Spring in North Carolina

Spring in North Carolina...well, not quite. Another week to go technically. And despite being over 80 degrees on Monday and Tuesday of this week - more like early summer - we're struggling to hit 40 today and it looks to be a cold, rainy weekend.

But that's ok, because this weekend is the Charlotte Hamfest and I'm planning to attend on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to going because I've never been to the event in Charlotte. I had to decide between Charlotte and Raleigh this year and since I went to Raleigh last year, I've opted to head a few miles south this time.

On other fronts...I finally made 100 confirmed countries on LOTW...Costa Rica pushed me over the 100 mark. That's 100 countries mixed and still at 99 CW, so I'll wait until I get 100 on CW before I apply for an award. That may be a small milestone for many, but I'm pretty happy about it. Now if I can only confirm South Carolina for my WAS...

Also, I took (and passed) my extra class exam last Saturday. Again, probably not a big deal to some, but I had that same elated feeling that I experienced when I was told that I'd passed my novice exam more than 35 years ago. Naturally I've made a few contacts using my new privileges. Sure is nice to be able finally transmit in those 'forbidden' frequencies where all the juicy DX seems to be :)

Finally, I was able to repair my hexbeam antenna that was damaged by our recent snowfall. I took Tuesday afternoon off from work to get it back up in the air. I sure am glad that it wasn't any worse than it was. I'm a little bothered by the fact that I tried a couple of times to contact the manufacturer to inquire about some replacement parts and never heard back. But, in the end, I was able to improvise.