Burnout?

After several years of quite a lot of HF operating, I'm beginning to show signs of burnout!

Not that I'm going off radio altogether, but the logbook is getting sparser in entries than it used to.

Part of the burnout sensation is down to having gained a load of basic awards under the various programmes.  I'm not interested in chasing operators on each and every band, or building up ever-more niche awards that seem to keep award programmes, rather than participants, happiest.

I'm happy to have proven I could do what I wanted to do - make good QSOs across the planet with a £275 second-hand rig, less than 100W and nothing more complex, at least initially, than a delta loop or GP.  Things have moved on a bit since the TS50, but this remains firmly a cheap, cheerful and efficient station.

This might alleviate the burnout sensation!

Ragchewing with the Old Colonies is of course always very enjoyable, as it is with anyone, anywhere who happens to have time and a lighthearted take on life.  Recently, I've spoken to a very senior US lawyer, a nuclear submariner, several Vietnam veterans, and a priest.  These people make for fascinating QSOs, even if some of them are tired of the curiosity!

I've never developed the VHF side of the hobby beyond a Chinese 2W or 5W handie, although my homebrew 5-ele quad has worked absolute wonders.  I think it's time to get a multimode transceiver and a more weather-resistant antenna.  The multimode VHF tcvr is not an easy beast to find.  Older ones usually have limited power and no CTCSS tones on FM.  It seems I'm doomed to spend money on something complex, new and expensive!

Living on an elevated site, I'd love to get into microwaves, and even nanowaves (I can see higher parts of NI and most of the IoM from here.) But, not being very technically adept, and with few apparently interested in showing newcomers the ropes, it seems I may take a very, very long time to achieve this.

Then there's EME with relatively simple antennas, and more work on meteor scatter at 6m.  I've even been wondering about 4m and 70cm.

Hey!  There's plenty to do!  All I need now is time and money!