Hello To All

I'm retired now, so every day is a Holiday for me. Ham Radio is as good a way to spent my time as any other hobby. Let's face it, I can Ham in the heat, cold , rain or snow. Not many other hobbies will let you do that. I've been on the air for over 25 years now, so it's hard to find something I haven't already tried. I dabble in Cw, Digital Modes, Chasing DX, and good old rag-chewing. My favorite place is 12 meters. I built a 5 element yagi for that band. Antennas are a big part of the hobby for me. All my antennas are home-brew. I especially like building Collinear Wire Beams. I currently have them up for 40, 15,10 and I am just finishing up one for 2 meters. The 2 meter antenna has a few twists in it of my own design. I also have lots of wire Verticals up. They work surprisingly well.

I have played with a lot of old gear as well. I keep a Johnson Viking 500 and a Ranger here in the shack. Ihave a number of receivers too. Either they are getting heavier, or I am getting older. I may know the answer to that one

The wife (Nancy) and I raise a small garden each year,and she raises thousands of flowers. I enjoy taking Pictures of them and playing with Adobe Photoshop. We like to look at slide-shows of the flowers during the winter. It helps brighten the day up a little.

Amateur Radio has been a lot of fun for me through the years, although I am not impressed with the manners I see in pile-ups. I guess I miss the good old days.

73 and look for ya down the log!

Bob