Before the contest, had to repair the 160-10 OCF Dipole---but I had backup.
About two hours in, the K3 started locking up and when it was power-cycled, it
would only put out about 12-15 watts.?? I did some Googling and found possible
solutions.
I spent several hours taking the K3 apart and putting it back together.? It
would put out normal power for a while and then lock up again.? Finally, after
much frustration and swearing, it decided to go to low power permanently--none
of the tricks seem to get it to put out full power.? I tried my backup rig
(FT-857) but I'm missing the front-end cable.
Then my interent access went away---I use it to monitor the spots to watch for
bands to open up.
Anyway, after all that, I just decided to run at low power (12-15 watts) and do
as best as I can.? I've got about 250 Q's in the log and will finish out today
at Low-Power.? I worked Dave (W7FB --W0MHS) last night in MO and told him what
was going on and he said I was an honest 579.? The OCF seems to be doing the
trick and I snagged a few west coasters and EU stations on 40 last night.
I'm not on par with the number of contacts from the last few years, but I'll
keep hammering.
73, all, GL, Tad, K4O -- WF4W
?
"What a long, strange trip it's been"
?
The Grateful Dead
?
Truckin'
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