Now for another edition of Ham Radio Saturday.
I created a page for the List of YOUR callsigns. HERE Chime in or drop me a note if your call doesn’t appear in the list.
I’ve been really busy lately, so I haven’t been able to do much radio stuff. There is good news about the radio shack, however. We have a date for clearing out the room where the station will be. That’s a step in the right direction.
Today, however, I went to a local tavern (my kind of place… reminded me a little of my first cooking job) where there is a regular Saturday meeting of hams. It was a nice group of people, which has been my overall experience of hams.
During the meeting, a couple of the people had brought things for show and tell. One of the things was 19th century book, about engineering windmills. In the book there was an amusing bit which was pointed out to me about a Catholic angle on who owns the wind!
“At the end of the fourteenth century, the monks of the celebrated but long since destroyed monastery of Augustines at Windsheim, in the province of Oversyssel, were delirious of erecting a windmill not far from Zwoll; but a neighboring lord endeavored to prevent them, declaring that the wind in the district belonged to him.
The monks, unwilling to give up their point, had recourse to the Bishop of Utrecht, under whose jurisdiction the province had continued since the tenth century. The bishop, highly incensed against the pretender who wished to usurp his authority, affirmed that the wind of the whole province belonged to him only, and in 1391 gave the convent express permission to build a windmill wherever they thought proper.” (From The Windmill As A Prime Mover by Alfred R. Wolfe, 1980, p. 50)
Another thing that was brought for show and tell was a cool little Chinese box for SDR, software defined radio. More about that at another time.
There was a good deal of radio talk. I understood about 10% of it, understood something of about 30% of it, and pretty much nothing about the rest. They were into the arcana of radio things like tubes… referring to numbers and models that seemed like entirely normal language to them. Anyway, it was interesting to clam up and listen to these people with decades and decades of experience.
I then went for lunch with two of the participants (who are parishioners and future members of the parish’s Statio Radiophonica) to a new Chinese place that has opened up near where I live, along side a Chinese grocery. I have been pretty disappointed in the Chinese food here in town, so I was eager to try this place. Going there will a couple more people provided an opportunity to try more dishes.
Here are a few shots, which I consider germane to a post on Ham Radio activities.
Eggplant in garlic.
San bei ji.
The shredded pork in garlic sauce was outstanding. There were a couple flavors in it that we couldn’t make out, but were enticing.
Great dumplings.
Really great spring rolls.
The light was filtering through Venetian blinds, but you get the idea.
I am delighted about this development.
