AN MD80 CREW MISINTERPED THE CLRNC; TUNED IN THE WRONG VOR; AND FLEW THE WRONG COURSE.

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OUR ACFT WAS HEADED TO ABQ ON A FLT PLAN THAT TOOK US OVER LVS. SHORTLY BEFORE REACHING LVS; OUR ATC CLRNC WAS CHANGED TO FLY TO TURN 10 DEGS R TO JOIN THE ABQ 006 DEG RADIAL; FRIHO 3 ARR. UPON RECEIPT OF THE CLRNC; I READ BACK THE CLRNC TO ATC AND THE FO READ THE CLRNC BACK TO ME. BOTH OF US ADJUSTED OUR OMNI BEARING SELECTORS TO 186 DEGS FOR THE INTERCEPT; AND I CHANGED THE FREQ ON MY VOR TO ABQ. THE FO LEFT HIS VOR ON LVS PROBABLY TO NOTE THE TIME OVERHEAD FOR ADJUSTMENT TO OUR ETA. AT THAT POINT; I REALIZED THAT I STILL HAD MY LUNCH TRAY; SO I CALLED THE FLT ATTENDANT TO PICK UP THE TRAY. SINCE THE EVENTS OF SEP/11/01 AND INTRODUCTION OF THE COCKPIT DOOR SECURITY BARS AND VISUAL IDENT PROCS; ONE PLT MUST NOW GET OUT OF HIS OR HER SEAT TO MANUALLY OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR. I WAS PROBABLY OUT OF MY SEAT FOR LESS THAN 2 MINS. DURING THAT PERIOD; I NOTICED THE ACFT WAS IN A TURN AND DSNDING. WHEN I GOT BACK INTO MY SEAT; AND PUT MY EARPHONE BACK IN; I REALIZED THAT WE WERE BEING AGGRESSIVELY VECTORED FROM AN ONCOMING ACFT. DUE TO THE PROMPT ACTION BY THE ATC CTLR; SEPARATION WAS PRESERVED AND OUR FLT LANDED IN ABQ ON SCHEDULE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. MY SUGGESTION TO HELP PREVENT SOMEONE ELSE FROM GOING THROUGH THIS EMBARRASSMENT; WHENEVER A CREW MEMBER IS REQUIRED TO MOVE OUT OF HIS SEAT; THE PLT MOVING SHOULD TURN ON HIS OVERHEAD SPEAKER. THAT WAY; THE PLT OPERATING THE DOOR; ETC; IS NOT TOTALLY OUT OF THE LOOP; AND THE IMPORTANT SECOND PLT SAFETY NET IS PRESERVED. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 533681: THE ERROR WAS IN THE FACT THAT I DIDN'T HEAR THE PROPER VOR (I THOUGHT THAT THE CTLR CLRED US TO INTERCEPT THE RADIAL FROM THE NEXT VOR ON OUR FLT PLAN AND APCH). IN ACTUALITY; WE WERE CLRED PAST THE NEXT VOR TO THE FINAL VOR ON THE APCH. THE CTLR TOLD US TO TURN AND DSND; WHICH WE DID. THEN WE CALLED ONCE ON THE GND TO EXPLAIN.