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And thank you for your kind note, Protagonist of H. Funny you should mention it ... round 14 years old, I stopped watching TV. I was too busy building a ham ra
by CliffStoll 7y ago
And thank you for your kind note, Protagonist of H.
Funny you should mention it ... round 14 years old, I stopped watching TV. I was too busy building a ham radio set; I'd come home and dive into electronics. And, well, I've not watched television since then. I've missed an enormous amount of popular culture & goodness knows what else. On the other hand, it's a bit like being given a few hours every day to build stuff or figure out how things work. I guess this tends to make my 'normal' into 'weird'.
- hprotagonist 7y agoMy advisor was a HAM, too. He briefly made the news as a teenager after (more or less accidentally) contacting eastern europe on a particularly good night after installing a massive antenna on the roof of his parent's house. I wasn't brought up with a TV, and don't own one now. I haven't done cool things with klein bottles, but i know a bunch about how bicycles work!
- CliffStoll 7y agoI've wondered about old planetary gear bikes ("Sturmei-Archer") ... it'd be cool to take one apart.
- hprotagonist 7y agoI have! they're weird in there. You can pick up a rear hub for short money on ebay -- refurbishing one is a good way to spend a week or so, and Saint Sheldon has all the details: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer_3-spd.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer_3-spd.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer/aw.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer/aw.html has teardown photos, to boot.
- themodelplumber 7y agoCliff, it's neat to see your jumping in here. Thanks for sharing your time with us. I have enjoyed periodically re-reading _The Cuckoo's Egg_ since my sister gifted the book to me in the early '90s. I didn't know you were a ham though; may I ask what was/is your call sign? And are you still active in the hobby? Just curious & thanks again. 73
- CliffStoll 7y agoK7TA ... got the call when I was in grad school in Tucson Arizona. But I don't get on the air much ... a little bit of CW on the low bands, just to keep my fist in order.
- themodelplumber 7y agoOnly a little CW on the low bands! I love it. I hope to learn the code in 2020. Thanks for sharing.
- wglb 7y agoCheck out FT8
- taborj 7y agoI love FT8, but I think Cliff would probably find it a bit boring. It's too automated, it's basically computers talking to each other. To an introvert like myself, it's cool. I love seeing how far I can get (with my 40m Z-dipole mounted in my single story attic -- i.e. too low, and hiding inside a building -- I've gone 5150 miles on 10 watts). But it doesn't offer the challenges (and rewards) as CW, or even SSB phone.
- StavrosK 7y agoIn my view, television is entertainment, and if you have more entertaining things to do, why bother?
- taborj 7y agoWell, television can also be informative. Documentaries are a start, but how many of us were glued to the TV on Sept 11, 2001, attempting to glean truth from the rumors? Not exactly an entertaining day on television.