52 for 52: An Update

So... I haven't been keeping up with the 52-for-52 challenge that I have made for myself. It has been basically nothing since the last post I made in late March or Early April. It was kind of a series of things that all combined to create the scenario that led to the breakdown. But the important thing is I am working on getting back online.

What happened?

Simply put, life got in the way. I don't have a permanent setup, so when the VHF/UHF mount broke in my car, and I needed to get my radio setup out of the back room at Maker Space 307, the easy access to my rig went away and I haven't been able to get on the air as much as I would like.

What do I do now?

The good thing is that sometimes a failure isn't a failure; it's just a temporary setback. I plan on doing a couple of things. When I was actively operating for the 52 for 52, I was also attempting to make contacts every day.  That slipped, and then pretty soon I wasn't even making them each week. So for starters, I will be setting up a semi-permanent operating location where I will be able to play radio. I will start by setting up my 100W TS-120 station and just running a coax outside to the vertical on my car or truck, then as time goes on I will throw up an end-fed half-wave that will be wired more permanently into a "shack" or at least somewhere I can leave the radio plugged in more. I will also fix the radio mount for my portable UHF/VHF to get back on the air with that; not having the radio on every day contributed to not talking on the radio every day. I will also work on making POTA contacts again. My last POTA excursion was April 25th, so I am definitely overdue.

Things to look forward to:

• I will be deploying in a more permanent location an end-fed half-wave antenna that will help get online and stay there
• I got a new radio, an old Kenwood TS-120S, and I will do a review on that
• I will need to replace the capacitors and do some minor cleanup/repair on that radio; I'll do a post about that.
• I also got an old Kenwood AT-120 tuner, and the light on this guy is dead. I will try to repair it or possibly make a replacement for this and replace the proprietary power plug with power pole connectors
• I am on a waitlist to get a new kit radio, the Pebble HF. I'll make a post on that new radio kit. You can see the post here.
• Be the first to make contacts at a POTA entity
• Earn the highest number of contacts at a POTA entity.