A Brief History of Time (Mine) Pt. 2

Ok, the ARRL 10m contest just wrapped up, so I can pick up with the second ruination of my life.

I was happy living on the boat and working in Beautiful Downtown Burbank.  Weekends were either hamming or sailing.  I liked my workmates and started hanging out after hours.  This was a small mom-pop company and "pop" (also a ham) would hang out with us too.  The problem was with where we were hanging out.

Paris Jet like "pop's" plane

I'm sure you've heard that owning a sailboat is like standing under a cold shower tearing up $100 dollar bills.  I had been able to keep things under control, but was familiar with the sentiment.  These guys at work had figured a much more efficient way to dispose of money. They were all pilots.  So we hung at KWHP and talked airplanes.  Then "pop" showed up with a plane.  Then the other guys formed a group and got a plane.   We would go and fly around California and Arizona.  Well, I was totally ruined.  I got my PPSEL and started renting planes from the flight school at Whiteman.  Flew all over the state and really enjoyed the ability to move around so fast and so far.  The problem, of course, was money.  And the boat was 45 miles from the airport.

Cruise up to 200mph

I researched costs and found out about experimental aircraft that came in a kit form.  I could build an airplane and qualify as the mechanic for that airplane.  This would save me a bunch of money in maintenance costs.  So, after 15 years, I moved off the boat and into a house near the airport.  I turned the garage into an aircraft factory and got to work building an airplane.

Little flap   Big Smile

Looking hot in the hanger

Finally owning a home on land has afforded me a back yard.  Having a back yard has allowed me to try some wide varieties of antennae.  It has been a great learning experience.

We're almost up to date....I finished building the tail, wings, and body of the airplane.  The next step was engine and instruments.   Things at work took a turn and "pop" sold the company to a big conglomerate.  Our hours were cut and then our wages were cut.  The cost of aviation fuel went to $6/gal.  Even if I was the only mechanic, I could not afford to own a plane.  Sold the parts for more than I paid. Kept the tools. 

20m Moxon

The boat is for sale

So now I have a little shop in the garage that I can bang stuff into antenna shapes. This is great 'cause I can't afford to be buying a bunch of stuff, but I can build stuff.  So that's where we are now.  I wanted to build an antenna that I could source at Home Depot / Lowes and create for as little $$ as possble.  Wire, aluminum, PVC, and fibreglass.  I'll probably talk about the antennae in the order in which I built them and what I learned at that stage.  I think each antenna got a little better as I went along.

I'm starting to think the eventual goal is going to be a hexbeam or octobeam.  That will give me a multiband antenna that I might be able to really stick in the air.  But for now, the Moxon is a fantastic antenna that really makes a difference in both transmit and receive.  The Moxon can be built for just a few dollars. I can just stick the antenna for the band I want for the weekend on the backporch roof. The other bands I can run on the dipole.  Bigger signal/smaller bucks.

Next: The Moxon Project

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