That's the excuse I'm going to give my wife tomorrow when she finds my UPS package on the front porch — “Honey, it's treatment for my ham-itis.”
Think it'll fly?
Naw, me neither!
I've been eBaying off surplus “stuff” in my shack to finance the purchase of a new Icom IC-7000. I sold off enough stuff to pay for the new Icom IC-756PROIII that's here in the shack with me now, so why couldn't I do it again?
Well part of the problem I've been having is not having enough “big” stuff to sell. It's much easier to sell rigs that bring $400 a pop than to sell $40 items — and that's what I'm down to, the smaller stuff.
I hadn't sold anything in several weeks as I was trying to get caught up on non-ham stuff around here first. I had been cruising eBay for a used IC-7000 but they seem to show up and sell within $100 of the new price. Not interested!
But I am interested in buying a used one at a good price. Hope springs eternal, even in the mind of a tightwad ham operator.
I had been watching a variety of auctions on eBay when I stumbled across a 746PRO that had a very low bid. Hmmm …. I had used one of these at Field Day and special events, and I really liked the rig. My interest lie in it having 6 meters and 2 meters too. The price was very attractive, and I realized too that the auction was not going to close on a weekend evening but during the week — around midday, not exactly the best time for getting the “most” out of your eBay auction.
I made note of the 746PRO and a couple of others. I researched the seller and asked some questions about the rig. It looked very very good. On the day it ended, I waited to see if the snipers would drive the price up beyond what I felt was worthwhile. I was the only one who entered a bid in the closing moments, though one bidder did drive the price up $20 in the closing 2 minutes. The final price was less than $8 over my sniper maximum bid, so I nearly didn't win it.
Needless to say, I'm excited about the new rig. It will be here tomorrow, and I'm already trying to make room for it in the shack. Yeah, it's overkill to have such a nice HF rig next to a PROIII, but hey, I love my radios!
The 746 is going to be devoted to 2 and 6 meters mostly. It'll be my Field Day rig or my “take it on display” radio if I need to do that sort of thing. It's an impressive rig, and I don't want to necessarily pull my PROIII out for trips like that.
Like most hams who have been in the hobby a while, I'm what my Dad would call “radio poor.” I have two four-foot tables on each side of my operating position stacked with additional ham gear, not to mention what I have in the basement and boxed up in the attic.
The good thing about the 746 is that I can turn it around and re-sell it on eBay and get all or most of my money back out of it. I can still piddle with selling small stuff on eBay, but in the meantime, I have a new toy to play with (in addition to the PROIII which I love).
Now I have to decide if I want to part with two other rigs in the shack — my Kenwood TS-711A all-mode 2-meter rig, and my beloved Icom IC-706 (original version).
Part of me wants to keep both. They're both very very clean rigs and in top working condition. I would like to box them up and replace them with the 746. In addition to the 746, I also have two 2-meter FM rigs in place, but I'll keep those running.
I want to see how well the 746 performs on 2 and 6 before I decide to get rid of either radio. I monitor 6 all the time, I just leave the radio squelched and sitting on 50.125 MHz, so that's what the 746 will be doing mostly. Or I could still use the 706 as my 6meter monitor.
The 706 is such a good mobile radio — compact, efficient — I hate to part with it and I hate to waste not using it. I never have finished my HF install in my Durango (Kenwood TS-50 with matching AT-50 tuner), and frankly, I'm not a huge fan of the TS-50. I would prefer the 706, simply because it can do VHF as well.
So in short, I've got a new toy coming and I'm not sure what — if anything — to shed.
Part of me would like to sell the TS-711A and the 706 to help finance the purchase of the IC-7000 — without the necessity of selling the 746PRO! THAT would be nice! But if I have the 746, why would I need the 7000? I don't necessarily want to run it mobile. I want it in the house!
And yes, part of me would like to have an HF/VHF radio for use in a “go kit”. I've envisioned one rig and backed with a lightweight switching power supply or battery source. I can add a small antenna tuner, all-band HF dipole, 2-meter jpole, hell, I would cover most of what we might ever need.
Well, that might happen, but it's not a priority. Where I need to put my dough is in my shack — I don't have a good backup power source. I want to get an AGM-type battery and float charge it from the power supply. This will keep me on the air during power outages.
THAT'S what should be where my cash goes. Improve my own ability to communicate in emergencies.
Anyway, the rig comes tomorrow, and I'm excited. Which rigs stay? Which rigs go? If I sell the 2-meter all mode and 706, I could get close (again) to purchasing the 7000. Sigh!
Well, maybe I should just go to the attic and see what I can drag out to sell on eBay. I have enough code keys to sell and buy the rig, no sweat! But sell my beloved bugs?? Nah! LOL!
73 es GUD LUCK! …. de KY4Z …. SK ,,,