[TVARC] USACA "The big one"

[Jim Shaw]

Everyone needs a challenge, Chuck!

 

73

Jim

AL7BA

 

From: tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Charles Theisen
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 9:24 PM
To: tvarc at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TVARC] USACA "The big one"

 

Traveling with K9IA and W9XYL.

>From 1999 thru 2002 W9XYL and K9IA Spent most of their free time working on the USACA awards (Worked All Counties).

Photo of the two awards is below. This Award is sopnsered by CQ magazine and is probably one on the more sought after awards in Ham Radio.

We spent much of 2001 and 2002 traveling the states from east to west and back again. Visiting all but three states and transmitting from 746 counties. We would announce on 20 and then move to 40. All on phone. XYL would log and I would work the microphone and pass it to XYL for her report. We operated as a team. Since there were not very many teams out on the road at that time, we were somewhat popular and as a result experianced lots of log entries at each county stop.  Whenever posible, we would work the county lines. 

We started out with a 706 then a 706 mark II and finally a 7000. 

There is a county award called “BINGO”. Sounds dumb but it was very popular. When you put out the county and the first letter of the sufix of your call is the same as the first letter in the name of the county, You are “GOOD FOR BINGO” in that county. It happens that there are no counties that start with an “X”. So if the first letter in the sufex of your call is an x, You are “Good for Bingo” in all counties. So Fran changed her call to W9XYL. Cool to be so sought after. Like rare DX. IA  ----not so popular. ☹

Lately, I have not been very active with the counties. Over the past 18 years I have added to my “second time” list with  87 left for the “Whole ball of WAX”. 

I also have 1958 worked on CW and 536 QRP CW. XYL doesn’t do CW but is nearly finished with her second time SSB effort.

Great thing to do here in the shack during this health scare. Almost as much fun as bragging about it. But, as with everything else, we have moved on. Haven’t checked but probably not many forlks out there on the road these days. 

Now --- the question is ---- Shall I post this or, should I just throw it in the junk heap, and face the shamefull fact that it’s just bloviating?

Always something !!!

charleyt

 

A close up of a sign
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