Not too much exciting news to post…after CQ WW CW (36M points at W3LPL, but 38M earned at K3LR…sigh…), stopped at K4JF’s on the way home & swapped out his TIC Ring motor. Once I did get back to NC, I came down w/some weird golf-ball sized hard lump on my left jawline. There was a mild irritation at my wisdom tooth, which I suspected might have been the cause, but then the pain slid to my ear, then moved down into & onto my neck. Finally, in desperation, went to the “doc in the box” urgent care facility, which turned out to be a waste of time/effort/money. Basically a pat on the head & some pain pills, which caused me to throw up two minutes after eating breakfast. In further desperation, went to regular family doctor, only to be told it was an infection in my saliva gland. Different pain pill & antibiotic prescriptions. Luckily, no further vomiting ensued, but the pain kept on. After laying around on a heating pad for a couple of days, things began to subside (the pain & the lump). But I still went to my ENT doctor, who confirmed it was likely an abcess in the wisdom tooth. (In these unexplained circumstances, one always thinks it’s the worst possible scenario, or at least I do, so I was pleased to learn I wasn’t heading down some terminal illness road….) So I kept taking the pain/antibiotics.
Headed back up to MD, where I’d scheduled the 10M Test for myself from W3LPL’s. Since I don’t get to single op much, & I really like the 10M Test, I really didn’t want to miss it. But for some strange reason (having looked at the Atlantic Division records, I suppose), I decided to go Phone Only, Unassisted. I even toyed w/low power, but once I sat in the chair Friday might & discovered just how poor propagation was, I told Frank to bring the amp on-line. Things got off to a very slow start, w/no real DX in the log (other than the usual trans-equatorial stuff), only to jump up after 50Qs when the power supply in the righthand logging computer failed! Luckily, the station is set up for M-M & there’s a 2nd radio & computer at each operating position, synced together. So, it was a simple slide to my left, w/no loss of frequency or pattern. I stopped pushing the CQ button after 100 often-agonizing QSOs. These eight hour drives & concentrating on the radio tires one out, so I fell into a deep sleep, but snapped awake at 5AM, ready to go. Unfortunately, 10M did not open until 1149Z, when the first Southern EU stations simply popped into the headset, & we were off & running. Had some good rates all day, worked some fairly nice DX, & settled down to some very loud JAs (I’d worked four of them), when the HV power supply breaker tripped out w/a large, loud arcing pop! Frank & Phyllis were out, so I was on my own, but it would not reset. After they got home, Frank was unable to resolve the problem, but came up w/a unique workaround, shifting breakers. I worked four more JAs & the opening was over. In another hour, the band was once again dead, dead, dead. Telling myself I could always use the rest, I retired for the night. Sunday morning dawned just like Saturday, but the band opened late once again–1230Z w/Southern EU suddenly very loud. A few nervous moments as the breaker popped out when I turned on the HV, & tripped out twice more in the first hour, but held solidly in after that. Again, good rates (I had a couple hours over 250, & several 100+ hours) along w/some choice DX calling in. No Asians again, & only another paltry few JAs (with weaker signals than the previous night). The contest ended w/me working NR5M, who I suspect was also HP Phone only. 2437 Qs, w/a bit over 150 mults. I did not write down the final score, hi…as I knew it was not enough for a solid USA win. Likely okay for the Atlantic Division & likely in the top ten box, & still a lot of fun. As always, good conversations w/the Donovans at the dinner & breakfast tables, which makes the “recovery” from the straining easier to shake. Thanks for letting me play radio. Will be back for ARRL DX.
Next up, tower jobs here in the Carolinas. Stay tuned…
