Look what showed up the other day?

 

My birthday came and went just the way I like—without fanfare. I’m not one for big parties or everything that comes with them. I turned 66 this year, and since retiring 7 years ago, time has sped by.

Back to my birthday, and about three days later, I was at the grocery store picking up a few things when I got home to find a large box waiting for me. On the box was a shipping invoice from a Toronto radio dealer I was a bit confused.

 

My dear wife explained that she had heard me talking many times about how much I enjoy operating SO2V and maybe one day SO2R in contests. She told me she had gone into my hobby room, taken a picture of my 7610, and sent it to the amateur radio dealer in Toronto, saying, “I want one of these.” Thus, the brand new radio is on my counter. To say the least, I was shocked and thrilled. I did explain that many more expenses would be involved in a full SO2R setup. Her reply was simple: sell the old radio and keep the new one. I did exactly that, and the radio sold in about 2 hours — packed up and picked up in no time.

SO2R for a very short time. 

 I am now the proud owner of a brand new Icom 7610, and I would want no other radio. This radio is fantastic. The only changes between the models are the updated display and some component changes on the circuit boards — specs are otherwise identical. I gave the new radio a spin in the CWops Mini Test, and it worked flawlessly.