Day: July 3, 2015

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Finally, a Comfortable Place To Sit Outside

I’m been looking for outdoor furniture for Haven for ages, but it was only in the last month that I realised that I was looking for the wrong thing. I don’t like eating outside, so I don’t need a table and chairs. But I do like to lounge outside, especially after a long day indoors. So I needed some sort of lounger, preferably with shade. And it was at this point that I discovered patio swings and I knew that was exactly what I wanted for Haven.

Before buying new, I put an ad in the paper saying that I was looking for one and I got two responses! One was free, but didn’t have a canopy, which was a must. I did some research and couldn’t find the frame for a canopy, just new canopies as in the fabric bit only, so I knew this one would take work and money to get just right. But I didn’t turn it down.

The other one was $40 and had the canopy. I decided that I would get both so I’d have a place for a guest to sit (not that there is any socializing going on this summer; we’re all busy!) and I could also have spare parts.

A neighbour said he would help me pick them up, but he’s been super busy. The lady with the free one said there’s no rush, but the $40 had to be gone by this weekend. So I asked the seller if he thought it could be taken apart and put in my truck. He took some measurements and called back to say that he was pretty sure it could. We planned for me to drive to his property today. It is about as far northwest of Assiniboia as I am southeast.

I left early so I could hit the bank, the bottle/can return place, a restaurant for linner, the grocery store (I’d brought a cooler and ice), and the gas station for propane. I then had a really nice drive out among the rolling hills of canola, except for some really bad construction that made me take a detour on a very long gravel road for the trip home. SK gravel roads tend to be in better shape than the paved ones!

The swing wound up being exactly what I wanted, colour and all! The canopy is really ratty, so I will bring it to Mexico with me and see about having a new one made. The cushions are faded, but otherwise in good shape.

The seller, his wife, and I dismantled the whole thing. I got bitten by a spider for my troubles!!! I also got stung by a wasp his morning, so I have a swollen and sore right wrist and a swollen and sore left index finger. I’m glad I don’t have any typing for this weekend!

After a bit of trial and error, we finally got the swing more or less into my truck:

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The seller got some rope and made sure the hatch was tied up securely. Then, I paid and I had an extra $5 on me, so I gave it to him as a token gesture for the extra trouble

When I got home, I unloaded it on my own since the individual pieces weren’t heavy, not even the bench.

A neighbour heard me hammering the top piece into the sides (it wasn’t even 8PM yet so I really don’t think I was doing anything rude) and came over to see what was going on. I was just at the point of putting on the bench and canopy and was glad for the extra hands.

Ta-dah!

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I’m not sure if it will stay there, but it’s not heavy so I can move it until I’m happy with the position. I promptly collapsed on it lengthwise (adding a pillow to the side to hold my back) with a cold beer and my iPad for almost an hour. Mosquitoes notwithstanding (mosquitoes, really, here, in dry country!), it was just so lovely and peaceful. The cushions are super comfy!

The first summer at Haven, I just camped here. But now, with all these little luxuries coming in, it’s starting to feel like I’m building something permanent.

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Antenna Day

Today was the day to mount my booster antenna onto a 20′ foot pole and get the pole mounted to the cabin. The goal of this was to improve my signal stability, get my antenna off my neighbour’s property, and get the antenna cable off the ground.

Croft and I have been working on this project for a bit and I really owe him a bottle of good Scotch! He’s helped me work through all the steps and solve issues, like the fact that I couldn’t actually wrangle a top heavy 20′ pole and get it vertical!

It was a lot of hard physical work, mostly while balancing on a ladder, but I got it done!

For the pole, I used the two 10′ sections of chain link fence top railing. This was perfect because the pieces are meant to fit into each other, making for a 20′ foot pole that I could actually fit in my truck!

So here it is:

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Croft suggested I secure the pole in the ground with cement, but that was too permanent with impending construction, so I dug a hole and then wedged the pole in between a bunch of rocks. It’s secure!

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To get the pole vertical, I laid the two pieces on the ground, with the antenna end against the building. I then slotted the two pieces together and secured them somewhat with duct tape to keep them from separating:

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Croft suggested I secure a rope to the pole, climb the ladder, and then use the rope to pull up the pole until I could grab it. What worked better for me was to lift the pole as high as I could and lean it against the building, climb up, grab the pole, and then very, very, very careful ease it up. It was very top heavy and it wouldn’t have taken much for it to pull me off the ladder so I was extra cautious!

I had already secured a block of wood to the eave to bring it flush with the roof, so once the pole was almost vertical, but still angled enough to stay in place on its own, I quickly secured the top with strapping.  Croft had also suggested a U-shaped clamp to secure the top of the pole to the eave, but the home stores in town didn’t have the right size. One clerk suggested I use flexible plumbing strapping. Croft thought it would be too flexible for the job, but I believed that it could be molded to provide a much tighter fit. Hate to say it, but I was right. 🙂 The pipe is completely immobile. For this step, I just secured the banding loosely to hold the pipe while I adjusted the antenna’s direction, and then I went back up with several more screws to get the tight fit.

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After doing the preliminary securing at the eave, I went back to the ground and gently pushed the pole up so I could get it into the hole and secure it with the rocks.

Croft also advised me to secure the wire to the pole to take a load off the connector. So I gathered up all the loose cable and secured it with a zip tie and then secured the bundle to the cable with another zip tie.

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Finally, how did I mount the Yagi to the pole? As it turned out, I had what I needed, I just didn’t know it! I’ve been using a U-shaped bolt and a clamp with teeth to secure it to the broom handle I’ve been using for years, but that didn’t give me enough grip for mounting onto a metal pole. Well, I found another clamp with teeth while I was emptying out the junk drawer the other day! I forgot to take a picture while the pole was on the ground, but my camera’s zoom is amazing:

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(Here’s another view of the materials, but there’s only one clamp with teeth. I wound up with two since I had to buy several antennas to get one that worked well.)

My signal strength is now going between -83 and -88 when I was getting between -87 and -110 before (usually sitting at -95). Before doing all the final securing, I tested a download, ie. some critical system updates. I went from an estimated download time of +4 hours with the download timing out every five to ten minutes to an estimated download time of 30 minutes and no timeout! I’m not seeing any improvements while surfing the web, however.

This was a big job but worth it! My internet setup looks a lot less hillbillyish (with all due respect to hillbillies).

My only concern about this is that I’ve lost the ability to bring the Yagi to Mexico as there is no way I am taking this apart! I have another antenna that I think will work well, so I’ll have to get some coax cable for it and find the necessary connectors. I didn’t use my phone much on Isla last winter, but I was always glad to have the ability to do so thanks to the booster since service in the heart of the village was poor.

I am still not going to promote the booster I am using because I am not impressed with it and don’t want to give Wilson any more publicity since they are such a horrible company. Let’s just say that I should have plenty of range to use my phone anywhere within a 125′ radius of my office and that I go from -87 to -120 when I step two feet away from the inside antenna. Well, at least I get that -120 now. I was getting no signal when I did that before today’s exertion. 🙂