North American QSO Party and a Few Lighthouses to Boot

So yesterday was a busy day. I started out running the garbage, then mowed my yard and the father-in-law's (KU4ME) yard. After that we decided to run up to Clinch Mountain. We had been out in the field a couple of nights this past week to watch the Perseid Meteor shower and to watch an Iridium flare. While we were up there watching the shower, I had been on the local 145.470 repeater, talking to a few friends. It was then that one of them mentioned going up to Clinch Mtn. to watch meteor showers. That brought the thought of a little restaurant up there to John the KU4ME. Clinch Mountain Lookout Restaurant is home to the famous vinegar pie. Anyway, we enjoyed a wonderful down home meal along with vinegar pie as well as strawberry rhubarb pie.

So once we got back home, it was time to sit at the station and get down to some serious contesting. Last night I worked the North American QSO Party for a good 5 hours. I know you are thinking that if I was a serious contester, the yards and dinner could have waited. Unfortunately, when the temps are hot and the humidity is low, we are plagued with a horrible AC line noise that won't quit. So needless to say, I wouldn't have done any good during the afternoon hours. After about 5 hours I had bagged a total of 120 contacts and 61 multipliers for a total of 7,320 points.

This morning I was awoke by my XYL (AJ4IJ) who was beaming about a couple of good contacts she had made. She contacted a couple of lighthouses and a special event station for the Mason-Dixon line. I won't go into the contacts as I'm sure she will want to blog about them, but she said I should get up and work some as well, considering the bands were doing really well and the noise wasn't in there. So needless to say, after a cup of coffee and a cigarette or two, I sat at the station and made a few lighthouse contacts, two in New York and one in Canada.

So that's been the amount of radio time I've had. I've been on the 470 repeater a bit more here recently so the activity is definitely picking up. Anyway, thanks to all the contacts I made. I hope all had a fun weekend. Good DX and God Bless to all.

73 de AJ4JD,
Tim

P.S. All contacts have been uploaded to LOTW and EQSL.