Author: Rae

by

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:

IMGP2204.

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!

IMGP2205

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:

IMGP2206

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.

IMGP2207

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.

IMGP2208

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:

IMGP2210

(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. 🙂

by

Redundancy

Having had to run the furnace quite a bit when I first got here, I ran out of propane after just five weeks. I was really looking forward to a cooked dinner tonight, but I can’t get to town till tomorrow.

No problem, as it turns out. Cleaning the grainery earlier this week, I found a still useful small bottle of propane, the kind used for a camp stove.

And so, dinner was cooked on the porch. Don’t laugh. I didn’t want to run the risk of ruining my plastic table. 🙂

IMGP2203

by

One Person’s Trash…

Something I knew I would eventually want for Haven as soon as I got outbuildings was a treadmill. There’s not really any place to walk to around here unless you want to walk around the block 50 billion times and there’s certainly no place to run. Because of my bad knee, I am very picky about where I run and so I haven’t had a regular running routine since I hit the road eight years ago. It’s something I miss and that I always pick up again when I have a good place to run.

Last summer, after getting the buildings, I put a wanted ad on Kijiji for an inexpensive treadmill. I soon discovered that treadmills are something people buy, don’t use, and then want a full return of their investment. The market was saturated with treadmills and no one wanted to offload one cheap.

So needless to say, I got suspicious two weeks ago when I saw an ad in the local buy and sell paper for a FREE treadmill. I figured it had to be a crappy old manual one and didn’t bother calling.

The ad was still there this week, so tonight I decide to assuage my curiosity and called. As it turned out, it was not a manual one, but an older basic electric model.

I asked the giver awayer where in Assiniboia she lives. She apologized and said that, yes, her number is in Assiniboia, but she actually lives in… my hamlet. She’s my postmaster!!!

Reeling from shock, I asked if I could go pick it up right away. She pretty much begged me to do so, saying that it had been (covered) on her porch (also covered) for about a year.

I drove over there and she plugged it in and turned it on and I gave it a try. It needs some cleaning, but works great! She, her husband, and I wrangled it into the truck and I somehow wrangled it into the cabin, facing the door so I can look out in my yard when I’m exercising. There’s a stand on it that will hold my iPad so I have something to watch while I’m working out.

Ta-dah!

IMGP2202

Now, if I can only get a bench press to materialize the same way, I’ll be well on my way to a little gym. I also have my stepper, which I use quite a bit, but which I don’t enjoy nearly as much as I know I will enjoy the treadmill and which is harder on my knee. And by the way, running is a much more natural gait than walking and causes me a lot less pain.

I’m waiting on a phone call, so I can’t go out and try it, but I’ll pull out my running clothes so I’m ready to go first thing in the morning!

by

Return of The Moth

The audacity of The Moth increased moments ago when it came out in broad daylight and dive bombed me! It landed on my picture window and I came at it with the fly swatter.

It landed on its back on my desk and raised its legs in supplication. I could hear it begging me for mercy. I told it to surrender. It rolled over onto its stomach and tried to rise to its knees, then collapsed.

I scooped it up and brought it outside. It took a lurch step and then took off on shaky wings. Will it live? I have no idea. Will it come back? I doubt it.

To be continued?

by

Rae Versus The Moth

Just a bit of levity on a very hazy and smokey morning…

I have been dealing with a moth for about a week now. It comes out as soon as I go to bed, attracted by the light in the loft emanating from my iPad. It is HUGE. I can hear it coming, its wing flapping being that loud.

When it arrives, it repeatedly dive bombs me, landing on my head, my hands, and my thighs, as well as on the iPad. I have on multiple occasions thought that I managed to smack it because it lies still, but as soon as I go to dispose of the body, it takes off again. Yes, the moth is playing dead. I have determined that not only is it sentient, it’s smarter than me!

It took me ages to go to sleep last night because I was laughing so hard at the moth’s antics. It really does seem to be toying with me. I started giggling as soon as I heard the drone of its wings and then, boom! Impact with my ear! Then it flew around a bit while I tried to smack it, played dead for a bit, then took off, only to land on my NOSE.

I finally shut the iPad and the moth left. I’m at the point where I think it has earned the right to live since it has obviously outsmarted me, so I’ll just consider it a sign that I need to turn off the light and get some sleep!