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IOTA 99 TEAM NA-148
By Steve, AA1IZ
On Friday, July 23rd a team of FARA members, operating under the call of AA1IZ, will set up a multi-operator station on George's Island in Boston Harbor to compete in the 1999 Islands On The Air contest. The contest calls for contacting as many stations operating on designated islands throughout the world. The designation for George's Island is NA-148 (North America-148). The team will travel by boat transporting two HF stations, one backup HF station, a packet station, two three element tribanders, a vertical, and a 180 ft dipole. The two computers will run TR networked for logging. All supplies will be carried in including water.
At 1200Z on Saturday operators around the world will begin 24 hours of contesting on both phone and cw. The FARA team plans to operate 3 teams of 3 people rotating 2 hour shifts to stay fresh and alert during the contest. Each team has at least one phone and one CW specialist. Every QSO is important, so please come up on frequency and help the team to big numbers.
After the contest ends Sunday morning both stations will stay on the air until mid afternoon to give out as many George's Island QSO's as possible.
Visitors can reach George's Island by ferry from Long Wharf in Boston.
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About George's Island
Boston Harbor Islands Web site:
www.bostonharborislands.com
Constructed of granite between 1833 and 1869, Fort Warren was used during the Civil War for training Union soldiers and later functioned as a prison for captured Confederates. The author Edward Rowe Snow asserted that Fort Warren "has more memories of the Civil War days than any other place in New England." Another historian claimed that prisoners working on the fort's parade ground wrote the lyrics to "John Brown's Body," whose melody was used by Julia Ward Howe when she wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
To this day, within the fort's dark corridors, the legend lives on of "The Lady in Black," the ghost of a Confederate prisoner's wife who was sentenced to death for aiding in an escape and hanged in a black robe made from the Fort's mess hall drapes.
Dominated by Fort Warren, a National Historic Landmark, this 28-acre island is the center of transportation to the islands.
Seven miles from downtown Boston, George's Island contains a large dock, picnic grounds, open fields, paved walkways, a parade ground and a gravel beach. Guided tours of historic Fort Warren and a slide show are offered. George's also has the only food-service--a snack bar--on the islands.
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