Had a brief QSO with W5LFL on my 2M rig with a homebrew, handheld antenna in 1973. This was before home computers and orbital path software so I had to research

Had a brief QSO with W5LFL on my 2M rig with a homebrew, handheld antenna in 1973. This was before home computers and orbital path software so I had to research when, approximately, the shuttle would appear above the horizon with its azimuth and elevation, all well ahead of the actual event. It took several attempts before I could even hear him. I had a buddy manipulating the antenna so he had to track an invisible point in the sky while estimating elevation and azimuth. By sheer luck, we did finally hear him and which point I starting making calls. We only had seconds to make a contact with thousands of people trying to do the same. By some miracle, I was heard and he acknowledged my call sign just before we lost him. Eventually, I received a QSL card from him, acknowledging our (brief) "conversation". Still have that framed in my shack.