[OKDXA] 40 minutes of Hell

[Dave]

It was a lazy late Saturday afternoon. Too hot to do anything much, the sun
just starting to go behind the Red Fork oaks. Mama says supper will be
awhile...Hey, six may be open. Mosey out to the shack and roll through six.
Nothing. Oh well, lets check out HF. Nothing new on the DX cluster. What the
hey, haven't been on ten in a long time. Start at the bottom and go up
slowly. Dang, is my radio working? Just about to call it quits and hear a
big one way up the band. Probably a local 11 meter station checking out his
new varmit and "frequency range extender". Wait...was that S9SS?..don't
recognize that prefix offhand. Quick check on QRZ says that's Sao Tome
island. Hey, that's a new one! He's working pileup's by the numbers and he's
on the seven's. Carefully tune rig(s) and que up the 811's in case we need
them. I hope he doesn't quit after the zero's. Waiting patiently and come up
with an insane idea. Call the DLL (who was watching cartoons) and inform him
of the neat station on ten. He tunes up and says he has him 5/9. By that
time he's on the three's. Finally he starts calling fivers. W5ATV in my best
"you would really like to work me" voice. He works a couple more and then
acknowledges KD5DLL. Ok, don't get excited. We'll get him. After a few more
calls he says ending in ATV...ending in ATV.. Of course the 811's are in
full orange glow by now and I'm trying to keep from screaming into the Heil.
He says "Too many fives on" and goes to the sixes!

AAAARRRGH!

I can feel the evil vibrations from Admiral & Yale all the way to Red Fork.
My God, what have I done? He's probably already typing up an announcement
for the OKDXA reflector. I keep listening and praying he gets back to the
fivers. Meanwhile I'm considering my next immediate career move if I don't
get him. Permanent missionary work in the Congo?...Weather reporter at
either polar ice cap?....Egyptian tour guide? Mercifully, he got back to the
fives about 40 minutes later and I got him second try with a 5/8. Maybe I
should take up knitting.

Moral of the story. Never call DLL with some DX unless you have already
worked them!

Older & Wiser....W5ATV