Bands have been good

I worked Algeria the other night which was a good catch for me.  I also worked a station in the Netherlands which isn’t a new place for me but I don’t get to work it very often.  I’ve been good and logging everything in my computerized log but I need to write everything down in my paper log (yes, I still have a paper log; paper remembers so you can forget).  I’ll do that later today.  Right now just getting the shack computer up and running the way I want it.  I’ve discovered that DOSbox works very nicely under Windows XP with the programming software for my Motorola Radius GP 300 handheld that I use on 2 meters.

The bands are quiet right now so I guess I’ll head off and get some other work done.  I’m really enjoying getting active back on the air though.

Good DX tonight

I got home from school and wanted to relax a bit, so I decided to try to work some DX.  I fired up SpotCollector (part of the DXLab Suite), put in some needed information, and started watching the DX spots come up.  Everything was in the 20 meter band tonight and I wound up working stations in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Venezuela—all countries I’ve never worked before—and getting 59 reports from all of them.

Daydreaming

Here I am at school in the computer lab working on homework yet I catch myself looking out the window thinking about how I'd love to be working DX right now.  Since I've gotten the shack somewhat back in working condition, the bug has bitten me again and I look forward to when the day is done so I can get on the air and listen around for DX.

Starting over again

I was looking through my logbook last night and I realized that I am missing a lot of contacts I've made over the past six months or so.  Sloppy record keeping on my part and being lazy about backing up my computerized log books have caused this to happen, so I'm starting over again, inputting all of what I have in my paper log into DX Keeper which is part of the DX Labs Suite that I use here in the shack.  It's going to be a slow process but I'd better get things back to normal.