Sean Dennis -> Ed Hulett wrote:
 SD> Hello, Ed.

 SD> Wednesday August 20 2008 at 20:39, you wrote to me:

 EH>> We have a very active ARES/RACES community here. The "old
geezers"
 EH>> here have been occupied with keeping "old sparky" the
old RCT historic
 EH>> radio station on the air.

 SD> Must be nice.  I miss actually learning new things in ham radio and
 SD> participating in something worthwhile.

There are a few disagreements, of course.

 SD> As for the equipment, you're lightyears ahead of me.  I've got a
 SD> nearly-new ICOM IC-718 (used ONCE), a SuperAntennas screwdriver antenna,
 SD> a Radio Shack HTX-204 (I think) 2m mobile, a Yaesu FT-2400 2m mobile, a
 SD> Yaesu VX-105 2m HT and a Radio Shack HT-102 (the little itty bitty 340mw
 SD> 2m HT) somewhere.

It took me a while to accumulate all this stuff. I started with a
hand-me-down Kenwood TH-205 2meter HT and a well used Azden 2meter mobile
that I purchased at the annual RCT swap meet.

I had a Kenwood TS-520 HF rig for a while that I bought from a friend.

 SD> I might sell the ICOM to my lawyer who is working on getting his ham
 SD> license. We're hoping that if my wife gets this job she's trying for, we
 SD> can afford to move out of this hole we're in now and get a house...and
 SD> one I can slap up a G5RV on the roof.

I have 2 G5RVs awaiting the tower so I have something to support them.

 SD> I've got about six pieces of Rohm 25 (I think that's it) for a tower at
 SD> a friend's house, but that'll be a while before I get that put up!

The tower I am waiting for is home built, but very well constructed. Some
day my buddy will haul it over here and I can get it all erected.

 SD> The main thing I want to do is get that new Yaesu FT-950 to talk to my
 SD> dad with.  I'd like to build my own radio, but I've not the time nor the
 SD> motor skills to build one anymore.  Maybe a Tuna Tin 340mw 40 QRP rig,
 SD> but anything else, forget it.

The FT-950 is a nice radio indeed. On www.gigaparts.com they have a
sweepstakes ongoing. You can enter to win on a daily basis. They now have
the FT-2000 as the prize, but they have had the 950 as the prize.

 SD> My main interest now is just chasing a little DX for fun (no contests)
 SD> and talking to my ham-enabled family scattered across the US.

I tire easily of contesting. There isn't any enjoyment in trading made-up
contact info. I have checked into a few HF nets on occasion.

 EH>> Just about any topic is on topic in this echo. :-)

 SD> That's good, but we might bore others to tears with our ham
chatter. 

I don't mind. ;-)

Ed

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