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It took me several times to find the correct “split” but I was able to work another new DX country this evening.  I put HH5/KC0W in the log book operating from the island of Haiti in the Caribbean.

This station marks my 88th DX entity.

I’ve made very little entries on the blog in the last few weeks. My back continues to improve and I find myself spending as much time outside as possible. Lot’s of other stuff happening too, so the entries may be a little sparse in the near future. It feels really good to move around again. It seems I’ve dodged the bullet once more concerning surgery.

It’s been a few weeks since my last blog entry. My enthusiasm hasn’t diminished for the radio hobby; there’s just a lot going on here that demands my time. I’m still working DX but it’s almost exclusively on the 30 meter band now. I like this band; not only for DX contacts, but also casual QSO’s with local stations.

When I began this hobby, I thought 40 meters was the band of choice, and there’s still hundreds of stations here, but I find the deliberate interference and utter disrespect of operators here a bit too frustrating to deal with now. Time after time, day after day, and week after week, in the middle of a QSO, I hear the sound of a digital operator, or an experimenter, with no respect, or the courtesy of sending  QRL,  interrupting and ruining a nice conversation on the 7040 frequency.  I shudder when I think of the thousands of “rock bound” operators who now find this frequency utterly useless.

From the e-mail of a recent QRP contact: “It seems 7040 MHz is the International Tune up Frequency”.

I’m not working DX every day now. The bands just aren’t there, whether it’s due to changing seasonal conditions, the damaged gold on the capitol dome up the street, (that’s a joke) or severe weather conditions, I’m not sure. The weather certainly has gone bonkers.

On my health issue; my back pain has eased up greatly, and I can walk short distances, and even ride the bike around town now; but I get muscle cramps easily in my right leg. I’ve seen a physical therapist who has given me exercises to strengthen my “core muscles” around the spinal column. I also had an “electrical test” on the sciatic nerve running down my leg. It’s functioning around 50% of normal. Whether this will improve, or not, remains to be seen. I’m an optimist; so am “doubling up” on the exercises with the hopes of riding longer distances on the bike. I can live without the thoughts of hiking the Appalachian Trail anymore.  Hihi

I have another big decision facing me. I will be eligible for Medicare very soon now and need to decide whether to participate in the plan, or not. I received a 140 page booklet a few days ago, and can’t find “one sentence” about the cost of “deductibles” and “co-pays” that are charged by hospitals and doctors.

If you’ve read this blog for very long; you probably realize that I’m a Veteran of both the Navy and the Air Force. Speaking from experience from both the private, and military health services, I can say without a doubt, the military is the way to go.

I’m VERY happy with the Veterans services. It’s better managed and much more efficient than “civilian” medical care. I’ve said, more than once, that civilian medical care in the this country is a disgrace. IMHO—that’s still true, and will continue to be, until the new “affordable health care plan” is implemented.

The DX seems to have disappeared here in the valley; it left just a mysteriously as it came. There didn’t appear to be any reason why I captured it, in the first place, around the first of the year, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason it left; but I’m hearing very little here in the valley.

Just as a precaution, I’ve submitted a work order (I’m not holding my breath) for a “new” Gold coating of on the West Virginia State Capitol Dome, which is just up the  street. It seems only logical that the recent thunderstorms and a tremendous lightening strike (point blank) last week, on the dome, has reduced my DX to a trickle. I’m just not getting the usual radio signal “bounce” off all that gold.

All kidding aside; the weather has been terrible for the last few weeks. I think the same can be said about most of the European stations which I usually work. They seem to be underwater for the most part. I saw on the news this morning where Calgary Canada has been flooded. The mid west here in the US is still experiencing severe thunderstorms on a daily basis. I think we’re all in trouble with these shifting, and unusual weather patterns in the world.

Perhaps, in some unusual way, I’ll experience these unusual DX band conditions again next year at the same time? It’s beginning to sound like my DX contacts are somewhat of a fluke now, which is difficult to explain. I’ll be looking forward to the beginning of next year, to see if these conditions repeat themselves.

I was hearing Japan stations all weekend, and tried to work several without success, until, on Sunday evening around sunset, I found JA7NVF on the 15 meter band. It might not have been a difficult catch using normal power and a normal outside antenna; but with 3 watts of power and an “indoor” 50 ft piece of “random wire” for an antenna, it was a challenge. At least the first time…..

The “first” contact was difficult but about an hour later, the “second” contact was a “piece of cake”. I was not hearing any response to his calls, from anyone, and did it “just because I could”. This time it was a 599 contact. I happily added my QRP @ 3 W, this time, to the ending of the exchange

I’m extremely happy with this new DX station in the log book. (#87)

Although Japan is only 6,331 miles from me,  (I’ve worked 7,500 miles twice) I never expected to work this part of Asia. I rarely hear them on the air. I’m assuming he was pointed towards California, and I was lucky enough to catch the “second bounce” towards the East coast. He (JA7NVF) isn’t operating with a normal “beam”, he uses something ” Special “, and it works very  well.

Naomi lives in the city of Towada Aomori near Lake Towada . He’s an electrical engineer who has been with the Army Corp of Engineers at the Misasa Air Force Base for 22 years.

Naomi’s antenna farm is several miles north of his home and near the air field where the first “non-stop” flight across the Pacific Ocean was achieved on Oct. 3rd, 1931. The pilots Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon flew a “modified” aircraft from Japan to the coast of Washington. The airplane was called Miss Veedol .

I’ve always found those early flights in small planes to be especially interesting. This flight is a milestone since it barely made it off the ground due to extra fuel, and also, out of necessity, the “landing gear” was “jettisoned” soon after takeoff.  Yes, you read that correctly; it was intentionally “dropped” off the aircraft to reduce drag and increase mileage. However, it wasn’t intentional when the landing struts didn’t “fall off”. There was only “one way” to correct this issue. Herndon climbed “outside” the aircraft (in mid-flight) and manually “dropped it”. At the very beginning of the flight planning, they had intentionally decided to “crash land” the aircraft in the State of Washington.

They did; and managed to walk away from the wreckage. Most of the damage was done to the propeller and as any good pilot will tell you—” any landing you walk away from is a good landing”.

How’s that for guts?

I also worked another couple of good stations yesterday: CO2IR  in Cuba (mailbox below) and ZW7REF in Brazil.

Happily, I’ve got some “very good news” to pass along. About two months ago, I started having trouble with my back and have been forced into an inactive lifestyle which has been sort of depressing. This isn’t the first time I’ve had this problem. I experienced the same trouble around five years ago but on the left side of my body instead of the current right side. It involves a disc pressing the sciatic nerve which has left me almost sedentary. It came on gradually in a period of around a week, and it apparently, has left much the same way.

Over the span of about a week now, the pain has finally let up and I’m seeing some real progress in being able to get outside and move around without the wheelchair. Although for only short distances, I’m almost able to move around with the help of a cane. I can walk about a block now. The effect on my attitude is remarkable.

I have an appointment with a physical therapist in about 10 days now and will have a test to determine if there’s been any permanent damage to the nerve. I still have minor cramping in my right leg but hope this will eventually ease up and allow me to get back to a normal life.

My ultimate goal is to be back on my bicycle and enjoy the rest of the summer months.

My radio hobby is always “second” priority when it comes to family and social events.  I missed the “window” on the 15th due a family obligation and therefore didn’t make a DX contact on that day. That’s a little bad news; but last night after a monthly game of bridge; I easily worked ES3AX in Estonia.

The band is still there, and I’ve no doubt that DX can be worked “every day” with a modest QRP station and a modest antenna. My list of daily DX contacts has been briefly interrupted at day 146.

Currently in the year 2103, I’ve worked 449 stations, of which 395 have been DX contacts.

Today is Fathers Day here in the United States. I’ll be driving my Dad to dinner with my brother and sister. He’s almost 93 now and still getting around by himself, although moving around a little slowly.

I was able to work this new DX country (PZ5RA) on the Northern tip of South America this evening. Suriname is a mere 2,791 miles but was a difficult catch for me. He was listening “up two” and it took me several attempts to work him. Fortunately my friend Eric (AC8LJ) who also lives here in Charleston, worked him just a few moments before me. It gave me a good estimate of where he was listening.

This station in Suriname, makes my 86th DX contact.

I worked CO8LY in Cuba this evening for my 144th day of daily DX contacts. Cuba is such a short distance from here (1,325 miles) ; it’s become embarrassingly easy to work this country. Tonight marks the 24th time I’ve worked Cuba and the 10th I’ve worked this particular station. I’ve been dropping my power down to one watt occasionally just for the fun of it…..

I’ve become somewhat lax on my blog entries lately, but here are the basic facts for the last several days:

There’s several short distance contacts here. The Caribbean area is a gold mine for me. I’ve worked Bermuda several times, and also Ecuador. A surprising and difficult contact was EA7ATE in Spain. I got a nice e-mail from him and expect a card soon.