Dumber Faster

Y’know how a quarter-wave stub of coax feedline has interesting properties? Like, if you attach one end to an antenna analyzer and left the other end open at 1/4λ down, then the open circuit looks like a short on the analyzer; zero Ohms resistance. And if you short the end, it looks like an open; infinite Ohms resistance. This is a great way to help you figure out the true velocity factor of a piece of cable; find the lowest frequency where this effect happens, then measure the cable for its physical length, then compare that length with the length of 1/4λ in free air.

Velocity Factor = 1/4λ(air) / 1/4λ(cable)

Easy!

Well, I wasn’t trying to calculate the VF of a piece of coax; I was trying to cut 1/4λ of coax at 20m (14.2 MHz) so I can use that stub to tune a new vertical dipole I’m going to raise. So I brought out my new MFJ-259C analyzer on its maiden run. This rev of the meter shows you the complex impedance in R and X values, which my old analyzer didn’t do. Really helps you dial in the impedance matching.

1/4λ effects! Physically open line, shorted electrically!

So I multiplied 14.2MHz by 4 to get my quarter wavelength, then tuned the meter to 56.8MHz and noticed the cable I’d cut a few nights ago was horribly long. So I started snipping. Snip, snip, snip, snip, snip. Chopped off about 2.7ft of coax before I could get it to look like a 1/4λ at 56.8MHz. Success!

Snip-snip-snip! Sometimes your workbench is your floor.

No. Not successful at all. Stupid. Absolutely stupid. I failed at logic.

I should’ve set it to 14.2MHz and adjusted from there. But no, I’m kinda dumb. Why the hell did I think to quadruple the frequency for a quarter wave? Failure in logic. Can’t un-cut the cable now. Maybe I can stretch it? (No, I can’t do that.) The cable’s now too short for even the 6m band at 50MHz. I’d have to use up another PL-259 connector to make another cable.

I guess for what I need, this will be, eh, sufficiently short for the analyzer to be electrically close to the antenna as I tweak it. I got 10-ish physical feet to raise/lower the antenna, so hopefully it’s short enough to eliminate/reduce any effects of feedline. My hope is anything below 1/4λ should be enough. Who knows?

So let me tell you this much: finding the right tool for the job will help you do stupid things more efficiently.

Radio is hard.

Tomorrow’s Naïveté, Abroad

Once upon a time, three months ago, I was reading a Rick Steves’ European travel book from 2012 and having predictive visions of what Europe would be like once I finally got there. And I forgot those memories until just now.

And damn, they are quaint memories of the future.

They just don’t jive with what I actually saw. Europe is much more different than I expected, and that’s a good thing. And anything I predictively envisioned falls to the wayside once I experienced the real deal.

And that remembrance is just so god-damned funny.

Shut Down

This world of mine is an endless chain of conflicts and missteps having the effect of turning strength into weakness, and weakness into collapse. It crawls into the nape of my neck and whispers, “Give up.” My recent days are littered with minor actions sparked by self-protective instinct and frustration, which return to me with disastrous, excessive consequences, far outweighing simple punishment.

But never mind me.
I’m wrong, you’re right.
I lose, you win.

Abandon all advantage. Abolish all ego.

Forgotten Knowledge

Once upon a time, I had such an intimate knowledge of my own computer’s filesystem. Like, I knew exactly where I stuffed a file, because I had my own filing system, and could recall that image of a scan of a hand drawing I did. I knew it was in the “hand drawn” folder in my Photos folder, not my “scans” folder.

Now? Uh, there’s that folder I shove memes into, sorted by year. And those other files, like those PDFs for whatever, uh, they go wherever. Because google. If I need them again, I’ll do another google search. Because google.

On the plus side, I’ve learned to make liberal use of symlinks to frequent folders, so that way I can dump whatever into one folder and then drag-drop into the right spot. But even then, that’s such a dial-up era ideal, right? Because google. Right?

Because to hell with local storage, right? It’s easier to let google know what you want. Right?

desires unmet, stillborn dreams

blue tinged memories of 27 year hopes and wishes
visions of union
souls entertwined and understanding
drunk on the possibilities
intoxication, wandered,
lost focus, lost track
missed connections
never met, never talked,
never made dreams happen
30 year hunger
35 year worry
40 year exhaustion
45 year giving up
untie me
i wanted something, i wanted it all,
i asked for connection, but didn’t ask anyone
i missed the boat
i closed the window
now melancholia now
and remembrance and
blue tinged memories
untie me