Pass the tissues...

June 2019 ARRL VHF contest a bust for me.

While perhaps not as exciting as Duffey's May-June road-trip, I finished a 10 day approximately 3500 mile road-trip Thursday PM. Then, did 3 hours of hard labor Saturday morning before the start of the contest. Pooped, indeed.

A majority of the road trip at, below, or close to sea level. 106 degrees the last evening (Laughlin, NV/Bullhead City, AZ) before some relief in northern Arizona and finally at home near 7000 feet.

Then, sometime Sat PM before a first QSO, the tailtwister controlling all of my VHF/UHF antennae decides to go rogue. Parks itself due south and would not budge in spite of frantic flipping the control switches. Meter stuck full clockwise at S. Not much interest to work the contest parked due south, so I thew in the towel. Still stuck to the south Sunday.

Monday morning, I turn on the rotor control. It now reads full counterclockwise on S. I feather the control and the meter jumps hither and fro, but the antenna now moves in a clockwise direction! I park the Yagis pointing to the west where they normally resided to minimize wind load.

Please, industrial strength tissues!

73, Bob N5EPA