HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
It has been a busy holiday season. A couple of trips into Toronto to celebrate with in-laws and friends, plus a visit from my oldest and dearest friend, Brian S, from my hometown of Stillwater, plus other parties and social events have kept us occupied.
I was particularly happy to see Brian because he was bringing the fruits of my e-Bay efforts from sellers who wouldn’t otherwise send their goodies into Canada. He brought a 6-metre SSB transceiver made by MFJ, a station monitor to match my FT-301D transceiver, the YO-301, as well as an old Dow-key, which I hope to put to good use at some time in the future.
While he was here, we made one of our trips into Toronto to visit friends. I also availed myself of the opportunity to go to the “local candy store” to pick up another MFJ unit, an antenna tuner which works from 1.8-50 MHz and includes a dummy load and appropriate meters. I was a little torn between two models, the 969 (which I ultimately bought) and the 974B, which is similar in performance, but has no dummy load built in. I was inclined to get the latter, but the savings realized by not having to buy a separate dummy load and associated cables convinced me to get the 969 - even though I had some concerns about the roller inductor used in that unit. I had a big Heathkit 2KW tuner years ago with the roller inductor, and while it performed perfectly well, I found I was annoyed by having to crank on the bit roller inductor so much when changing bands. I fear I may feel the same way about this one, although the range of turns seems smaller. It is a smaller inductor, after all.
It was great to see Brian, and I really appreciated him making the long trip for such a short visit. I hope he can come back in the spring or summer to try out the new golf course just up the street a bit. We certainly enjoyed eating at the clubhouse restaurant!
New Year’s Eve was spent at John & Paul’s place in Brantford. A bunch of the usual crowd was there. As usual, John put on a great feed. As the designated driver, I did not drink any alcohol, but enjoyed myself very much anyway. We played a couple of games, chit-chatted the evening away, then turned to the TV to watch the final countdown to 2011 at the celebrations in Niagara Falls. Great Big Sea and Bare Naked Ladies were performing and it looked like a good time. Some of the group left soon after midnight, but some of us hung on a little later, but soon enough it was time to head back to Woodstock.
Today we had a houseful for dinner and games this evening. Bob & David, Ed and Mark M, and Len & Rheo joined us for dinner. It was very nice and I once again appreciated the 8 places available at our big dining room table.
We played Beau Geste or Guestures as it is called in English. As usual, a lot of fun! All in all a great way to welcome in the New Year!
I was particularly happy to see Brian because he was bringing the fruits of my e-Bay efforts from sellers who wouldn’t otherwise send their goodies into Canada. He brought a 6-metre SSB transceiver made by MFJ, a station monitor to match my FT-301D transceiver, the YO-301, as well as an old Dow-key, which I hope to put to good use at some time in the future.
While he was here, we made one of our trips into Toronto to visit friends. I also availed myself of the opportunity to go to the “local candy store” to pick up another MFJ unit, an antenna tuner which works from 1.8-50 MHz and includes a dummy load and appropriate meters. I was a little torn between two models, the 969 (which I ultimately bought) and the 974B, which is similar in performance, but has no dummy load built in. I was inclined to get the latter, but the savings realized by not having to buy a separate dummy load and associated cables convinced me to get the 969 - even though I had some concerns about the roller inductor used in that unit. I had a big Heathkit 2KW tuner years ago with the roller inductor, and while it performed perfectly well, I found I was annoyed by having to crank on the bit roller inductor so much when changing bands. I fear I may feel the same way about this one, although the range of turns seems smaller. It is a smaller inductor, after all.
It was great to see Brian, and I really appreciated him making the long trip for such a short visit. I hope he can come back in the spring or summer to try out the new golf course just up the street a bit. We certainly enjoyed eating at the clubhouse restaurant!
New Year’s Eve was spent at John & Paul’s place in Brantford. A bunch of the usual crowd was there. As usual, John put on a great feed. As the designated driver, I did not drink any alcohol, but enjoyed myself very much anyway. We played a couple of games, chit-chatted the evening away, then turned to the TV to watch the final countdown to 2011 at the celebrations in Niagara Falls. Great Big Sea and Bare Naked Ladies were performing and it looked like a good time. Some of the group left soon after midnight, but some of us hung on a little later, but soon enough it was time to head back to Woodstock.
Today we had a houseful for dinner and games this evening. Bob & David, Ed and Mark M, and Len & Rheo joined us for dinner. It was very nice and I once again appreciated the 8 places available at our big dining room table.
We played Beau Geste or Guestures as it is called in English. As usual, a lot of fun! All in all a great way to welcome in the New Year!