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

Tearing It Up at the Home Run Derby

This is the type of post that I will not normally do, since this blog is for ham radio and weather and such. But the subject matter here is too important not to mention at least some.
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Last night was a great night to be a baseball fan. Even better (at least for me) it felt really good to be a Texas Rangers fan.

If you follow baseball enough, you obviously know about the Josh Hamilton story and what he has done this year. Even more, you should know about the demons he has overcome to reach the heights he has this year. If you don't, go to the Texas Rangers website or look through ESPN's archives and you'll find several articles about Josh's rise from near self-destruction.

It wasn't an accident as to how the man rose to the heights he has reached, my friends.

Josh realized what he was doing to himself and placed himself into the Lord's hands. When you put your faith in the Lord, there's no telling what can happen. Last night was simply an example.

Everyone has said this at one time or another: he could very well be dead now if he continued down the path he was on...drugs, alcohol, and more. He fell from the top of the mountain and was now in a deep dark valley. But Josh is back now, and doing what he loves and knows where his talent came from. He's using it to reach out to people, and not only through his bat; he's talking to anyone and everyone at seminars, autograph sessions, anywhere that someone could listen and learn from his experiences. And he now has respect from all levels of baseball, even the Yankee fans who love to hate anyone and everyone that doesn't wear pinstripes. Those fans CHANTED Hamilton's name! I was totally blown away by that, and even Josh said that it send a chill down his spine...in a good way, of course.

If Josh can come back from his tribulations and defeat his demons, so can we. We have no excuse, especially if we compare our troubles to what Hamilton went through. Our troubles are nothing in comparison. I have my problems; you have yours. I will get through mine, for I have inspiration. I hope you find the inspiration too.

Finally, I have only one other thing to say about Josh and the kind of person that he is:

You have my total respect and you are truly an inspiration to me and to others. I will forever root for you as you continue your fight back, because not only is such a story almost unheard of, but you had the guts to do it and you have the Lord on your side. I wish there were more like you that stood up and decided to live.

Good luck tonight and in the future, Josh. We're all in your corner.

WR1TX