N2EY wrote:


Now EPA to PAC on 40 may not be DX to some, but back then it was the first
Hawaiian I'd ever heard on that band. He was way down in the noise and all I
had was the Type 6's 100 watts and the dipole. He was working 6's and 7's, and
my calls went unanswered. I tried moving up a little and down a little - no
soap. But he was soon working 8's and 9's, so maybe there was a chance.

I really enjoyed my first PAC, I know what you mean.


And the generator ran out of gas, sputtered and stopped. The lights on the rig
faded and the control relays buzzed and dropped out. But I had the contact!

argg, I feel your pain, Jim!

snip

Or how about this one:

I knew from previous nights that they'd spend a half-hour trying to work EU,
then go back to work NA stations. So I set the VFO right on their freq, and
when I heard "NW QRV NA DE W1BCG" I was first in line. Right back they came:
"N2EY DE W1BCG"! A quick exchange, 73s, and then the pack descended again. But
I had the QSO! And some time later, the special QSL - for the first and so far
only 160 meter QSO from N2EY.

I sold the fixed-up Viking 2 and VFO a year or two later, and moved away from
that QTH in 1999. Someday I'll get back on 160.


I enjoyed those, Jim. Note that some of our best memories have a certain
amount of frustration built into them.

- Mike KB3EIA -