Flight of the Bumblebees is now just 1 Week Away. July 28^th is nearly here.

Bumblebee Number requests are still coming in. As of this morning, there are 166 Bumblebees signed up to go out and operate portable in some fresh air location. The Bumblebees will be everywhere from Maine to California and Florida to Washington. Not in every state, but pretty darn close. We will also have Bumblebees in Canada, and at least two in a DX location. They will be operating from mountain tops, parks, beaches, local fields, back yards, etc.

Wow, that is sure a lot of Bumblebees for the FOBB Home Stations to find and work. Remember, you can work each Bumblebee once on each band that you can find them on.

And Bumblebee to Bumblebee contacts are rewarding when it comes to the Total Score.

Bumblebees and POTA

When the ARS was organized and the FOBB event was created back in the 1990-1995 time frame, the notion of getting out to operate a portable ham station was a novelty. With the popularity of POTA, that is not quite so novel today.

It is not surprising that lots of folks who routinely Activate POTA have obtained a Bumblebee Number and have said they expect to be operating from a POTA park. Remember that the FOBB event is a 5W QRP event and that you cannot rely on your vehicle for anything other than getting you there,

Some have indicated that they may split their time between being a POTA Activator and being a Bumblebee. That is certainly acceptable. As long as Bumblebees do not exceed 5W CW output , and they are not relying on their vehicle in any way, then all CW QSOs that they make from their portable location within the designated 4 hour FOBB window will count as FOBB 'Contacts'.

Discussing this with one of my local club members who is a POTA Activator,, he replied:

I think I'll prioritize to be a BB. At some point in time I may devote an hour as a POTA operator. After all I can be a POTA operator whenever I want, but being a BB only comes once a year.

Give that come consideration. Keep calling CQ BB during the 4 hour FOBB window..

Also remember that being a FOBB Bumblebee or being a FOBB Home Station is a individual effort, not a team effort.

Good Luck. And have a good buzzy time.

Adventure Radio Society – Rules are at : https://ars-qrp.com

73,

Jody – K3JZD

Virus-free.www.avg.com