I chased them on several bands, with nothing heard as they moved from 15, to 10, but finally got a signal on them when they moved to 17. The only issue was they had a pretty good audience, all screaming and yelling digitally, at the same time, in a space slightly less than 3 kc's.

I couldn't figure out if they were try F/H or regular ft8, so after they first reply ended in no 73, ft8, I switched to F/H and played the same game with no 73!.

Bertha, who I planned her being my solution to the no 73 issue, had parts, apparently on vacation over in France at Charles de Galle, and was no help. I should have known that when I named her Bertha, she would grow up wanting to sit on the couch, eating bon bons, and watching soap opera reruns everyday. As usual, I called on Jethrine to do the heaviy lifting. 

4U1ITU finally answered the 3rd time, and after 2 sequences of no 73, I manually shifted to their frequency and got the elusive RR73 for a brand new one. 

Tower work is being done. It is a "non-standard" installation, so if it falls, it will not be Mr Rohn's fault. I am to the point of removing the antennas from the old tower, and placing them on the new. Back in the day this whole process would not have taken long. Now, tower work has become a process, and the most menial tasks are a bit of a challenge. I hope to get the 6 and 2 meter Yagi's on the rotator in time for the June VHF contest, whether I work it or not.

All that being said, EP5TJS is on 17 18.100 @490hz. in the QRM. I can't hear him but occasionally through the other stations. 

Good dxing

Randy/W5ZJ