On Saturday 04 March 2017 12:34:34 Mark wrote: > On 03/04/2017 12:24 PM, Gene Heskett wrote: > >> Heh, speak for yerself. While it was fairly mild this past > >> February, I had the snow blower out again yesterday morning. We > >> got a wee bit more snow up here in Northern Michigan than you got > >> there in West By God Virginny. ;-) > >> > >> > >> Mark > > > > Well off topic folks, its story time! > > > > I'd imagine so from looking at the weather radar. You got pounded, > > several times. > > > > Where are you from Iron Mountain? I've been there several times as > > Russ had bought a tv station from a bankrupt preacher, and if it was > > off the air for more than X amount of time the commission would lift > > the license, so I was up there to make it make some kind of noise as > > cheaply as I could. All this after I had officially retired June > > 30, 2002, even one late spring, smack in the middle of the worst > > tick season I've ever lived thru, about 6 weeks with the 8 bay > > superturnstile antenna laying on big crossed x gizmo's I had built > > to hold it about 5 feet off the ground, while I leak checked and > > replaced 11 feedlines that had been worn plumb thru by the wind > > flexing it. The preacher had put, on the top light platform designed > > to hold the usual pair of 660 watt top beacons, two 20 foot sticks > > of 4" square tubeing so it stuck up another 20 feet, the 2nd 20 > > footer being cut in 4ths and welded to the vertical stick so it > > formed a huge, painted white cross, and then hung 2, 1 kilowatt > > halogen floodlamps on top of that to light up the cross and blind > > all the folks fishing in the lakes that Iron Mountain was built on. > > He had no clue about the wind loading that created. I saw those > > lamps doing 15 foot figure 8's in the wind several times, so when > > the leaks got so bad that even a dry air compressor couldn't keep > > rain out of it, I got a guy and a big L10-11 crane to go up and take > > the cross off and throw it down in the weeds, then pull the antenna > > out of its socket and lay it on my supports while I looked for and > > fixed most of the leaks. That I did, but didn't have the gear to > > re-tune it for channel 8, so the VSWR was up some when it was > > re-installed in the tower, but it at least stayed on the air. > > > > Unfunny, very sad thing, the gent whole did the take down work on > > top of the tower, hiking that several tons of antenna an extra inch > > because the crane was at its peak limit of just inches over 200 > > feet, he grabbed it and bounced and shoved it across the towertop to > > get it clear so it could be brought down. He was the electrical guy > > at one of the local foundries, doubling as a crane operator at > > $dayjob, went in to work the next Monday morning, grabbed the > > pendent of one of the trolleys and found is was 500 volts ac hot, I > > never heard why, and could not let go. I went to his funeral up in > > Crystal Springs. Walter Dooer. Good man, well endowed with the > > patience of the biblical Job. His wife who was well into oldtimers > > prematurely, was un-console-able as he was her lord and master as > > the mentality went to hell. Sad. I understand she died a few weeks > > later, but by then I was home, and its a 1000 mile one way drive. > > > > Another time I needed a weekend off from converting it to digital, > > and drove over to Ray Henry's place and had a couple pork chops off > > his lakeside grill for dinner. Ray had retired, and had a business > > built up selling basswood blocks for carving to places like > > A.C.Moore craft chain. We talked some about what was still emc, and > > I described what I was doing with it. He seemed genuinely pleased to > > hear that I thought it was in good hands. > > > > I visited his "shop" the next day, just over the MI/WI state line, > > and he sold me a big pile of butternut that I loaded into the big > > ford van and brought home. Since put some of it as replacement > > panel inserts in all my kitchen cabinet doors. Nice. I still have a > > goodly amount of it left, waiting for the ideal project to make out > > of it. Too soft for tabletops though. So I can say I've met the > > legendary Ray Henry! > > > > As for WDHS-TV8, Russ owned it for much of the 18 years I worked for > > him, and it never aired a paid commercial except the 18 months or so > > when it broadcast the non-stop commercial programming from > > Guthie-Rinker for one of the women who had an extensive beauty > > product line. One of the former Charlies Angels I think. And WDHS > > was a "bonus" deal, we got the programming for nothing, and weren't > > paid any spiff for the sales generated. > > > > When they wanted their sat receiver back instead of renewing the > > contract, it was said that in that 18 months, it had generated one > > phone order for less than 50 bucks worth of her products. Cable > > penetration in Iron Mountain was 100% as there wasn't any real "on > > air" tv for a hundred miles around. Tough market to get any traction > > in. > > > > Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. ;-) > > > > Cheers, Gene Heskett > > Iron Mountain be home of Yoopers, eh?
Yup, and some are quite proud of that. > I'm a Troll, I live below the > Bridge (Mackinac Bridge). A little over an hour south of the Bridge > in a town by the name of Grayling MI. Down in the pulp paper woods then as I drive up 23 toward the bridge. But Grayling must be off that beaten path, I don't recall seeing that sign. But sometimes I can't remember what I had for breakfast... > Mark Cheers Mark, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most engaging tech sites, SlashDot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
