Rejoining the Land of the Living

I can SLOWLY feel myself coming back to myself. January and February were tough months. With the arrival of March I have felt some energy and stamina returning. I can walk farther without getting winded, I can lift a bit more weight, I feel less exhausted at the end of the day.

That of course, led to participating in the 40 Meter Fox Hunt last night. I initially wasn't going to and then I thought I might join in from the dining room, using the KX3 and the AX1. But then I decided my chances would be better with the "regular" antennas, so I headed downstairs.

I heard Marty NR3Z in PA right off the bat. He was a decent 579, but it took me a while to figure out his listening pattern as he was on the move, listening to the fringes. I stuck with it and finally worked him at 02:42 UTC. I was surprised to see ib AC Log that this is the first time that I have worked Marty, ever.

Then it came time to go Hunt for Kevin W9CF in AZ. To be honest, I didn't expect much. I found some Hounds baying and went down in frequency 1 kHz. Sure enough, there was a signal there, but not much of a signal. I was about to throw in the towel, as I'm not going to clog up the aether by calling someone who I wouldn't be sure was calling me back. Just as I was going to throw the switch, Kevin's signal strength started to increase, slowly. That's when I decided I'd stick around for a bit. I turned the AF Gain all the way down and the RF Gain all the way up. Twiddling the knobs for loudest signal worked and I earned the second pelt for the evening at 03:07 UTC.  Persistence paid off and having enough energy to actually be persistent was the key. 

Now for some good news. An e-mail came down on the Flying Pigs e-mail reflector to allay fears and announce that the Club isn't disappearing any time soon. While Diz W8DIZ may now be an SK, the club he helped to establish will move forward. I think Diz would have been terribly disappointed, had the Flying Pigs had gone belly up.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!