KE9V's Ham Radio Blog

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Turn the Page

Posted: 01 Mar 2020 12:37 AM PST
https://ke9v.net/2020/03/01/turn-the-page/



Its an all too common story in our hobby. I was licensed as a high school
teen with a part-time job that paid a $1.70 per hour. A few extra bucks
made their way into my pocket each week by mowing lawns in the
neighborhood, but after filling the car (a 72 Nova that could pass
everything but a gas station) and a date night movie and pizza, I didnt
have enough disposable income to even consider any of the latest and
greatest ham radio equipment.




But dont weep for me. I somehow managed to accumulate enough used equipment
to get on the air. What I couldnt afford to buy, I built. A proper entry
into this avocation by any account.




Next came education. After that, a career, then a family and it seemed
there was always something else that demanded any extra cash we might
accumulate. Doctor bills, new tires, prescriptions, furnace repairs, and
eventually, an education for our children. The decades passed, the kids
flew the coup, we burned the mortgage. I could finally afford to buy
whatever ham radio equipment I wanted, and I did. An indulgent collection
of brand new transceivers with large, stunning displays, bursting with
colorful views of desirable radio signals being lofted by the magic of the
aether.








But as the having slowly began to equal the wanting, something was still
lacking. Forty-five years into this silly game I started wanting other
things. Like a clean Drake 2B and a 2NT transmitter to match. Id pay a
kings ransom for a pristine HW-16 with the HG-10B that I had in 1978. Same
goes for the Hallicrafters SX-140 receiver that I had before anything else,
including a license.




What can I say? Life is weird beyond words and the heart wants what the
heart wants. Turn the page, once again the hobby takes an unexpected twist
and apparently, Im simply along for the ride