Silver Bloggers

Antenna Down

_{Some goodies just got in recently to start the build.}

Got the old redneck engineered radio antenna down. The one elevated with galvanized steel pipes that my youngest son and I put up a couple years ago when I wasn't feeling well. It served its purpose. But it was time to do it right. While I was at it, took down the remainder of an old satellite TV dish on the roof. That thing had been there when we moved in. Just been putting it off. Finally got it done.

My youngest came over to help me take down the old radio antenna. When we were lowering it, he was at the base. I walked it toward the top as we lowered it down. Then the bottom section flipped up from the ground. Caught him right in the family jewels. I couldn't stop laughing. He didn't find it as funny. Anyway, after he recovered, we removed the cabling and antenna from the steel pipe mast.

The next day I cut the pipe apart and removed the satellite dish pieces from the roof. Boy was it hot up there. Could barely stand it. Had no business climbing a ladder doing that stuff. But I felt good yesterday and might as well do it while feeling up to it. You learn to take advantage of the good days when they come.

Now the next step is to get some sealant around the cable pass through hole to the basement. I ran a piece of PVC pipe through the hole. So now I need to seal around that with some silicone and spray foam. Once the cabling is run, I'll use plumber's putty over the openings of the pipe. It's moldable and reusable. Keeps bugs and weather out.

Wife is going out of town for a couple days. Think I'll wait to work on putting up the new antenna until she returns. While she's gone, I'll do a big push on the garage and shed cleanup. I think one or two days of really digging in will go a long way. Good days. Bad days. You work with what you've got.

What project are you making progress on?

Thanks for reading, Joe

_{Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using Linux photo editor and drawing and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.}

Comments · 9

@riverflows(82)· 6d

Caught him right in the family jewels. I couldn't stop laughing

I mean, what is it with people laughing at others is fortune? 😂😂😂😂
@gooddream(84)· 8d
It's funny how these things used to be on basically everyone's house. As a child I visited my granparents' farm and they had a massive monstrosity on top of their house that had a motor attached to it in order to rotate it in certain directions to better get some channels over others. This was in the 80's. Cable was something that not many people had and it definitely wouldn't have been available in rural farmland. I can only presume they are all on fiber-optic streaming services now. It's probably required.
@thekittygirl(74)· 13d
If I ever knew you were an amateur radio operator, I had forgotten it. You probably have a nice collection of QSL Cards from all over the world, don't you? That might make a good Hive post sometime, to show a few of the best cards and tell some stories about the people you "met" on the airwaves! And did you meet any of them IRL? Attend any conventions? There might be lots of good fodder for posts!🙂
I knew a young man years ago that was very into the amateur radio thing. He had a nice base station at his house. But, he fretted when he was away from his radio, so he bought a portable one, similar to a walkie talkie he could wear in a holster on his belt. He was active in an "emergency response" network that helped people communicate during/after severe weather events (when power was out, landlines were down in those pre-cellphone times, etc.) which was very cool. ✌️

^!PIMP
@tengolotodo(78)· 15d
Ouch the family jewels made me wince 🤣 We have just moved house and have boxes all over the fluffing place! Great progress you are making Joe.
@new.things(77)· 15d
How high is this radio antenna of yours, I am picturing something really big or is that a thing of the past. project wise I am halfway through quite a few things, just as usual!
@nancybriti1(75)· 15d
You're so active it makes me feel sorry for my own laziness! It's best to wait until your wife gets back because working alone can be risky. I'm really excited because this is my last week of work and I'm going on vacation. I want to rest. Maybe I'll tidy up the library, paint the house, or something easy, but only after I've rested. hahaha. Greetings to you, my friend.
@sunscape(75)· 16d
Wow, that's a big job. Glad your son is helping you.
@bozz(83)· 16d
I'm not making progress on much of anything right now. It's back to school time, so all of my attention is focused on that!
@erikah(83)· 16d
Go Joe! You can do it!

What project are you making progress on?

I'm involved in sewing a skirt, the first one in my fashion career (as Nigerians say, who's sewing dresses for neighbors 🙊) I hope to finish it tomorrow, then there will be a post.