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I believe that all radio amateurs should buy a new radio once every few years. New toy renews interest and enriches learning process.
— Nigel Booth (@m0cvo) September 14, 2013

Last night I saw a tweet from Nigel M0CVO saying that he thought that every ham should buy (or build) a new rig every few years. When questioned, he said that he thought that it provided a fresh injection of enthusiasm and perhaps ‘freshened’ up interest in the hobby.

In an ideal world, I’m sure we’d all like to have the latest rig every year or so, but for all but the lucky few, that’s simply not realistic. However, I can see what Nigel means and I think there is something in what he says.

Happily though, it doesn’t take a new rig to keep it fresh! I found that it might be as simple as a new piece of software (possibly free!), a new aerial, trying a mode you’ve not experimented with before. The hobby is so broad, there are always new things to look at.

I found when I didn’t read an amateur radio magazine regularly, my interest was diminished – simply because I wasn’t reading articles about what other people were doing and thinking, ‘Hey, I could do that – that sounds interesting’.

So whilst I couldn’t agree that you need an expensive new rig every year or so, keeping trying new things and experimenting – that, after all, is the whole point!

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