January 8, 2026 – We were sorry to hear some of our members and their families have been affected by the flu recently. Take care! The “buzzer beater” between Auburn and Texas A&M was discussed. On the one hand, there seemed to be a consensus that the shot was made with some small amount of time on the clock. However the point was accurately made that it shouldn’t have been that close to begin with and perhaps Auburn did not deserve the win. Sorry to say that. We recalled the development of the 4004 microprocessor back in 1971. My how things have changed. The topic of computer camera automatic AI tracking and framing came us. With that feature enabled on your computer’s camera, it will follow subjects movements, adjust the shot to keep them centered, in focus, and well-framed without the need for manual control.

January 1, 2026 – There may have been some late sleepers today, but we eventually had 8 participants in our call! We learned that Richard – WA4IWD is cooking sourdough waffles today as well as a wonderful holiday casserole and Einkorn bread. John – NK4N ran across a male black bear in the Cades Cove region of the Smokies within the past week.  We also briefly discussed the bear that had occupied someone’s crawl space in California.  On the ham radio side of things, good band openings in the 10 meter and 12 meter portions of the spectrum have been apparent and have provided for some active DX.

December 25, 2025 – Merry Christmas all!  Some of us may have received Heathkit items for Christmas in the past.  In any event, we remember Heathkit as providing wonderful “Do-It-Yourself” sets for those of us interested in electronics and we mourned their closing in 1992.  In particular, we remember the DX-20, DX-40, and the QF-1 Q Multiplier.  Some of our hams have had experience with Nixie Tubes which were used to display characters.  Other points of interest were the radon report from Tennessee by Richard – WA4IWD which was around 1.5 pCi/L.  This seems high compared with readings in Lee County.  We discussed the density of Osmium which is the densest naturally occurring element, with a density of approximately 22.59 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm³).  this compares with iron at 7.874 grams per cubic centimeter and lead at 11.34 grams per cubic centimeter.

December 18, 2025 – This was our last meeting before Christmas, but we will try to gather on Christmas morning depending on who is available. Richard – WA4IWD has a new EMF detector so he is now equipped to provide reports on radon, EMF, and ionizing radiation for us. One of the more interesting discussions was about the Buster Brown X-ray machines from the 1930s to around 1960. These shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were somewhat of a gimmick in the stores that allowed customers to see the bones of their feet in their new shoes via X-rays ostensibly ensuring a “perfect fit”. But the fact that they emitted significant and dangerous radiation was not well known at that time.

December 11, 2025 – We had good attendance again today, but a few had to leave early for other chores. One topic was protection of outdoor faucets. John – NK4N has frost proof hydrants on his home. Dale – WA4CQG relies on the Styrofoam attachments. But the temperatures in Lee County haven’t been so cold as to pose a freezing problem so far this year. The Freeze Miser is one innovative solution that some are employing. We touched on the hole that exists in the New Safe Confinement shield at Chernobyl. This was the result of a Russian drone strike in February of this year. It damaged the outer layer and caused some internal fires. The IAEA says that it has lost its primary confinement function and that repairs will have to be made. John also reports the appearance of a bear in Gatlinburg at the Christmas parade. This must have generated some excitement!

December 4, 2025 – The hiring of a new football coach for Auburn was an important part of our discussion today. Coach Alex Golesh has taken over the team under the terms of a largely incentive based contract. Auburn’s basketball team continues to win under first year Coach Steven Pearl including a win over North Carolina State last evening. John – NK4N participated in the World-Wide CW contest this past weekend with some success! We discussed DX Clusters and SA9PIE, VE7CC, and DX Summit all got honorable mention. Gail – N4RS reported 2 degrees and snow on the ground in Elmo, MO. There was a discussion of the drunken raccoon in Hanover County Virginia. The animal became gruntled after breaking into a local liquor store there and helping himself to the wares. The results can be seen HERE. Do any of you read these Tidbits? If so, let kx***@***oo.com know and we will continue to record those on our website weekly after our Zoom meetings.

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