Sunday Journal 2010

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. Anxious to get the Rambler out and going, where is spring. It did get up to almost 40 last Sunday so we lost a little snow then and then warm again on Monday so some more left. Had to fill the pond Monday and did some work on the big van. I looked all over for the sending unit for the temp gauge but could not find it. Got the doors ready to put the new strikers on so they latch right again. Got the garbage out and did some groceries for moms diet. I cooked up some asparagus and some Brussels sprouts for her so they are really good fresh and not canned. Checked the tuning on the radios and checked in the swan Net and the ARMS net. My verse was Deuteronomy 13 verse 1,2, and 3. I checked into the Micro computer network and helped the fellows there with some PSK 31 but the more I learn about it I am not sure that is something I will really get into. I prefer voice HF probably 20 meters and that just seems to be a computer chat room over the ham radio. Time will tell. Got one of the Swan 2 meter radios going some but not the second one yet so just need to get the antenna now. The working Swan FM FX-2 2 meter radio is at about 30 to 40 watts as read on the peak reading meter so should be a great radio for line of sight. Hope to get them both going. Tuesday had lots of sun and 0 degrees when the day started but was fast to warm up and melt some more. My verse for the net was Psalm 100 verse 1-3. Finally found the heat sending unit for the gauge in the big van and replaced it. YAY, the new one is not any good and reads boiling before the thermostat even opens. Go figure must have put my name on that one when it was manufactured. Got one of the old Swans running and it received well and even got into the Coon Valley net last night. It will be awesome so now can work on the other one and get it up and running and then check for the frequencies I would like and get some crystals if I still can. Wednesday pulled the engine cover on the big van again to take out the heat sender to replace and the third one was finally a charm. The belt on the van was also squeaking so sprayed it with some belt dressing and big mistake, now it is even noisier. Why always me??? Did the old brake parts cleaner sprayed on it and then used sand paper to clean it while running, use great care here as you can lose a finger, so stay on the side of the pulley the belts exit from. Walla!!! the squeak is going and may run another year or two. I checked in the arms and my reading was from the book of Psalms, Psalm 1 verses 1-2. It has been really sunny and beautiful out this week and will get started on the tree and branch clean up if it keeps this up very long. It has been a long winter but an end is in sight now. I went to the Coon Valley Amateur radio club meeting Wednesday night and decided to join. One of the members had several 2 meter antenna's some company through out so I got one of them. After I got home Kris had called and She made Senior Master Sergeant E8, what a great to accomplish in the time she did. We are so proud of our baby girl and she deserves it and so much more. Congratulations. Thursday started at about 20 degrees and then got really warm at about 38 Degrees and that sure was nice. My Verses for the ARMS net was Psalm 37 V 39-40. Did some work on the 2 meter rigs and got them all three going, both Swans and the ICOM, so guess I can still do some techy stuff. Whoop!!! Whoop!!! Wow the old Swans are amazing. I am learning so much as they are all 3 solid state radios, transistors and such but I don't believe that will catch on so why am I learning it. Hee Hee!!! I used all three on the net and after and learned one still needs some power supply work as it has a hum and all three will be good once the antenna is right. Go figure I just got the Magnet mount for the mobile antenna and the radios all 3 work great and they trip the simplex mode no repeaters at a 35 mile distance, with the checks I made, and a low SWR and great, clean, clear reports. Friday my verses were Proverbs 3 verses 1-2. I got the external vertical for the house on 2 meters and rigged it up in the ham room and used it to check in the CVARC net and it worked well. Will be great on the roof but may make it a 5/8 wave instead of the 1/4 wave so it has about 3 db gain. Made up all my power connections for the new radios permanent and checked that they worked and all is well there. Saturday dawned overcast and then the rain started so stayed inside and helped mom with some of her Easter stuff. Checked into the fellowship net and shared Romans 1 verses 21-22. What a day and what a week. the pond pump quit on Saturday also and it was the one Earl May let me borrow so now need to replace that and then had to get the one they ordered for me and dig out the pump pit to install the new one. When I turned it on it sounded rather noisy so will need to check that out today. Also will be headed to Sac City for a music sing at Brads church today and the camera battery is not only dead but will no longer charge. Oh My!!!! Guess I better post and get moving. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday morning and once again here is Lew. Last Sunday evening I went over to Templeton to pick up a 2 meter radio to use for the ARES here and seen a most beautiful sunset with sun dogs and all, it was magnificent. Had the dogs on both sides of the sun and then as wide as the sun a bright beam straight up in the air hundreds of feet like a giant candle. How can people not believe in the lord. WOW!!! Checked into the ARMS net Monday and my Verse was The 1st Epistle of John Chapter 1 Verse 1-2. Looked at the 2 meter radio for operation here and set up the matrix board for the right frequencies for here and now just need an antenna for it to work I believe. Do I have any Idea what I am doing and getting into here. Probably not. Mom and I went to town on Monday and did the Tax stuff, farm sale stuff, lawyer stuff and some shopping and then home for mom to get some more Olympics out of the way. Tuesday dawned cool at 8 degrees with some wind and a bright sunny day. My verse for the ARMS net was Psalm 19 Verse 1 because of the sun dogs I seen Sunday. One of the members there, AL7AX Ken, told me of a web site for weather things and it is really full of amazing things. It is www.spaceweather.com and the northern lights part is amazing. I spent some time on the bills then and did the preparations for baby girls Bday at Pizza Ranch, did some lunch and worked some on antenna design for the radio. Man had to dig out the old ham antenna books and find the formulas and all again as the mind could not bring them back to the surface. Not sure what happened there. I did get it powered up and tried the vertical but could hear nothing but then the VHF frequencies are very critical to the antenna you use. It does put out about 15 watts so that meets or exceeds specs so that is good and the SWR is a little high but it should be fine. FM is sure different than SSB but I will figure it all out if this old brain can cope. The weather was bad Tuesday evening so Tammy, Brad & Heather & family stayed the night after the outing at Pizza Ranch and that was great. Wednesday dawned very brisk at 20 below zero but no wind and very sunny. What a beautiful start to the day with the house full of family, commotion, confusion and laughter. After we got the kids off I checked the ARMS net and my verse was St Luke Chapter 18 Verse 15-17. Got some antenna books in town Wednesday and picked up some parts for the van and some groceries then seen Tammy off to go home and checked in with the daily Swan group. Afterwards I rested some and then put some new bulbs in the 2 meter radio and tested them and they like scheduled so now the PLL should be working right. Thursday brought much sun shine but still about 12 below so rather brisk. Finished picking up all the sleeping bags, mattresses, beds etc from the kids sleepover so that made me fell very lonely again. Sure miss all those little rats. Heard nothing on the 2 meter radio so either I need a real antenna or the radio does not work. The real Swan radios will be here soon so then I will be good to go. Picked up the door latches for the ford van but one is no longer available so now what, junk a perfect van because a door latch is not available. I don't think so, so what is up with these companies and manufacturers today, it is only 21 years old this year. Did figure out where the heat sensor for the gauge is located so can check that to see if the sender or gauge is bad. Got the two 2 2 meter Swan Radios and may work but not sure yet. Have updated my web pages some so check out the NØCXY pages and the Rambler pages as have added much there. I let them go for so long but have caught up some. Checked the Fellowship net Saturday and the Chapter was I John Chapter 2 Verse 1&2. Mom did more Olympics and I did some more on the radios. Today is the last of the Olympics with the closing at 6PM so life is back to normal then. I checked CVCTV for Sean's walk up but do not see it. We are so proud of him and the crossover to Boy Scouts. Congratulations little Man Papa & Mema are so very proud of you. Guess I better post this and get moving. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. The winter fun is still continuing and I may have to dig the grill out of the snow bank so I can grill steaks for the 4th of July. I have been moving snow since December 1st and it is still coming. I have cleaned the snow drift in front of the garage 4 times now so it is getting old but this drift is really pretty. Monday and Tuesday was down with the cold real bad so not much done there. Did some work with radios and got a good start on the PSK 31 and received many signals so now just need to refine and get the transmitter going the same. A fellow ham is sending me some info he has for running the old Swans on it so that should be helpful. I also have two Swan 2 meter FX-2 radios coming so will be up on 2 meters soon I hope. Mom was been real sick with a cold the first of the week also and I seemed to get better before her but she did get to watch most of her Olympics and enjoy them. Got the big van dug out and into the shop for repair to the ignition switch and the heat gauge but on the way to the appointment the heat gauge started working so just had to do the switch. That was good as the switch alone was $80.00 and that was just cleaning and adjusting. The heat gauge quit last spring so not sure what is up there. Missed the ARMS net on Monday and Tuesday my verse was Proverbs 4 Verse 1-4 and Wednesday it was Psalm 1 verse 1-3. Thursday was busy with getting the engine cover off the van so I can get the timing checked. It had a rusted bolt and finally had to just break it out of the metal and then will repair. Friday I checked in the fellowship net and my verse was from the KJV The Epistle of Paul to Titus chapter 2 verse 1-3. Got a call from a ham friend and he has a 2 meter radio for me to play with and it is free so now will have three of them to play with. Have a design engineered for my PSK 31 transmit switch and have looked into maybe getting on CQ 100 also as it is a virtual ionosphere radio for full internet use. Looks really fun to do and it will do voice, CW, PSK and so on. My radio gave me some fits again but got through them and must be something loose or intermittent that will be a mess to find and clear. Got the van in for the timing check and it was right on default so told them to look at the plugs and such. Turns out the wires and all were original and it is a 1990. had them put in wires, plugs, cap, and rotor. many were corroded and rusted so should run better now. The snow started again Friday and we got another inch or more. Saturday dawned with sun shine and no wind so that was great. Checked into the Fellowship net and my verse was Proverbs 16 verse 1-3. Did a survey of the yard and wow is there a lot of cleanup needed this spring. Tree branches and trees down all over. Will sure be busy when the snow lets up and melts some. Have a few limbs on the barn also to clean up. Put the engine cover back in place on the van and will wait till some warmer weather to fix the one bolt right as I need to get under it for mounting. After I removed the Tachometer and had the other work done the engine reads much cooler on the heat gauge but that does not make any sense. Go figure. Oh well we are close to ready for the camping season and more than ready for a trip to Florida with Matt's Truck sometime after March at least that is the plan for now. May have given up on CQ 100 as it is only internet and only people that join it not all hams the way it looks. Am working on maybe using the Swan phone patch to run my PSK 31 and if not just need to build me a 100 to 1 divider to run the mike circuit so the sound card out at about 100 mil does not overdrive the about 10 mil mike circuit input. Mom is still making me an Olympics widower but she is enjoying it. Today is the USA, Canada hockey match so that should be fun. Did not sleep well last night so was up at 4AM and worked on my radio and amp some. Just some relay cleaning and such as it is still working well. Guess I have rattled on enough so will close with all my love and post. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday morning once again and here is Lew. Oh bother another weekend over and the work week starts tomorrow and it is back to work. Oh wait, I am retired and I will sleep in so all you others get off to work and earn that money and pay into the social security as I need the money the cost to live is really up. Got up this last Monday to snow again with blowing and drifting. Another couple months of this and it will start to get old. Checked into the ARMS net and my verse was St John Chapter 1 verse 1-4. Had to fill the pond with water again as it was low and the fish are doing fine and swimming all over. Got moms blood work back and all was normal but have an appointment to see for sure what it all means as all areas were in the normal range but some at the high end and some at the low end. Finished Monday getting the Amp. fixed for the radio and not getting the Swan I wanted on Ebay. The 20 meter band has sure opened up and is so much fun when that happens. Tuesday Checked into the ARMS net and my verse was Psalm 18 Verse 1-3 and the day dawned with 15 degrees below zero and the wind blowing. Don't you just hate the gray snow along the roads, maybe need some snow to make it white again. Who said that? Oh I said that sorry. The old copal 24 hour clock I repaired and got working, it is 100% mechanical, after several weeks running now it is right to the second with the computer and cell phone clocks. Amazing how accurate that is with the old technology and being mechanical. Wednesday I checked on the pond and all was well and the fish are moving so they are alive. My verse for the Christian fellowship net was Ephesians Chapter 5 verse 19 & 20. Did some work on the noise in the radio and discovered it was most from the tower computer power supply. I cannot eliminate with line filters and such so must be radiated RFI. I tried many things so now need to see if there is a shielded PS for computers to stop that. I use a logbook on the computer for my radio log so need it up if I can. Oh Bother new is never as good as old in some things. Am using the laptop some till I can figure it out. Thursday checked in the fellowship net again and my verse then was Hebrews 13 Verse 1-3. The fellowship is good and I sure need it as does everyone. My cold hit its peak then I believe and then has started to get better some so it went about a week with only a couple bad days. Mom has been fighting one for about a week or better now. Had to shovel the path on the patio again as we got more snow. Mom is doing so much with sorting out stuff and getting it organized or gone and that sure is nice. She is doing some better so pray that continues. Friday I woke early again as it seems I just can't sleep much past 5:30 AM so guess I will just live with that. I always have been an early to bed and early to rise person. That day found my Verse to be Joshua 1 V8 and some of the signals on the air have improved greatly. The sun spots must be in my favor and that is so much fun when they get good. Have not received the parts for the antenna yet but it is still going good. Mom and I went to town for some shopping and I was feeling pretty good but then in the evening and Saturday was really wore out and the cold fired up again. Did much work on the computer to clean up signal and noise on the radio and made much disappear. Discovered Saturday that some noise comes from maybe a dirty potentiometer or relay as I can make it disappear by keying the transmit or turning the power on and off several times. Will take it apart for cleaning. Checked into ARMS net and my verse was Proverbs 13 Verses 1,2 & 3 for Saturday. The day was cool and overcast again with humidity and low visibility so that did not help the head or cold and I believe it is not done with me yet. Oh Bother. Early afternoon on Saturday I met with some Swan hams on the air and got to talk to cousin Gary in Colorado and that was neat. The band did not last long at those conditions but it was good and the first ever he says although I thought we had talked once many years ago when I was in Alaska but he is probably right. At any rate it was good. We got some more snow last night but the temps were at or just above freezing so that was nice for a change. I put most of the computer back together so that is good for today and the weather is clear and crisp so far. Have messenger on but no one there this morning so will post this and get ready to see how the Olympics are going. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. What a Great week. Checked into the ARMS Christian fellowship net and the Swan net on Sunday and then did some work on radios and web pages and then grilled some T-Bones for supper with some baked potatoes and cottage cheese. Mom and I watched some TV and I dozed and we went to bed. Monday dawned rather cool with signs of snow in the air that did show up by noon. Got all the garbage ready and set out since they could not get it last week because of the snow and ice. Did up some dishes and cleaned in the kitchen for mom and then checked in ARMS fellowship net again. It meets every day it looks like but that may be to much for me although it is very necessary for me to have daily devotions as I have been rather lax there. Then did a little pick up of stuff and watched some TV along with the falling snow. We have plenty of the white stuff but it sure is pretty falling softly to the ground with huge flakes. The good Lord sure has an eye for the beautiful. The old Copal 24hr clock I repaired has rolled over the minute right with the computer and the cell phone so is that amazing for something mechanical from many years ago. Now we will just see if the computer and cell can be that good after that many decades. Yah right. If It Does Not Glow It Is Not A Radio!!! Hee Hee. Tried to check into the Swan group but no go and had to get to moms doctor appointment at 2 so did not wait to long. The appointment went well and they are doing some blood tests for the tiredness and headaches. We then did some shopping and went the new Pizza Ranch for supper and went home. Tuesday found me sleeping in late and the day start overcast at 0 degrees and gloomy. Checked into the ARMS Christian fellowship net again and that is rather fun to have those fellowships on the Air like that. Okay wait this may be getting to large with the Radios and nets. The Swan net, ARMS net, Micro Computer net, SATERN net, Intercon Net, AFFC net, and the ARES net along with getting into the MARS program and getting started with Phase shift keying and getting the Swan 240 back on the Air. Oh Bother who came up with this idea and I need to work in some time to help Brad with bath and the bedroom for Lucas. Sure am loving retirement. Made Mom a clothes rack for the garage Tuesday afternoon and then helped her some in the sewing room. Then could not sleep well so was up about 5 AM on Wednesday. What a day, I got some different wheels for the clothes rack put them on and returned the other ones as they were junk, and since our water bill jumped about 25 dollars I put some new flush stuff in the upstairs bathroom. I then discovered the boiler room floor had water again and seen the pressure was way high so the boiler was waterlogged so had to drain that and purge the pressure tank and then start again. It appears okay now. Had to fill the humidifier as it was empty and then the pond was low so had to top that off also. I checked into the ARMS net and that was fun but the band was rather dead Wednesday so did not get the Swan net. Talked to a couple others but that was all. Thursday started warmer at 20 degrees but was overcast and dreary. The boiler was good at that point and I checked into the ARMS Christian fellowship net again. The band was not real good but did hear some stations. Late in the day the rain and snow started and then by Friday morning we had about 2 in of snow again and the temp was 20 degrees. Sure is a long winter. Got up about 5:30 and it was getting light so the days are getting longer. Spring is on the way. Started a weight lost program on Friday because it is hard to breath and I weight 210 pounds. Where did all that come from. Need to lose about 40 pounds. Oh Bother. Guess I better get off my butt and on my feet and get to some physical work. Have plenty of tree branches to move so there is the work now for the motivation. I spent Saturday at Brads helping with the room for Lucas and the Bathroom he is redoing. We got the floor put done fully, some electric, run the door wall studs up, and the room division studs up. I am kind of slow any more. Guess I will post this and quit rambling on. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. Radio station set up mostly and working great and now just need to study the PSK 31 and get moving on that. I can run about 700 watts out according to the Swan WM 3000 peak reading wattmeter. So can't ask for much more. With new tubes in both the exciter and amp I may get the full 1220 out but that is never needed so will not worry unless one or the other go real low. Still have one Swan 500C not pictured maybe for parts and a Swan ST-1 antenna tuner not on the bench but don't need an antenna tuner with the Swan gear so not sure why I bought it. Guess I thought I needed it at the time. Worked on the Copal 24hour green lighted flip number clock and got it all cleaned, light fixed and running again. You can see it in the picture on the right. If you don't know it is 2121 GMT which is 1521 local or 3:15 CST time. GMT is minus 6 hours for our time. Now let see there is also Zulu so aw what the heck I give up. 20 Meters has really opened up for me so that is fun as long as it lasts. Have been hearing some Sweden stations but unable to get through some of the pile ups. Now need to get rid of the computer noise in the radio audio. Mom has been down and feeling bad all week with a headache and tiredness so we are going to the doctor Monday to see if they can tell us anything. Then I want to go to the pharmacist and ask about all her meds and if they will cause the problems she is having. Sure hope to figure it out. Went to enroll for dance class again and found out the refresher and advance class just finished and the beginners was already full so had them put us on a call list should anyone cancel. Oh Bother. The first of the week I found the ARMS Amateur Radio Missionary Service Christian fellowship Net and may listen in there. It seems to be a fun net with Christian people and great fellowship and I sure can use the Lords help and the fellowship support. Also caught up with the Swan group that gets on daily. Went to a meeting of the Carroll County chapter ARES Amateur Radio Emergency Service but not sure if that is for me or not, will just keep checking to make sure. I did find the computer noise in the radios and it is the monitor power supply. Must have something loose inside because if I squeeze it the noise goes away and if you get it right it stays away for some time. It does come back so need a new one. Radios have been going strong for forty years or more and this supply is a year old, How does that work. Have received several QSO cards from some hams and that is fun. We went to Brads on Friday and I helped him some with the bedroom/bathroom he is converting and wow when did I get so old? Oh Bother. We got a floor laid in place and some figuring done and that was it. I took the big girls to there pep band and then we took the rest of the kids out to eat along with a friend of Faiths while Brad and Heather had a date night. I then picked up the big girls and after Brad and all returned we went home. Mom was up all day and that sure was fun as she took care of Lucas while we were working and that sure helped us do more than we could have. Checked into the Fellowship net again and was rather awesome. Most all the readings were from books and verses that dealt with being happy or happiness and that really struck me since we were from all over America and had selected the chapters and verses before the net. WOW God is really at work always. I did take the power supply for the monitor out to take to Radio Shack for a universal and as I got it out noticed one of the feet had fallen of and there was screw under it. Took it apart found some loose copper tape for shielding and cleaned that up and wrapped it all in aluminum foil and it works like a top. Saved a few bucks and no radio noise. I did not realize some of them you could take apart as most are in molded plastic. YAY I did it!!!! Maybe I still have a little ability. Guess I better quit rambling on and on get moving here. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. As the picture indicates the station is now started with the radio and amp set up and the work continues for the PSK 31 business. Lots of fitting and putting everything in order but have a good start anyhow. It is working great so far. The antenna is almost straight and is working very well yet but will need to lay it down on the roof and take a small amount of warp out. Checked into the Swan net Sunday last and it was good but the band faded just after it started so not much for contacts. Got the peak power wattmeter working and it is great for Single Sideband as it reads full power. Monday I went to brads to help with his truck as it would not start after it was hot. We fixed it by putting in a module in the distributor someone told him does that and replaced the cap and rotor. Worked good so we went to Fort Dodge to pick up some lumber to work on his bathroom and bedroom project. Tuesday got busy on the taxes again and sure enjoy that, NOT. Got some food in town and grilled a T-Bone for supper and boy was that good. Wednesday saw me working some more on the taxes and the ice storm hit us and what a mess. Trees and limbs down all over the yard and over 1/2 inch of ice and my ham antenna broke off and is on the roof. It appears like just the mast is broken and not any of the traps and coils and such so I can hope and pray that is right. Got the radio going fair and it is stable after warm up and have worked it up to 500 watts out with the amp so it is doing good. The vertical is still connected and seems to work fair in the upside down sort of V shape so that is good. Thursday found us with many trees and limbs down in the yard and on the fence so will have much work in the spring. I cleared all the Ice off the van and pickup and got them thawed out so we can move if we need to. Went to the tax appointment on Friday but the electric there was off so will need to reschedule. Thursday Brad, Heather and kids came over to spend the night as there power was off and then they stayed Friday and Friday night also. We watched movies and pigged out and had fun. So many people are without power I fell almost guilty we have it. We did lose it for 2 hours Friday night but it came back on so we are sure blessed. We have many more trees down with brush everywhere. Mother nature and the good Lord are pruning out the deadwood. Still no power in Sac City so the kids stayed Friday night also. Saturday found me on the roof working on the vertical and Brad helped there since they were still there, and that was a great help and the antenna is back like original with jus a wavy look. We could not get all the pieces warped back perfectly straight but it works great. The kids then helped out some friends and then went home Saturday night and the power was back on and they had no problems at home so all was great. We had a great sleep over and down time and it was fun. The worst of the storm is done it appears but we have sure lost many trees and branches and will be cleaning up for a long time. Compared to others and Haiti we are truly blessed and give thanks for that. With the ice storm and loss of electric our tax consultant was closed so will need to see her today to get that made up and done. What a week this has been but we are fine and the radios are running and we have our health so all is good. Better post this and get moving so God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. After my post last Sunday I fired up the Swans and checked into the Swan net. Vertical was still leaned over from the Ice but worked well and heard many old friends on the air. It was a great time and hope to do it more than I have been of late. I may even get working on the old 240 and get it up and running again. That would be great as it is the one Mema/Mom bought me as a surprise in 1965 and my very first commercial radio. It is an amazing tri band radio from the Swan Corporation. Am going full speed on the taxes to get them out of the way and hope this is the last year of the real hard ones since I opted to have the early retirement etc paid to me instead of the 403b and such so some CEO can lose that money. You eventually will pay taxes on it so I just pay them now, be done, and don't let the investment guru/CEO's lose it all for me. Yaw Yaw I will never be rich money wise but am okay with that and am really rich in the things that count, Like family, love etc. and I have been truly blessed there. Mema/Mom slipped in the tub the other night and pulled her back again and is really in pain. Been using a small massager and the chair heat and massage pad but not helping much yet. It just seemed to be getting some better before also. Oh Bummers. Fired up the Ham set on Wednesday for the disaster traffic from Haiti and got into the S.A.T.E.R.N. net, ( Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network ) but did not get any emergency traffic. May just have to check into getting my MARS ( Military Affiliate Radio System ) ticket again. My old call was AK1KB from Alaska in the middle 60's. This is what ham radio is all about. It is a bit early yet for that traffic but want to help if I can. The overpowering traffic will start when the disaster teams arrive and need communications. Hope I can Serve in this time of disaster. I did apply for the MARS ticket but that will be some time before I know about that. Brad and family came over Friday night for supper and mom made a bake she used to make and it was great. She also baked a cherry crisp from the old days and that was great and then we played cranium all night with all but the 2 little kids and it was so fun and Mel spent the night with us after everyone left about 12 midnight and then Her an Mema stayed up till about 6 am Saturday talking and such. Saturday found some traffic on the emergency nets and some communications started but there is no need for me in Iowa so far so that is a good sign for here. Got the Swan 350D up and running and put the Swan 1200W Cygnet linear Amp on line and reset much in the shack. The linear needs new finals it appears but is working well at reduced power. Have started the work on getting into PSK 31 to see if I can make my old analog radios work with that. That is pulse shift keying and has been around for some time but is rather exciting. It will use the sound card on the computer to work and print to the screen. Got a new keyboard and mouse for the computer as all keys were wore off and working funny. It is wireless and so far works good. Well I better post and see what is going on with the radio and other things. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

Its Sunday Morning and once again here is Lew. What a cold week this has been and as the thermometer shows on Tuesday 5 Jan 2010 it was 24 below zero. Not sure that is accurate but after 0 Degrees it does not make much difference what the temp is you better bundle up. The pickup gave me some headaches as it did not start for a couple days. I discovered it was flooded so put the gas to the floor and it goes into flood mode and cuts off the fuel to the injectors clears itself and starts right up. Go figure. The question is why did it flood, it is fuel injected and computer controlled. Oh wait, Computer, now I understand. The big van and mini van have been okay so far, knocks on wood. The Ranger ran rough and kept lighting the check engine light and would die at all stops for about the first 40 miles after this problem. The computer needed to learn how to work again or the heat and injector cleaner were cleaning and getting rid of water in the gas. Either way it is running great again. My ham antenna is some better but still leaned over and much Ice on it so may have to go straighten it after it warms up enough for the Ice to leave. Had to add some water to the pond on Tuesday as it was getting low, but the fish are fine and the pump still going. There is a little larger opening for the gases to escape but it is still very covered with snow on the pump pit and waterfall. Wednesday left me cleaning desk and doing bills and running to town for supplies and things before the bad storm hits that evening and Thursday. Thursday was cold with much wind and snow and it appears the snow fence we put up made a difference as the drive was not as full of snow and the wind kept it up all day and into the evening. Got Homestead site builder back for mom/Mema and transferred one of her pages to her sign in so they are all together for her. It was a pain as we had not done much there for ages and needed to add some stuff to the browser and all. Hi All, $.02 ( I just had to put in my 2cents =Mema tee-Hee) AT any rate now will help set up her domain and will have it ready for her to work some more on it. It is a little to much to do for me but Mom/Mema likes it so that is all that matters. Friday left us with more wind and blowing snow and yes the fence helped and the wind finally let up in the evening and the drive is clear and went to town. Saturday dawned at about 18 degrees below zero but with sunshine so the day was very pretty. The pond is completely covered with snow again so needed to open another hole for fishes. I walked around and got some pictures and will post some I took for January 2010 and then some later if it gets worse. It sure has been an early start to the winter here. Just had a chat with Barb but that is all that was there. She said Elaine was online but away but she did not show up in my messenger. May use the old one next week to see if she is there. Guess I better get this posted and get moving. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.

As you see my background for 2010 is our Orcutt / Urquhart Scottish clan Coat of arms. The Journal follows the coat of arms and the Clan Crest Badge description. Enjoy.

The Orcutt Coat of Arms illustrated above was drawn by an heraldic artist from information officially recorded in ancient heraldic archives. Documentation for the Orcutt Coat Of Arms design can be found in Moncreffe and Pottinger's Scotland of old. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe an individual Coat Of Arms. In their language, the Arms ( shield ) is as follows:

Family mottos are believed to have originated as battle cries in medieval times. The Motto recorded with the Orcutt Coat of Arms is:

Individual surnames originated for the purpose of more specific identification. The four primary sources for second names were: occupation, location, fathers name and personal characteristics. The surname Orcutt appears to be locational in origin, and is believed to be associated with the English meaning, " dweller at, or near the slope or incline. " The supplementary sheet included later is designed to give you more information to further your understanding of the origin of names. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations. The most prominent variations of Orcutt are Ocut, Orcut, Orchute, Orcute and Orcutts.

Census records available disclose the fact there are approximately 1100 heads of households in the United States with the old and distinguished Orcutt name. The United States Census Bureau estimates there are approximately 3.2 persons per household in America today, which yields and approximate total of 3520 people in the United States carrying the Orcutt name. Although the figure seems relatively low, it does not signify the many important contributions the individuals bearing the Orcutt name have made to history.

No genealogical representation is intended or implied by this report and it does not represent individual lineage or your family tree

All Clansmen are entitled to wear this distinctive insignia which consists of a lady from the waist upward issuing from a crest coronet and brandishing in her right hand a sword and in her left hand a palm sapling, encircled by a strap and a buckle bearing the motto, "Meane Weil, Speak Weil, and Doe Weil." The clan crest badge identifies those who use it as members of Clan Urquhart and signifies their loyalty to the Urquhart, Chief of the the Clan, whose crest and motto are embodied in the badge.

Its Sunday morning and once again here is Lew. Its the start of a new year and the winter has hit us hard. Have been shoveling and snow blowing almost daily since Christmas because of more snow or blowing snow. I had to clear the drive Sunday last after my post and then on Monday again to get the garbage out. All in all I cleared the drive twice on Thursday last, twice on Friday last, once on Saturday last and then the once on Sunday last after the post and again once on Monday. Wow and Wow!!!!! Now it is time to start worrying about the taxes and gathering that information. Oh Bother. Sent off the first payment for the skirting at the rental place and had more to get going with the renters. I think raising children is easier than renters. Come on they are in there fifties for crying out loud and we need to check if they, filled the gas tank, paid the water, got the rent money, give me a break. On Tuesday tried to get the big Ford van out to completely clean the drift by the garage and the engine was blown completely full of snow. After starting it I let it set to warm up and get the snow out and to melt enough so the heater fan would run. It was about 8 below zero at that time. I love this weather. I drove it to town to help melt all the snow in the engine compartment. Did get it all cleared from the van and then got the Bobcat with snow blower we have for the city and cleared out the 9 foot tall 20 feet wide and 30 feet long drift in front of the double garage. Weather man said another 3 to 5 inches on Wednesday with wind and very cold temps but we woke Wednesday with it looking like snow and just a few minor flurries. Picked up some steel posts from machine shed to see about putting up some snow fence to stop the drifts in the drive. I'm thinking the ground is to froze but the neighbor said no. Looked for the swan net but did not hear anyone for the Wednesday Net and the band had no one else on either. Did get some of the posts driven in the ground on Wednesday but no fence up then. Thursday dawned at 2 below and was a real clear crisp morning for the News Years eve day and the beginning of the new year with the same on Friday, New Years day. Got a serious start on the income taxes on New Years day as they are a pain this year but should get done on time. Why is it I always plan on keeping them currant throughout the year but never do as it would be so much easier. Saturday dawned at 10 below zero and was a crisp morning and the tax work continued. Mom was pretty sick Friday so hope that passes soon but was feeling good on Saturday. We went to Brads on Saturday and had our Christmas brunch finally and Heather made a baked dish with all kinds of stuff in it along with some cut up fruits and some cheese bread and it was very good. I ate too much again. On the way up there we seen a bald Eagle and was that amazing to see. We tried to get a picture but did not get a close one of it. My ham antenna has lost some ice and is some straighter but may have to get on the roof to fix it when the weather is better. I guess I better quit jabbering and get this posted. God Bless Be Good Love Papa, Dad, Brother, Cousin, Uncle and all Lew.