit fertile ground and took root.  It made me very aware that the freedom and liberties that we enjoy did not come easy.  And that's why it's all the more important that they be so vigilantly protected.



On a Ham radio (Heh! Ham radio with Porky Pig right above this!) note, I gave my Baby Black Widow brass pieces their second coat of lacquer today.  This stuff dries really fast!  I've used various brands of polyurethanes and lacquers to protect my collection of autographed baseballs. (If they weren't so dear to me; I'll bet I could sell those and have enough for a K3 and a KX3!!!) None of the lacquers I have previously used were as nice as this.  It is Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2 - Clear Gloss.  No drips, no runs (no errors - a little baseball humor, there).  A nice crystal clear finish that doesn't even look like it's there - and that's the whole point.

I am still hoping to get some park operating time in tomorrow; but the latest I hear is for thunderstorms tomorrow.  It's good that the park is close.  Maybe I can get some time in in the late morning to very early afternoon, then the storms can go to town, for all I care.  Today, my wife is working, so I can't leave the kids at home.  They're at that age now where they're too young to be left alone for more than an hour; but too old to be tagging along with Dad. 'Tis a pity, because it's sunny and only very scattered partly cloudy.  And right now, around Noon, it's 85F (29C) with relatively low humidity.  Would be a great day to be out there!

Well, if it does rain tomorrow and should lightning keep me off the air; at the rate this Rust-oleum is drying, I should be able to continue with the Baby Black Widow build.  I'll post pictures as I make progress.

OH .........  don't forget two things !!!!!  First, July is QRP Marathon month for Club 72.  Make your best, longest distance QRP contacts and enter them.  See how you stack up against other QRPers.  Last marathon, Fred VE3FAL and I were the only two QRPers from North America to enter.  C'mon guys, lets show them what VE/XE/W/K QRPers can do!

Secondly. if you're not out watching beautiful pyrotechnic displays (fireworks) Monday night, keep in mind that the MI QRP Club Independence Day Sprint will be going on.  2300 UTC on July 4 to 0300 UTC on July 5. For those of you who may be UTC challenged, that's from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT, for example.

Happy Independence Day weekend - and a belated Happy Canada Day to all our VE friends and neighbors!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

No comments:

Post a Comment