Anthony and Kayla Schaefer's Blog » tonyscha

July Update

tonyscha — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:22:56 +0000

Wow, the summer moves fast, technically speaking its already peaked and we are heading toward fall. The 4th of July was an exciting weekend, got to visit family, did some fireworks, and accidentally found our first geocache. We decided to checkout the geocache and logged it, I signed up for an account that evening. World cup came to an ending which was be a big disappointment for me. Still playing soccer every Wednesday at our work league. Its been extremely hot!!!! Other then that, I haven’t been up to much, playing xbox, enjoying the summer with the family, and just relaxing!

DB2 Antenna Modification to include VHF

tonyscha — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:38:29 +0000

So back when the whole TV transition was just starting and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, I bought an antenna that I thought would cover my needs. Its an Antenna Direct DB2 antenna. Its a nice Multi-directional UHF antenna and at the time it worked great because there wasn’t any VHF stations. However after the final transition, two of the major stations switched back to VHF to the channels 7 and 9. So when the world cup started on TV, I decided I needed ABC which was on channel 9. So I researched what I needed to do, and obviously I needed a VHF antenna, but I didn’t want to get rid of my current DB2 antenna. In basic I needed a simple half dipole antenna to add to my UHF antenna at the center.

Since I wanted channel 7 and 9, I found out which freq the channels broadcast in.
VHF HIGH 07 174-180 Mhz
VHF HIGH 09 186-192 Mhz

Found the calculations to get length of wire for frequency from this website here.

Formula: Length of wire = 468/frequency
Example: Length of wire = 468/180.000 Mhz (upper range of channel 7)
Length of wire = 2.6ft feet or approx 30″

I think the exact length was about 30.5″

The material I used for the antenna was some aluminum wire rod I picked up at Menards. I forgot to get the exact size but it was slightly larger then the original wire. I flattened the ends with a hammer and drilled a hole so I could mount it to the balun.

Here is the finished product. I would like to mention it picks up channel 7 and channel 9 now!!! So I would say this has been successful.

Here is the finished product.

Here is the back side and how it mounts to the balun.

Maybe after the two antenna projects I have done, maybe I should take an Electromagnetic fields Class from school…

I would like to note this may be unsafe to modify your antenna! NO guaranteed results!

Soccer

tonyscha — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:14:44 +0000

Chicago Day 2

tonyscha — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:07:36 +0000

More Random Photos!

L-Train, thought I would snap a photo of it going by.

Photos from the skydeck at Willis Tower.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CyQgNBuU1c

Chicago Day 1

tonyscha — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:40:36 +0000

Random photos from Chicago

Lamborghini Superleggera in downtown chicago

Holy Name Cathedral?

Bentley, Yes please!

They also have a ferrari at the bentley dealership?

Old water tower

Macy’s!

Random art

Navy Pier in the background

Farris Wheel

Beer garden at the Navy Pier.

Crazy looking building.

Decided to take a picture after eating 3/4 of the pizza!

Ginos Menu

Gino’s East pizzeria!

Disney Store?

The Captain!

Had to stop and get my photo taken in front of Wrigley Field!

John Hancock building.

Navy Pier from on top of the John Hancock building.

Picture from my Hotel room

Can you say Lamborghini Superleggera?

tonyscha — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:32:49 +0000

First day in Chicago, just got off the L train, and just started walking in downtown, and I seen a Lamborghini Superleggera!!!!

June Update

tonyscha — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:06:18 +0000

Hello everybody!!

In my world summer has officially stated (since school is done for the semester), and its been super busy. Today we went to Cedar Rapids Farmers Market, and picked up a few items, Salsa, BBQ Sauce, and Wine. There wasn’t very much produce out yet, but its early in the summer. Tomorrow I am going to the Embedded Systems Conference in Chicago. It will be my first trip to Chicago, and my first conference. I will post some pictures after I get back.

May Update

tonyscha — Tue, 18 May 2010 01:21:14 +0000

Thought I would post a May update. Schools done for the semester, 1 year down 1.5 years to go. I am enjoying my summer even if it hasn’t been hot. My goal is to get caught up on movies, enjoy the outside, play some video games (forza3 ) , get my truck running, make a VHF antenna for channels 7 and 9, fishing, soccer, and maybe read a book or two if I get bored.

Garlic and Orange Marinated Grilled Pork Chops

tonyscha — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:30:42 +0000

Made this today, thought I would share the recipe and save it for myself.

Ingrediants

4 pork chops, boneless or bone-in, about 1 1/4 inches thick

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 crushed garlic cloves

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Cooking insturctions

Place chops in a large self-sealing plastic bag; combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over chops. Seal bag and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours

Remove chops from marinade (discarding marinade) and grill over medium-hot coals for a total of 12 to 15 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Serve chops immediately.

Original recipe from here.

Abigail Singing Solo at School

tonyscha — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:57:04 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSEXzn5SPuQ

There is a little wind in the background, enjoy.