the wood rat nest

cool pic

this pic is from the okanagan mtn fire from 2003.
brent

hello all from the canadian rat

just got the go ahead for a post and figured wede give it a try. weather is starting to change so we are going up in the hills atving today to get more nest material!!

grey and gloomy as of this morning,but i see some open sky out there.

signals have been strong as of lately. i hope all you rats are fattening up for the winter!!

ve7ren brent

A Woodrat Video

Here's a little video of the cute Bushy Tailed Wood Rat doing his thing. 

It's hard to hear, so turn up the volume.

Click Here!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z80vlqiJJ44&NR=1

THE DESPERATE EATERS COOK BOOK

Good idea on receipies, er recipees, er, formula's for edible material to put in your body IF you are hungry enough.

Am still trying to figure out how to post pictures.

Its going to be a long Winter, so time to make a list of all the fishing gear and hunting junk, and outdoor equipment, and yard tool fixing and etcetera to repair, clean, and alter, during such time. With the encroaching holiday season, people are pretty occupied it seems. But then the month of January hits us and"WHAMMO"" there we are shrouded with over 16 hours of dark, and if its cloudy which tiz a lot, more than that. Hobbies help prevent scurvy and cabin fever, the itches and strangleurcat'itus. Not to mention the sideways blowing snow/rain, howling banshee winds, tree limbs skudding past ur windows and bounching off the roofs, cougars sleeping in the wood sheds and bears trying to eat your garbage. Don't forget "Ham Radio" it can be an entertaining hobby too.

How about a Woodrat Cooking Corner?

Hello Gentlemen!

Woodrat 13 here! I've been thinking of adding some of my favorite recipes to the blog. It might be useful for some of you who do your own cooking. I would also like for you to add some too.

Thanks for accepting me into the group. I'm really looking forward to learning new ways to cook fish and how to cook venison and other types of game.

WR13 (Lori)

Neeto Cards!

Here's those QSL cards I recently received from Scotland and the Route 66 Special event.

Spiffy Ground Thingy

Here's how I recently upgraded the grounding of my station equipment. First I picked up a home service panel ground bus bar from Home Depot for less than $4.00.

Then I screwed it to the desk behind my auto tuner and connected separate ground wires from each piece of equipment. One wire runs out the wall to the ground rod.

Figure it Out Guys!

Not too difficult.. just sign in using your gmail email address and your password.  Then click on "New Post," enter the Title, tab forward and begin writing your message. 

To add a photo, click on the icon of the photo (just left of the word "Link") and then  click on "Browse" to browse your computer for the photo you want to add.  (I usually move my photo or photos to the desktop before beginning the blog post.)  Once you have the photo located, just click "Open" and that will move it to you posting.

Now all you have to do is click on the "Publish Post" (Orange button, bottom left) and whiz-bang... ya gotter done!  (just like settin' the hook, or trippin' the trap!)

WR 5

IN THE BEGINNING...."There were woodrats."

Anyone who missed the discussion on how deep the Mariana trench is and how deep whales can dive, missed Sunday mornings sermon from woodrats nest. AND a good sportsmans update from Tim about current fishing conditions.
The fifty dollar single 20 ga. didn't explode in my hands. IT tight patterened two 7.5 shot loads from 75 feet, a good tight spread of #2's, and one big blast of 03 Buck shot. It held together, made great noise, and the ducks stood on the sideline and clapped their wings.
No pictures yet, but just have to use imagination. Good day to all WoodRat'skees, and a better week coming up.
WR-3

Splitt'n & Stack'n

Lori has been hefting some big rounds and stacking the wood after I split them with the hydraulic splitter.

We usually put up a few days worth on the back porch at a time.

My Cheapo Mobile Mount

I picked up a 'T' bracket from Home Depot and a cheap plastic basket in the stationary department of WalMart. A couple of zip-ties completes the parts list.

I bent the 'T' bracket to fit inside the basket and secured it with several zip ties.

I measured to make sure the radio had enough clearance to the rear and then drilled one hole for the single bolt. This allows me to swivel the radio left and right so even the passenger can use it.

Finally I secured thee whole contraption to the truck using a small bungee cord through the basket and hooked into the heater vents. This makes for quick removal and re-installation when needed.

This is the driver's side view of the final result. It works just great and the basket holds a lot of extra stuff like the cell phone.

Handy Gadgets I Have Found

This is the "Stump Vice' I mentioned on the radio the other day. It makes sharpening a dull chain in the woods much easier.

Home Brew Paddles

Here are a couple of my favorite home made paddles. 

The green base set is the one I was using this morning.  The base consists of two layers of plastic material, the white brackets were end pieces off an old terminal strip, the contact post between the contacts is a brass screw, the contacts themselves are from an old mechanical relay.   I have a piece of skid proof, sticky material glued to the base.  Add a little spit, give it five minutes and it won't move until you force it loose.

The Second one is my version of the Bencher, since the mechanics are exactlly like it.   This was made probably 25 years ago while I was in maintenance at the local mill.  The drilling and tapping was done on a drill press.

Click on the photos for a closer look.  Sorry about the dust..   (I need to clean it up!)

The ATSIII

Several years ago KD1JV began posting radio designs on the internet.  They were so ingenious that many folks building them encouraged Steve (KD1JV) to put together limited run kits.  Many clubs with volunteers do that but for one person to handle a project like that, wow! It takes a lot of energy.  (And a few mistakes in the kitting process.)  So, Steve has put out a few kits over the years, but the most successful were the ATS series of kits.

The name ATS comes from his quest for a lightweight portable QRP rig to take with him on his annual hiking trips on the Appalacian Trail.

In 2005 I succumbed to the enchantment of the ATS and ordered the third update, hence the ATSIII.  (There was also an ATSIV A and B versions following.)

So here are a few photos showing my ATSIII that I used this morning, running 3 watts on 3840 to make a solid showing between N7HMM, WB7NZI, and KF7JGA.

Bill - W7WEL WR5  (Click on the image for a full size view.)

BBC Morse Code Video

This is an interesting video from the BBC. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWDKgB5_CVU

Good Idea

I'll not put too much energy into this until I see how many WR's show up. I do think it would be interesting to see regular contributions from the WR's

(I'm using my pocket computer to write this.)

The Woodrats Go Online

Somebody suggested that we 'Woodrats' should have a website.  I gave it some thought and figured a better idea might be a 'Group Blog'.  So here it is.  Have at it! ~ Jeff KF7JGA