Thursday, April 30, 2026

BACN RIP

The Air Force is looking to retire its BACN fleet.  Hopefully the payload will live on in other platforms.

Monday, April 27, 2026

Holy Stone Drones Suck

I bought a few Holy Stone drones used on Ebay as a cheap way to get into drones.  However, they are very tempermental and basically suck.  They lose GPS, trim and the app is very hard to use.  Not recommended.

Lily checking out the drone


Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Bridal Show Tucson Trip

Jaya had her bridal shower in Tucson so we made a long weekend of it.  Jyoti attended the shower while I hung out with my dad.  We both spent time with them on Sunday and walked the golf course.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Trailer Gate Rebuild

By brush hauling trailer came with a flimsy dual gate.  It's major problem was that the doors did not have a way to easily keep them open.  So when loading or unloading, they would flop around in the breeze.  They were also much shorter than the sides so it took extra care to cover.
So I rebuilt it in a stake gate style.  This style is removable so there is no problem with keeping it open.  It is also much studier and has better hardware. I am also putting in more tie-downs and using adjustable bungees for the cover.
Just in time for Chipper Day!

New trailer gate



Monday, April 06, 2026

Rooftop VHF/UHF Antenna

I finally got around to installing a VHF/UHF/GMRS antenna on the roof.  Since our roof is so high, I had to get an extension ladder and luckily found one at a local thrift store.  I did get stuck on the roof and had to have Jyoti hold it but I figured it out eventually.  After several trips up and down, I had the antenna installed next to the internet dish.  I was nice to get the LMR-400 feedline down the tube into the shack so I didn't have to string along the house.

Antenna mounted on roof


Wednesday, April 01, 2026

'Merica

I was up at Compass to zero some rifles and had a though.  There were a bunch of folks on the pistol range.  The rifle range had AR's, FRT's and even a .50.  'Merica!

Monday, March 16, 2026

Chili Cookoff

We hosted the 2025 Highland Pines Chili Cookoff!
I also joined the POA board.