Kicks on Route 66-ham radio style







Alright I have been a little behind on posting to this blog but I thought I would do a little backtracking. Every September a few hams setup stations along old Route 66. Now given my love for license plates and cars this obgviously is right up my alley. This past Sempteber was the first time I was able to participate with my new setup! The stations use special 1X1 callsign ranging from W6A to W6S are scattered along the old Route 66. So I looked the information up and learned that the Missouri Texas and New Mexico stations setup PSK, so of course I attempted to pick them off. Well easier said then done. I had to go on 40 meters in the middle of the night to see if I could get them. All of the contacts happened around 2:00 in the morning so I couldn't actually run downstairs and tell my folks...So I had to wait until the next day.
I sent the QSL cards out one by one, complete with SASE and patiently waited for the return cards. I also needed New Mexico on 40 Meters so it was a double treat, a special event and a new state
After doing some investigating I found the group sponsoring this event every year awards a certificate if you send away for it. So I filled out the application along with $5 CASH (figured nobody would think that cash is sent by mail any more) and off I sent it to California. Then the waiting game came because it wasn't until after New Years did I get the certificate, I call it a late Christmas gift.
Now the question remains, will I do it again? ABSOLUTELY I am hoping a few more PSK stations come on the air, like Illinois which is a fairly easy hit from my QTH in Bergen County.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thats cool. Kinda inspires me to finally get my hamshack up and tweak up my antennas so maybe someone would hear me on 40m!!
7:34 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trip to CT-- Branchville School visit Part I

This should be a very interesting post because originally I was going to write about my trip to Connecticut after it happened but since my writing is part of my presentation, I was asked by the people who invited me to write something of a preview prior to going up there so I could show the kids some of my writing. It all started with an e-mail from Tim Stentiford, a license plate collector friend and editor of the famed PLATES Magazine explaining how Kurt, his son, was having what they call a "Diversity Day" at his school. Kurt suggested I come up to speak and when Tim presented this idea to the rest of the planning committee, they loved it. Talk about your ego booster, this is right up my alley. I have spoken about myself at various venues before, even on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC My mom kept saying I had to prepare but I didn't know how. I have been bouncing a few ideas off my mom and am getting my thoughts together. I decided instead of typing them just in W
More Posts to Mattes's Madness

One Contact - Five Lighthouses--W9C

Back in the summer I wrote an entry in here about my Lighthouse phone contact with Bill,N8ET , so now I had to top that with a five lighthouse PSK contact in Wisconsin! I was orginally going to wait until I got the card like my other contacts but I think at this stage of the game you can take my word for it. This contact was with a husband and wife team also known as "Team Cheese"--WI9TC (I love the callsign). Like the contact with Bill, they were in the line of sight of five lighthouses located on the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan. As soon as I saw them on the BeaconBot (the e-mail reflector used to notify people of lighthouse activations-) I knew I had to take my best shot. There were tons of stations dying to get a contact. Well after some monitoring of the waterfall and waiting for a break in the QSO's, I dropped my call. Unfortunately I was getting overpowered a lot so I actually wound up waiting for quite awhile. Although I have to admit it was also fun just
More Posts to Mattes's Madness

Trip to CT-- Branchville School visit Part III

People tell me not to dwell or harp so three entries about the visit to the Branchville Elementary School might be pushing it. However the closer I get to going up there, the more I have the urge to write about it! Call it a way of comprehending what is going to happen. I have told everyone I know about this trip which makes it seem like I am going up there for more than a day. Although the is the same reaction when I went do to Washington DC on my own, to visit Jane in Tennessee or even the license plate convention in Alabama two years ago. These kids are definitely going to bring back to a time with mixed feelings. I mean the kids I'll be speaking to are same age when things starting getting real tough. It was the perfect storm back then. My body was getting worse, and the more I tried to hide it, the more evident it became. I never wrote this before but since I could remember I) was made to wear a helmet while walking around the halls. I fought this hard and finally in fourth g
More Posts to Mattes's Madness