Friday, November 13, 2015

So much to do ..... so little time.

We have been fortunate in New Jersey. For the most part, with some exceptions, the days of September, October and November have been pretty mild. That is about to change drastically, though. We've had some warm but nasty weather the past two days, and the winds of change are blowing in. Today and tomorrow we're going to have windy days with sustained winds at 15-20 MPH (24-32 KPH), with gusts up to 30 MPH (48 KPH).  It's going to make raking leaves a fun chore tomorrow.  Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll all blow away!

With the coming of colder weather, and less outdoor time, brings the prospect of Wintertime Amateur Radio projects. And like every other Ham that I know, W2LJ has a "To Do" list. My problem is the list keeps getting longer and never seems to get shorter.

These are my top 5 for the Winter of 2015/2016:

1) Get the enhanced heatsink installed on the KX3
2) Get my 4 States QRP antenna tuner built - it arrived a few weeks ago. Then I can put my ZM-2 back in my portable ops backpack.
3) Get my 4 States Ozark regen receiver built.
4) Get my "Glowbug" 40 Meters tube transmitter kit built - to go with the Ozark. I bought this so long ago, I can't even remember when.
5) Homebrew an antenna tuner for the Novice station - something that will handle 50-75 Watts.

And the list can go on, if I care to think about it more.  The problem is an age old one, namely time, or the lack thereof.  Lawn mowing and leaf raking get replaced by snow shoveling (I hope not), holiday stuff, house cleaning (that never goes away), and various other sundry chores. In addition, there's chauffeuring the kids around, various civic and Church commitments, etc, etc, etc.

I'm not complaining (well, maybe a little) as it sure beats not being able to do all this stuff, but it seems there's barely enough time for doing the things you HAVE to do, let alone to do the things you WANT to do. In addition to all this building, it would be nice to just squeeze in some operating time, too.

Anybody want to take bets on what I'll actually get done?  To be totally honest with you, I have no idea, myself.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!

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