[Boatanchors] Boat Anchors and old age

[Doug Moore via Boatanchors]

Group,
 
Don't know if this will make it to the group but I felt I had to comment on 
 this thread. I too am 77 years old, and although presently in good health, 
there  is no way I can still do the things I did when I was 40. :-)
 
I have been licensed since 1954, starting as a Novice in California with an 
 ARC 5 receiver and a single 6V6 transmitter on 40m CW. I had several 
lapses  after getting married to my first wife in 1960, and then later when I 
moved out  of California. I let my license lapse, but obtained it again years 
later in  1997.
 
I grew up with vacuum tubes, and loved boat anchor gear, to the point where 
 ultimately I ended up restoring THREE Hallicrafters SX-28 receivers, and a 
lot  of other gear. I ran a Hallicrafters SX-117 receiver and Heathkit 
HX-10  transmitter on HF for several years. I restored other boat anchor gear, 
old  broadcast receivers, etc. I went to Hamfests and collected "projects" 
for my  "retirement" years. :-)
 
But, at some point, I had my first "Epiphany" I looked at my "to do"  
projects and realized I would not live long enough to ever finish them all. :-)  
I went through my first phase of housecleaning. My second and last wife 
inspired  the second stage when we literally ran out of room.
 
In addition, one's interests change, lifestyle changes, and we need to  
change things. Ultimately, I realized my interests had changed. I had moved on  
to other aspects of technology which took up less room than boat anchors. 
No, it  was not computers. Those remain just tools. :-)
 
So by the third epiphany I had given away most of my old ham gear with a  
few exceptions. A few years ago, I gave away my cherished vacuum tube HF  
station. I am essentially inactive now except for local participation in some  
RACES events. Only my 10m and 2m antennas remain.
 
Life changes. I am still designing and building electronics though now  
officially retired. It keeps my mind active. I write articles and assist people 
 daily struggling with the same issues I struggled with when I was 
beginning.  :-)
 
Yes, I miss some of my old boat anchors, though I STILL have one SX-28  
which is now just an SWL receiver. It was the first one I restored, and took 3  
years at the time. :-) I still have a Zenith console radio in the living 
room,  and a very few scattered table radios, plus some 40 Geiger counters 
ranging in  age from 1939 to recent. All are restored and working. (These do 
not take up  much space.)
 
"Nothing is certain but change."
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled."
 
Make no apologies for your decisions as you get older. You gotta do what  
you gotta do. :-)
 
Regards,
 
Doug Moore (Formerly K6HWY now KB9TMY)