Brief Note for the New Year....

My next post will be about Bromeliads, I promise. I have 7 articles in a draft state, in various stages of completion. One I could schedule for release on a certain day (I might do that), but I think it still needs some work (it's a poem).

Some random Brandon thoughts:

Everyone talks about how horrible 2016 was, but 2016 for somebody somewhere started on January 1 2017. If you faced hardship last year, I promise you, someone this year needs your encouragement.

The old Indian saying about two wolves fighting inside you has some truth. I'm trying to feed the right wolf, but it's hard sometimes.

If you're a Christian, when someone tells you about their past, be ready to tell them about your future.

You can't live life without risking the possibility that something you choose today will make the life you live now impossible. I hope that won't stop you from making the right choice.


Radio things to note:
1. Antennas, I've got some lines over treebranches, but haven't deployed a new antenna yet. I need new support line. When I'm done, I'll have two new antlers deployed. An as yet undecided Ant for 80m (center fed with window line 100' minimum dipole, or end fed half wave?), and the 30-17 meter antenna I've been working on for a while.
2. Gathering parts for radios out of your junque box can be challenging when you seem to always be short a few capacitors. Anyone got a few NP0s laying around, say 1500pF?
3. I got a Baofeng GT-3 mark ii for Christmas, and the joy in operating it astounds me! First, it's easy to program with a cable. Second, my eyes are reopened to the world of local communications. You get to "meet" the other guys in your area that are chasing the same HF DX you are. One of these (or another baofeng like it) should be considered a gift to students who successfully complete a course. For a little bit of effort (programming in the right frequencies) a whole lot of joy could be opened to new hams.
4. Made my first QSO on Jan 1! N3HCN, Dave in MD, on 20m. Band was noisy. Had a short QSO then the kids started getting antsy. Also checked into the first Eagle Net on the NI4CE Repeater system at 8:30 using my new HT.