[CQ-Contest] Working Split on 80m (or how to get a call from Texas!)

[Rick Stoneking]

During the ARRL this past weekend I did a multi two with WA2C from his QTH 
in EPA.  We were using his ICOM756ProII's, and this was the first time I 
had used this radio.  I moved to 80m in the evening, found 8P1K, set the 
2nd VFO to his listening frequency and proceeded to start calling 
him.  Well after several calls, John (WA2C) started wondering why I was not 
working this station and looked over and said "Whoaaa, you can't transmit 
down there!!". To which I replied, very casually, "what do you mean, look 
at the VFO?".  He then pointed out that while I did have the 2nd VFO set 
correctly I did not have it selected as the transmit VFO - Doh!  Anyway, I 
corrected the situation (but repeated it very briefly once or twice during 
the contest while in a sleep deprived stupor).  When I returned home to NJ 
Sunday night my XYL told me there was a message from 'some Ham guy' on our 
answering machine 'saying something about stop transmitting before you get 
fined'.  So I checked the message and it was a fellow Amateur in Texas 
trying to let me know that I was calling 8P1K on the wrong frequency.  I 
did not think to write down his call before deleting the message (I am 
blaming lack of sleep, but clearly I did not have anything close to my 'A' 
game going this weekend!).

So, thanks to W5?? for trying to save me from myself!  I hope you are on 
this reflector, or that one of your buddies is and they will remember this 
message when they hear you on the local repeater on the ride home tonight 
talking about the lid from 2-land that does not know how to work split!!

73 to all and see you in the next 'test!
Rick
W2RDS