I remember not long after my Dad turned 80 he decided it was time for a new roof on his house and I recall him saying that given the 20-25 year expected service life, it would be the last roof he would ever have to deal with. That kinda stuck with me as I had never considered life in such finite numbers. When I was 30 it seemed Christmas just came every year and there would always be another Christmas. Now at 65 I think if I live to 75 there are only ten more.

That kind of thinking can be a sobering slap in the face so I try not to dwell on it too long, but I reached a similar inflection point last week when I decided to order a new Elecraft K4 and I expect it to be the “last” major amateur radio transceiver I ever purchase. That seems a little surreal considering this has been a lifelong hobby for me. I was licensed in 1977 while still in high school and nearly fifty years later I remain on the same course, there’s simply a lot more of it behind me than whatever remains.

Seasons change and I’m not just talking about the recent transition from summer to autumn, though that is always an exciting development! But the seasons of our lives change too and I’ve reached a point in my life where I want to downsize and simplify all aspects of it, including my hobby, while continuing to enjoy and appreciate it.

So I ordered the K4 on Saturday morning and received notice it had shipped on Monday afternoon. UPS will tote it and a few accessories around the country for a week before it crosses the transom here. I chose the K4 for this honor because, deep down, I’ve been an Elecraft fan since their beginning and the K4 seems an excellent transceiver as it has successfully survived infant mortality and the early bugs of brand new gear, yet looks to have at least another ten years of runway for additional development and continuous improvement.

Now begins a new adventure of learning and exploration and I find that exciting.

It also means it’s time to bid adieu to a lot of equipment and I don’t think that will be as much fun. I have the IC-7610, the IC-9700, the TX-500, the TR-45L to name just a few of the transceivers. And yes, I’m even planning to unload the IC-705. Oh, and I can’t forget the brand new and never used KM3KM Mercury IIIs amplifier and matching high-power auto-tuner. The TH-D72 and TH-D75 handheld transceivers. The never opened LEO-pack antennas with G-5500 azimuth and elevation rotors. And all the accessories. It’s a big cache of stuff to unload and I’ll start down that road soon enough.

Hopefully, in less than a year, the dust will have settled and my final station build will be complete, save for the occasional shiny radio toy because, what’s life without a little whimsy?