So. for the January 09 VHF Contest, I was nursing a bum knee.
For the June 09 VHF Contest , I ended up nursing a bum transmission.
We started out well ahead of schedule for a contest. I guess this is the
first contest that I can remember that Andrew, KE5GAQ, didn't have a
sporting event or something happening.
I was excited.
All the gear went into the van. We updated our mapping software. Found all
of the things you usually leave behind. We were ready to go. We had heard
reports of Sporadic E on 2m and good 6m openings. This was going to be
another great contest!
Not so.
We make it from EM21 to EM24 and the van starts making a whining noise. We
decide its time to turn around. We stop at my wife's 2nd cousin's 80th
birthday celebration near Hope, AR and eat some BBQ, then head on to
Texarkana to spend the night. We make a few more contacts on the way.
By the time we make it to Texarkana, the van is slipping in and out of gear
pretty bad and we can make a top speed of about 40 mph.
Sunday morning we walk over to the Waffle House and decide to consume mass
quantities of good breakfast. Then take off South dreaming of making it back
to Nacogdoches.
We get to Atlanta, TX and decide to stop and let the van rest.
We get to Jefferson, TX and decide to stop and let the van rest.
We get to Marshall, TX and decided to stop and let the van rest again. This
time we start heading South again and pull over at a towing yard and make
the decision to have it towed home.
We were met by James at Highway 59 Towing. He's a good guy that actually
knew a little about Ham Radio. Andrew and I dropped the 6m & 2m mast and
tied it to the top of the van and watched as James skillfully loaded the van
on the roll-back truck. This thing was a Cadillac! It was a 4 door
just-a-little-smaller-than-a-semi truck that had a couch for a back seat and
air ride front seats. We made it back to Nacogdoches in just over 70
minutes.
If you are ever in need of towing near Marshall, TX call Hwy 59 Towing,
they'll treat you right!
The towing bill was $250 but my insurance and auto club paid for all but
$30. I was pretty happy about that. My new transmission was $1,921 and I
didn't get any help on that. Maybe I'll pass a collection plate at the next
Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club meeting. ;)
Even though we didn't win any awards, I still consider myself blessed that
we made it safely home, and me and the teenager didn't kill each other.
Now to get ready for September!
de KE5EXX
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