12/28/2005 | WA1HHN/R The plan was to add 2 or 3 more bands and Rove to at least 7 or 8 grids. That was my plan but Murphy made other arrangements. All was set the first day. I had practiced setting up the new antennas and the new transverters seemed to work just fine. The first contacts went well and it was off to scale the fire tower in the next grid. Some curiosity seekers at the fire tower who looked on, but thankfully no problems. I pressed on for the long ride to the next grid. Actually the next two are fairly close together on the same unpaved road. I had some problems at a new location I tried so I decided to back track a bit. I met up with the local Park Rangers and did a stop and show that went well. They had heard about me from the regular ranger who is pretty used to me operating from there. Then on my way again in the dark on that narrow dirt road on top of the mountain range disaster set in. My rear tire blew out in a big way and of course people were calling me for skeds at the next grid. Nothing like changing a tire in the dark with a van load of gear. Of course the spare was behind where all the batteries and antennas were stowed. I was able to make repairs and get down the road. I met up with another local Rover (WA3PTV) and our other club Rover out on the main road at a small local resturant/bar combination. It was after 11PM so I headed back to the barn for some sleep. Next day I went and got a new tire, thank God for the road hazard warrantee. I though this was best as the next leg of my trip was some 500 miles which did not seem to be a good idea to do without a spare tire. Due to the lost time for repairs, search time at yet another new location, travel time and set up time I was only able to manage 2 more grids. I did my best to hand out a few new grids to those who called. Band conditions were odd indeed. Many calls, few answers. Hopefully I will do better the next time out of the barn. It was a learning experience for sure. Walt,WA1HHN -- N3EMF