[GreenKeys] Radio up and working... Question...

[Brooke Clarke]

Hi Ralph:

There's a related way to drill a hole in the ground I've used many times.  A 
length of iron pipe has the "bit" end flattened leaving a narrow slit nozzle 
for water to escape.  Common pipe fittings on the top end to attach to a garden 
hose.  A shutoff valve is handy at the top.  My mother bought one of these a 
few decades ago for making holes for plants and later I made my own.

You just turn on the water full blast and gently rotate back and forth and it 
sinks down into the ground.  If there's a rock you can hammer it into pieces 
small enough to wash up to the surface.  The one my mother bought had hardened 
metal at the bit, but I didn't have a problem with plain iron pipe.

There are do it yourself well drilling rigs based on this principle.

Have Fun,

Brooke Clarke, N6GCE
http://www.prc68.com

Ralph Mowery wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Robert House" <packard42 at gmail.com>
> To: <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 12:04 AM
> Subject: [GreenKeys] Radio up and working... Question...
> 
> 
>> I have my URC-35B working as a receiver only at this point.  I still
>> have much work ahead of me before I can transmit.
>> With the winter approaching I put up an 18 foot vertical with 33 foot
>> radials.  I also pounded a 10 foot ground rod into the back yard with
>> my trusty 8 pound sledgehammer.
>> I had to take many breaks because my 66 plus year old body does not
>> work like it used to.  Out there in my parka with a stiff wind
>> blowing.  It was not like this in Fallbrook, California!
>>
>> I am able to receive pretty well across the bands albeit with much
>> noise.  I seem to have lost my list of frequencies to look for RTTY
>> signals.
>>
>> Could one of you please post the list again.  I would appreciate it
>> very much.  Now back to my drawing board.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Don
>> K9TTY
>>
> Not that it will help you now Don, but it may help others.
> In some soils if you dig out a small hole about the size of a quart jar 
> and fill it with water , then take the ground rod and push it in the 
> hole and keep pushing it down and pulling it back out about 6 inches or 
> so at a time , the rod will go right down.  I put in 3 ground rods this 
> way and each one only took about 10 minuets or less.  When the water 
> goes out of the hole, you pull the rod out and refill the hole.  I had 
> to do this twice for each rod.  Probably did not use a gallon of water 
> for each rod.  I got smart on the last one and used a pair of vicegrips 
> to get a better hold of the rod. Be sure to wear gloves.
> Sometimes the first foot is hard to get started, but after that it goes 
> very fast.
> 
> Not sure of where the commercial stuff is if any, but hams are usually 
> found from 14.080 to  14.100.  Also go to the arrl.org site and look for 
> the rtty bulletins frequency and times.
> 
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