I started re-assembling my radio stack this past week, a project that started when I noticed that my main antenna (and everything attached) was suddenly deaf as a post. The problem was simple enough to fix - the lightning arrestor plug had worn down after the recent wave of severe weather, so I ordered a few more and got it up and running again. Something was still not quite right, and I next discovered that the SDR switch (an MFJ-1708-R) had blown a relay, so that component needed to be replaced as well. MFJ is now out of business, so I’m looking at some alternatives (these look good), but in the meanwhile, I got the HF rig back on the air, ironed out some wrinkles with the CAT controls, restored my lost QSL log, and made a few contacts via FT8.

Anyway, this is all to say that as we approach the formal end of studies, a bit more mind space can be returned to hobbies and whatnot, and as long as we’re still at (or near) solar max, this feels like a good time to get back into radio.

Halfway through Demons, it’s starting to pick up some speed. I’m on Paz’s final essay and will probably start Mariano Azuela’s Los de abajo afterward. I’m close to finishing Introduction to the Devout Life and would like to stay with DeSales for a little longer, probably with Treatise on the Love of God.

Watching: White Lotus, The Righteous Gemstones. FOMO has gotten the best of me, and now I need to watch all of Severance so that I can speak with the rest of my family.