New Year and New Goals

2011 sure was an eventful year.  I started 2011 on the Carnival Triumph on my honeymoon.  We had been apart for about 4 months after the wedding while she was at school and it was a great way to put that to bed.  We were enjoying our apartment and I was living the radio life with a measly doublet fed with 300 Ohm twin lead up about 20 feet.  Life was good!

Other 2011 highlights include meeting Steve, wG0AT at my very first Dayton!  I also got to see the new KX3 and all the other crazy stuff normally at Dayton, including the poo-spew!  What a great experience, highly recommended!

We also purchased our first home last year.  I had no idea at the beginning of last year we would be buying a house.  Sure is a life changer.  Of course, since I had a choice of homes more than I had a choice of rentals, my new antenna system has been upgraded as well.  I now have a 100 foot doublet up 32 feet for 80-10.  It works great!  We're loving the home.

And finally, just before the ball hit zero (well a few days before), I got to put in my order for the illustrious Elecraft KX3: KX3 kit, KXAT3 ATU, KXBC3 Battery charger, KXFL3, roofing filters and the hand mic.  Should be an amazing radio when all is said and done.

That pretty much covers the major life events of the last year.  I have such high hopes for the next year, I can almost not wait!  For starters, my main goal is to get to 40 WPM.  I was trying to do it before the end of 2011 but it did not come to fruition.

Next is to get out to do a whole lot more portable ops, especially Parks on the Air and SOTA.  I did a SOTA activation last year in Colorado and I'm hoping to activate another peak in the area this year, hopefully involving another ham since the folks in my family are less than eager to spend a couple hours on a mountain top listening to me beep away.  With my new KX3, I will be able to get out easier and quicker.

Finally, I want to put more thought and work into the antenna system.  I have access to another 32' of fiberglass mast, as well as some aluminum mast sections but I don't quite know what to do with them yet.  To the drawing board!