With Dayton/Xenia now in the rear-view mirror for 2023 I expect our attention will turn to summer time activities in this part of the world. Field Day, perhaps most notably, but also many smaller hamfests and tailgates and hopefully, more time operating from the field. And right on time the weather here is turning warmer this week. It seems our chilly mornings will be gone until autumn rolls back around.

I’m almost certain to be spending a lot of time with the IC-705 and portable antennas this season. That’s because the main station and antennas will be coming down soon. I doubt anyone can match the success of N6HI who has used the 705 to make more than 10,000 contacts over two and a half years (CW,RTTY,Phone). And most of those using a half-watt into a 20-foot end-fed wire antenna. Downright amazing results and gives me plenty of encouragement that I’ll be able to continue modestly disturbing the aether despite what lies ahead.

In 2005 my Mom had just passed away and we thought my 77 year-old Dad might need some help. So when a house nearly across the street from him came up for sale we bought it. All but one of our kids were grown and gone by then and there didn’t seem to be a need to live in a larger house so we happily moved into this small ranch across the street from Dad. It was far from ideal, but our expectation was to be here four or five years, just until Dad passed.

But as it turned out, my Dad didn’t need much help and he lived independently for nearly another twenty years.

Now that he’s gone we’ve begun the process of finding a new place to live. There isn’t much inventory of homes in this area that meet our criteria, but our realtor tells me to be ready to act quickly when something comes available. After we get moved into something new I will sell our existing home and my Dad’s house.

Packing up the ham gear and taking down the main antennas while the weather is good just seems prudent. I hate the unsettled feeling that comes from living out of boxes while waiting for the next housing opportunity, but that seems to be what’s in store for the next several months. Hopefully we find something quickly, get moved in, and get the antennas back up before the fall/winter radio season?

In the meantime, I’ll be using the IC-705 and portable antennas for the next few months and I intend to view this as a good thing, another radio adventure!

If you’ve ever had to work at remaining active while in such a transition drop me a note. I’d love to get your suggestions and feedback on how this all worked for you. Thanks!