I used a wooden dowel rod between the upper element and the lower element (between the phasing harness) and even though it was coated with epoxy and well-painted, it eventually broke. I solved the problem by splitting a length of PVC pipe and fitting that over the upper & lower elements, with the phasing harness coming out of the split piece. That was held in place by four screws & nuts, though it fit so tight it probably wasn’t necessary. Since at my new QTH my antenna mounted near trees, I painted it with camouflage colors and it’s nearly impossible to see next to the tree.

I especially appreciate the random encounter tables. I’m also glad you had the Dex to use the makeshift snake hook.

I actually have off-sites for most critical things. Like photos. But there is a delay while “I process, copy, etc”, photos I’ve just taken. I think I may change this process to include “backup right away” now…

And you’re right, UPSes aren’t fantastic. But they’re still “better than nothing”. I’m still fairly confident that it was the PS itself, but you’re right that there was always the chance it wasn’t.

Personally, I think we should do 12V around the house and have a converter at the edge. The DC lines in a house should be short enough to limit the voltage drop to a reasonable amount.