Well I was concerned that today would be a ZERO day for me but I did manage a couple of QSO's with the HW-8 on 40m. The band conditions were abysmal...that means horrible for my friends back home. So I was listening around the SKCC frequencies thinking I could scare up a contact there, I heard a few stations, all from the southeast. I needed SC for the log but did not get it today.
I did manage to work Jerry K4KBL down in Georgia. He was running SKCC contacts and I managed to get his attention and we traded contact info and SKCC numbers. Jerry has OVER 330 countries confirmed for DXCC and has been a ham for almost 60 years. He also has a cabin in the woods where he likes to use a Elecraft K1 or a TS-570D for QSOing from his inverted vee antenna. You can see his K1 below. Thanks Jerry, you have a great set of ears to hear me today.
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| K4KBL's K1 station - Nice Bencher paddles! |
Then about a half hour later I was calling CQ in the upper end of 40m and worked Marty N9SE from Sharpsville Indiana. He's about 75 miles due north of my location, and he was running his K3S at 5w and we traded 579's with each other. I was elated to hear him say my HW-8 had a beautiful note on CW and he remarked at the stability of the tone. Not bad for a radio that's almost 40 years old!
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| N9SE at his SUPER CLEAN Operating Position (photo from QRZ page for N9SE) |
Marty is a CW operator, and has been at it since about 1980. According to his bio on QRZ he is also interested in the NTS and enjoys contesting and trading SKCC numbers. Marty is also a QRPer!
So I got two more contacts in the log today, no new states, but like I always say, there is always tomorrow!
We have high winds and thunder in the area again, so I had to disconnect. The band conditions are not particularly inviting either. SSN:39 SFI:81 A:32 K:5 - Yikes
73 de KB9BVN
Marty is a great chess player too! We have played on air games and through the NTS. I still need Indiana.
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