Snares For The Unwary

One of the things that I absolutely hate about Texas law is the pansy-ass way we treat fireworks.  They can only be sold during certain dates around Christmas and Independence Day, and a large number of cities and towns not only ban their use in the city limits, they also ban simple possession.

I can understand the prohibition on using fireworks in town, given that urban environments are not the best places for them.  But the possession ban is bad because it creates a legal nightmare for people who are traveling and have to go through one or more cities to get from point A (where they are legal) to point B (where they are also legal).  If caught in one of these cities, someone simply transporting fireworks could end up having them confiscated and find themselves being issued a fairly expensive ticket (I seem to recall McKinney posting a sign touting a $250 fine).  Worse, some cities (*cough* Waco *cough*) have even gone so far as to sit outside fireworks stands and follow people (who were just passing through) into town to confiscate their fireworks and fine them.  It was so bad at one point that one Waco fireworks stand owner was sending out decoys so that his real customers could escape. 

If I had my way, Texas law would be changed to treat fireworks more like firearms.  Texas cities are forbidden by law from prohibiting possession of firearms, but they do have the ability to regulate the discharge of firearms in the city limits.  The current system just encourages contempt for the law, in that I have absolutely no compunction about violating one of these stupid ordinances when I’m traveling and I happen to have fireworks.  Of course some people might say that you shouldn’t travel with fireworks and that you should just buy them close to where you’re going to use them.  My response to that is that there are some serious fireworks stores out on I-20 that have a massive selection that is hard to match elsewhere (although I noticed this year that one has sprouted up in Big Sandy, so perhaps I could get them there in future).  Further, bans on simple possession of some item when it is not being used in a harmful manner (or not being used at all), are not compatible with a truly free society.

Pinnacle Security: FAIL

I am finding of late that despite my “NO SOLICITORS” sign a number of people are still ringing my bell during the day.  One of these days I will get another one for the religious people (as they all seem to think they aren’t solicitors, but are doing “God’s work” or something).  Anyhow, most of the remaining non-religious solicitors are ones who want to argue with you as to whether they are a solicitor or not.

Today’s award for “reading comprehension FAIL” goes to the representative for Pinnacle Security who rang the bell even though he clearly saw the sign.  I opened the door and he immediately launched into his spiel about how he was visiting with people in the neighborhood who had security systems.  I immediately stopped him and asked if he’d seen the sign and knew about Keller’s soliciting ordinance.  His answer was that he was not a solicitor and he didn’t need a permit because he didn’t take money; instead he was just doing “marketing.”  I told him that I a) I considered him a solicitor, and b) I had an alarm and didn’t need or want any “upgrades.”  He tried once again to launch into his spiel, but I stopped him and told him to leave.  He gave me a strange look like he was considering something, but instead said, “I’ll leave whenever you want.”  Which had me thinking, Why are you still here, then?, but I didn’t say it, as he finally got the message from my expression that he was quickly moving from annoyance to potential threat and decided to leave.

It only occurred to me afterwards that perhaps he got a glimpse of the Springfield XD 40 that I was carrying.  It was not intentional, but earlier I had been fiddling with the radio in my truck and my garage was hot so I took off my outer shirt.  When he arrived I was just wearing an undershirt and I had to scramble to get my shirt to cover the gun.  I left it unbuttoned, though, which is why in hindsight it’s possible that he saw it.  Of course, this being Texas, if you freak out when you discern that the resident of the house has a gun you’re probably not cut out for door-to-door solicitation jobs.

Going Round-and-Round With My Tires

Last week I finally bit the bullet and bought a new set of tires for the Avalanche.  While the OEM Goodyears still had decent tread depth (they only had about 35K miles on them), they sucked in the rain.  Further, the right rear tire had a plug in it from a previous encounter with a screw, and the left rear had a slow leak.  They were due for rotation soon and I didn’t want to rotate the plugged tire to the front, but at the same time the fronts had developed an uneven wear pattern, so just swapping them from side to side wouldn’t probably be enough.

Anyway, all things considered, I thought it was time to replace them.  So I started looking online at the various brands and models of tires and all of the reviews on them.  The wealth of information that was available (some tires had over 1000 reviews on Tire Rack’s website) was what really led me down a rat hole.  After about a month of dithering, I finally narrowed it down to specific models from Hankook, Continental, and Michelin.  All were fairly expensive, with the Hankook’s being the least expensive at just over $850 installed, up to the Michelin, which were quoted on Discount Tire’s website at $1049 installed. 

After a final round of dithering due to the cost, I called Discount Tire on Wednesday and they suggested I come into the store to see the tires in person.  They didn’t have the Hankook in stock, but did have the Continental ContiCrossContact LX and Michelin LTX M/S in stock.

Wednesday was also the dogs’ yearly vet visit day, so after picking them up at about 5:30 (and dropping $560 into Parkside’s coffers), I rushed over to Discount Tire.  I got there about 5:45 and after looking at the tires and discussing it with Aaron (the sales rep), I decided on the Michelin tires (which came out to $997 in the store; I wasn’t completely sure what was different from the online quote, but I wasn’t adverse to keeping the extra $50).  By then it was just about 6:00pm and they were supposed to be closing.  Because of the delay with the vet, and the fact that I had the dogs in the truck, I wasn’t really expecting to have the tires changed right then, but the manager suggested that they could install them right then and that it wouldn’t be a problem.

I have to say that they were very quick and efficient about it all.  They even let me bring the dogs inside while we waited.  They had the tires installed and I was out the door by 6:15pm.  If you should be in the market for new tires, go see Aaron at Discount Tire in Keller.  Other than the hit to the pocketbook (and just when did tires get so damn expensive?), the process was pretty painless.

Now to wait for the first good rainstorm to see how these tires handle.  In my short time with them so far they seem to ride smoother and quieter than the old ones.  Although I should note for the record that my garage now smells like a tire store. 

Grimly Amused

When I got my medical first responder certificate I built myself a first aid kit using the recommendations from the textbook.  I used several online suppliers to get some of the things you can’t find in stores so now I get emails from a couple of them with their specials.

I was slightly amused to open my email a few minutes ago to see that one of them was running a July 4th special on products for treating “burns, blisters, infections and 4th of July injuries,”  including the WaterJel 5’x6’ Fire Blanket

Let’s hope that none of us has the kind of 4th that requires a fire blanket.

Blood and Sweat…

… but no tears, unless you count the sweat getting in my eyes. 

I bought a dual-band radio (Yaesu FT-7800) for the truck about a month ago, but had been procrastinating the installation.  First, because of the heat.  Second, because I hate dealing with automotive installs.  This install did nothing to relieve me of my dislike.  It was almost as if GM intentionally designed the vehicle to be difficult to install after-market equipment into (and I’ve got the scrapes and bruises to prove it).  I think that I’ll take my next (non-GM) vehicle to a custom stereo shop or something and let the pros handle it.

Anyhow, I eventually managed to get everything wired and installed.  But I nearly gave myself heat exhaustion in the process.

The first problem to solve was how to mount the antenna.  The best location for an antenna is generally in the center of the roof to give maximum height to the antenna and to maximize the ground plane.  However, in this case my Avalanche has a sunroof and I also wanted to be able to park it in the garage.  Because of its size and ground clearance (it’s the Z71 model), there is only about 3 or 4 inches clearance between the roof and the garage door, leaving no room for an antenna.  After a lot of searching I came across the Pro.Fit antenna mount model AVANTPF, which mounts to an existing bolt under the hood (see here for a better picture). 

While it claims to be a fit for the 2004-2006 Avalanches, I found that it didn’t quite fit into the slot in the left fender, so I had to take my Dremel and cut a small notch in the upper left part of the bracket to get everything to line up.  Unfortunately, while the antenna shown easily clears the garage door, it has a bad SWR reading (1.9:1).  I have another antenna that gets a 1.2:1 reading, but it is about 2 inches too long to clear the door.  For now I will just install the big antenna when I leave if I plan to use the radio.  In the meantime, I will be continuing the search for a decent antenna that’s short enough to clear the door. 

The next problem was where to put the radio itself.  There was no option to mount the entire radio in the console without cutting up the center console, so I ended up using the remote-head option.  The main body of the radio is in the center console under the cup holders (which are contained in a fairly easy to remove insert, so it will be easy to get to the radio in the future).  I put the remote head on the dash bezel, just above the top of the center console.  The speaker is mounted on the right lower dash (just above the driver’s knee).  The last thing I installed was the mic bracket.  Unfortunately, I think the heat was getting to me by then, because it turns out that you can’t shift into Drive if the mic is on the bracket.  That will teach me to always check clearances before installing something (I did it for everything else besides the bracket; I guess I just got in a hurry).  My next task will be to find a new place for the mic.  I’ll probably just get another bracket, since I’m reluctant to remove the one that’s already there because it will expose the holes I drilled for the screws.  long face

Damn, that flash really shows how dirty my center console storage bin is.  Looks like it’s time for a thorough detail job.

Oh, yeah, it was like this all day long in the garage:

If I’m going to do much more work like this I’m going to have to break down and buy a shop fan.  The stand-fan I have is just too puny to move enough air to matter when it’s this hot.

Voting With Our Feet And Our Wallets

Instapundit points us to this poll about current attitudes towards GM after the government bailout.

Only 42% of those who currently own a General Motors car are even somewhat likely to buy a GM product for their next car. That figure includes just 30% who are Very Likely to do so.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% of current GM owners are not likely to buy another GM car, while 16% are not sure.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of Americans nationwide say they are now more likely to buy a Ford since that company did not take any bailout funding. Only 12% are less likely to buy from Ford.

There is an interesting political twist to the attitudes about buying GM. Currently, among those who hold populist or Mainstream political views, 46% own a GM car. But just 15% of those in the Mainstream are Very Likely to buy their next car from GM.

This corresponds with the informal discussions that I’ve had with several people, both current and past GM vehicle owners.  It also corresponds to my own attitudes.  I currently own an Avalanche.  My next vehicle will NOT be a GM as long as it’s owned by the government and the unions.  And this is coming from someone who was strongly considering a Traverse before the bailout.  But now I will look at Ford or one of the foreign brands that builds their vehicles in America instead of GM. 

Devastation and Destruction

Has anyone been over on Johnson Road to see the library lately?  If you haven’t, you might be in for a bit of a shock.  I went by there the other day and was very surprised to see that the library had essentially been gutted and a good portion of the outer walls was gone as well. 

Somehow, I had it in my head that they were just going to be adding space, rather than tearing out most of the existing building.  To my non-contractor’s eye it looks like it wouldn’t have cost us much more to have just razed it and built a new one, given how much they’re now going to have to rebuild. 

RadioZilla On The Air

In my last entry I showed the portable base station I’ve been working on and mentioned needing to do a few more things to finish it. 

I ultimately decided not to build a front panel.  Instead I just fashioned a mic hanger from some ABS plastic and left it open to allow for ventilation.  The radio and the PowerGate both need air to keep cool, so I thought it best to keep both ends open to allow airflow.  So this is the final configuration (for now, anyway):

I also hacked together a UHF-style mount that will let me use a regular mobile antenna (provided it doesn’t need a ground plane).  It was fashioned from a 5/8” hole Larsen bracket fitted to two pieces of aluminum bar stock that I drilled and tapped to screw together.  The vertical piece elevates the Larsen bracket above the top of the flagpole to allow room for a cable to be connected to an SO-239 bulkhead fitting (i.e. antenna on one side, PL-259 cable on the other).  The vertical piece is screwed to a horizontal piece which is drilled to fit a 1 1/2” U-shaped pipe bracket. 

As an aside, I have no idea why I’ve been calling it RadioZilla, other than it’s big, bulky, and emits (RF) radiation.  It just sort of popped into my head.

RadioZilla Lives

As I mentioned in my last entry I’m working on a portable amateur base station.  I spent most of today cutting, grinding, drilling, and fitting the parts together. 

The first thing I had to do was build an internal frame in the Tuffbox 6 Space Rack Case so that it could handle the weight of the 33Ah SLA battery.  Here lies the first lesson I learned on this project: don’t be afraid to spend the money to get a decent case.  I tried to save on the case by buying the Tuffbox instead of a regular ATA-rated rack mount case.  I’ve probably spent enough in materials, tools, and time beefing up the Tuffbox to have bought the ATA case from the start. 

But now that I’ve integrated the steel frame, it doesn’t wobble at all.  You could probably stand on it, provided you made sure to stand over the steel parts.

Here’s a picture of the case with the frame installed and the battery mounted:

Once I had the frame and battery handled, the rest came together pretty quickly.  Here it is with all of the internal components installed, using a mobile antenna (off camera) and hooked up to the watt meter and SWR meter for testing:

As it is now, it’s functional, but I still have a few things to sort out.  First, I need an antenna and mount.  I’ve got a Harbor Freight 16-ft telescoping flagpole and a tripod base from a Sears work light that fit together.  All I need is to put a mount on it and to rig up a portable guy-wire system (I’m thinking paracord and tent stakes, or perhaps Homer buckets filled with water for situations where tent stakes are forbidden).  The other thing is to create some sort of front panel.  I’ve got a piece of ABS that I think I can cut into two pieces and make a fold-down front panel that doubles as a desk or folds out of the way if the desk is not needed (provided I can find the right set of hinges and support brackets at Home Depot).

The other lesson from this project: Harbor Freight is a double-edged sword.  They’ve got some really great inexpensive tools, which is good for when you have to do a job that needs a special tool that you won’t use a lot afterward, but things can be a bit hit or miss.  The el-cheapo air cutoff saw I bought was indispensable for cutting the angle brackets, and I wouldn’t have been able to drill half the holes in the case without this angle drill attachment.  But the not-that-inexpensive air hose I got from them burst while I was away on a short trip to Home Depot (amazingly I managed to do this project with only one trip today; I bought the other stuff a couple of weeks ago). 

Read You At S9+10 With A Hint Of Bubbles

I’ve been playing around at building a portable amateur base station that I can take to an emergency event and set up to run off of mains or batteries.

As usual, I tend to get a bit carried away, so I ended up with the following components:

It will all be mounted in a TuffBox 6 Space Rack Case (unfortunately, the site uses Flash, so you will have to click “Rack Cases” to get the right page) that I’m going to reinforce with some slotted angle stock from Home Depot because it seemed just a bit too flimsy for the battery (which weighs just over 24 pounds).

My task for this long weekend is to physically mount all the components into the case (which is complicated by the need to cut and assemble an internal frame using angle and flat slotted stock). Last night I did an electrical and radio function check, though, which is what led me to a “fun” RF discovery.

I brought all the stuff inside from the garage so I could work in air-conditioned comfort and I set it all up on the kitchen counter. After putting Power Pole connectors on several wires, I started connecting selected components to verify their function before hooking up the radio. After verifying that the DC Watt meter worked and that the power supply and PWRGate were working properly I connected the radio as well as the SWR meter and an antenna (I’m pretty paranoid about always having an antenna connected when applying power to a radio so that if there is an accidental key-up I don’t burn out the finals; one of these days I’m going to break down and buy a dummy load, though).

After verifying that the radio was getting power and that it could receive (based on using an HT from across the room grin ), I decided to try out the SWR meter, which meant keying up and transmitting. I set the power to low (5 watts) and hit the key and immediately heard a “BING” sound from nearby. I immediately let go of the switch, thinking that I’d blown something, which is when I realized that the sound had changed to a whirring noise and that it was coming from the automatic soap dispenser over by the kitchen sink. Apparently, even 5 watts of RF from across the room is enough to overload its sensor and activate the pump. This particular dispenser goes “BING” whenever it’s activated. Satisfied that I hadn’t blown anything in the radio, I played around with the meter a bit more and eventually hit the Tarrant County RACES repeater, although I wasted a bit more liquid soap in the process. smirk