Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 — The test I mean — the stress test I just completed. It must have been an oral exam as I didn’t have to write any answers or fill in the appropriate circle or select the correct multiple choice answer.
All seriousness aside, Im here at Baptist Hospital in Louisville, sitting here in their cafe having just completed what they call “an echo stress test.” What it really amounts to is forcing an aging, overweight ham operator to walk/run his way to heart failure on a treadmill that’s going to fast at too steep an incline.
The target heart rate was 150, and once the treadmill started into the steeper regions of its operation, the laws of physics took over (somewhere it is written that the difficulty of walking on a treadmill is inversely proportional to the number of calories I skipped by not eating any damn thing since 11 p.m. last night, squared by the number of milligrams of caffiene I did not consume in the past 24 hours in following the damnable pre-test instructions).
Oddly enough, while sitting here at the cafe in my counter-height stool at the counter facing the hallway, I must have the appearance of someone who knows what the hell he is doing — I keep having passers-by stop and ask me for directions or other information about the hospital. “Hell buddy, I’m just as dumb as you in this place!”
This hospital complex was built in stages, with the connecting hallways apparently design by a sadistic architect with a perverse sense of humor. There doesn’t seem to be a direct route to any department beyond collections and the business office. I was here last week — right here in this cafe — and I had to ask twice how the hell to get to the correct exit closest the parking lot.
Fortunately, they have an in-building shuttle that’s designed for people like me who don’t want to spend the evening wandering the hallways looking for an exit.
In two hours, I have to find the pulmonary testing department — God only knows where THAT is — so I guess I’ll hang out here for an hour before I go on my safari to the next test, a pulmonary function test. Walking the treadmill and surviving should be sufficient proof my lungs are working, but I have something called medical insurance, and hospitals must pay for their next building addition, and to do so they need to bill insurance companies for a test I’m not that crazy to go through. Go figure.
On top of that, this coming Monday I have a consultation with a throracic surgeon about a surgery my pulmonary doc wants me to have, but I’m not crazy about. The idea of being field dressed in order to correct a congenital problem I’ve had for nearly 60 years when it hasn’t caused a problem, well, lets just say I’m thinking the doc needs to make the next payment on his Land Rover.
Note to Reader: You didn’t think I would be writing about ham radio, did you???
Actually, I did purchase something ham radio related …. another antenna tuner. I kid you not — but this tuner was one I’ve wanted to buy — it is the Heathkit QRP tuner, HFT-9A. Simple, small, and has a built-in balun.
Speaking of baluns, I’m considering adding a 4:1 balun to the homebrew antenna tuner I recently purchased. It lacks a balun, and since I use ladder line on all my HF antennas, it would be an appropriate move. I’m thinking of buying a kit and doing it myself. I’ll keep you posted.
My wife took notice of my recent eBay sales efforts and asked if I was looking to buy another rig. I like to have money in my radio fund “just in case” something comes along. My wife and I have an agreement that when I sell items I purchased with my money, I can set the proceeds of those sales aside for ham radio purchases. I recently sold an early 60s homebrew Novice transmitter built on a design in QST. Didn’t bring a lot, but every little bit helps.
While rummaging around the attic, I ran across a second Hallicrafters SX-130 receiver in great condition, and also found the SX-101A receiver I purchased years ago but never placed in service. My goal — when I have a clean spot on the desk in the shack — is to set that receiver up.
I already have a couple of choices for transmitters to pair it with. I recently purchased an HT-44 transmitter, and I already have the HT-19 VFO that runs about 4 watts out. Neither matches the SX-101A like an HT-32A would, but I don’t think I’m interested in shipping one to my QTH in hopes it arrives without damage. I’ll have to keep my eyes open on the hamfest circuit.
Time for some lunch. 73 es CUL de KY4Z …. SK …. dit dit …