+++++++++++++++++++++ FD 2002 Experiences +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 15:01:45 -0700 From: Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft Organization: Elecraft To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net, QRP-L Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft Field Day from 4200 ft. Wayne and I will be operating Field Day this Saturday from Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton (4200 ft), about an hour to the east of Silicon Valley. If you have a chance feel free to come on by, bring your rigs, and visit! We have pictures of the site along with directions and a map at: http://www.elecraft.com/fd2002/Elecraft_fd.htm We will be operating using N6KR as our primary FD call (with WA6HHQ as an alternate for those of you who need CW proficiency practice!) We will be on both CW and SSB. 73 and good luck this weekend! Eric WA6HHQ Wayne N6KR +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 15:01:25 -0500 To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Tom Hammond =?iso-8859-1?Q?N=D8SS?= Subject: [Elecraft] K2/100 at N0SS for FD... Just wanted to report that K2 #00008 and KPA100 #(something) accounted for over 1,100 CW QSO's from N0SS during FD 2002... and it never even broke a sweat!!! Thanks to all(!) of the Elecraft owners who not only worked us, but who were also kind enough to actually take the time to say, "HI" in the midst of all the activity... such 'sightings' helped to keep me awake. Thanks again, Wayne & Eric! Job well done! Tom N0SS +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 19:44:55 +0100 From: pjhend at ameritech.net To: Elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: [Elecraft] FD! Hey Guys! K2 #2278 and K1 #956 worked with the W9DUP club station and attracted lots of attention! It was lots of fun to show off the "guts" to club hams and visitors alike. One ham broke down by early Sunday morning and said he would go ahead and order a K2 if I would just shut up about how much fun they were to build and operate! :-) Set up included a borrowed deep cycle marine battery charged by four 1-amp solar panels easily running both rigs at 5 watts. The temp. climbed to just under 100 degrees with the Elecraft siblings performing flawlessly. I was a little concerned because the temp and sun were so hot that the K2 case almost got too hot to touch. I needn't have worried! I did pick up a few "passengers" over the weekend - when I took the lid off at home, I found that 2 flies, a big ant, and a moth had sacrificed themselves inside the K2. I don't think they were electrocuted, maybe just passed away from heat-stroke inside the radio! (note to myself: plug up the "unused option holes" before next foray into the woods) :-) Hope everyone had as much fun as i did! 73 Paul KB9YVP +++++++++++++++++ From: "Steve Jackson" To: Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 22:51:13 -0400 Subject: [Elecraft] odd question, and an FD rave Question: Whatever happened to Nils? El Gringo Errante? Rave: My K2 rocks! This rig was MADE for Field Day! What a blast, and SO much fun. Hard to figure how those few cubic inches can produce such continuous gratification, from the minute the mailman showed up with the kit, to every time I turn the power on. This FD: fairly casual 5W CW operation, 18.5 hrs. in the log, S&P only, 40M double bazooka up 55 ft.: 180 Qs, 10x multiplier, at a 6A battery QRP site. (Sadly, I was the only CW op, and ran solo for the whole time.) Outboard: Maine-built Vibroplex Iambic Standard, grey base, Yuasa 7A-H gel cell. Oh, wait: the last 15 Qs were made with my K1 !! (It felt lonely sitting on the Dakota's front seat, so I got the little rig out for the last hour or so.) Steve KZ1X/4 Chapel Hill K2 #771 K1 # 1181 +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 22:11:21 -0500 To: N2EY at aol.com, elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Tom Hammond =?iso-8859-1?Q?N=D8SS?= Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 at N0SS for FD... Cc: tommiccolis at comcast.net, kelly at dvol.com Hi Jim: > > Just wanted to report that K2 #00008 and KPA100 #(something) accounted for > > over 1,100 CW QSO's from N0SS during FD 2002... and it never even broke a > > sweat!!! > >One of the biggest thrills at N2EY (1B-2 Battery, MDC, 2 K2s) was working >N0SS. You guys were knockin' em dead. That's ALWAYS great to hear... thanks! >What antennas did you use? A ground-mounted Butternut Vertical with eight 33' radials for 10-20M and a dual dipole for 80/40M. about 52' 73, Tom N0SS +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 06:52:38 -0400 From: "Mark J. Dulcey" To: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Tom_Hammond_N=D8SS?= Cc: elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K2/100 at N0SS for FD... Tom Hammond N=D8SS wrote: > Just wanted to report that K2 #00008 and KPA100 #(something) accounted = > for over 1,100 CW QSO's from N0SS during FD 2002... and it never even=20 > broke a sweat!!! K2 #1984 (Big Brother is Listening) plus a shiny new KPA100 (this one=20 separated according to the KI6WX instructions) handled 510 CW QSOs at=20 W1BOS. (These CW contacts, made on 80, 40, and 15 meters, were the only=20 CW operation at W1BOS. There were also two HF phone stations, an HF=20 digital station, two VHF/UHF SSB stations, and one VHF FM station.) The=20 K2, sans KPA100, also handled 10 QRP contacts for our solar-power bonus. = We worked N0SS, so we may have had a K2/100 - K2/100 contact! The newly-completed amplifier worked flawlessly during Field Day. The=20 only operational problem is that we didn't get full power out of it all=20 the time, because we couldn't get the SWR down low enough even with an=20 antenna tuner. (The antenna we used with the K2/100 was a recently=20 homemade 80/40 meter dipole. It was cut just a BIT too long; the=20 resonances were slightly below the ham bands. My big old AEA AT-300=20 doesn't seem to be able to match such an antenna - the inductances=20 probably don't go low enough.) The K2/100 gave a HI REFL warning, but=20 happily soldiered on at somewhat reduced power. The contest was a trial by fire for a newly-constructed amplifier. I=20 finished the basic KPA100 assembly on Wednesday, and made a couple of=20 contacts with it. (The first one was T9 - not too bad.) The separation=20 was completed on Friday evening, and never tested live - too much other=20 stuff to get ready for Field Day. I had to take the station off the air=20 briefly on Saturday evening to retighten the power transistors. (It was=20 well into the 5-10 hour range of operation by then!) As it happened, we=20 had an appropriately-timed power outage, so we didn't lose any operating = time that we wouldn't have lost anyway. Dave Hunt, WX1G, was impressed by the K2. I loved it all along - but if=20 Dave, one of the best CW operators around, liked it, that really means=20 something! He particularly noted the smooth QSK and the effective=20 filters. I just did the crystal filter grounding mod last week; that=20 couldn't have hurt. +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 10:07:13 -0500 To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Bob Garske Subject: [Elecraft] K1 at Field Day Hi all, No big deal, but K1 S/N 746 participated at Field Day in Columbia County, Wisconsin. The rig worked flawlessly on a 5 amp gel cell into a jumperable dipole for 40 and 20. MANY very curious onlookers and operators. So many, in fact, that I had to keep the Elecraft manual on the table for the onlookers to page through. EVERYONE who either looked at or operated it thought it was a fantastic rig. I believe I sold "our" company a few more rigs. I should even get a "small" sales commission.........hi. I even cranked the power up to 5 full watts, just to compete with the high rollers. I usually run only 3 watts. QRP CW with wire antennas will occupy my sunshine Amateur Radio years beginning now at age 61. Gee, I have had the K1 antenna tuner finished now for about 4 months, maybe I should take the time and install it, but I'm having too much fun. Now, if I could just get my code speed up........................................ 73, Bob, K9JMP ++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 12:27:33 -0400 From: "Michael Groeschner" To: Subject: [Elecraft] Field Day Hi Gang, I just thought I would report what I felt were excellant results from = our Field Day in Stamford Ct. First, you have to understand that the = members of our club don't like to operate, they just want to stand = around chatting and drinking beer and eating donuts. Having this going = on behind you when you do operate is distracting to say the least. I had planned to grab the extra hundred points by using my K2 on a = battery that was solar charged. We were only a 2A designation so I was = waiting while the 2 stations were being used. All of a sudden I realise = that nobody is operating the radios. I ask why. We had a generator that = stopped working(something about fried field coils). So, I said "this is = a good time to get the QRP contacts. I set the radio to 5 watts and had = the 5 contacts on ssb in about 4 minutes. Soooooo, I just kept going. I = guess I had over a hundred contacts(did not count them up, miight have = been more) this is very good for me, and they were all search and = pounce. There were only a couple of stations that I tried for that I = could not get to. One was a 6 station, which is pushing from here in CT. = I forget what the other was. I was on a 40-80 meter trapped dipole that = was up 30 feet. All contacts were on 40, 80 and 15 meters. This morning = I was told that I probably had half the points for the club. So, I might have changed the way we do Field Day in the future. We = certainly are considering going to battery power and QRP will be = discussed for sure. I guess we need another K2 for next year's Field = Day. I hope that all enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Mike, KB1DXC K2 - S/N 02097 ++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 22:07:11 +0000 To: qrp-l at Lehigh.EDU, elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Larry Cahoon Subject: [Elecraft] FD 2002 After pestering the local club about scoring advantage of running QRP Battery for a year or more Tuesday evening prior to FD the club's main SSB operator after saying there was no way he would go QRP challenged me. I jumped at the chance. Last year I ran the same setup as this year, but we all used my call. I looked at the scoring afterwards and it was clear I had amassed more points as a QRP battery station than had the entire club as a QRO station - even when they counted my QSOs in the total. I signed 2A for the event, but never ran more than one transmitter. Seems no one else ran CW. It turned out the be the biggest club showing for a number of years. The other fellows put four stations on the air. Three ran SSB and one ran digital. They use two vertical and two G5RVs. I used two doublets fed with ladder line. They variously signed 3A and 5A. We don't treat FD seriously as a contest most of the time. It is a time to go out have fun and eat. But I am waiting for them to total their scores to show them that I beat them hands down. They spend too much time away from the rigs. If I ever see their logs I'll report on the results. My station was the K2 (#665). If you worked WD3P you worked me. If you worked W3SMR you helped the competition. I ran a 44 ft and a 66 ft ant fed with ladder line. My biggest error was letting the ladder line lay on the ground. The LDG tunner didn't like it either with the 4:1 or the 1:1 balun. But I wasn't smart enough to get them off the ground. As a result the K2 just refused to put out more than about a watt on 80 meter. It tuned up just fine at home afterward into the dummy load. So it was not the rig that was the problem. Take this year was down about 15-20% percent from last year with 237 valid QSO. Most of the loss was caused by not being able to effectively use 80 meters. Here in the east 40 meters was the band of choice where I racked up 168 QSO. That was helped along by an hour long run of about 60 QSOs Saturday afternoon. I sat on 7.004 for at least an hour before I got chased off the frequency. Never let it be said that running QRP (I was running 2-3 watts) you can't hold a frequency. I picked up WQ4RP and N3EPA during that time. I had some trouble working on 20 meters as the other four nearby stations seemed to congregate there. The digital station operator said that was about the only band he could find any activity on. The power supply was two 5 AH gel cells charging from two 5 Watt solar panels. They were charged by solar power prior to the contest. So except for three QSOs when I was searching for reasons for the low power on 80 meters late Saturday night I was totally solar. The test battery for those three QSOs was not solar charged. The batteries held up real well. Sunday morning they read about 12.1 volts. Also drawing current was the LDG tuner - I was not using the one with the latching relays - that one seemed to have more trouble matching the antennas than did the older model. I had fun - camped out for the night - my youngest insisted on coming along and camping as well - she is only 12. WX was perfect Saturday - got up to 90 Sunday. But it was bright and sunny both days without a hint of rain or thunderstorms. I've already planed for how I'm going to keep the ladder line off the ground next year. 73 de Larry........WD3P in MD http://www.wd3p.net/ ++++++++++++++++++++ From: BobDobson at aol.com Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 17:37:18 EDT To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net, support at elecraft.com Cc: Wa4lto at aol.com Subject: [Elecraft] YAFDS (Yet Another Field Day Story) I have an ugly confession to make; I have been a licensed radio amateur for 29 years, and this was my first Field Day in which I was an active participant. Bless me, Hiram Percy Maxim, for I have sinned... :) My K2 (# 2537) coupled with the Rube-Goldbergiest of 20m dipoles (JPEGs available upon request) provided me with an unspeakable level of fun this past weekend. No one has to worry about my score; I fully anticipate being at the very, very bottom of the "Field Day Results" in QST. The 100 points I will glom from copying the ARRL FD Bulletin will net me more points than those from all the FD contacts I made. Although I did not punch any holes in the ionosphere or contact alien motherships in the Asteroid Belt, I must confess I had a stone-cold blast. I am convinced the K2 can hear anything that the high-end commercial rigs can hear, just with a lower noise floor. The "Big 3" could certainly learn a few things about receiver design from Wayne and Eric. I noticed this most of all when I tuned down to the CW segment where it became much like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel. I have to wait three hundred sixty and HOW MANY days until the next Field Day??? 73, all! Bob WA4FOM ++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 04:24:56 +0100 From: "TC Dufresne" To: Subject: [128441] QRP Field Day 2002-Musings (long) My Thoughts on QRP FD 2002 I did participate this year, it was a lot of fun! This was the first time I actually used my solar panel for power. I made a setup that would allow me to use the panel for direct power, and also a 12V, 7A/H battery for storage power. I designed and built a small "battery box" box using my old Star Trek lunch box. It was fun building. Here are some things I learned today: 1) Its not a good idea to build and test your equipment the Friday night before Field Day. 2) Epoxy is NOT the strongest bond in the world. My "St Louis Vertical" failed (broke) at the bond between my "Black Widow"-based antenna and the PVC holder. It was windy all day. Fortunately my time in the field was almost over. Now how do I fix this? 3) 12 V Cooling fans on top of my "lunch box power supply" look real cool, but they are NOISY!! I could NOT operate until I shut the fan OFF!! Can I remedy this? 4) When you go into the field, take more tools then you think you will need. The thing you thought you didn't need, you will need it when you get into the field. Murphy's Law is very apt during Field Day, trust me. 5) Solar controllers are also noisy, especially at lower frequencies. (40 meter band) I had to cycle the PV array off and on to charge my power pack battery if I was using the battery for power as well as the PV. 6) Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, attempt 40 meter QRP ops 200 meters from your city's club station. They will BLOW YOU AWAY when they key, eiher their mics or their keyers. (wow! Thats loud..) 7) Bring LOTS of water.. It will be warm....(I did ) 8) Old IBM computers for logging are NOISY and will NOT be helpful, even if they do run from your portable power station. Maybe next time I will have a separate power station for my peripherals? (See I am learning already) 9) Cheap DC-to-AC converters are NOISY. See above. 10) You really can make contacts from the field, QRP, and running on nothing but batteries. I was operating with a HW-8, and also my trusty 2N-40 homebrew rig, both about 2 watts max. Guess which netted more QSO's? Yup, the HOMBRU rig, by about 7:1. Much better signal rejection, I think, I could really pick out the other hams better, too. I couldn't help but smirk a little bit at the City club's "big boys" in their air-conditioned, comfy-as-home trailers and chairs, kicking back operating their Kenwood 440AT rigs, and calling it "field day", because they weren't at home. I tried not to appear like I was having too much fun as I soldered a broken connector with my soldering gun that I remembered to bring, and plugged it in to my own little power station, not some stinky, loud, 2.5K watt generator.. All and all a good time. Mister, THAT's Field Day 2002! Dit dit, KC0GXX +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 03:11:17 -0400 (EDT) From: "Scott Rosenfeld [N7JI]" To: qrp-l Subject: [128443] When your days are nights, and you don't sleep at night... Babies will do that to you, apparently. At some point B.H. (before Hannah) I probably thought to myself, "Field Day is coming up sometime, isn't it?" Then, on May 21, everything changed. Yesterday, one month A.H. (after Hannah) we're having dinner with the in-laws and dad-in-law says to me, "I saw something in the paper about ham radio this weekend - are you involved?" Was it a simulated emergency drill? A hamfest? Hmmm...I drew a blank. Then, suddenly, it hit me - FIELD DAY! How could it have snuck up on me so quickly??? I threw together a station - my THP-750, Sierra, and a battery that I managed to charge for four hours - with a dipole and set up on my back porch. So far, in 4 hours of operation, I'm up to 70 QSOs and it's time for bed. Half of them were made with a 1-month old baby in my lap...and boy was my left arm tired (from holding said baby, Hannah). Still, it was good to get her exposed to radio so early, I think. Tomorrow, we have a wedding to attend (at 11 a.m.) and I think that sadly my operation is over :( Still, much fun. -- Scott Rosenfeld ARS N7JI 541-684-9970 Eugene, OR Land o' much rain If you find me on the air, I'm probably in my car ham at w3eax.umd.edu http://w3eax.umd.edu/~ham +++++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 19:05:20 +0100 From: "k8cv" To: "Qrp-L Posts" Subject: [128452] QRP Sponge Bob Square Pants Field Day ............ 1E at home in the City Club with AIR CONDITIONING ON ! Wowsers, not even one mosquito bite! 330 Q's Didn't even dent the old car batteries voltage :-) As Jim Cary would say " K-2 smokin " ............... Sponge Bob Square Pants ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 18:25:56 -0400 From: "Bill, N4QA" To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128456] Field Day 2002...nice condx Hi, gang. Did my usual casual FD operating (1D, VA) on 20 CW...man, there were some monster sigs out there this weekend. Worked all over the country, plus Canada, with the DSW-20 at one watt out to the end-fed aluminum longwire. Did search & pounce all over the band using DSWTUN95 to quickly jump around at 0.2, 1.0, 5.0, 25.0 kHz steps. Band condx seemed pretty good, although there was some pretty deep QSB at times. Real happy to hear so many CW sigs all the way from 14000 to around 14075 kHz...chock full with our favorite music... I understand that there were a few fone sigs up the band a ways, too :) I'm sure that you guys had as much fun as I did. 73. Bill, N4QA +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 07:28:58 -0400 From: W2AGN To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128468] More FD This year I set up on the boat with K2, solar panel, and old 486 laptop with TRlog. Operated a 1A-Battery, using Club Call W2DWC. 100' Zepp on DK9SQ mast lashed to piling did great. I was surprised how quiet, QRN-wise, 80M was, and how well the 100' Zepp did there. made about 47 QSOs on 80M. 360 Qs altogether. Had to quit about 8AM as I was pooped. Posted some pictures at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/w2dwc/fd2002.html -- _ _ _ _ _ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W )( 2 )( A )( G )( N ) http://www.w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ ARCI, NJQRP, ARQrp,GQRP,RSGB Ex- K3HLU, W7JEF, W4MPC, N4JS +++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 07:14:16 -0600 From: "Al Dawkins" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [128469] 2002 FD Colorado QRP Club 942 Q's 8500 points less bonus points. A drop of 3000 ft in elevation from Rampart Range Road in the burning Pike National Forrest. The fire is South and West of our normal site but the area was closed. We moved to Jim KG0PP's property east of Denver. Three towers. 2A category. Our plan for 4A was shut down in the move. Conditions were poor on 15m and not much on 10m a few very short openings on 6m . That left 20m as the work horse. Our 4 el mono bander was working very well. 80m 37 40m 40 20 572 15 222 10m 3 6 31 2 4 70 cm 2 942 total Q's Half of our record holding 2A of 2000 40 % of our record 3A of 2001. Al K0FRP Colorado QRP Club +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 07:26:48 -0600 From: zeekzilch at juno.com To: cqclist at yahoogroups.com, qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128470] Photos from CQC's Field Day Gang; CQC has a number of photos from this weekend's Field Day posted at: http://www.cqc.org/gallery/fday2002/index.htm 72s, Roger WB0JNR http://www.DeepEcology.info ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 10:33:32 -0400 From: "Ralph Irons" To: Subject: [128471] FD 2002 in VA Family developments prevented me from joining the Knightlites in the Shining Rock Wilderness area of NC. My DK9SQ mast (minus the top section) was sandwiched between two buildings, supporting a 40m inverted vee. Running my K2 at 1W, I operated 40m SSB exclusively. What a gas! Each new section was a thrill. Managed to work 58 stations in 21 sections, using search and pounce on stations as they first appeared, or after their novelty had worn off. At 1W, the internal battery still measured 12.1 volts after FD was over. (I operated about 8 hours total.) Ralph N7RI Charlottesville, VA ++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 11:47:16 -0400 From: "Mark J. Dulcey" To: pschweit at mninter.net Cc: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion pschweit wrote: > I ran the GOTA station for the MN QRP club. Was quite successful with an 817 > on 10 meter ssb. Used a monoband dipole to good effect. > > A question did come up. How does one achieve 31A for a club operation. > Please advise. Careful organization and lots of people. First, how do you manage 31 transmitters?? Well, there are many ham bands (160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2, 220, 440, 915, 1200, 2300, and higher), and three modes (CW, voice, RTTY/digital). You're only allowed one transmitter per band/mode, so you obviously have to cover 31 combinations. Well, actually 32, because you get one VHF/UHF station for free (rule 4.1.2). So, suppose that you have three stations each on the five HF bands; you're already up to 15. Add another three stations for each of the five most popular VHF and UHF bands, and you're up to 30. The other two can come from some combination of 160, 915, or the bands above 1200 MHz. Keeping them from interacting with each other is another problem. On the HF bands, you need careful selection of radios (you want rigs with excellent phase noise performance; older non-synthesized equipment might be good choices, too), bandpass filters for your rigs, as much physical separation of antennas as possible, and some willingness to accept degradation of your receivers from the other stations. (Even with the best possible equipment, the presence of two other transmitters on the same HF band will probably have some effect on your ability to hear weak signals.) The huge megastations are about the challenge of putting that many signals on the air, not about maximizing your score. On VHF and above, it's easier to get enough antenna separation to keep the stations from interacting, since the antennas are smaller, but make sure to point the beam of one station away from the antenna of another! If your club is big enough to field the 100 people or thereabouts that you'll likely need for a 31A station (remember, you also have to set up all that stuff), coming up with enough radio gear probably isn't a problem. Finding a large enough power source might be. It helps if you have connections with local disaster agencies, which may be able to provide a BIG generator or two. I haven't heard of anyone trying a battery or solar powered megastation yet. No, I've never been involved in a station on that scale. I'm sure somebody who has will come in with more advice. +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 13:15:31 -0400 From: "Lee Mairs" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [128492] 2N2-40 and Field Day Although I had to spend almost every waking moment either cutting grass or fixing implements designed to help me cut grass in WV this weekend, I did get to spend some time with my 2N2-40 on Field Day. I only had about three hours total time, but I went upa and down the 40 meter band S&P'ing from signal to signal. What a marvelous radio! WIth the W3NQN passive audio filter, I was able to separate all the big guys crowded around 7.025. I don't thnk more than two calls were ever required ti get their attention (altho many, many repeats were requested by me as a result of rusty ears. The antenna was a Carolina WIndom 160 barely 22' up at the feed point and about 40' at the ends (ground slopes dramatically!). Great fun and a satisfying way to test a radio and its antenna system. If only there was a contest where you had to give (honest) signal reports... Thanks to Jim Kortge for designing this wonderful little radio. If you ever though about building a scratch-built radio, this is the one. THere is a great support group available on the 2n2-40 web sight as well as on this mailing list. 73 de Lee, KM4YY +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 15:18:46 -0400 From: Steven Weber To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128497] Field Day We drove down to Connecticut with AA1MY to help out his old club's effort. Was kinda interesting, as it was the first time I ever did anything with a real club. But I'll tell ya, never gonna do anything with a set up that uses a generator again. Hearing that thing drone on for 24 hours gets to you and having to shut down and fill it with gas every four hours is a pain. All that to run two 100 watt rigs and some old 486 computers. Could have done just as well cutting the power back to 50 watts running on batteries and some laptops. Which is what we think we'll do locally next year around here. Or just run QRP CW. But we did real well on 15 M with Seab's Lazy H antenna. 15 ended up so good, spent a lot of time there and ended up making many more contacts on 15 then 20. All SSB. They weren't set up well for CW, so we didn't do much of that. I even made 18 Q's on 160M about 1 AM with thier 600 foot loop. That was fun! 72, Steve, KD1JV "Melt Solder" White Mountains of New Hampshire http://www.qsl.net/kd1jv/ +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 17:13:52 -0400 From: "John P. Cummins, Sr." To: unlisted-recipients:; (no To-header on input) Cc: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [128503] Re: field day You are correct about "logging" computers being on commercial power. However.. if you get a reasonably sized auto/marine battery and an inverter.. you can run a laptop with it's AC supply at least as long as FD is going to last. A couple of our guys did that including the PSK31 station. Pickett, AD4S "Mark J. Dulcey" wrote: > > David Hinerman wrote: > > Folks, > > > > I've seen several people mention using computers at Field Day. I'm > > curious - are they really worth the trouble to lug out to the field? I > > haven't worked a Field Day in about 23 years, and the old Ohio > > Scientific C1P we used then was definitely not worth the effort. > > > > I confess I have a professional reason for asking. My company's > > marketing organisms are always looking for laptop apps for people to use > > with our products (electricity meters), yet the guys who would be using > > these apps tell me they don't like using the computers because of > > weight, battery life, rain, etc. > > If you're with a big Field Day station with non-battery power available, > yes, yes, a thousand times yes. They make logging a LOT easier. Use > laptops; they won't crash if the generator does (the battery acts as a > built-in UPS), they're not fussy about power fluctuations, and they're > easier to carry. Laptops don't use enough power to make much of a dent > in the power budget of a typical non-QRP Field Day station, so that's > not an issue. > > If you're doing a completely battery-powered operation in a remote > location, it's tougher. You'd have to carry along a LOT of batteries to > power even a laptop for 24 hours; desktop systems are right out. For > example, the batteries in my Dell are good for a bit over 3 hours each; > I'd need 8 of them to get through Field Day, and they cost about $100 > each. (Doing the math shows that the computer uses about 1.5 amps at 11 > volts.) A less expensive alternative would be to rig up something with a > large gel-cell, but the battery for the computer would be larger than > the battery for the radio. By the way, if you're choosing a computer > specifically for field logging use, one of the new systems using a > Transmeta Crusoe processor might be a good bet. > > A contest logging program for the Palm would also be a possible winner > if you used an external keyboard. You'd want a Palm or similar computer > with a good backlit display, because the lighting at Field Day stations > is usually poor; the backlit color ones are best, but you would need a > charger for those, because they ones I'm familiar with use internal > LiIon batteries. And you need to be able to connect the charger and the > keyboard at the same time, something that you can't do with my Visor Prism. > > By the way, I've heard that the ruling is that computers must be powered > using emergency power if they are used to control the radio, but not if > they are only used for logging. So if you're in a location where > commercial power is available, and being less than perfectly pure > doesn't bother you, you don't have to power the computers (or the > station lights, for that matter) from batteries or a generator. But I do > not speak for the ARRL; I may have heard this wrong, or they may have > changed their minds about it. +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 22:07:11 +0000 From: Larry Cahoon To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu, elecraft at mailman.qth.net Subject: [128504] FD 2002 After pestering the local club about scoring advantage of running QRP Battery for a year or more Tuesday evening prior to FD the club's main SSB operator after saying there was no way he would go QRP challenged me. I jumped at the chance. Last year I ran the same setup as this year, but we all used my call. I looked at the scoring afterwards and it was clear I had amassed more points as a QRP battery station than had the entire club as a QRO station - even when they counted my QSOs in the total. I signed 2A for the event, but never ran more than one transmitter. Seems no one else ran CW. It turned out the be the biggest club showing for a number of years. The other fellows put four stations on the air. Three ran SSB and one ran digital. They use two vertical and two G5RVs. I used two doublets fed with ladder line. They variously signed 3A and 5A. We don't treat FD seriously as a contest most of the time. It is a time to go out have fun and eat. But I am waiting for them to total their scores to show them that I beat them hands down. They spend too much time away from the rigs. If I ever see their logs I'll report on the results. My station was the K2 (#665). If you worked WD3P you worked me. If you worked W3SMR you helped the competition. I ran a 44 ft and a 66 ft ant fed with ladder line. My biggest error was letting the ladder line lay on the ground. The LDG tunner didn't like it either with the 4:1 or the 1:1 balun. But I wasn't smart enough to get them off the ground. As a result the K2 just refused to put out more than about a watt on 80 meter. It tuned up just fine at home afterward into the dummy load. So it was not the rig that was the problem. Take this year was down about 15-20% percent from last year with 237 valid QSO. Most of the loss was caused by not being able to effectively use 80 meters. Here in the east 40 meters was the band of choice where I racked up 168 QSO. That was helped along by an hour long run of about 60 QSOs Saturday afternoon. I sat on 7.004 for at least an hour before I got chased off the frequency. Never let it be said that running QRP (I was running 2-3 watts) you can't hold a frequency. I picked up WQ4RP and N3EPA during that time. I had some trouble working on 20 meters as the other four nearby stations seemed to congregate there. The digital station operator said that was about the only band he could find any activity on. The power supply was two 5 AH gel cells charging from two 5 Watt solar panels. They were charged by solar power prior to the contest. So except for three QSOs when I was searching for reasons for the low power on 80 meters late Saturday night I was totally solar. The test battery for those three QSOs was not solar charged. The batteries held up real well. Sunday morning they read about 12.1 volts. Also drawing current was the LDG tuner - I was not using the one with the latching relays - that one seemed to have more trouble matching the antennas than did the older model. I had fun - camped out for the night - my youngest insisted on coming along and camping as well - she is only 12. WX was perfect Saturday - got up to 90 Sunday. But it was bright and sunny both days without a hint of rain or thunderstorms. I've already planed for how I'm going to keep the ladder line off the ground next year. 73 de Larry........WD3P in MD http://www.wd3p.net/ ++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 18:09:23 -0500 From: "David Bixler" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [128506] Four State QRP Group Field Day Report Hello QRP'ers: The Four State QRP Group operated Field Day from a lovely state park near Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Despite daytime temperature of 90 degrees, we really enjoyed ourselves! We operated with call W0CH on all bands from 80 to 10 meters, plus 2 meters FM. The photo report is posted on the group web page at: http://www.w0ch.com/fsqrp/fd02/fd02.htm While we probably won't win any awards for the number of QSO's, we had more fun than is legal in many states! 72, Dave David Bixler W0CH Seneca, MO Main Web Site: http://w0ch.com Mirror Site: http://showcase.netins.net/web/w0ch QRP: Little Radios, Big Fun! ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 19:51:51 -0400 (EDT) From: "Scott Rosenfeld [N7JI]" To: Larry Cahoon Cc: qrp-l Subject: [128510] Re: FD 2002 Nice, Larry. I was a nonbeliever until 1987 when the U of MD club did a 3A QRP Batt op that did 1200 QSOs. 80 at night was amazing - 150/hr. On Mon, 24 Jun 2002, Larry Cahoon wrote: > After pestering the local club about scoring advantage of running QRP > Battery for a year or more Tuesday evening prior to FD the club's main SSB > operator after saying there was no way he would go QRP challenged me. -- snip -- +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 08:57:49 -0500 From: Nick Kennedy To: Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion Subject: [128513] FD at the Big Tower Warning. The story you are about to read is true. But neither the transmitters nor the tower were QRP. The callsigns have been changed--to protect the innocent. We've been 2A out at the Lock and Dam for years, sort of in a rut, so we decided to go to the Big Tower this year and try being 9E for kicks. Pure chaos. We were like a pack of cats in a toesack. Antennas on top of antennas and rigs on rigs. I had to take out a restraining order on the RTTY guy so I could get on 20 ... Pretty fun though. We managed over 700 Qs on the CW station, and that's after an extremely slow start from being banished to the QRN ghettos of 80 and 40, even before sunset, due to cross-station interference. Did I ever tell ya'll about The Big Tower? We call it the BAT, for Big something Tower. Anyway, a year or so ago, me and a bunch of guys got together and bought this AT&T microwave tower. They're selling off a bunch of them, as was detailed in an ARRL report. It's really cool--112 feet tall and free standing. Has a 600 square foot building, an acre of land on a high point, and a 600 square foot platform on top of the tower. To get a look at it, go to my page http://www.cox-internet.com/wa5bdu/bigtower.htm, skip over all the boring prose and check out the photo. These towers should all be in the hands of hams! Find one near you, round up a few buddies who lack good sense, and buy it. http://www.americantower.com/mainweb/ Being banished to 80 is bad, but an 80 meter inverted vee at 110 feet can do OK. 72--Nick, WA5BDU +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 23:37:25 EDT From: SMurph555 at aol.com To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu Cc: Caljsi at aol.com Subject: [128521] One More Field Day 2002 Story - longish Hi all, K4JSI operated Class 1B from the back yard of our home in Silver Spring, MD. I left the office early on Friday to get the antenna up. It was my trusty old "utility dipole", which uses insulators and jumpers to set it up for either 80, 40, 20 or 15 meters. We, self, wife and a Sister of the Order of Notre Dame de Namur used potential energy stored in two rubber bands (yep, a slingshot) to loft the lines over a 50 foot high limb in the big oak tree on the property behind ours and over the roof of our house. Because the distance wasn't the requisite 135 feet, 33 feet at one end hung vertically. The rig was a Ten Tec Century 21, set to 5 watts with the assistance of a MFJ 971 antenna tuner. Current drain on receive was 0.5 Amperes and about 2.4 Amperes on transmit at that power level. The only battery on hand capable of running those levels for anywhere near 24 hours is in my car, so I used that. I'd done something similar with the Century 21 a few years ago, so I have a cable made up with the required, and I do mean required, instantaneous trip Airpax circuit breaker. The car battery seems unfazed by this treatment although I did start the car and run it for a bit on Sunday morning - long enough for the coolant temperature to rise to its normal running temperature. I ended up with 232 QSOs on CW, consisting of 68 on 80M; 80 on 40M; 29 on 20M (the band intimidates me) and 55 on 15M. Lighting was a candle and a mini-mag flashlight held in my mouth when setting the antenna tuner. So I'm eligible for the 100% emergency power bonus. Noteworthy propagation was the extremely short skip on 15M at the beginning of Field Day and the transformation of 80M late Saturday evening. One minute the band was noisy and skip was short. The next minute 80M grew quiet and I started hearing (and working) stations from the Midwest and Southwest. I must have a masochistic streak because this was the second year in a row that I used a rig with a direct conversion receiver, having used a HW-8 in FD 2001. Frequencies around 7035 and 14035 were particularly brutal on the ears. Any comments, please to caljsi at aol.com. 72/73 Cal K4JSI +++++++++++++++++ Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 03:08:03 -0400 From: "Brian B. Riley \(N1BQ\) ListAcct" To: "NVQS" , "NJ-QRP List" , "FT817" , Subject: [128614] NVQS Field Day Gallery Open for Business Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just got finished loading up the pix Sara, Adam, and I took with Sara's Nikon 995 from the NVQS QRP Field Day operation. I expect to have some more pix later as others get their films developed ... but for now there are 30 or so pix of our setup, operation, etc. go to Then click on "Field Day 2002," ... enjoy ... cheers ... 73 de brian, n1bq Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 03:08:03 -0400 From: "Brian B. Riley \(N1BQ\) ListAcct" To: "NVQS" , "NJ-QRP List" , "FT817" , Subject: [128614] NVQS Field Day Gallery Open for Business Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I just got finished loading up the pix Sara, Adam, and I took with Sara's Nikon 995 from the NVQS QRP Field Day operation. I expect to have some more pix later as others get their films developed ... but for now there are 30 or so pix of our setup, operation, etc. go to Then click on "Field Day 2002," ... enjoy ... cheers ... 73 de brian, n1bq +++++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 19:52:38 -0600 From: "Robert Armstrong" To: Subject: [128556] QRP FD REPORT - UTAH NC7X (Manti Camping and Contest Club) operated class 2A QRP from Skyline Drive at 10,000 feet elevation east of the little town of FairView Utah. The main operators were W1FB, W7WIK, WA7LNW and N7XJ. Several other local hams dropped by and made several QSO's using a GOTA station. KD7LUA stuck around for the entire event providing a great deal of help with setup, take down and nourishment. W7DHH set up his impressive VHF/UHF gear, but there were no 6 meter openings and we were a great distance from population centers so almost no VHF/UHF contacts were made. The antennas were horizontal loops, up about 60 - 80 feet in the trees. The loops kept the atmospheric noise down and provided great gain. We made over 1,300 QSO's, almost entirely CW. The bands were not as as good as last year, but a good time was had by all. Bob, N7XJ +++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 19:51:47 -0600 From: zeekzilch at juno.com To: cqclist at yahoogroups.com, qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128557] FD 2001 Pix - Better late than never! Better late than never, here's a few pix from CQC's 2001 Field Day effort way back before the fires robbed us of a few thousand extra feet of elevation gain: http://www.cqc.org/gallery/fday2001/index.htm 72s, Roger WB0JNR http://www.ZeekZilch.com ++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 00:00:58 GMT From: na5n at zianet.com To: qrp-l at lehigh.edu Subject: [128664] NM FD Post Mortem Gang, Had a really fun Field Day, but not one that wracked up the points as in years past. Our initial plans for a nice high spot in the San Mateo Mountains fell apart due to the extreme fire danger restrictions around here, which have pretty much closed all access roads into the mountains and forests. So we decided to setup atop a 5200 foot mesa east of the Rio Grande north of Socorro ... basic true desert country with no restrictions, simply because there is nothing to burn. And even if I did manage to start a dead grass fire, it would have merely blown over to burn down Texas. No biggie :-) So we got up there, setup a couple of antennas and 2 stations. Took along my Radio Shack and MFJ FYBO/Bubba thermometers, and watched those puppies climb to 104F by 2pm (got a photo of the thermometer next to the station). The wind was blowing a good 30mph all day. Kinda hot and miserable. Made a few QSO's on 10M QRP SSB and 15M CW. The heat/wind just made me lazy. Of course those two Seagrams wine coolers didn't help either! We decided to wait until the sun went down, cool off a bit, then really get hot. At sundown, we started the steaks. The wind started really gusting bad, so we retreated inside the RV to eat. We figured the wind would die down shortly after sundown - often the case here. But instead, it blew the mag mount Spider off the car and darn near took down the vertical. So we brought down both aerials to avoid any further damage. And waited for the wind to die down. And waited. And waited ... Finally about midnight, the wind calmed down to 20mph or less, so we put the aerials back up and got on the air. Gee ... only 12 hours after FD started, and I was finally making some serious contacts. What could go wrong now? Never ask that. Those beautiful clouds to the south at sundown blew to the east of us and began a horrific lightning storm. No biggie, at least until the thunder started shaking my fillings loose. That's when it dawned on me, sitting on top of this mesa makes us the highest object for about 20 miles around. So we tore down the antennas again and disconnected everything about 1:30am and sat in the hopefully lightning proof RV to wait out the lightning storm. Funny how a storm can just stall out on you about 5 miles away and crack and boom for hours. It was about 4am when all the racket from that stopped. About 9am, got up, already 93F, put the antennas back up and we managed to work a few more stations before noon. Oh, did I mention the wind kicked in again about the time the thunder finally stopped? You just haven't lived until you've experienced sitting there for hours in a 35 mile an hour wind -- with the wind being a pleasant 100 degree air. Like living in a blast furnace. Really wears you thin by sunday morning! Of course another wine cooler didn't help :-) But it was still fun with a few friends and local ranchers stopping by to see what we were up to. I think that qualifies for the public table thing, doesn't it? -hi. Jan N0QT used the 2020 for SSB and her FT817 for CW, and I used my FT817 for my CW station. This was the first really congested contest I've used the FT817 for, and was very pleased at the CW filter/IF shift performance to clean things up. My only real complaint is it's a bit difficult to change CW speeds in a hurry when you have to suddenly slow down for someone or a repeat. Too many button pushes to sequence the menu, change speed, and store it to activate. A bit less than 200 toal contacts powered from a 12V lawn mower battery, charged by solar panels, which went from 12.8 to 12.6V over the duration of FD. Not bad at all. Logging was by paper and pencil. Jan got a couple of those chargeable LED candle things from C. Crane. Turns out, they are fairly nice for casting enough light all night long to illuminate the gear and logs, and the amber color kept the bugs away. They were still glowing when the sun came back up. This was the first time we attempted QRP SSB. It was a rather disappointing experiment. QRP works great on CW, but seems very hard to break those SSB pileups when everyone else is at least 100W. Saturday evening, about sundown, the smoke from the Arizona fires began to move down the Rio Grande valley from the north. In no time, it was so thick, you could barely see a mile, and it smelled like campfire smoke mixed with turpentine and sulfur. Today, several days later, the smoke situation is about the same. We can barely see 10,000 foot Socorro Peak only 3-4 miles away and everyone in town in feeling the constant discomfort from the smoke ... burning eyes, sore throat, congested lungs. It makes you realize how awful it must be for those near the fires and who had to evacuate. Many hams are helping with emergency communications with these fires. You reflect on the forest fire smoke and 9-11, and it makes you realize how important it is to always be ready with having an emergency station to setup -- even if you did only manage a few QSO's. The important thing, you proved you could setup a station and provide communications in an emergency if it were for real. The real point of FD. Hope everyone else had fun, regardless of the Q's or score, heat or wind, or time able to give the event. It always seems to bring fun. 72, Paul NA5N and Jan N0QT 2B NM ++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 11:08:32 -0500 From: "Mark Andrews \(KE4IOF\)" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: [128720] Lightning In 1997 I developed a whole new respect for lightning. It was during Field Day and our club had deployed all its gear on the nob of a mountain overlooking the Tennessee Valley (in Northern Alabama). It was a great site owned by one of our members. About 3 in the afternoon, typical summer thunderheads started to build. It wasn't long before one of these developed into a fast moving thundershower and was headed for our site. Like idiots, we ignored it. The rain came, and we ignored it. The wind came and we ignored it. The thunder boomed and we ignored it.. Then came the lightning. It would not be ignored. While it didn't strike me directly, I felt its affects as it traveled from my computer, down my right arm, side and bare leg through the metal chair I was sitting in. The chair was situated on bare ground. We did not ignore it any longer. The back of my leg had a red spot on it for a few days and my whole body was sore for about a week. The humans in the group were lucky. Our equipment didn't fare so well. I personally lost two radios, a power supply and a TNC. Others in the group lost equipment as well. The city of Moulton, Alabama lost a brand new 10KW diesel generator it had loaned us for the weekend. Do not ever think you are safe from lightning. You do not have to be struck directly to suffer the consequences. I was lucky. Five miles of air will not stop lightning. Neither will 3/4" plywood, nor shingles, nor a $4.95 surge suppressor. It is doubtful that you could provide a sufficient ground with enough capacity to conduct the current in a lightning strike in a manner of your choosing. The best thing to do during a storm is to disconnect everything from the outside world. This means disconnecting everything in your shack from antennas, phone lines, power outlet and even your ground connection. After the analysis of our Field Day strike, we theorized the current didn't propagate through our antenna systems, but through our power systems. There is one humorous aspect to my story. The tent I was sitting under was loaned to us by a funeral home, you know, the kind they put over the grave during a service... You think maybe they were trying to drum up business? :-) Mark, KE4IOF _________________________________ Mark A. Andrews ++++++++++++++++ Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 14:33:19 -0400 From: "Brian B. Riley \(N1BQ\) ListAcct" To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" , "NJ-QRP List" , "NVQS" , Subject: [128730] Field Day 2002 - Web Pix ??? I have posted a small list, gleaned from QRP-L, of other clubs/individuals FD 2002 web pix. This list is at the bottom of the NVQS FD 2002 index page. If anyone knows of any other club/individual FD 2002 web pix site please let me know. I would like to add to the list. cheers ... 73 de brian, n1bq +++++++++++++++++++ From: "Milt Jensen" To: Subject: Re: [Elecraft] discovering elecraft Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 14:56:00 -0700 I was asked if I had any photos of the FD operation. Yes. The K-2s are not prominent in the photos but you can look at the whole setup on a high desert mesa near Clifton and Morenci, AZ by going to http://www.eaars.com/fieldday.html We could not go to the mountain site because of closure of the forests due to extreme drynesss and attendant fire danger. Milt, N5IA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Milt Jensen" To: > The results? Even though we were not able to operate from our normal > mountain location (cool and great take off angles) the Eastern Arizona > Amateur Radio Society did well with the 3, K-2s at the main three > transceivers in a 3A operation. The temp was HOT in the lower desert > country and the RF location was not the best, BUT, K7EAR placed "numero uno" > in the 3A QRP class and I believe we were number 5 overall in 3A. And that > is against the 100 Watt class stations east of the mississippi. > > In other words; They work well !!!!!!!! > > 73, and Happy New Year de Milt, N5IA ++++++++++++++++