Whoa Nellie

Not a whole heck of a lot going on in N4EMG-land right now when it comes to radio. Work obligations have taken a front seat and free time has been very hard to come by. And it sure doesn't look like it's going to get any better anytime soon.

Next week I'll be away on another business trip to Cleveland, then back through PA and the upper part of MD. Should take about a week and a half. I'm hoping to hit a ham radio store in Cleveland while I'm there.

Speaking of ham radio stores...I've pretty much broke the bank for the year when it comes to ham radio (and it's only July!), so I'll only be looking around when I do go. Truth is, the shack is pretty much in disarray right now, I've been digging out radios and snapping pictures so that I can sell them on eBay when I get back. When I started taking inventory of what I've bought since last November, I became kind of sick. Way too much. And too much duplication from upgrading equipment, when I should have just bought what I wanted in the first place and been done with it.

My plans for putting up some sort of directional antenna by the end of the year look to be in jeopardy if I'm not able to recuperate some of the expenses brought on by my spending spree. And you know what? I'm totally OK with that. Lately I just haven't felt the strong desire to be on the bands. For one, work has been exhausting and band conditions have been really crappy the few times that I've checked. And, two, I've been spending what little free time I have with my family. After all, it IS summer.

I think once work calms down and the bands improve a bit, I'll find time to operate again.

So, the goal is to keep two rigs, the FT-1000MP and the K2. That's it. I'll be selling a TS-940SAT, a TS-520, a TS-140S (notice a trend here?), and an FT-857D (the lone non-Kenwood). If anyone is interested before I post them to eBay in a couple of weeks, drop me a line and I'll send some pictures to you and perhaps we can work something out? Some of them, particularly the FT-857, have several options installed or that will come with it.

But this signifies the end of my 'radio roulette', which I posted about several months ago. I'm very happy with the two radios that I'll end up keeping. In fact, I had a really pleasant surprise not long ago. When I purchased my K2, the fellow tossed in the DSP module, but stated that he never could get it to work. He had no use for it, so it was mine for the taking.

Guess what? It works! And I'm really happy to say that after tinkering around with it for a bit the other day, I really find that I think it'll be quite useful.

Hope everyone had a great 4th.