Two Tons of Steel, and Administrivia

I've accumulated lots of stuff over the decades. Not just amateur radio stuff, of course. I am amazed how much stuff there is in my house to be moved. With my now very imminent move this has become a small nightmare. I've given or discarded 40+ years of QST and other ham magazines, sold a few household appliances I'll no longer need, and I have a list of more things to sell after I am settled in my new QTH.

Every one to two days over the past 2 weeks I transported a carload of fragile and odd-shaped stuff in my car. Yes, this included every bit of amateur radio gear I own, of which there is a lot. I even moved the 2 kilowatt power supply I built over 25 years ago for a set of amplifiers I never did get around to building. The power supply works great though, including its regulated 300 VDC screen supply for tetrodes.

The big stuff is another matter. I now have 4 towers, 2,000' of Heliax, 3 tri-band yagis, several rotators (including two prop pitch motors), a 2-element 40 meter yagi, assorted VHF yagi, over 100' of steel mast, and much much more. Almost none of it fits in a car. So I turned elsewhere for help.

One of my neighbours own a landscaping business. One evening a couple of weeks ago he showed up with a 5-ton truck and trailer, a few of his sons, his wife and several employees. Even with so many hands it was a hard job to load the towers, masts and related paraphernalia.

Two of the guys and I took care of the unloading at the new QTH. It sufficed, just barely; it was a tough job. I paid for everything of course, though at a price point better than I could otherwise accomplish.

I remember that while standing on top of the load on top of the truck (feeding sections to the guys below) close to midnight my phone rang. It was a fellow ham wondering how the move was going. So I told him!

300' and 2 tons of towers and masts at the new QTH in FN24

This has been unbelievably difficult work. Yet I'm not done. The antennas and Heliax would have to wait for another truck, which is pending as I write these words. Of the big antennas all but two of the tri-banders were knocked down to small lengths and transported in my car.

As if all this weren't enough I have more tower on order. There are only 6 weeks left to plant towers in the ground, before the risk of frost in the ground puts an end to concrete work for the winter. Towers and antennas work can continue in the cold, if I am so inclined.

Going dark, for a while

The next part of the move is more serious and will occupy me for the next week. This means no new blog post, no moderation of comments, no email and no phone calls. Aside from being busy there is as yet no internet or phone service at the new QTH.

If the blog and I seem unresponsive you'll know why.

Changes to contact info

A number of correspondents have email and phone contact information that as of now are invalid. There will no forwarding or other notification beyond this note.

Email should be sent to my call sign at rac.ca or arrl.net and no other. When I eventually reply you'll have the new direct email address. My phone number will be disclosed as necessary following email contact.

See you soon.