Getting Back Into the Groove...

OK, gang. Now that I have gotten over the initial shock of suddenly having to move, I have finally settled in enough to look at trying to get set up on HF. I'm already up on VHF/UHF, albeit it will be local in scope for the most part...but I want to try HF. Even though I now live in a small efficiency apartment, I have noticed that I can still use my portable MFJ HF antenna to get on HF to some extent, and I have a plan now as to how I can do this.

I have a window that opens to the south and it looks over a lot of roof space. I can simply clamp the antenna bracket in place through the window and lay out the counterpoise wires on the roof. No one will notice the difference. Now if I want to orient the antenna facing north, I can clamp the antenna to a balcony railing that runs along the front of the apartment complex I live in. I would likely do this during the evening/night hours when everyone is probably inside, and run the counterpoise wires along the railing, which would also make a good reflector facing north I think. It worked this way at the previous apartment I lived in, although the "reflector" faced east. No wonder I could get into Florida with such ease!

When do I plan to do this? Probably this weekend, but I really need to design my own QSL card. It may wind up being that I will simply have to purchase some cards and go that way for a while. God, the prices have gone up over the last few years. What used to cost me $50 for 500 cards or more is now the same cost for half that, so I have to be cost-efficient. I will likely wait until my license shows my new address, and it shows in the FCC database and QRZ.com. Then I can get started experimenting on HF. I'm also looking at a few possibilities for 2m and 440 from the apartment, and even a little 6 meters also! That is down the road, but I know someone who wants to experiment with this and I get to be the guinea pig. I'll let you know as to how things progress.

Stay tuned...at least now I can post here again with some regularity, and thanks to everyone who reads the blog and has supported it!

WR1TX