10-10 Sprint, and Bad Timing

Today is October 10th, which is a special day for me - it's 10-10 Sprint Day!  On October 10th each year, from 0001UTC - 2400UTC, hams around the world are encouraged to operate on 10 meters.  It has extra special meaning to me, because back in 1997, I suggested to the Board of Directors of 10-10 International Net (I serve as Treasurer), that we recognize 10-10 as a special day, and the Sprint was born.  In fact, in that first year, I actually won 1st place world-wide.

This year, October 10th was on a Monday, and my work schedule was extremely hectic.  But, I thought perhaps I'd be able to squeeze out a few QSO's and at least submit a participation log.  Unfortunately, my rig had other plans...this error message was on the front panel of my Flex, and there was no way it was going to operate for me.

I thought perhaps I could fix it myself, being just a simple fan problem.  But no go, the Flex people told me that I'd void the warranty, and that replacing the fan would not solve it since it also has a software tie-in which required additional work.  Much to my dismay, I had to box it up and ship it back to Flex.  And, my dreams of playing in the Sprint were dashed before I even had a chance to try.  Even though I have other HF radios that could have been put into service, my work commitments meant that I just didn't have time to change things out.