I had to drive to Houston Monday for a meeting, and on the way down I listened to 40 meters. About an hour out of Houston I worked Jim, KC0JKD in Missouri, and then Fred, N4PHH in Florida. All this while going 70 mph on I-45 in heavy traffic, including lots of 18-wheelers. It was actually easier than I thought it would be, even considering that I had to drive one-handed while transmitting.
The only tricky part was writing down their FISTS numbers while driving.
Tonight I joined the QRP Fox Hunt for the Thursday night 40 meter hunt. I was totally skunked last week, never hearing either station or the pack calling them. But tonight I found the high fox, Dennis N4DD right away. I called him about 20 times before I hit the sweet spot where he was listening. Then I tuned for about 5 minutes until I found the low fox, Craig VE4WI, who was in such a tight spot he was listening on his own frequency for calls. I was able to get an exchange after only 5 tries.
So I got my first QRP Fox Hunt two-fer. I really enjoy the challenge of finding and contacting these guys while everyone runs 5 watts or less. My first night was a fluke, getting an answer on the 1st call, so tonight was more typical. Still, a twofer is a pretty satisfying accomplishment from where I sit.
And that is in my truck in the driveway, of course.
Til next time, best 73.
Posted in Radio Daze by WA5ICA at January 26, 2006 09:03 PM