Paint Buddy

Spring weather brings out the spirit of tidying up the property following winter's length. For several seasons I have looked at the faded, and flaking paint on the roof line trim around the house and garage. The trim is a burgandy shade which highlights the stone accents and the off-white, planked walls. The trim is a promenent feature of our home.

To do this properly, I needed to scrape the loose paint, sand the edges, and spackle patch the marrs I had created. The patches then needed to be prime painted before I could repaint with the burgandy. 

The work needed to be done while on an extension ladder rested against the roof edge. Climb up and scrape and sand. Climb down and move the ladder. Repeat the process. Wait a day or two following the rain for things to dry off. Then climb the ladder and begin the spackleing. When the spackle turned from pink to white, up I go again with the sandpaper.

Finally, it is ready to prime and paint. Just a second, Bob. How are you going to hold onto the ladder, hold the paint can, and brush the paint all at the same time? What you need is a Paint Buddy. 

The Paint Buddy is a two inch wide piece of tin which has been formed to loop over the belt and to provide a stable grip for the handle of a one gallon paint can. The Paint Buddy suspends the can in a mannor which permits climbing the ladder without jostling the can. Once in place on the ladder, one hand is freed up to hold the brush, dip into the can, and paint a reachable section. Having built this buddy, I need to come up with a way to climb the ladder without having to hold onto the brush. That's next.

Antenna Buddy

I have studied hard this past winter and spring to become an Amateur Radio Ham Operator. Chris and Bill got me involved through their radio activities. The initial licensing is as a Technician. Following technician level one can get a General license. The final level is a license as an Extra Amateur Radio Operator. The progressive license levels open greater frequency bandwidths. Aside from being able to legally operate on more HF radio frequencies, the benefit of license advancement is that of having had to study and learn more advanced radio and antenna information.

Each operator license level requires passing a written test with a score of 74% or greater. I have sat for all three exams, and I am now licensed as an Extra. Each Ham has a radio call sign. The call sign must be used in every on air communications. Chris, Bill, and I have traded in our FCC, randomly generated call signs, and we have each received Vanity call signs. Chris is N7CGD, Bill is K7WGD, and I am N7RFD. Vane, yes, but it is easier to remember you own initials. 

Chris has been a ham for several years. He has become expert with the digital, and computer interfaced aspect of radio communications. Bill, and I are so far happy with the audio part of ham operations. On the horizon for all of us is to learn how to operate the image aspect of ham radio. That is in using slow scan TV transmission to send photos. I have mastered being able to send, and receive emails via my radio and computer. That is done without my having access to the internet. 

One of the first things a new Ham discovers is; if I build a better antenna, they will be heard. There are at least a quarter zillion types of antennas available to the ham. The most basic, however, is a wire dipole. The Scots learned early; why buy it, if you can make it. That is also the less expensive approach. As a result, the two households have engaged in designing and building multiple wire antennas. We have enjoyed many successes. My main interest is in creating antennas which can be deployed at RV camp sites with convenience and stealth. 

Height is an antenna's best friend. In an open camping area one must resort to using devices such as extendable fiberglass poles. We each have one and it will put a wire over 30' into the air. This is my pole set up at our Sunriver condo.  

Recently, Chris, Bill, and I went to Crater Lake for a morning of transmissions from a National Park. Each National Park has a designating tag. Crater Lake's tag is NP13. One of the many things Ham's do is collect things. Have you logged contact with someone in each state. How many countries have you communicated with. How many National Parks have you reached. Etc. Within Oregon, have you visited each county. The lists go on, and on. Paper awards are issued by national organizations when certain achievements are met. 

At Crater Lake we operated out of the Vanaroo. We set up our antenna at a pullout on the western rim road.




Crater Lake required the use of the extendable pole for us to be able to string the antenna. In this case we hung the wire as an inverted vee and pegged the ends to the ground. The Sunriver set up could have used a tree limb instead of the flex pole. However, climbing one of the backyard pines was out of the question. What I needed for this ham environment was a way to get the wire up, and over a tall branch. 

What I needed was an Antenna Buddy. I set out to build a buddy. This would require a light weight line and a way to get that line over the limb and to be able to retrieve the end of the line. The design began to take shape. I needed a fly casting reel, some high strength fishing line, and a lead weight on the end. If I attached the weight with a swivel connector, I could then remove the weight and attach the antenna wire to the swivel. The wire could then be pulled back over the limb. The wire can be secured to the base of the tree with a length of paracord. The only hurdle remaining was how to get the weight over the limb. I had the solution hanging in the Man Cave.

Now. Take me to a forested RV park.