Getting caught up

Well, I just realized I have fallen behind again.  Work keeps getting in the way of my blogging!!!! 

 

OK, here is the deal.  The 10 meter contest stunk!!!!   I scored less than last year (mostly due to my being out of the chair so much).  But, the band was also terrible.   There were good points, though.  Larry and I got to spend some good father/son time together.  I did get to see my daughter in her Christmas presentation.  I did get to see my favorite cousin……

 

So, hopefully the bands will be better next year!!!!

 

I still have not submitted my logs to either the ARRL or PVRC.  I need to get off the stick and do that soon.

 

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!!

The conspiracy continues.....

Yesterday things were going fairly well at Larry's during the 10 meter contest when my wife called me to say that an FBI agent would be at my house around noon and I needed to be there. Well, I left Larry's and went home that morning about 11:30. Actually, 2 FBI agents arrived and after we went out to a late lunch/early dinner, they went back to Washington DC. I was not taken into custody, and matter of fact, enjoyed my time with the agents immensely!!! In all seriousness, one agent was my favorite cousin and so it was worth every minute being away from the radio. My score suffered greatly for being away for 6 hours from the radio during the most active time on the band, but there is life beyond contesting!!!! Not much, but there is some.......

So, my only hope is that I will be able to make up lost ground on Sunday!

Where is everyone???

I am at Larry's and 10 meters has been really dead. I keep coming in every few hours and listening, but had not heard anything until about 30 minutes ago when I worked Bob (W4MYA) and Duke (W1ZA). This one sure is looking rough. I am hoping that with the coming of daylight, things will get better. When I came over at midnight, I heard a couple of stations right at the noise level. The Jupiter could not pull them out. But, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

There's a big hole in my back yard!!

 

While I was out with Larry (W3MGL) today, I ran across a friend of mine (Robert) from church that has a construction business.  I told Robert that I needed to get with him about a price to finish the tower foundation hole.  He said he was working up in my neighborhood and would come over to check it out later during the day.  I went home and got a phone call from Robert saying that the crew was going to stop work at about 4:30 and he would be over after that with a mini excavator.  Well, 4:30 came and so did Robert.  He did not bring the mini, but the next size up.  He was finished in 20 minutes.  Of course, I have a little bit more hole than I need, but I will do some backfilling and may need to build a form.  But I will wait to see and go from there.  Robert said that he would not charge me anything for digging the hole.  That is a good friend!!!  My ex-wife used to call my business friends from church the “Baptist mafia” because we would often do things for each other and accept no payment or very little payment.  I am grateful that we have a number of people in church who have the same philosophy.  When Allyson was sick, they were coming over taking care of meals and the house for us until we got her home from the hospital.  Those 8 weeks she was in the hospital were tough, but it made things much easier because of my church family.  So, now it is time to look about some concrete!!!!  Who knows, I could even be finished before the beginning of the year.  I doubt it, and going back to school in January will put a damper on some radio activities, but I am going to do all I can.

It's a conspiracy.....

 

This weekend is the ARRL 10 meter contest.  It has been a favorite for me since 1994 when I was a Technician class with only 10 meter phone privileges.  I am planning to work the contest from Larry’s (W3MGL) station and take advantage of his quad.  I need to get him back into the shack, so I was hoping to at least have him come in and take a peek at me from time to time.  I can’t remember the last time he had his Jupiter on the air.  

 

So far, my Sunday School class party has taken a few hours from me during the start of the contest.  That will keep me off the air until at least 10 or 11 local time.  Now, I have found out that Emma (my fantastic 4 year old) is scheduled to be singing on Sunday night at our church service, so that will take the end of the contest out.  So, I must concentrate on the middle!!!  My only goal is to score more than last year.  This should not be a problem, as Larry even beat me last year!!

 

So, I am hoping that this year’s contest will give me a better score, get Larry back on the air and be fun for all.

 

See you in the contest!!!!