Come Join The Fun!

The Woodrat Show is usually on 3.840 MHz from about 8 AM til Noon, and then again around 3.985 MHz from about 7 PM on.

Enjoy CW, check 7.043 as Woodrats can often be found there...

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

THE BIRTH OF "BY-GOLLY"


It only takes a little inspiration and a whole lot of junk to confuse the best of us. And

herein without saying much more, are a couple shots of the conception of a key, formatted

after a standard key, but made out of stuff from everywhere. The base is a piece of wood

flooring, pivot junction is cotterkey, square handle stock was the most expensive from a

hardware store at 3 bucks. Screws, nuts, bolts, and the two rear connector anchor joints

for the main key to transmitter wire, all inherited from the either. Took a good part of one

and a half days to build. The cats have brused ribs from getting in my way, the ducks lost

two pounds from me not feeding them, and my socks developed holes from standing so

long in one area. In all must have used five or six tools, sander, drill, hacksaw, file, moto-

tool, skill saw, and a sundry of others. There was good language and a few off color words

as trial and error, assembly and dissembly went round and round. Various extra holes

were mistakes, but my excuse, "those are just for air cooling when I get going fast on the

key," so lets leave it be at that, sounds better.

Bill, W7WEL, was the first contact late one evening on 160M's as we pruned the airwaves

with out ear splitting cw parting the clouds in all directions causing a wormhole to open up

between our houses at which time and distance knew no dimension. Thanks Bill. And onward

to the SKN night and future contacts on CW. I'd encourage anyone and everyone else to do

something similar, as Jeff KF7JGA, Bill and myself have done. It don't matter how nice it

looks, so long as its functional, and hey, "its yours, you built it" thats the great part of it all.

I wish success to all, and a very good Christmas and New Year Season. Talk to you

down the waves of either. --WB7NZI --

No comments:

Post a Comment