On Saturday, I worked the CW version of the North American QSO Party. I hadn’t worked a contest for a while so I thought I’d give it a go. It was amusing enough, but I don’t really have a good setup for contesting. I gave up after about an hour and a half, having made 44 contacts with 23 multipliers for a score of 1,012.
When I say I don’t have the setup for contesting what I really mean is that I don’t have the antennas. More than once, I’d try to pounce on a station calling CQ, only to be outdone by another station. Several times it took me three or four calls to work someone. Maybe someday I will have a QTH where I can put up a tower.
Two XFs
Later that evening, I tuned to 30m and made a few regular QSOs. The last QSO of the evening was with K8XF, Mike down in Tampa. Mike is someone I’ve worked many times. He’s memorable as he and I grew up on the same side of Detroit (the east side) and his brother went to the same high school I did (De La Salle Collegiate).
On Sunday, my first contact of the day was with W6XF, Tom, of Reno, NV. Conditions weren’t very good, but I really wanted to work him in order to get two XFs in a row. It won’t get me an award, but hey that’s cool.
More Word QSLs
On Friday, I got a QSL card from KI4HEX, while on Saturday a card arrived from W2SEX. W2SEX is the call sign of the Amateur Radio Assn of the Tonawandas. I worked its trustee, Dex W2VCI, during Straight Key Night. On the back of the card is an interesting bit of history is that the original call was actually W8SEX, and it was issued to Berton Salefske, a founding member of the club. When that area became part of the 2nd call district in 1946, Salefske was issued the call W2SEX. The club applied for the call in 1968 when Salefske passed. Dex told me that the club has been using the call for Field Day and other special events since 1954, and it always seems to generate a lot of interest.
ka7niq says
I am also near Tampa Dan, but grew up on the east side of the motor city, near 6 mile and sherwood, then moved to warren, and then to hazel park. I used to go to hamtramck to get the good kielbasa from the polish peoples, LOL
Dan KB6NU says
Well, we grew up in the same part of Detroit, Chris. When we were kids, we lived near 9 Mile and Mound, but my grandparents both lived on the east side of Detroit, and I went to DeLaSalle High School on Conner, just across the street from City Airport.
We make our own kielbasa, althoug we Slovaks call it kolbase. In fact, we’ll be making 40 pounds or so next weekend for the holiday season!
ka7niq says
LOL, I lived at 9 and Van Dyke, went roller skating at Motor City Skating Rink, when I wasn’t running from the Warren Cops! Age here is 58 Dan, and DeLaSalle was a great high school, that every catholic kid wanted to go to! 10-4 on the Kielbasa, I loves me some Kielbasa! How old are you Dan ? ) I hate that Capta!