Journal
Off the air for a while, getting back on
Feb 8, 2020
As has happened to all of us at one time or another, life and its stressors got in the way of enjoying radio. Thankfully things have dialed themselves back from 11 and there's time for operating again. I've made a few QSO's this week on 40 and 80 CW, and the ham radio to-do list is back on the forefront.
Unfortunately the weather here in Iowa (colder than the proverbial witch's tit) is stopping most of my planned endeavors. The rebuilt rotor has been sitting since October, waiting to get installed. The 4-band yagi is still sitting in a pile waiting reassembly, and I've yet to get a mast to throw atop the tower.
One bright spot for the future is that, with removal of a yard light and the power line that fed it, I've room to make my loop more square and add about 100' of wire to it. The loop works great now, so whether this will be an improvement or not remains to be seen. If anything my OCD annoyance at the odd shape will be pacified.
Long term plans still include crossed 160-30 half-wave fan dipoles with remote switching for direction, a weatherproof box on the tower to house a remote coax switch, and other assorted "round-tuit" projects. It's all a matter of my gumption and the time to do it, like most things.