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Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

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wayne burdick

Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

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I operated pedestrian mobile in Sunday’s /BB QRP event, using a KX2 with a prototype AX1 4’ whip (15/17/20 m) and a dragged 13’ counterpoise.

The whip was attached directly to the back of my Patagonia Atom 8L sling bag, which turns out to have rugged, stretchy loops in exactly the right places, holding the antenna perfectly upright with no additional mounting hardware. The antenna is exactly the right length for this when the telescoping part and base are secured together.

For control purposes, I just held the rig in my hand, with nothing but a coax cable running back to the pack. The rig weighs only one pound with batteries, so this turns out to work much better than putting the rig in the pack and trying to control everything with fancy firmware (something I reported on earlier).

Later I operated a bit of /PM SSB, using the rig’s built-in mic and XMIT switch as PTT. The KX2 fits easily in one hand, so you might think of it as a mic on steroids, one that happens to have and all-band/all-mode radio built in :) I think I’ve finally found the magic elixir -- pure HF Pack Light. The sling pack gives this lash-up a bit of Errol Flynn cache.

As for operating, this was no walk in the park!

During one memorable QSO I was sending fast CW with the built-in keyer paddle while climbing a narrow 45-degree trail, praying my shoes had enough tread to grip the loose soil. The operator at the other end put up with a bit of dodgy sending as the trail’s slope hit a local maxima.

Arriving at the top of the bluff, I found myself in a maze of imposing weeds sculpted by some evil California parks department employee. The plants were Vulcan in appearance, 7 to 8 feet tall, and simply irresistible to the local oversize bees. Dozens of them. I was ducking left and right to avoid the real bees while finishing my QSO with the contest “bee." About halfway through the maze, tuning the VFO knob with the thumb of my rig-holding hand, I found another /BB station to call. I’m guessing I now hold the all-San-Mateo-County record for in-maze pedestrian mobile CW contacts.

Overall, the experience was somewhere between Little Shop of Horrors and The Shining. But I didn’t get sunburned, stung, or ejected for public nerdiness.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Wayne
N6KR

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Dave Sublette-2

Re: Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

We were putting up a 2 element Moxon for 40M this week and I ran over a
Bumblebee nest. Two of them got me before I bailed out and left the
tractor running (in neutral).

Oh the joys of country living :-)

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 7:54 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I operated pedestrian mobile in Sunday’s /BB QRP event, using a KX2 with a
> prototype AX1 4’ whip (15/17/20 m) and a dragged 13’ counterpoise.
>
> The whip was attached directly to the back of my Patagonia Atom 8L sling
> bag, which turns out to have rugged, stretchy loops in exactly the right
> places, holding the antenna perfectly upright with no additional mounting
> hardware. The antenna is exactly the right length for this when the
> telescoping part and base are secured together.
>
> For control purposes, I just held the rig in my hand, with nothing but a
> coax cable running back to the pack. The rig weighs only one pound with
> batteries, so this turns out to work much better than putting the rig in
> the pack and trying to control everything with fancy firmware (something I
> reported on earlier).
>
> Later I operated a bit of /PM SSB, using the rig’s built-in mic and XMIT
> switch as PTT. The KX2 fits easily in one hand, so you might think of it as
> a mic on steroids, one that happens to have and all-band/all-mode radio
> built in :) I think I’ve finally found the magic elixir -- pure HF Pack
> Light. The sling pack gives this lash-up a bit of Errol Flynn cache.
>
> As for operating, this was no walk in the park!
>
> During one memorable QSO I was sending fast CW with the built-in keyer
> paddle while climbing a narrow 45-degree trail, praying my shoes had enough
> tread to grip the loose soil. The operator at the other end put up with a
> bit of dodgy sending as the trail’s slope hit a local maxima.
>
> Arriving at the top of the bluff, I found myself in a maze of imposing
> weeds sculpted by some evil California parks department employee. The
> plants were Vulcan in appearance, 7 to 8 feet tall, and simply irresistible
> to the local oversize bees. Dozens of them. I was ducking left and right to
> avoid the real bees while finishing my QSO with the contest “bee." About
> halfway through the maze, tuning the VFO knob with the thumb of my
> rig-holding hand, I found another /BB station to call. I’m guessing I now
> hold the all-San-Mateo-County record for in-maze pedestrian mobile CW
> contacts.
>
> Overall, the experience was somewhere between Little Shop of Horrors and
> The Shining. But I didn’t get sunburned, stung, or ejected for public
> nerdiness.
>
> It doesn’t get much better than this.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Wes Stewart-2

Re: Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

In Southern Arizona the honey bees are mostly Africanized (i.e. "killer bees")
They have killed people and animals up to horse sized. I have a little water
feature in the back yard, that unfortunately has goldfish in it. My late wife's
idea, so I don't want to kill them. Hence I get a lot of algae because I can't
chemically treat it. I also get a lot of bees that come in for the water.
Generally, we coexist, but a couple of years ago on a Sunday afternoon I was
clearing some algae and one of the little SOBs stung me on the palm. I didn't
think too much of it until my hand swelled up to double size and I developed a
rash in some very sensitive areas.

I didn't want to go to an ER but I did find a Walgreens with a nurse
practitioner. She gave me a steroid injection and a prescription for EpiPens.
These cost Medicare about $600, thanks taxpayers.

A few months ago I had a repeat, but got the stinger removed very quickly. This
time I couldn't find handy medical attention so I sat around EpiPens at the
ready, but I never had a serious reaction. Still I shudder to contemplate being
stung hundreds of times.

Wes N7WS

On 7/30/2018 5:54 PM, Dave Sublette wrote:

> We were putting up a 2 element Moxon for 40M this week and I ran over a
> Bumblebee nest. Two of them got me before I bailed out and left the
> tractor running (in neutral).
>
> Oh the joys of country living :-)
>
> 73,
>
> Dave, K4TO
>
> On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 7:54 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> I operated pedestrian mobile in Sunday’s /BB QRP event, using a KX2 with a
>> prototype AX1 4’ whip (15/17/20 m) and a dragged 13’ counterpoise.
>>
>> The whip was attached directly to the back of my Patagonia Atom 8L sling
>> bag, which turns out to have rugged, stretchy loops in exactly the right
>> places, holding the antenna perfectly upright with no additional mounting
>> hardware. The antenna is exactly the right length for this when the
>> telescoping part and base are secured together.
>>
>> For control purposes, I just held the rig in my hand, with nothing but a
>> coax cable running back to the pack. The rig weighs only one pound with
>> batteries, so this turns out to work much better than putting the rig in
>> the pack and trying to control everything with fancy firmware (something I
>> reported on earlier).
>>
>> Later I operated a bit of /PM SSB, using the rig’s built-in mic and XMIT
>> switch as PTT. The KX2 fits easily in one hand, so you might think of it as
>> a mic on steroids, one that happens to have and all-band/all-mode radio
>> built in :) I think I’ve finally found the magic elixir -- pure HF Pack
>> Light. The sling pack gives this lash-up a bit of Errol Flynn cache.
>>
>> As for operating, this was no walk in the park!
>>
>> During one memorable QSO I was sending fast CW with the built-in keyer
>> paddle while climbing a narrow 45-degree trail, praying my shoes had enough
>> tread to grip the loose soil. The operator at the other end put up with a
>> bit of dodgy sending as the trail’s slope hit a local maxima.
>>
>> Arriving at the top of the bluff, I found myself in a maze of imposing
>> weeds sculpted by some evil California parks department employee. The
>> plants were Vulcan in appearance, 7 to 8 feet tall, and simply irresistible
>> to the local oversize bees. Dozens of them. I was ducking left and right to
>> avoid the real bees while finishing my QSO with the contest “bee." About
>> halfway through the maze, tuning the VFO knob with the thumb of my
>> rig-holding hand, I found another /BB station to call. I’m guessing I now
>> hold the all-San-Mateo-County record for in-maze pedestrian mobile CW
>> contacts.
>>
>> Overall, the experience was somewhere between Little Shop of Horrors and
>> The Shining. But I didn’t get sunburned, stung, or ejected for public
>> nerdiness.
>>
>> It doesn’t get much better than this.
>>
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>

kstover

Re: Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

I used to golf with a guy from work who was ridiculously allergic to bee stings. His wife had to teach me how to hit him with the epi pen in case he got stung. Well...we were sitting back in the cart waiting for the foursome in front to clear the green. He reached down and grabbed his beer and took a pull. He didn't know that a bee had crawled inside the can which stung the hell out of the roof of his mouth. I had to give him the injection and drive him back to the clubhouse to the waiting ambulance.

R. Kevin Stover AC0H

ARRL, FISTS, SKCC, NAQCC.
“If it doesn’t work the first time you push the button it won’t work the 20th…Just stop.”

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Wes Stewart
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2018 10:34 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

In Southern Arizona the honey bees are mostly Africanized (i.e. "killer bees") They have killed people and animals up to horse sized. I have a little water feature in the back yard, that unfortunately has goldfish in it. My late wife's idea, so I don't want to kill them. Hence I get a lot of algae because I can't chemically treat it. I also get a lot of bees that come in for the water. Generally, we coexist, but a couple of years ago on a Sunday afternoon I was clearing some algae and one of the little SOBs stung me on the palm. I didn't think too much of it until my hand swelled up to double size and I developed a rash in some very sensitive areas.

I didn't want to go to an ER but I did find a Walgreens with a nurse practitioner. She gave me a steroid injection and a prescription for EpiPens. These cost Medicare about $600, thanks taxpayers.

A few months ago I had a repeat, but got the stinger removed very quickly. This time I couldn't find handy medical attention so I sat around EpiPens at the ready, but I never had a serious reaction. Still I shudder to contemplate being stung hundreds of times.

Wes N7WS

On 7/30/2018 5:54 PM, Dave Sublette wrote:

> We were putting up a 2 element Moxon for 40M this week and I ran over
> a Bumblebee nest. Two of them got me before I bailed out and left the
> tractor running (in neutral).
>
> Oh the joys of country living :-)
>
> 73,
>
> Dave, K4TO
>
> On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 7:54 PM Wayne Burdick <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> I operated pedestrian mobile in Sunday’s /BB QRP event, using a KX2
>> with a prototype AX1 4’ whip (15/17/20 m) and a dragged 13’ counterpoise.
>>
>> The whip was attached directly to the back of my Patagonia Atom 8L
>> sling bag, which turns out to have rugged, stretchy loops in exactly
>> the right places, holding the antenna perfectly upright with no
>> additional mounting hardware. The antenna is exactly the right length
>> for this when the telescoping part and base are secured together.
>>
>> For control purposes, I just held the rig in my hand, with nothing
>> but a coax cable running back to the pack. The rig weighs only one
>> pound with batteries, so this turns out to work much better than
>> putting the rig in the pack and trying to control everything with
>> fancy firmware (something I reported on earlier).
>>
>> Later I operated a bit of /PM SSB, using the rig’s built-in mic and
>> XMIT switch as PTT. The KX2 fits easily in one hand, so you might
>> think of it as a mic on steroids, one that happens to have and
>> all-band/all-mode radio built in :) I think I’ve finally found the
>> magic elixir -- pure HF Pack Light. The sling pack gives this lash-up a bit of Errol Flynn cache.
>>
>> As for operating, this was no walk in the park!
>>
>> During one memorable QSO I was sending fast CW with the built-in
>> keyer paddle while climbing a narrow 45-degree trail, praying my
>> shoes had enough tread to grip the loose soil. The operator at the
>> other end put up with a bit of dodgy sending as the trail’s slope hit a local maxima.
>>
>> Arriving at the top of the bluff, I found myself in a maze of
>> imposing weeds sculpted by some evil California parks department
>> employee. The plants were Vulcan in appearance, 7 to 8 feet tall, and
>> simply irresistible to the local oversize bees. Dozens of them. I was
>> ducking left and right to avoid the real bees while finishing my QSO
>> with the contest “bee." About halfway through the maze, tuning the
>> VFO knob with the thumb of my rig-holding hand, I found another /BB
>> station to call. I’m guessing I now hold the all-San-Mateo-County
>> record for in-maze pedestrian mobile CW contacts.
>>
>> Overall, the experience was somewhere between Little Shop of Horrors
>> and The Shining. But I didn’t get sunburned, stung, or ejected for
>> public nerdiness.
>>
>> It doesn’t get much better than this.
>>
>> Wayne
>> N6KR
>>

______________________________________________________________
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email]

______________________________________________________________
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Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

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Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
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k6dgw

Re: Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

Cutting the grass on a tractor, I ran over a yellowjacket nest which
moderately annoyed them. Undaunted[and unaware], I circled back for the
next row and did it again. This *really* tee'd them off. I got the
epinephrine injection at the ER as my BP was 85/40 and falling. Epipens
had yet to be invented.

"Pushing the button multiple times will not make the elevator [aka
"lift"] arrive any faster. It does pass the time however."

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW #142
Sparks NV

On 7/31/2018 3:49 PM, [hidden email] wrote:
> I used to golf with a guy from work who was ridiculously allergic to bee stings. His wife had to teach me how to hit him with the epi pen in case he got stung. Well...we were sitting back in the cart waiting for the foursome in front to clear the green. He reached down and grabbed his beer and took a pull. He didn't know that a bee had crawled inside the can which stung the hell out of the roof of his mouth. I had to give him the injection and drive him back to the clubhouse to the waiting ambulance.
>
> R. Kevin Stover AC0H
>
> ARRL, FISTS, SKCC, NAQCC.
> “If it doesn’t work the first time you push the button it won’t work the 20th…Just stop.”
>

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
Message delivered to [hidden email]