DXorcism Rids Station Of Spooks

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Traffic along Hillshire Avenue came to a halt yesterday as curious drivers stopped to see Father Henry McGuire suspended high above the Cuesta Verde neighborhood in a scissor lift.

Local ham radio operator Malcolm O’Hara arranged the spectacle, after experiencing phenomena that led him to determine his equipment was possessed.

O’Hara asked Father McGuire to “drive out the demons” that have prevented him from talking to distant amateur radio stations. The pair dubbed the activity a “DXorcism,” which involved throwing holy water on a Rohn tower and a Cushcraft beam antenna.

“Trust me, this was a last resort,” said O’Hara. “Finding pea soup in my cantenna was the last straw.”

He says strange occurrences have been happening in his shack for more than a year. “My beam turns all by itself! My buddies say it’s an electrical wiring problem, but I know it’s paranormal.”

“And, last week I was trying to work some RTTY, expecting a 599 signal report, but the screen printed 666. My wife says I need glasses, but it really freaked me out,” said O’Hara.

He says he’s not ready yet to call the procedure a success. His first contact following the DXorcism was a special event station in Death Valley.

By K5KVN, on the scene