I did successfully build two battery packs to power the Yaesu FT-817 I bought. I also spent a bunch of money on supplies to build an electrically shortened half-wave dipole out of PVC pipe and wire. However, by the time I was done I'd spent a significant fraction of the cost of the Buddipole I purchased when I realized how just much my hand-built antenna sucked in comparison.

Both the radio and the Buddipole are awesome. Do you know that feeling you get when you handle a well made instrument of some sort? The feeling of quality? Yeah, these have that.

But quality alone does not make something useful. I took both up to Tilden park to compete in the IARU HF competition.. And I failed. Miserably. I made only four qualifying contacts. I also got a large pile of incredibly itchy insect bites, which frankly are more annoying than failing miserably at a ham radio contest.

Also, I'm vain. My new call-sign is N1MMY.

The first obstacle I threw in my path was the Extra class licence exam. I studied for a long time (longer than I've studied for any other test in my life. Really.) and passed just fine. Yet I still couldn't justify the expense to myself.

For a long time, I've had this crazy scheme to build a kick ass battery / solar power system for my (still hypothetical) radio, ala KA7OEI. Well, I've developed a concrete plan of action that keeps monetary outlay reasonable throughout the project, allowing me to cut my losses and forget about it at any stage. And if I do make it to the end of the plan, I'll be proud of what I made so I can move on without bemoaning the waste of money.

Step 0 [complete]:

Pass Extra class exam. Done. 'Nuff said.

Step 1 [complete]:

Purchase DeWalt 36V battery pack from Ebay and a 'Dapter. Both have arrived and I am now ready for:

Step 2:

Go to Fry's to purchase other equipment needed to build a simple 4 cell A123/M1 pack. Build said pack.

Step 3:

Finally give in and buy a Yaesu FT-817ND. I'll probably also get a Yo-Yo-Vee. I'll not buy a Buddipole at least until I've given the YoYo solution a serious shot. Given that I'm more interested in NVIS than DX, I think the YoYo has a decent chance of being sufficient.

Step 4:

Build kick-ass power system. Details shaky. It should power a radio and an HF amp (probably the HL-50B). And maybe involve a solar charger.

Step 5:

Buy HF amp. Build cool carrying system to hold all components. Earn ham geek cred. Stuff.

That's the plan. We'll see how far I get...