From time to time the thought of hanging up the headphones, dismantling the antennas and shelving the radios has come to mind. I've mused why invest further in the ultimate antenna, the newest state-of-the art receiver, the latest WRTH handbook. In this age of web-radio, social media, poor propagation, dwindling stations, non-responsive broadcasters and know-it-all BCLers, I've found it simply more and more difficult to sustain interest in a hobby I have known since the early 1960s.
It is by no means the first time this hobby has lost its charm. Back in the 1980s and for nearly 30 years thereafter, radio was merely a flip of the switch and a twist of the dial, in the pursuit of nothing more than news, documentaries and music. There was no desire to DX, no need to QSL for this or that station. My focus by then had shifted entirely to career and family.
When I retired in 2009, I returned to the hobby with newfound interest, new radios, new antennas. Soon the old spark was rekindled. But much had changed. Stations heard in my youth like Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Budapest, Radio Sweden had disappeared. And more long time favorites would gradually fade into the sunset with their antenna masts gleaming their last red glow. Of course, new ones came along too, and kept the flame for DXing and QSLing alight.
Nowadays, I tire very easily. Interest in all things related to radio has begun to wane. Perhaps, it is time I fade away too. Take a hiatus. Tune in only for the ad hoc or special broadcast. Log and blog less frequently. Post the occasional QSL. It is time for a change.
Happy DXing to those who still possess the passion for this hobby. Thank you and 73.
