Friday, September 4, 2015

Another summer over with

As we head into Labor Day weekend in Sin City, most are rejoicing over the fact that the 100 degree Fahrenheit plus temperatures are finally receding into the background.  However, the humidity does seem to be a bit higher this morning, as evidenced when I came home from my errands that I had to down two and a half bottles of water to re-hydrate.   Ugly, but manageable.

Tomorrow I plan on getting up at an ungodly hour to head down to the property to set the pole for the 1-meter Ku-band dish.  I was fortunate in being able to get lucky playing video poker at Green Valley Ranch this morning to come out ahead to cover groceries, and allow me to get what I needed.

This trip will allow me to set the mast as well as run the flex conduit for the coaxial cable from the dish back underground to where it will come up to the junction box for the lightning arrestors.  I also purchased about 10 feet of 6-gauge stranded THHN wire for the ground connection.  I plan for next payday to get the Cadweld kit and the ground rod, so when it comes time to get everything together, I will have most of what I needed to get the grounding done.

By the time fall rolls around, I hope to have everything set to be able to operate on HF via battery power.  I figure it will take about another year to be able to run power from the main box to the shack, or less if I can rent or borrow a backhoe to dig the trench.  Otherwise I expect plenty of exercise to try and dig a two foot trench over 100 feet long.  :-)

For those who are heading out to enjoy the traditional end of summer, please stay safe, watch your 6, and keep your powder dry.


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