>Among the possible examples cited by the judge was painting
>the tower so it would blend in with the surrounding forest.
>
>Does anyone have any experience with this? Specifically
>can I make this suggestion in good faith? I am looking
>for information on tower paints (other than ORANGE and WHITE)
>that would hold up on a galvanized steel surface and wouldn't
>hamper my safety and ability to climb the tower.
I'm no authority on this, but I do have a suggestion based purely on
personal experience.
About five years ago I got a tower that was in great shape structurally,
but suffered visually because the original onwer used a steel mast that
rusted. The dripping brown water coated the top section and made it look
real ugly. I was able to find (via an industrial supply house) a cold
galvanizing paint in convential 1 gallon cans. It worked great and that one
gallon went a real long way. (Good thing...it was $65!).
Of course it was light-grey, but I can't see any reason you couldn't add a
bit of tint to make it either tree-greenish or sky-bluish. It went on easy
with both a brush and mitt.
A few words though...
You'll need a power-drill type mixer. The embedded metals (zinc, etc) sink
to the bottom and you'll never mix them enough with the ole wood stick.
Becuase of the metal and chemicals in this stuff, the supply house said NJ
had recently outlawed it for future consumer sale without permit, but he
believed it could still be purchased in PA. I luckily got his last gallon.
If you do find it, it's great stuff, and has found many uses on outside
hardware here, radio or otherwise.
Good luck and 73,
John
------------------------------------------------------------------
John A. Ross, IV - WB2K / VE2QRZ [Zone 2] (wb2k@ritz.mordor.com)
Summit, New Jersey
Contest DXpedition Registry ---------> http://www.mordor.com/wb2k
------------------------------------------------------------------
>From silver@ax.apc.org (Carlos Augusto Silveira Pereira) Sat Mar 23 11:48:58
>1996
From: silver@ax.apc.org (Carlos Augusto Silveira Pereira) (Carlos Augusto
Silveira Pereira)
Subject: NEW CONTESTER
Message-ID: <199603231148.IAA21378@fama.ibase.br>
A friend of mine will participate of the WPX next weekend. However his license
only allows 80 and 10 meters SSB operation. He told me he will be active
on 10meters with an ICOM IC-745 (100W) and a 1/2 wavelenght monoband vertical.
Take a special look at him, he is very excited about the idea.
His name is Lineu and call is PU1OCN. He lives close to my house in Niteroi
(State of Rio de Janeiro - BRAZIL).
Best 73,
Carlos - PY1CAS
E-mail: silver@ax.apc.org
>From Bill Turner <wrt@eskimo.com> Sat Mar 23 12:28:41 1996
From: Bill Turner <wrt@eskimo.com> (Bill Turner)
Subject: Station Ergonomics
Message-ID: <199603231228.EAA02335@mail.eskimo.com>
At 04:22 PM 3/22/96 -0500, richards@nylink.org wrote:
>Hi All,
-snip-
>The most pertinent question is what shape should the
>operating desk be? Straight, L-shaped (L on left or right or
>depends on handedness), U-shaped, something else? What about
>desk height? Should it be normal desk height or somewhat lower so
>that the keyboard is at a comfortable height. I am considering
>insetting the keyboard into the desk and covering that with
>plexiglass when not in use. Placement of the monitor? I realize
>much of this depends on personal preferences but is there one
>set up more that's more effecient than another?
> Thanks in advance for any help.
>
>73 de Rick WZ2T
-------------------------------------------------------
One consideration if you're using an amplifier is vibration from the fan
being picked up by the microphone. I use an L-shaped desk arrangement
(actually two different desks) so the amplifier is on the desk on my right
and the mike is on the desk in front of me. That gives near-perfect
isolation and ergonomically works very well. Incidentally, for the mike I
use an inexpensive Radio Shack mike with a homebrew preamp (741 op-amp) and
always get good audio reports. I have it mounted on a Radio Shack gooseneck
which is bolted to the desk, thereby giving lots more range of adjustment
than a fixed-position desk mike would.
Regarding the keyboard, I have the monitor directly in front of me, sitting
on top of a keyboard drawer - I think that's what they call them - so I can
slide the keyboard under the monitor so it's out of the way when not in use.
Keyboard drawers are available at your local office supply house. I think
it's important to have as little eye motion from the keyboard to the monitor
as possible, so I have the desk a little higher than "normal" and use a
chair which semi-reclines. That way my line of sight is directly over the
keyboard to the monitor. I find that a very comfortable position, even for
hours on end. Whatever you do, don't set up a situation where you have to
look up to see the monitor at one distance and then down, refocusing your
eyes, to see the keyboard at a different distance. You'll find both your
neck and your eyes get tired pretty quickly with that arrangement.
With the monitor directly in front of me, the radio can be set immediately
to the right (I'm right-handed) so my tuning hand naturally falls in a
comfortable position. I haven't graduated to being a two-radio user yet, so
I can't offer any advice there.
And one final suggestion: If you don't use VOX, get a foot switch for
transmit and mount it on an angled surface, which doubles as a footrest.
Again, if you get the angle and height just right, it will be comfortable
for long stretches of contesting. In my particular setup, I use two foot
switches, the other one being the "CQ" switch for my digital voice unit.
One for the left foot, one for the right. It takes a little practice to get
coordinated, but that way, both hands can stay on the keyboard.
Setting up one's shack is half the fun in this hobby - enjoy!
73, Bill W7LZP
wrt@eskimo.com
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