What happened to K2ORC?

[Paul, K2ORC]

I've been absent from the air for several months, making only sporadic appearances.  The reason for this has been that my wife and I have been busy preparing our place to put on the market.  This we've now done, and we sold it within 6 days of listing it.  We will be closing with the new owner in mid-July and thereafter will be moving to our new quarters in Virginia Beach, VA. 

I am not sure what kind of antennas I will be able to get aloft at the new place.  The setting will be considerably different than that which I've enjoyed out here in bee-yoo-tiful Maine, New York.  Still, where there's a will, there's a way.  I hope at the least to have wire up for 40 meters and up by the autumn sometime so I can resume making RF with both sidebands. 

There are a lot of changes coming in our lives and my wife and I will be stepping out of our comfort zones as we enter the next chapter of our lives.  I hope to be able to say "Goodbye" to a few of you on the air before I drop the antennas and roll up the feedlines for the last time here in another week or so. 

It will be very hard to see this place in the rearview mirror as we pull away to head south.  We've lived on this hilltop for nearly 30 years and love the place, but we just can't take the long winters anymore.  So I hope I'll get a chance to spend more time hanging with the AMers from the Mid-Atlantic whom I've gotten to know over the past few years.  If I don't talk to you as K2ORC, I hope to get a chance to say
Howdy" as K2ORC/4.

73 for now,
Paul, K2ORC

[wa2zdy]

I know how you feel.  My wife and I who've both lived in NJ our entire lives (I'm 44) are just about done packing the house now and moving day is 18 July.  We are moving to the Tampa Bay area.  At least we have friends and family there, but this is one heck of a change in our lives.   As good an idea as it seemed at the beginning is now starting to feel like a major "I hope I like this" thing.

I'm leaving a teenage son here with his mother, both my parents are still alive and my brother too.  But I can't do the cold anymore, largely due to my health, and it's time.

Good luck in your next chapter as I hope you will wish us luck.  Retirement has been ok so far, but this . . .  wow, what a change.

If I never see another snowflake as long as I live, it'll be too soon.

73 and good luck to you both.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Good luck on the big change and move. Welcome to the Tidewater area. I'd be happy to help you put up antennas when the time comes.

And don't forget to say "Hey."

[K1JJ]

Good luck with the move, Paul. After it's over, it always turns out to be the best choice. Very few ever regret a move like that.

A lot of Amers seem to be moving down that way. There's a big concentration between DC and NC now. And, of course, FL.

I just freed up a tower spot and plan to put up a low wire Yagi for 75M facing SSW to cover youse guys. I mean, WTF, over?

T

[Jim, W5JO]

Gee Paul, the biggest thing will be the cultural change.  Things do move a bit slower than at your present location.  But, considering all, you will make new friends, have fun exploring the new location and establishing a new home and station.

Over the past 15 years I have moved several times from Texas to New Mexico back to Texas then to Casper, WY and on to Southern OK.  I have innumerable friends at all locations courtesy of AM and I am sure you will find the same welcome.

It will take a couple of years to become accustomed to the new location but it will be better if you remember the basics.  Find a barber, dentist, doctor and an AMer near you.  The rest will be a cake walk.

Enjoy,

73  Jim
W5JO

[W3SLK]

Steve said:

Good luck on the big change and move. Welcome to the Tidewater area. I'd be happy to help you put up antennas when the time comes.

And don't forget to say "Hey."

That's right! Steve is just up the road (about 30 min. +- traffic on I-64). Don't forget about Terry, N4RQ right across in Chesapeake. I know I'm missing a few but I don't think you will get too 'ham' lonely down there Paul. I pretty sure that the AM mode is well represented in the Tidewater area.

[WA3VJB]

WOW you've really done it !
VB is a nice place to live. Been there done that.
Excellent scenery too.



And you're all set to take it all in:

[k3zrf]

So VJB Paul, is that Virginia Beach or Virginia B....?

ORC Paul, good luck. There are a lot of us close enough to visit and make sure you have plenty of trouble!

[Paul, K2ORC]

Thank you all for the good wishes!  This is going to be a real adventure and I look forward to new radio experiences and lots of photography and bird watching adventures, too.  I figure with the proximity of some of you reprobates, the fun will only increase.   

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Paul,
      You've been talking about moving to a warmer climate for some time. How many times have you read the ambient temperature to me as single digit or minus something from your current QTH?

I see you two are finally going for your dream. I'm very happy for you and wish you the very best of luck. I hope to talk to you on the air before you finally take your antenna down, and again when you have it up at your new location. Your Viking I always sounds great.

Best Regards and hopefully everything will go smoothly into your new "comfort zone". May it be better and warmer than your old one!

Best Regards,
                   Joe N3IBX

[Glenn NY4NC]

Hey Paul!

Long time no talk!... November 1st 2005 the wife and I made the move down to NC for the same reasons you mentioned, (that stinkin cold weather!).. We haven't regreted it for one second. Two weeks ago we were back in NY for a wedding...On the return trip back to NC when we landed, we looked at each other and said "it's good to be home" we really love it down here, don't miss NY at all. I'm sure you'll love VA.  Yes, it looks like we're seeing increasing numbers of AM'ers moving down yonder.. that's great!.   Looking forward to working you when you get settled. I'm only an hour from the VA border... Steve HUZman says he's gonna drive down to my place and help me put up my Moonraker. 

Glenn

Thank you all for the good wishes!  This is going to be a real adventure and I look forward to new radio experiences and lots of photography and bird watching adventures, too.  I figure with the proximity of some of you reprobates, the fun will only increase.   

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Congrats, Paul -

Seems there are a number of AMers moving south. I can't say that mine is wx related all that much, although I won't mind not shoveling snow for a while. Somehow the heat and humidity will probably end up taking the place of the cold.

I'm in the midst of doing the 'get the house ready for sale' thing too, and I have a lot to do. Sure hope that it sells fast like yours did! Of course, I still need to figure out how to deal with all of the radio 'stuff'. The plan is the market the house in July/August timeframe and move in November. That leaves me with figuring out where and how to store 2 bc transmitters and a lot of other gear from tubes to books for several months. The average storage unit just ain't gonna hack it.

I know how you feel.  My wife and I who've both lived in NJ our entire lives (I'm 44) are just about done packing the house now and moving day is 18 July.  We are moving to the Tampa Bay area. 

Oh yeah? That's where I'm heading also, later this year. So maybe there will be some AM activity down that way! 

~ Todd 'KAQ (feeling better already about the move)

[Glenn NY4NC]

I've been told Florida is the lightning capitol of the world. 

I can see the headlines now..... " Influx of AM'ers to 4-land drives out slopbuckets!" 

We are moving to the Tampa Bay area. 

Oh yeah? That's where I'm heading also, later this year. So maybe there will be some AM activity down that way! 

~ Todd 'KAQ (feeling better already about the move)

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Steve HUZman says he's gonna drive down to my place and help me put up my Moonraker.   

Only if you hook your Texas Star linear to it! Seriously, let me know when you are ready. ROAD TRIP!

[John Holotko]

Good luck on the move. You'll like it down in the southland. Matter of fact as soon as I get a chance I'm packing up and heading down to the Gulf. Any place that  is hot and humid is good for  me. I hate the cold with a burning passion and the sight of even a snow flurry makes me go ballistic.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

You'll get the two h's in spades on the Gulf. Although we get quite a bit of it here in the Tidewater area in the summer. Kudo to the guy who invented air conditioning!

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I've been told Florida is the lightning capitol of the world. 

Here ya go, Glenn:

Florida’s unique location, surrounded by warm water, provides the necessary ingredients for thunderstorms to form. It has earned us the title of “Lightning Capital of the U.S.” Other places in the world have even more lightning though. According to a NASA study, there are areas in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America that have more lightning then Florida does. Rwanda, a country in Africa, is known as the lightning capital of the world.

The good news is that a lot of it is somewhat predicatble. The YL lives in the Tampa Bay area and tells me that during the summer season, T-storms build up in the Gulf and cross over Tampa right around 1500-1600 daily, lasting until 1700 or so.

You can bet I'll still have a heavy duty ground system in place! The last thing anyone wants is a visit from Zap, the Lightning God or his sidekick Zorch, killer of equipment.

[Carl WA1KPD]

Of course, I still need to figure out how to deal with all of the radio 'stuff'. ............ The average storage unit just ain't gonna hack it.

Todd,
Just know thazt the WA1KPD Radio Museum is there to thelp you in this time of need...

[Glenn NY4NC]

I see, lightning capitol of the US, not the world... good thing you're not moving to Rwanda! 

I've been told Florida is the lightning capitol of the world. 

Here ya go, Glenn:

Florida’s unique location, surrounded by warm water, provides the necessary ingredients for thunderstorms to form. It has earned us the title of “Lightning Capital of the U.S.” Other places in the world have even more lightning though. According to a NASA study, there are areas in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America that have more lightning then Florida does. Rwanda, a country in Africa, is known as the lightning capital of the world.

The good news is that a lot of it is somewhat predicatble. The YL lives in the Tampa Bay area and tells me that during the summer season, T-storms build up in the Gulf and cross over Tampa right around 1500-1600 daily, lasting until 1700 or so.

You can bet I'll still have a heavy duty ground system in place! The last thing anyone wants is a visit from Zap, the Lightning God or his sidekick Zorch, killer of equipment.