I’m Back

I just stumbled onto this blog. I had forgotten that I started it  back in 2008. Shortly after that my job situation changed  and I just didn’t have the time to get on the air. Most of the guys I hung out with on the local 2m repeater either moved away or had other issues like work kept them from being active. A few even went silent key (Rest In Peace Alan and Chris).

I had  a few different jobs and then some health issues and my ham equipment got shuffled off into storage. Time passed. I grew older, (and healthier) until I finally retired this year. Being retired has given me lots of free time and now my interest in ham radio has flared again so 10 years later  I am back at it as I try to get my shack up and on the air again. My interests have changed some and I will need to get all new antennas setup and tuned. But I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

I’ve developed an interest in Summits on the Air and thus an interest in QRP. I’m looking to get a QRP rig as packing my FT-857D up to the top of a mountain for activation isn’t something I look forward to. I figure the hiking part will help keep me healthy and in good shape as well as combine two things that I like to do (I have always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail). But, I have a bad knee left over as a reminder of my service time in the US Army. So, we will see how all the hiking goes. Unfortunately, I am in Florida and there are no SOTA peaks within 300 miles of me. Someday soon I will relocate to the area around Greeneville TN and I’ll have all of the peaks I want to deal with. In the meantime I’ll chase summits and work on getting the right equipment setup for a SOTA activation.

Edit 11/05/2020: I recently discovered Parks on The Air (POTA) and that seems like it might be easier than humping up to the top of some mountain.

73

W4MKH