Changing My Address

Because Louise and I travel quite a bit, sometimes for extended periods, we have had problems with getting our mail forwarded.  We either had to get the Post Office to do it (which they don't like to do) or we had to beg someone to go get our mail, put it in an envelope, and send it to us.

Just before our last major outing to South Texas in December, our box rent became due at the Post Office and we decided to use that as a reason to make a change.  Our son, Dan, had owned a UPS Store in Sapulpa several years ago and we knew that they rented out private mailboxes.  We went down to the local UPS Store in Sand Springs, paid them a little money, and had a new address!

Part of our logic was that they would forward our mail to us on demand and, in fact, they did this very well.  While we were in South Texas, all I had to do was send them an email and they would gather up all our mail, put it in an envelope, and forward it to us, all for a very nominal charge.  Another part of our decision was that Louise would be in Prattville (Sand Springs) frequently to see the grand kids so it wouldn't be an inconvenience to pick up the mail when we were in town.  This part of the deal is also working quite well.

What I didn't consider was the work required to notify all the people who exchange mail with us that we have a new address!  I have spent a considerable amount of time in this effort since December and I believe that I'm about through with it.  And its not just the initial change; several of the companies we have dealings with (insurance companies, doctors, etc) haven't been able to get the address right on the first try so we have to do it over.

The other day, I sat down to get caught up on QSL cards and realized that I had about 500 cards with the wrong address on them.  For you non-hams, a QSL card is used to confirm a radio contact between two amateur radio operators.  Recently, there have become many ways to confirm a radio contact electronically but a lot of people still prefer the cards.

At any rate, I used a few of my old cards by printing stickers with our new address information, but this was a pain in the rear!  So, yesterday I decided to have some new cards printed.  The first task was to find a picture for the front of the card.  Because of copyright laws, I decided that I wanted a picture which I had taken so I wouldn't have to worry about someone challenging my right to use it.

When Louise and I were in Louisiana in March, I had taken a picture of an owl which turned out pretty fair so I decided to use it.  In case you are wondering where I'm going with this,  its all an excuse to show you my new QSL card!

OMISS Nets

In September, 2009, shortly after I got my General License, I was roaming around the hf bands, not really having a lot of success in talking to faraway places when I stumbled across a net where people got on a list and, when their turn came, they could call one or two other people on the list.

The net was called the OMISS Net, short for Old Man International Sideband Society. My first day on the net, I made six contacts including people in Georgia, New York, and the Isle of Man! I was really impressed. By March, 2010, I had received my Worked All States Award without even really trying hard. Two years later, I have over 1400 contacts on OMISS in every state and several foreign countries.

Some people question why you would want to participate in a net where all you do is exchange signal reports, and it does sound a bit odd, I admit. However, after two years, many of the people on this net have become like family and it is very reassuring to turn on the radio and hear their voices. I've had the good fortune to meet many of them at Dayton and other places and I even run an occasional net when we are in town.

If you are a ham radio operator and get a chance, check out our website at www.omiss.net and find out more about us. We are nearing 8000 members and growing rapidly.

Funerals and Nets

Louise and I went to a funeral today in Siloam Springs. Her sister's oldest daughter, Arlene, died last week at the tender age of 56. It's interesting that, although it is a very somber occasion, you still get to catch up on what all the relatives are doing.

I'm becoming very apprehensive about the TARC net Thursday night. I have agreed to run the net and I do not have a clue! It will probably last about 15 minutes and then I'll be done forever. You know, I've been through two tornadoes and a hurricane and I'm still nervous about this. Do we thrive on adrenaline or what? Why do we volunteer to do these things? Oh, well (as Stan would say) life goes on.

My biggest goal this week is to get the fifth wheel "radio ready" to go to South Texas. I've got to get both antennas mounted, hooked up and the screwdriver antenna power hooked up. Also, I'm gonna go to Tom's (KE5NCP) house and see his antenna setup.

Success at Last!

Well, I finally got the tower project completed and the tower is standing upright. Now I can move on to other tasks. I can't believe the difference this height makes in my radio signals. In fact, I committed a faux pax as soon as I got the tower up. I ran in and turned the radio to 146.91, the Broken Arrow repeater, and made an almost instant contact.

As it turns out, the guy was in Nashville, TN, which was amazing on 2 meters. I knew I wasn't supposed to be working him off the repeater but I couldn't get loose without coming across like an a**hole. Eventually, I got off though. My apologies to all the guys listening to the 146.91 repeater.

We had a very enjoyable visit with Dorinda, our daughter-in-law, and hated to see her go back to Atlanta today. She and our son will be back for Christmas, however, so we can stand it till then.

I don't have a lot planned for this coming week. I'm gonna work on the fifth wheel trailer a little bit, getting it ready to go to South Texas in January.