A ham friend came over one day last week to pick up some stuff I was giving him. He’d never been to my shack before and commented on some of the old radios I’ve acquired over the years, including:

• a Grundig console radio I purchased when I was in college,
• the Philco console radio that I inherited from my grandparents and which got me started in radio, and
• the old tube tester that my father-in-law saved from a dumpster where he used to work.

I mentioned that they all need some work to get them up to snuff, and it’s always been my plan to do so.

That got me thinking about the rest of my ham radio to-do list, which currently includes the following:

I just got through reading the comments on eHam.net regarding the dropping of the CW requirement for HF priviledges. At first, I thought it was a step backwards, but I’m over that. Now, I think it’s probably a step forward. It will attract new hams, and that can’t be bad for the hobby.

Tonight was a night of “firsts.”I made three contacts tonight on 30 meters, and it was a first of some kind for each of the guys I chatted with…

I bought a used laptop over the weekend to use primarily in the ham station….

Most of my operating activities in 2002 and the first half of 2003 have been focused on doing well at Field Day. For example, I worked hard on my CW skills and participated in several contests. Well, now that Field Day has come and gone, I can happily say that all that work has paid off….