October 19, 2014

Just a blip on the radar? HAH!!!!



  Yes, I know, it's only a blog if you add things to it on a regular basis. Sue me. I have distractions.
   Facebook (among other things) has taken a lot of my time and my need to speak out seems to be satisfied by spreading memes and articles that catch my fancy. I fear that my new Twitter account will only add to the distraction and lessen my likelihood to keep this up any better than before. But I will try.
   I find it both sad and ironic that my last post here was in reference to my participation in the 2013 IARU HF World Championship, an international ham radio contest geared toward making as many contacts world-wide as possible. In the post, I stated that my “406 points are a mere blip on the radar” as contests go.
   Imagine my shock and dismay when I opened a package from the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) that had been sitting in my mailbox overnight and discovered the following certificate inside:

   WOW! 406 points was the high score in all of West Texas for operating voice-only at 6- to 150-watts transmitter power (25-watts, in my case)! AMAZING!!! What isn't shown (nor accounted for) on the certificate is the fact that I was operating ONLY on the 10-meter band, just one of six bands available for use and the one that really doesn't play well when the sun is down.
   Needless to say, this baby is going in a picture frame and getting a prominent place on my brag wall. It may take several days for my feet to make contact with the ground again.
   WOW!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
   [No, it is not normal to take over a year for certificates to go out...they have been VERY busy. Yes, I may have been the ONLY ham in West Texas to participate. BUT I WON! :^D]

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