Phals aren't really bark plants anyway, they do way better in moss.

Did your coworker actually trace it out after the swap, or did the new box fix it and that was the end of it? Cause if the connector was the real issue, they'd have been swapping that radio again in a few months anyway...

Wait, do you mean the contractor told you 2 weeks and took 8, or that you budgeted for 2 months? Either way that's brutal. I had a similar thing with a simple kitchen backsplash, quote said 3 days and the guy showed up twice over 5 weeks. Turns out he was booking other jobs while my tiles sat in the garage half done. Did you get any kind of discount or credit for the delay, or did they just expect you to eat the extra time?

Man that sounds like a real win. I've been dealing with the same mess behind mine and I'm totally stealing this idea.

Yeah I had the exact same problem with a cheap filter on my 100-400. Switched to a B+W UV filter and it made a huge difference. The cheap ones just add glare and kill your contrast.