[SixClub] Payback and an update...sort of.

[Roger (K8RI)]

Man, call it payback in spades!

It's into the second week of May, nada on six today, (so far...think 
positive), they had winter storm advisories out last night and today 
just 40 miles North of us. It's frozen 3 nights out of the last week, 
and tonight might make it into the 20's.  All this for the last 6  
months that were mostly well above average and only a couple weeks that 
were average or below. None were far below except for this past week. 
Tonight would be at least 13 degrees below normal and the forecast is 
for the next 5 days to be below normal, but only one is 10 below with 
the other 4 just a few degrees off.

It certainly has quieted 40 down, but the disturbed conditions are still 
keeping the skip short while for most of the winter 40 at night was like 
20 used to be at the sun spot cycle peak during the day.

Although I did get to listen to a couple of the openings on six this 
past week, I didn't work any one as I had a number of rather pressing 
jobs to try and finish. The tribander is setting on a pair of sawhorses 
in the back yard...which badly needs mowing.  I gotta sharpen those 
blades as it mostly bends the dandelions over while cutting the grass 
around them which really makes them stand out. This is the time of year 
for mowing the yard 3 times a week.

I've repaired the boom and the tribander is back together with the 
exception of about 6 1/4" holes to drill through the boom and to mount 
the mast clamp.  The rest of the 25G is ready to go up at the West end 
of the shop, but I'm waiting for a GA25GD guy bracket to go on the top 
section.

The antenna work is working towards the finish line and the 6-meter 
antenna is going to get the place of prominence it deserves.  It will 
still be at 115' but it will now be "The king of the hill" although it 
may look a bit small setting 15 feet above a 3L 40M3-125 M^2 40 meter 
antenna. The 144 and 440 arrays will no longer be at the top of the 
mast, but may be mounted on a cross boom with a ring rotator far enough 
below the top so they will clear the guys. (That may not happen for a 
while...maybe quite a while)  The tribander is being demoted, or put at 
a more reasonable height for 20 through 10 at 50' on a 25G, but it's 
getting it's own tower, a shorter version of which is holding the 
AV-640, so I hope it is happy and doesn't go on strike.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the AV640, or where to put it up, 
but it will be my sole means of getting on the WARC bands. It'll also 
make a good back up to the 3L 40 (linear loaded Yagi) which I picked up 
used at a good price.  It works surprisingly well on six, although it 
can't hold a candle to the big Yagi.

I've managed to get about 5 or 6 locals interested in six, although what 
they will put up, or how active they will be, I don't know.

But, it looks like I'm going to get some competition. Our club president 
who just retired is moving into the area about a 1/4 mile from me and we 
both run QRO.  I gotta get the old Alpha, Henry, and Hallicrafters 
tested out, which I should have finished up months ago and use the money 
from them to get a new 6-meter amp. The majority of my equipment is old 
or used but my HF amp is new and I'd like to get the matching 6-meter 
version...if I can sell off enough *stuff*.  Unfortunately  I have to 
sell a lot of old stuff for each piece of new stuff and although my wife 
may think differently, the pile of "old stuff" is not bottomless. <:-)) 
OTOH it is helping me clean out the shop although, you'd never know it 
from a quick look. <:-))

73

Roger (K8RI)