[AReU] BARS/TARC Picnic

[w4tas]

I would like to thank the folks at TARC for putting on a great picnic today.
I enjoyed the hamburgers and hot dogs (not in that order) very-very much.
The baked beans were beyond any I have ever tasted and I had a couple of
helpings. I stayed outside the rest of the day.

I also saw that the picnic was well attended by BARS members. I hope
you all had as good a time as I did and I enjoyed seeing each and every
one of you. Thanks for coming by.

The TARC clubhouse is looking great.  It looks like a lot of folks are
putting
a lot of work in it. I think sometimes of the work required to keep such
a place in shape and I get tired just thinking about it. You guys are really
getting things done.

The radio room is fantastic. I tried a couple of CQ's on 6 meters but didn't
get an answer. I really didn't expect to but at least I tried. I saw that
long
boom, 5 element, 6 meter beam and just had to try it out.

The AO40 satellite didn't co-operate except for the beacon. Keith called
CQ a couple of times on CW and we had a respectable signal but no one
answered. I never heard my SSB signal on the downlink. The CW signal
was fairly good after about 2:00 PM but there was not many folks on because
of the bad squint angle. I only heard a couple of SSB and CW QSO's.
Today's squint angle was necessary to keep the batteries charged and it
changes with the relative position of the Earth and Sun during the year.
I am told that it will be back to optimal for Field Day. Do you copy Dr.
Jim?

Again, thanks to all of the people at TARC that made today a great
experience.

Tony

W4TAS