Field Day
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| Jul 25th 2011, 18:26 | |
WA0ITPTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
In this "contest" I operated S&P and received answers to my first call almost every time. This was a gratifying justification the use of QRP power levels. The rig was my venerable ATS3 running 2W into a vertical monopole. I didn't identity myself as a QRP station, maybe I should have, but I'd rather be one of the big guns :o) Our Group made 200 contacts, not bad for a very relaxing, easy going, and enjoyable Field Day, that was punctuated by lunch, supper, lots of sitting around the campfire, and breakfast - in that order. We didn't operate overnight, us old guys need the rest. The lessons learned were to enjoy it, be active and stay with it when you're at the rig, and make it fun. . |
| Jul 25th 2011, 18:54 | |
0006057298H80Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Terry, Congratulations! FB job, OM, KA5S and I have made 600+ contacts on Field Day, with a K2 @ 5 Watts and an antenna @ 40', but typically only make 200 or 300 because of SNAFU's. Back my earlier daze, WA8CFJ, WB8ALU, and I made >700 Q's, but that was about 40 years ago when we were more physically able. Your vertical did wonders - we typically try to have a dipole up at least 40 feet - preferably higher. |
| Jul 27th 2011, 13:08 | |
W1RFIAdminTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I remember one Field Day over 25 years ago, Jeff Bauer, then WA1MBK, and I were doing a 5 watt Field Day. I brought an 80 meter dipole and about 100 feet of ladder line, being an optimist. Jeff brougth out his fishing pole and a nice large sinker. He picked a 100 foot mightly oak and did the most spectacular cast I have ever seen in my life. It went absolutely dead center over the tree and the sinker fell nicely through the branches and landed on the ground on the other side of the tree. I forget which of us said it (I am SURE it was me...), but one of us said that we needed to get some strong twine and use it as an intermediate pull, as the weight of the dipole and all that feed line would probably snap the fishing line halfway up. The other guy said, (I'm sure it was Jeff....) not to worry. We tied the line to a rope that would go all the way back down to the ground and started pulling. The antenna got all the way to the top, but when the rope got to some of the top branches, we had to pull a little bit harder and... everyone knows what's coming ... the fishing line broke and the antenna came flopping back to the ground. What was said at the time would need a lot of paraphrasing to be suitable for the ARRL forums, so let's just say that Jeff and I were not very pleased and we expressed that openly and with great candor. One of us (me?) said I toldja'so and the other said "please be quiet, Ed,' or words to that effect. So, Jeff went and got another sinker and did another mighty cast. This one missed the tree altogether. He tried again, and the cast went about 100 feet in the air, and came down into the branches and got hopeless tangled. His last sinker came out, another mighty cast ensued that broke the line when it spooled to the end of the reel (most of the line was tangled in the tree from an earlier cast), with the sinker sailing for an impressive distance in the wrong direction altogether. He then brought out his extenstion ladder and we tied off the dipole 30 feet or so high on one end and 20 feet up on the other. We had a ball, staying up through the night searching and pouncing and marvelling politely how some operators must have cotton in their ears, telling tales of the good old days of our wild misspent youths and wracking up about 300 QSOs through the night. By morning, we were both getting grouchy, and being a bit less polite, so we stopped, made some coffee and breakfast and planned our strategy for the remainder of the contest. We actually did operate for a few minutes according to that strategy, then started trying different things to see if would unstuff the cotton in the other operators' ears and by the end of the event, we had about 400 QSOs and earned most of the bonus points. Field Day can be so much fun! 73, Ed Hare, W1RFI ARRL Lab Technical forums moderator |
| Jul 27th 2011, 21:59 | |
0006016943H80Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Terry, Way to go on the FD effort. I tried using an ATS3 once on FD and found it cumbersome myself. And thanks for not signing /QRP. Most contesters don't want to take the time to recognize /QRP. I have however, used my K3/10 (am I only one of 3 people who bought their K3 with only the 10 watt output?) on field outings and been quite successful. It is a real contest rig and works much better. You seem to have had a lot fun with the ATS3 but I didn't. I'd rather use my K3 or even a KX-1 than the ATS3 for contesting. I'll be on Sunday with FOBB event and will likely bring an old INDEX LABS to that one. It also is bit difficult for contesting but it's easier than the ATS3 but maybe I just didn't know how to use it for contesting. I was surprised on a test run last Sunday to not have the correct power feed connector. Fortunately, I have changed that socket out to be like my DSW-40 so I can use this coaxial power supply plug as my other rigs. 73, jim/w4qo |
| Jul 29th 2011, 11:38 | |
KB9BVNTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I was at a Field Day gathering about 20 years ago and we needed to get the antenna in the tree. So we tried to tie a string to a rock to throw over a branch and it just wasn't working out too well. One of the guys pulled the biggest wrench I have ever seen, from his truck. He tied the line on the end of the wrench and threw it as hard as he could...we all watched in silence as it made this high beautiful arc up toward the branch of our desire...missing...and coming down through the windshield of his truck. DOHT!! |
| Jul 29th 2011, 11:47 | |
w1rfiSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
If it happened today,it would somehow end up on You Tube! Ed |
| Aug 2nd 2011, 14:45 | |
AA4GATotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Jim... I don't have a K3, but if I did, I would most likely order the 10w version. And I'd get it in CW only if that was an option like it is on the K2! ;-) 73 de Lee -- Lee Hiers, AA4GA www.aa4ga.com |
| Aug 2nd 2011, 17:27 | |
w1rfiSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I do wish that more QRPers would also call CQ! Although the rate for Search & Pounce may seem more satisfying, I can think of many a contest where I heard lots of Q class stations I couldn't work becaue they never called CQ. The flip side of that is that QRPers should not assume that if the other station is weak, they can't work them. In the CW SS, I have heard Q stations in S&P mode, figured out their pattern and kept leapfrogging up the band calling CQ where I knew they would tune , and they never came back to me. They were at least S7, so I would have been the same, I'm sure. I guess they assumed they could only work the loud ones, figuring propagation was poor for the weak ones, In reality, propagation was fine, I was just QRP, too. The real key to QRP contesting is to act like a big gun! 73, Ed Hare, W1RFI ARRL Lab Technical forums moderator |
| Aug 2nd 2011, 20:26 | |
N0NBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Field Day is great for stories. A couple of our club members have made air guns for launching a small projectile tied to fishing line for hanging our antennas. This year our normal shooter had another commitment so I was nominated to run the thing. On my first attempt to hang the center of the 80/40m doublet I hit the space perfectly and watched as the projectile worked its way down within reach. I grabbed it and went to grab the line at the reel only to find no line! So the club secretary went out to buy more line and the other member showed up with his air cannon and the antenna party resumed. Needless to say, it took several attempts to hit that spot between the branches again! The FD operations I've been in have typically run 100 Watts. I was to a QRP outing a number of years back and at the time only had confidence in operating phone. SSB at QRP levels on a crowded FD band can be humiliating (in fairness, I had no prior experience with QRP). That said, in recent years I have used my FT-817 overnight on CW and the results were much more satisfactory. |
| Sep 8th 2012, 21:50 | |
WN1MBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Your memory is failing you in your advancing years, my old friend... 73, Jeff WN1MB (ex WN1MBK, WA1MBK, KE1HP) Website: http://alienjeff.net |
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