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the special effort!
The Novice/Tech Plus operation would have been a no-show without the determined efforts of Leo N1VYF, who put together a 10-meter dipole, put it up, and got on the air!
Sharon KC1YR put out a great press release that resulted in an item in the Middlesex News and several announcements on WBZ-AM. We had visitors from as far away as South Weymouth!
Several people made good use of our VE session. Congrats to Adam N1TYF, who upgraded to Extra (and then kept right on rolling to put in several good hours on 20 SSB).
To produce our new high score, a group of talented operators turned in a great performance. When I see hourly totals like 82 and 81 on 20 CW (K5ZD) and 103 and 101 on 20 SSB (NB1B, N1TYF), I know things are going well. Here's the lineup by band: 80 CW -- K5ZD, AA1ON; 80 SSB -- N4GNV, AA1IZ; 40 CW -- T93M, K1HT, WR1P, N1TYF, AA1ON; 40 SSB -- N4GNV, T93M, W1VIV, AA1ON; 20 CW -- NB1B, K5ZD, AA1ON, N1TYF; 20 SSB -- N1TYF, NB1B, KC1YR; 15 CW -- WR1P, W1RH; 15 SSB -- KA1USL, N4GNV, NB1B, KA1HIA, WA1R, N1JMY; 10 CW/SSB -- T93M; VHF/UHF -- N1XAS, K1SG, AA1ON, N1UVA, W1RH. (I hope I haven't omitted anyone, but you have to sign the sheet or use OpOn.)

PacketCluster Update

by Bob, W1RH and Charlie, NC1N

We are building it! Work is well along on our PacketCluster node to be located in Hopkinton at the QTH of AA1ON.
Here's a report as of July 20th:
On Saturday, July 18, a FARA crew took up shovels and a rented trencher to excavate a trench for the coax. AA1ON and W1RH manned the trencher, while KA1USL, N1UVA, N1JFO, KA1AXY, and others handled the shovels. W1NXC recorded the event in pictures, which we hope to have on-line at the FARA web site and in the newsletter in the future.
Part way through the trench digging, the crew encountered a rock the size of a small DXCC country (actually about the size of a coffee table) that was dead set in the middle of the path. Martin, Brian, Pete, and Bob chipped away on it.  Eventually Martin and Pete got it to fracture and break in half. The half blocking the trench was removed.
If all goes well, the RF portion of the project will be completed around August 8.
The computer and TNCs have been assembled at another site and testing is underway. The PacketCluster application has been installed and partially tested. PacketCluster relies on G8BPQ packet switch software to "talk" to the two TNCs. This software is now being installed and configured, after which the entire digital system will be tested as a unit.
Our current plans call for the pieces to be brought together in early September. We hope the station will be on the air in pilot status shortly thereafter. We'll have more reports in the newsletter, and on the PacketCluster page on FARA's web site.
Check out http://www.fara.org/~fara/dxcluster .

toward the next peak; solar flux was around 120 this Field Day, versus 70 (nearly rock bottom) last year.
Last year 6 meters was flat, with only one QSO outside the Northeast. This year was a different story. We worked stations throughout the South and Midwest, and even two in Arizona! One hour Saturday afternoon yielded 54 QSOs.
At the other end of the spectrum 80 meters was disappointing. QRN levels were high, and at times during the night 80 CW had no activity. On 40 we held our own, thanks mainly to the two full-wave loop antennas (one vertical, one horizontal) that Danny T93M/N1ZPE built and put up for us, but conditions weren't up to par.
Beyond all these details the key to Field Day at W1FY is people. I'm grateful to everyone who helped with preparations, transportation, setup, take-down, errands, and all the little things that contributed to our success this year. Some of them deserve special mention.
Our logging computers were solid all weekend, thanks to the careful preparations and on-site work by Paul N1DGT.
Ed KB1CQI and Bob W1RH put together our emergency power. It was reassuring to have Ed's generator delivering power all weekend, with only a brief interruption Sunday morning for fueling.