THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WHILE THE PICTURES LOAD
Day 21
Tuesday
30th August 2005
Click on the pictures for larger versions
Another fine, warm morning. We spent most of it doing washing.
After lunch we went for a drive around the streets. We noted where we could
get fuel and food supplies.
A building named TerrEstrial came into
view. I remembered the talk when we booked into the caravan park and that
name was mentioned.
12.24pm
12.25pm
12.25pm
We decided to take a look knowing it would have an entry fee.
A very friendly staff member greeted us and explained the reason for the
existence of the building.
The air conditioning helped me decide to look around so we paid the fee
and looked through.
12.26pm
12.26pm
12.26pm
Below are shots of the collection that took my eye.
12.33pm
12.34pm
12.36pm
12.36pm
12.37pm
12.38pm
12.39pm
12.39pm
12.40pm
12.40pm
12.43pm
12.49pm
12.55pm
12.55pm
12.56pm
During the afternoon we noticed a couple sitting outside their van. Mum and Judy went
over and started chatting to them. They were a Dutch couple from
South Australia.
I wandered around the park and took shots of the trees and general
surroundings. I was taken by how shady it was, a perfect spot to camp on
hot days.
2.58pm
2.58pm
3.03pm
3.04pm
3.06pm
3.08pm
3.08pm
When I returned
mum and Judy were still chatting with the Dutch couple so
naturally I joined in. The writing on their van also made me curious.
After chatting for a while I noticed the antenna on their vehicle. It
was a Terlin multiband antenna which meant they had some sort of
HF radio. I mentioned it to them and was told it was useless as
the radio was out of action. They said they'd had the radio repaired in
Mt Isa but it hadn't improved the reception. They understood how
to run the radio and the antenna band selection but just received static
on every band.
We chatted about radios and I told him I was a retired Electrician
and how I'd been in Amateur Radio and loved radio since a kid. He
asked if I'd like to have a look. I agreed but assured him if the setup
had been looked at in Mt Isa by qualified people, the chances of
me fixing it were around zero. Just the same he wanted me to have a look
as he said he had nothing to lose.
The radio was a Barrett HF, mounted in the rear of his 4WD
on the drivers side. The antenna cable ran through to the antenna on the
front passenger side.
I'd seen various Barrett and Codan HF radios but had never
used one.
He turned it on and sure enough, nothing!
At this stage it was late afternoon and Judy was getting ready to have a
BBQ for tea, therefore I decided to just look at the basics. I checked
that it went into transmit when the microphone button was pushed. I
heard the changeover from receive to transmit so assumed that side was
OK. The receiver was amazingly quiet though, like it wasn't receiving
any signal at all, or it was stuffed.
The next obvious basic thing to do was to check that the antenna cable
was continuous. Getting at the connection to the radio was tricky
because of the method of mounting of the radio. The cable was strained
into a very tight right angle and I thought at the time it may be a
source of trouble. Once I got at the plug I could see it was ok, even
though it wasn't a good idea to be strained as it was. What I did notice
though was how the input socket moved as the plug was inserted and
tightened. It went through my mind how the connection may be loose where
it connected internally. By then it was sundown.
I didn't want to leave it until I'd proven the signal was reaching the
receiver but I could see Judy burring up because I wasn't there to help
her. I decided to quickly remove the radio cover and there it was, a
loose connection internally. A "dry" joint at the socket internally.
Because I always carry my electric soldering iron for small electrical
jobs on the run, I grabbed it, resoldered the joint, turned it on and
signals boomed in.
I got the owner to try the stations he knew would reply and it worked
perfectly.
Of course he was ecstatic and couldn't thank me enough but I had a lot
of explaining to do to Judy who still wasn't impressed.
She had setup the BBQ with mum and cooked the meal by the time I got to
the table, in the dark!
It was a very quiet meal. I was well in the shit but it felt good to
have sorted the radio problem out in such rough circumstances,
especially after it had been looked at, supposedly repaired, and paid
for in Mt Isa but still didn't work.
7.00pm
Judy came around eventually and we decided to walk the dogs a couple of
blocks to The Travellers Tavern, one of the places that have
fuel, groceries etc in Georgetown. It was a very warm night so we
bought ice creams and tried to cool off while watching the passers by.
Goofy enjoyed the walk too but was tonguing for a drink by the time
he arrived back at the van.