with my PRC 320. It was a pretty good little outing up a hill in the park.
It wasn't the usual water tower, but another nearby hill and I set up shop there running with the 2.5 meter whip and managed to get a couple of interesting contacts.
I was pretty slick about it and decided that I really didn't want to be bothered by a whole lot of people. I was in the mood just to do a little uninterupted operating so I put on a set of khaki Dickies and an official looking hat. It worked pretty well and only a couple of people came up to me.
One was a mother with a couple of kids so I let the kids listen in as I worked a guy in Georgia and we ragchewed a bit. The little girl seemed fascinated and the mother was grateful. I didn't mind them at all.
I did see a real prudish couple looking at me suspiciously and then braced myself for whatever was to come. Sure enough a county police car came up took a quick look at me and drove off. The police know who I am and what I do there. They don't mind it one bit and actually are pretty good about things.
The other person that approached me was another ham and I showed him the rig. He was somewhat interested in it but like a lot of hams the rig was too simple and different for his tastes. I guess he's kind of a fixed station kind of guy. I suppose he wanted to see how the other half lives. Still, he was OK.
I do have a yen to raise a little hell in the near future and maybe sometime soon I'll set up shop somewhere like a Starbucks outside cafe or maybe at the ball field near the mall.
The mall is a pretty good place because it is high up on a hill and after the mall closes there's pretty good police protection. Most of the policemen that pass through swing by briefly and are pleasant enough. Interestingly enough, that particular department has a reputation for having pretty tough cops.
I did have to do some explaining there one night but after I checked out he was pretty interested and hung around for a few minutes. I do believe he mentioned it to a few other officers because now the officers just drive by and wave or ask who I'm gabbing with. A couple of them have asked me if I have a cell phone with me in case I need them which I consider kind.
Still, I am wracking my brain to find some spot to put on the air that will be a little more interesting. I might drive out along US 30 sometime and set up along the side of the road atop one of the hills a little east of me. I made some interesting contacts that time.
Still, sometimes just setting up in my driveway in the evening is a lot of fun. One time I had a blast wearing a bush jacket and pith helmet as the neighbors walked their dogs by. I looked very British. Bush jacket, pith helmet and a big Webley revolver strapped to my hip. I was holding tall glass full of tonic (no gin) with a slice of lime in it.
"Calling Bombay, Calling Bombay. This is Jennings speaking," I said into a dead microphone. "Right-o, I'll get a native boy on it immediately..."
What was funny is that just then on frequency I heard a CQ, answered it and put Belgium in my logbook a second later.
My immediate neighbors grinned and wandered in and I put the rig up, broke out the gin and tonic and we had an impromptu party for a couple of hours.
To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this:
http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY
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