Discone Antenna Install and Built a Bed - Wednesday

over 3 years ago

Had to go to town before noon to get our prints done and while there in the entrance area of the public safety building they have some of the old police gear on display. The thing that really caught my attention was this monster old police radio. It has a sign that says, "First Police Radio - 1933" and it seems it was transmit only. If the tx side was this big the rx side would likely have had o be as big so that was why it was tx only.

Once home from town I got started on the antenna install. I got it fixed to the top of the small top mast and all the radial tightened down with a wrench and pliers.

I got up on the roof and had to drill a couple of holes on the top of the mid-mast to attach the top. It was a bit unwieldy but I managed to get it attached solidly.

I hauled up the short section of ladder, the part with the feet, and used that to climb on which made the whole process safer than climbing on the chimney. I found that once I attached the top mast I needed to still put the cap on the mid but the top was now in the way.

A quick zip on the bandsaw and the notch was cut.

Back atop the house the cap fit perfectly around the top mast and still covers the main part of the 4" tube mid-mast.

After raising the mi-mast and locking it in place I ran the wire from the antenna down and around the house and poked it through the cable hole in the wall by my computer. The top of the antenna sits about 45 feet above the ground now.

Next project was to get R's new mattress unpackaged and let it breath. The boys were both all kinds of excited for it.

With the mattress breathing I went to the studio and cut the various pieces of 2x6 that I needed to build the bed frame. It's super handy to have the space available to do it now with the insulation out of the way.

The pieces all cut and hauled down to the deck as staging I took apart the crib. This thing went through both boys and 7 years and it amazingly still in pretty good condition considering. Hopefully we can give it to someone in need of one.

With the crib out of the way I started screwing together the frame. On hte inside of the frame I have pieces attached to hold the plywood on each side and one runner in the middle.

The legs got attached and the frame slid into place.

I have it so that there is 24 inches of space beneath the side rail so that 2 stacked crates will slide under.

Both boys were super excited the whole time I built it.

The plywood got ripped to size and squeezed into the frame and then the mattress atop it. R was instantly bouncing on it. I need to still make his ladder but for now he has a stool to use to get on and off the bed easier.

I managed to get my SDR working after finding the correct driver to install. I started up SDR Sharp and Cubic SDR and both worked with it. I am only using the little antennas that came with the SDR but I will be getting a connector so I can use my discone antenna I just installed with the SDR. Even with the small antennas I am still able to pick up a ton of different frequencies. This is one radio station, 103.9 fm.

With my ham radio now connected to the discone I listened in to a couple of nets on a pair of the local repeaters. The signal was crystal clear and the antenna made a huge difference in the clarity.

One project that I am going to be working on now is a coaxial switch. I have one antenna but 3 devices that can all use it. The CB, ham radio, and SDR. Each takes a different attachment and I don't want to have to unplug the wires constantly so I want to make a switch box that will allow me to switch between devices using the antenna. Since the discone can cover the range of the SDR it should work much better. I would like to be able to reach some satellites if possible.

Today is the big day, we get our FREEZEDRYER!!!!! Sometime this morning Fedex should be stopping by to drop it off. I need to install the 20a 120v outlet in the kitchen on the open line. We are trying to decide what to do first but I have a feeling the thing will be running pretty constantly for quite a while. I need to source mylar bags and air absorbers which Uline has available for an okay price in quantity.

I need to build R's ladder for his bed which will be pretty easy, I just need to do it.

Play Rabona the new soccer manager game on Hive!

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Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
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