Goodbye 2022, Welcome to 2023...

Thinking back on my 22 years of being a Ham, I'm amazed at where this hobby obsession has taken me.

It started with a 2m handheld (IC-T90), a second-hand 100w HF mobile (IC-706MkII), and some wire in a tree. Of course, I still have all of these items and while they don't get used very often they do still work. Except for maybe the coax that went to the homebrew dipole, that might not have survived. Today I sit here in front of two HF radios, three amplifiers, three tuners, and a remote antenna switch connected to 5 antennas (full-size 80m doublet, 6-band HF vertical, 122ft folded dipole, 500ft loop, tri-band beam). Not to mention the portable station for POTA/SOTA and scads of miscellaneous items and kits I've built over the years.

My interests have shifted over the years as well. From local communications and just being a check-in on a net years ago to today's involvement with emergency communications, the occasional opportunity to encourage people to get invovled in amateur radio, digital contesting, and Parks On The Air (POTA).

It's been an amazing journey so far and I'm looking forward to what 2023 brings...

Happy New Year!