A CE152 IS UNSURE OF HIS LOCATION DURING A XCOUNTRY FLT; SO AN FSS REQUESTS THE PLT TO SQUAWK 7700 AND LET ZFW CONFIRM HIS POS.

Narrative

I WAS ON A XCOUNTRY TO COLLEGE STATION FROM TYLER. I REACHED COLLEGE STATION AND CLOSED MY FLT PLAN. I THEN FILED ANOTHER ONE FROM COLLEGE STATION TO TYLER AFTER A STANDARD WX BRIEFING. EVERYTHING WAS JUST FINE UNTIL THE TO/FROM INDICATION ON THE VOR STARTED MOVING AND SHOWED NAV AND THEN SHOWED 'TO' AND KEPT ON FLUCTUATING. AT THAT TIME I TUNED IN FRANKSTON VOR AND CEDAR CREEK VOR AND GOT MY POS. THEN I CONTINUED ON MY HDG TO TYLER WITH THE TO/FROM STILL BEING UNSTABLE. I AGAIN TUNED THE FRANKSTON AND CEDAR CREEK VOR AND GOT MY POS; BUT THEN THE RECEIVER STARTED THE FLUTTERING OF THE TO/FROM INDICATION. I DECIDED TO CALL FSS TO CHK IF I WAS ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO TYLER. I ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH FSS AFTER ABOUT 5-10 MINS SINCE THERE WAS NO REPLY AT FIRST. I TOLD THEM MY ESTIMATED POS (I TOLD THEM THE RADIALS FROM FRANKSTON AND CEDAR CREEK); AND ASKED HIM IF I WAS ON THE CORRECT HDG; SINCE MY VOR RECEIVER WAS UNSTABLE. I TOLD HIM THAT I HAD 1 HR 30 MINS OF FUEL. THE GENTLEMAN FROM THE FSS ASKED ME TO SQUAWK 7700 IF I THOUGHT I WAS LOST AND I DID IT TO CONFIRM MY POS. I WAS THEN ASKED TO CONTACT ZFW ON 134.25 WHICH I TRIED; BUT WITHOUT SUCCESS. I THEN CALLED FSS AGAIN AND TOLD THEM OF THE SIT AND HE CONTACTED ZFW AND DETERMINED THAT I WAS HDG CORRECTLY TOWARDS TYLER. I THEN STAYED WITH HIM ON THE SAME FREQ AND TOLD HIM WHERE I WAS S OF ATHENS. HE THEN ASKED ME IF I COULD SEE THE TOWN IN FRONT AND A BEACON. I CONFIRMED THIS AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS ATHENS. I THEN HEADED TOWARDS TYLER AND MY VOR RECEIVER STABILIZED. I CLOSED MY FLT PLAN AFTER I HAD TYLER IN SIGHT AND THANKED FSS FOR THEIR HELP. I THINK THAT MY DECISION TO SQUAWK 7700 WHEN I WAS TOLD TO WAS A MISTAKE; SINCE I WAS JUST CONFIRMING MY POS. THE PRESENCE OF THE PAX WAS A BIG FACTOR SINCE SHE WAS REALLY SCARED AND IF I WERE ALONE; I WOULD PROBABLY NOT HAVE CALLED FSS FOR SOME TIME MORE AND BY THAT TIME I WOULD HAVE GOT THE RECEIVER STABILIZED.