Field Day Fun!

[Bill W4ZV]

My XYL was participating in a singing event this afternoon so I made a hasty decision to pack up my QRP K2 and head for the top of Morrow Mountain (NC State Park).  After several misfires with my slingshot (out of practice) I got my Par EndFedz-20/40 installed in a tree over a picnic table.  Connected my 7AH SLA battery to the K2 and turned it on.  Nothing!  Are the conditions that bad?  Went to 40 and it sounded the same.  

I hadn't used the EndFedz in several years after removing it from a semi-permanent installation at a mountain cabin.  Apparently I must have had a nearby lightning strike sometime which blew out the sealed matching unit.  Fortunately I had my Emtech ZM-2 tuner which loaded the wire from the EndFedz (no radials).  I set the K2 to 5 Watts on 20m and was finally ready to go.

I made my first QSO at 1846z and operated ~3 hours, mostly S&P on 20m but also a few on 15 and 40.  Made 107 total QSOs including KH7 and KP3 with the last one at 2201z when it was time to pack up and head for home.  If you worked me, you can congratulate yourself on your good ears.  I was frankly amazed anyone could hear me with QRP to that band-aided antenna!  

After almost 52 years on the air I'm still thrilled with this hobby.  It's just amazing that we can communicate across the country with 5 watts to a piece of wire.  What fun!!!  And thanks to Elecraft for the K2...the ideal Field Day QRP rig.

73,  Bill  W4ZV

[w7aqk]

Bill and All,

Like  Bill, I've been doing this ham radio stuff for a long time--54 years.
It still "floats my boat!"

I committed very late to join a couple of ham friends on a camping outing up
on Mt. Lemmon, which is 9K feet and 30 degrees cooler than the 100's here on
the desert floor.  The best part is I can go from my house to the top in
about an hour.  That fact alone makes Tucson a better place to live than
Phoenix!!!

I took my K2, and some battery packs, and headed up the mountain on Friday.
I also used an end fed HW for simplicity.  The others with me are hams, but
alas, they aren't all that interested in CW or QRP.  So, I was the only
"op".

I've been on many intense Field Day operations, but I'm just as happy to do
it very casually.  I operate a couple of hours, then go visit with everyone
for even longer, or just go take a long walk!  I also like to sleep, so you
won't hear me in the middle of the night.

I only made about 160 contacts, but since I'm not really a threat to win
anything, I usually just try and see how many different sections I can work.
In the process, I pass up a lot of contacts I could easily make to up the
total.  I probably didn't operate more than 5 or 6 hours total, and much of
that was searching for new sections.  I ended up with 67 sections, and I
missed a few that I shouldn't have.  But what the heck!  It's fun to have a
"mini" objective like that if you aren't trying to rack up a big score.

K2 worked great, and the WX at 8400 feet was very nice too.  Ate well, and
even had a little "nectar of the Gods" with my steak!  Now, how can you beat
that?

Dave W7AQK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill W4ZV" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 7:12 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Field Day Fun!

>
> My XYL was participating in a singing event this afternoon so I made a
> hasty
> decision to pack up my QRP K2 and head for the top of Morrow Mountain (NC
> State Park).  After several misfires with my slingshot (out of practice) I
> got my Par EndFedz-20/40 installed in a tree over a picnic table.
> Connected
> my 7AH SLA battery to the K2 and turned it on.  Nothing!  Are the
> conditions
> that bad?  Went to 40 and it sounded the same.
>
> I hadn't used the EndFedz in several years after removing it from a
> semi-permanent installation at a mountain cabin.  Apparently I must have
> had
> a nearby lightning strike sometime which blew out the sealed matching
> unit.
> Fortunately I had my Emtech ZM-2 tuner which loaded the wire from the
> EndFedz (no radials).  I set the K2 to 5 Watts on 20m and was finally
> ready
> to go.
>
> I made my first QSO at 1846z and operated ~3 hours, mostly S&P on 20m but
> also a few on 15 and 40.  Made 107 total QSOs including KH7 and KP3 with
> the
> last one at 2201z when it was time to pack up and head for home.  If you
> worked me, you can congratulate yourself on your good ears.  I was frankly
> amazed anyone could hear me with QRP to that band-aided antenna!
>
> After almost 52 years on the air I'm still thrilled with this hobby.  It's
> just amazing that we can communicate across the country with 5 watts to a
> piece of wire.  What fun!!!  And thanks to Elecraft for the K2...the ideal
> Field Day QRP rig.
>
> 73,  Bill  W4ZV
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://n2.nabble.com/Field-Day-Fun%21-tp3168641p3168641.html
> Sent from the Elecraft mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
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