On CW Philippines' Going 15 de 4F1AAR The Early Days 5
Jamboree On The Air and CQ Worldwide Contests Comes In October
It was raining when Jun, DV1ARC and Erick, DW1EBV started hoisting up the wire antenna for the 40 meter band and the inverted "J" for the 2 meters at the Pateros Catholic School. A few minutes later DU1FP and DV1FZ came in and began the propagation tests. It was JOTA time once again and they had to set up the station before the scouts come in.
By mid morning the boy scouts and girl scouts are now piled up. Waiting for their turn to get their hands on the radios and talk to their fellow counterparts all over the world. While the four members where at it, Roland,DV1AMH, associate members Ernie Chua and Norm Parada came in with the "power supplies" for the stomach. Art, DV1ABZ, Benjie,DV1AOT, Benjie,DV1ANX, Mel, DV1DMD came in too one after the other. And soon, all of the other members were there providing the much needed "linear" for the morale of the operators.
To show their hospitality and gratitude the principal, the teachers, the scout leaders and other personnel of the school treated the group to sumptous meals during the day coupled with the town's delicacy of duck eggs (boiled just a couple of days before they hatched) - we call "balut".
The day ended and the time came to say goodbye. The young scouters, the teachers once again renewed their commitment that next year, they shall meet each other again.
Just a couple of days passed and one of the most awaited and exciting event for the Club began. It was the CQ Worldwide DX Contest on telephony!
After having tasted their "first blood" , so they say, in the just concluded HF contest, the group worked all the corners that their set up can possibly get on the 10. 15, 20 and 40 meter bands bearing the call 4G1A in October.
November followed and the group were seen once again burning the tubes but pounding the brass this time to tackle the Multi Operator, Single Transmitter on Contiuous Wave or CW.
One thing very noticeable here though - which I believe no one can possibly miss - is the fact that in almost all of the contests that the Club was in, members come in with some sort of an automatic, self appointed tasks in areas they believe they can be most effective - be they the main operator, an alternate, a spotter, a logger, a dupes watcher, a "power supplier" or just plain "linear providers". They do just come in and their staggered arrival (coming from other personal obligations) gives the whole operation a natural atmoshphere of a round-the-clock routine.
The DX1COMELEC in December
And as the year comes to a close, the month of December required that the group participate in the nationwide exercise to help the government. This was the registration of the new voters for the coming plebiscite "Sagot Ng Bayan" in February of 1987.
December 6, 7, 13 and 14 saw the group working at the DX1COMELEC, the station they put up at the Commission on Election. Under the network organized by the Philippine Amateur Radio Association, the group once again bridged the entire country through their HF facilities.
They provided assistance and solutions to problems that were brought up during the entire exercise in consultation with the lawyers at the Comelec Action Group.
The job that they have done did not go unheeded for no less than the Chairman of COMELEC, Ramon Felipe, Jr. commended PARA and its working arm in the Comelec, the CW Philippines.
This page is dedicated to Dr. Francisco L. Saballa, Jr. who himself started out using the DU1FSJ. His first official call was DW1ARC after passing the exams for Class C. Became DV1ARC after a Class B exam and finally, 4F1ARC for earning his Class A status.
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