Weekly vlog installments over at you-know-where. Five so far, all in the 15 minute range.
They're maybe halfway through, and already the weather's hot and buggy and the alligators are starting to perk up. Not me man, I'd be looking at depart-NLT-31Jan or push back to next year. Not that I have any such plans.
Re-Distilling Cheap Supermarket Scotch Whisky, six minutes of video.
This is one of those "goofy stuff you've kind of wondered about but were too busy to bother with" channels. It's a wonderful way of wasting a few minutes instead of your entire Saturday afternoon.
Good idea. Article at Atlas Obscura. In the process, he's reviving a distilling tradition that was stamped out by trade protectionism, two world wars, prohibition, and several other awful ideas from the start of the last century.
A while back – 3 years now, time files – I did a how-to talk for the ham club on "how to put together a small 12v solar power system for your ham shack or camp-out." I was going to post the hand-out here, but instead these links will tell you everything you need to know. Enjoy!
The best little article on small solar I’ve ever seen:
https://www.backwoodshome.com/installing-your-own-small-remote-off-grid-solar-system/
Another article from the same engineer, discussing safety and code requirements:
https://www.backwoodshome.com/solar-system-codes/
Finally, here’s a book covering a lot of this in somewhat more detail:
Tiny House Engineer’s Notebook, Vol. 1: Off Grid Power, by Chris Haynes
It has three very good example systems based on FLABs, all ready to go. Dig around, you can find it in bookstores or online.
ps, 2 days later: If I can throw in one more piece of advice, it's Do The Math. Calculate the amp-hours you'll really need each day and size your small solar power system accordingly.
The Patriarchs: An Elegy at the BBC.
While yes, it was written for the occasion of Prince Phillip's passing, it is more generally about his generation.
Back to the usual operating table (radio operating that is) along the High Bluff trail. The ionosphere was miserable today, with stateside stations wavering in and out over the course of a minute or two. A couple of European big-gun stations were booming in, but my QRP power level couldn't reach back. Zero contacts!
Still, it was a nice day in the woods. I parked at the west trailhead and hiked 3.5 miles east, just to get some trail time in with a reasonably full daypack, to learn how it carries. Pretty well, as it turns out. The bugs were out in force but not biting, likely due to an outer coating of sunscreen and and an inner coating of Monster drink. The day topped out at 82F. Summer's on the way, but not here yet.
Here, have a couple of pics.
