The other day I worked Bruce, WB8FMA. When I typed his callsign into the N3FJP logging program, the program reported that I had worked Bruce on December 30, 2007, nearly seven years ago. I mentioned this to Bruce, and he looked me up in his paper log.
Apparently, Bruce keeps detailed notes, because not only did he find the contact, he asked me about several things that we talked about that day, including a funeral that I had attended the day before.
That was rather sad, because the funeral was for a fellow ham, who, was one of my Elmerees. I told Bruce that I indeed remembered attending that funeral because the fellow who died was a ham and was one of my Elmerees. He died from injuries sustained from falling down the stairs leading to his basement while taking down a basket of laundry. I think about him nearly every time I take a basket of laundry downstairs myself.
The point here is that I appreciated that Bruce took good notes on our QSO of nearly seven years ago. While I try to take notes, I don’t do nearly as good a job as Bruce did, but maybe I should. The notes would help me remember the contacts and the people I have had contacts with. Not only that, it might help a fellow ham remember something poignant as well.
Dumb DXers
A couple of nights ago, there was a big pileup on 30m. After tuning around a bit, I found that the guy being piled on was 4O7CC, a station in Montenegro. Now, Montenegro is a fine country, but it’s not that rare, so I was wondering why the big pileup. I Tweeted this, and a minute later, a couple of guys responded that the pileup was the result of someone mis-spotting 4O7CC as FT4TA, the DXpedition to Tromelin Island. Apparently, lots of hams jumped into the pileup without actually copying FT4TA. How dumb is that?
HT charging
Talking about dumb, I just did something dumb myself. Yesterday, as I headed for WA2HOM, our amateur radio station at the Hands-On Museum, I grabbed my Baofeng HT. When I tried to turn it on, I found that it was already on. I had forgotten to turn it off the day before, and now the batteries were dead.
No problem, I thought, I’ll just grab the Wouxoun HT. Well, I hadn’t used that for at least two weeks, and when I went to turn that on, I discovered that the batteries were dead in it, too.
Now, it’s not a big deal that I had to go to the museum without an HT, but what if there had been some kind of emergency? The point here is that it’s probably a good idea to keep the handhelds charged, whether you use them or not. If you don’t, when you really do want to use them, you’ll find that the batteries are dead.
Jack says
I have extra batteries that are fully charged and take them with me when I take my HT. Why would anyone not have a spare battery ?
Dan KB6NU says
Good point. I should buy some spare batteries.
Andy K1JOT says
It’s caused by a lack of vitamin D. You’re not eating enough donuts, Dan.
Dan KB6NU says
I eat plenty of donuts. Just ask my XYL! :)
KG9DW says
I could see where someone chasing dx would get confused. If 4o7cc was working split right next to Tromelin, it’s possible the chaser got confused. As a new cw operator, I’m now questioning who I contacted on 10/31 around 10.115!
The other confusing thing when working DX…they seem to only send their call sporadically. You sit there for 30 minutes and might catch their call once.
You’ve now presented me with a reason to be doubly sure who responded to my call. And to not trust the clusters!
Guy Simmons G4DWV says
For taking notes during QSOs, check out Cintanotes (http://cintanotes.com/).
Mike KM4FMK says
HT charging: I have 3 Baofengs, two UV-5Rs, and an 8W F8HP. Pick up a 3800mAh battery, will last several days, even on occasional high power Tx. Even some of the emlers that have written off these cheap Chinese Baofengs are starting to get some interest again when I show them all the options available (8W, Nagoya antennas like NA-701, 3800mAh battery). F8HP or F9 V2+ for under $60, $12 for NA-701, $12 or 3800mAh battery and you have 8 watts and good signals for under $100. Add in a magmount Tram 1185 for $15 and a PL-259 to SMA adapter and you have a good mobile setup for a vehicle not equipped with a mobile station.
Sometimes us newer hams help re-spark interest in something the elmers wrote off some years ago. With my 8W HT, I can make contact with others up to 20 miles away even through fairly thick pine tree forests of north Florida.
Jon Kreski - AB9NN says
Great point on charging HT’s. The good news is that today’s super low cost HTs and batteries are so low cost that you can much more easily afford a back-up HT battery. Heck, at around $30 for the HT you can afford to buy an extra HT, keep one on the charger and the other in use!