Oklahoma QSO Party
Call: K5Y
Operator(s): K5YAA
Station: K5YAA
Class: Rover-Assisted LP
QTH: 15 OK Counties
Operating Time (hrs): 7.5
Summary:
Band CW-Dig Qs Ph Qs
------------------------
160: 0 0
80: 0 0
40: 211 0
20: 324 0
15: 0 0
10: 0 0
------------------------
Total: 535 0 Mults = 43 Total Score = 69,015
Club: Oklahoma DX Association
Comments:
Murphy does indeed exist but he can be overcome with a bit of help and a
determined XYL.
Each year prior to "making a run for it" my mobile antennas are once again
tested and the favorite rigs for mobile are pulled out of the cabinet. About a
week before the outing the mobile rig is installed, tested and then removed so
the vehicle can be cleaned. Key item here - two or three days before the run
the favorite vehicle for doing this stuff is dropped off at the mechanics for a
good going over. Fluids, air, filters, belts, wipers etc. are checked and
replaced as needed. On Wednesday, three days before the event all was ready
for another several hundred mile jaunt around the state.
Wednesday evening after reinstalling the mobile gear we drove the "unit" over
to our son's place and made a few Qs on the way. All looked to be FB. Sitting
in the driveway a slight ticking sound started coming out of the area of the van
engine. Looking, listening and sniffing resulted in a suggestion by both of my
sons that a new vehicle may be in order for this year. Naw, I'll just take it
back by the mechanic and have him give a listen. It has gone 142,000 miles and
made 4 OK QSO parties another 7 - 800 miles and one more OK Party is surely
possible. Thursday I took it by the mechanics - he listened and said "You
don't take this thing on the road much do you?" I said no I mostly use it to
get back and forth to the Post Office. I fetch bureau cards a few times each
week. I was pleased to hear that probably just a good "blowing out" would do
it some good. Alright, I already knew it wasn't anything important. We are in
business.
Now for the QSO party - Saturday AM starting in Creek County. We stroll at the
speed limit down I44 around Oklahoma City on the Kirkpatrick Turnpike and down
thru Canadian County, thru Grady, part of Stephens, into Cotton where we passed
W5L, a team that probably wouldn't have stopped to say Hi - they had the game
on. On we go, out of Cotton thru Jefferson into Carter then Love counties.
Pulling off at the Metropolis of Marietta, Oklahoma the XYL noticed a rather
loud ticking well maybe it was a loud knocking - actually more like a
jackhammer sound coming out from under the hood. Ooops - we have a problem
Houston.
Turns out the folks in Marietta are very nice and helped us locate a place
where a mechanic might be around. To shorten this story, the young guy
listened, poked around a bit and helped us try and find anything that was open
that had a vehicle to rent because his prognosis was "You shouldn't drive this
thing very far". After that statement and having been told that everything
closes in that part of the state at noon on Saturday and doesn't reopen until
Monday AM I pretty much resigned myself to the game being over. The young guy
told us a direction to go to make it to a motel for the evening - Ardmore 15
miles North. He gave us his cell number and said call if we did not make it
because he lived up that way and would help out. I decided to drive instead of
operate - nice of me huh? We made it OK - clunk clunk. 45 MPH or slower and
just push right along - hammer hammer - clunk clunk.
Now for the cool part. The XYL called a local car dealership that sells the
same type van that developed a loud noise problem. A last ditch effort BUT she
actually got an answer at 8:45 on Saturday night. The place was supposed to be
closed. Now for the wheeling and dealing that by 11 PM put us in a much newer
2006 vs. 1996 Dodge Caravan with 125,000 fewer miles on it! The same body
style and general features as the one with the clunk clunk. Just outright
bought the thing. Took me 1 hour to shift the mobile gear from the old to the
new - I was mentally working on how I would set it up in the new one all the
while the XYL was working on getting us in the new one! Voila! We're back in
the game and only 3 hours lost. Hows about that for being a nut for the hobby?
Actually discussions had been going around our place for a while about
replacing that 96 van - we just needed the perfect reason I guess - get stuck
several hundred miles away from home in the middle of a QSO Party - good
reason.
Let's just buy it.
The rest of the party was uneventful sort of except for the fact we didn't
cover our whole route due to the delays. 3 hours lost on the vehicle and
believe it or not 1 hour lost due to relying on a cell phone alarm that should
have moved ahead the hour and whistled at us using DST. Nope you gotta turn
those things on then back off for the time to update. By golly, we got back in
the game only 15 minutes late on Sunday certain we were going to do fine.
Merrily moving along in Pushmataha County working a nice pile up and I hear
"It's Over". Ignored that nut and continued on reducing the pile. I hear
"It's Over" again. What's this guys problem I ask myself. I stop answering
the callers and send a quick - "Got 50 more minutes to go here" - back to the
pile reduction activity. I then hear "Thats funny because it's after 3PM here
on the east coast". I stop reducing the pile - consider what I just heard and
realize what had happened after some discussion with the XYL. Ooops - well
don't blame me. Blame whoever changed how the world sets up for DST after
doing it the same last weekend of March for most of my life!
Thanks to all the callers that, believe it or not, made all the efforts to
defeat Murphy worth it. Major pileups at times and great fun working them
down. Would do it all over again - Uh as long as that vehicle dealer will
answer his phone!
73,
K5YAA ( K5Y )
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