TubaOrNotTuba

The wait was long; at something over eight weeks I could have ordered puppies for myself and the next First Family and had delivery of the colour of my choice, complete with open eyes. Instead, the card from the postoffice allowed me to retrieve a cardboard box that was taller than the clerk who wrestled it from the back room and took my electronic signature. Home, where an evening of precise mechanical assembly awaited.

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The simple act of constructing an electronic project is, simply enough, satisfying. Forget the next step, wherein a project is tested for smoke content and flashes of light (especially in devices that have no reason to shine). That will come, perhaps in a few days. For the moment at hand, I’m going to provide tender loving care to the new burns on my fingertips, let the fumes of solder flux evaporate from my lungs and look back on this evening as “fun for just a few dollars less than factory built”.

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Although my new antenna is still growing in the field down in Mississippi, the rest of my station is taking form. Yesterday I realized that certain cables were missing, so with a good night’s rest, I emptied my mail bag of assorted wires and connectors. Within minutes I had located a wallwart, a proper serial cable and some other odds and ends. Let the setup begin.

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Evolving technology is necessary, and without the growth in capacity our Internet experience would be impossible, but some things just leave me feeling nostalgic. This afternoon, while trying to resurrect an older RS-232 device, I decided to make things easy by dropping into a local electronic store and picking up a “modem cable”. Some things just aren’t available (as in for sale) any more.

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Ever since I was a young boy (no, this is not about the Who), I’ve dreamed of having the ultimate adaptor set. One where I could plug my Philips EL-3302 cassette recorder into the record player or the radio and make perfect mix tapes. Through the years, my dream became less and less of a possibility, as the “industry” continued to develop new plugs and jacks with a speed that left me by the roadside. It’s got to the point where plugging anything into anything requires research skills (and a budget) once reserved for major military projects.

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Interpersonal communications; we’ve come along way from “hollerin’ across the holler”. Much of it is taken for granted. After all, the telephone might ring a dozen times during the suppertime period (not for me; I have children). Call display helps in confirming the anonymity of the cell user and the telemarketer. Hey, maybe they’re one and the same – food for thought while my plate grows colder. And yes, I’ve signed the Do Not Call list.

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Almost as if I’d had word from down the road that snow is imminent (actually, I did) there’s been a frenzy of activity around here since the start of the weekend. My winter tires are now installed. I know, it’s early, but with the passage of a law that makes them compulsory for everyone in the province, we’ve been warned to expect lineups and shortages. Makes me think of gasoline. Anyhow, the job is done before the first real slippery stretch appears.

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Even we “hue-challenged” people enjoy fall colours, and I’m back after an afternoon in the hills. Due to a shortfall in my planning, we may have travelled further afield than expected, but I can tell you that the section of the Eastern Townships we visited was glorious; hilly, serpentine and clothed in reds, greens, yellows and mixtures of all. Fall rocks!

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With a beautiful afternoon in view, I rustled up the help and headed out to the ranch. A good opportunity to lay a counterpoise. A lost art, some might declare, but for those who wish to contact the “outside world” with a multiband vertical antenna, the ground plane is necessary. With the lead (three to four long anxious weeks) time before the actual delivery of my Hy-Gain DX-88, I’ve been busy.

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Thankfully, I watch the world around me, because there are so many things that we weren’t taught in school but that, eventually, need to be mastered. I mean, I could probably “do” open-heart surgery, or shoot a crossbow, or shingle a roof if needed. I have watched a lot of educational television over the years. There are other, better trained individuals out there, so I probably won’t be waging medieval warfare in an operating theatre with a leaky roof near you any time soon. Other jobs do pop up from time to time, and I’m ready to try my hand.

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