[Elecraft] 4 x K-2, 3A Field Day

[Milt Jensen, N5IA]

                    ARRL Field Day

Call: K7EAR
Operator(s): MANY
Station: K7EAR

Class: 3A QRP
QTH: DM52, SE Arizona
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:

 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
---------------------------- 
   80:    60
   40:   303         70
   20:   565      370
   15:   264      323
   10:       1        27
    6:                  32
GOTA:             67
  ----------------------------
Total:  1193   889          Total Score = 16,375


The Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society, Inc. (EAARS) participated in the
ARRL Field Day from the Clark Peak campground in the Pinaleno Mountains of
SE Arizona.  Fortunately no forest closures or fires caused a premature
ending of this year's excercise.  The weather at nearly 9,000' of elevation
was nice and cool with temperatures 30 degrees lower than on the desert
floor below the mountain.

The 16,375 points does not include the bonus points but does include the 335
GOTA station points.

The station lineup for the EAARS solar powered QRP effort was as follows.

SSB -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40', and a double extended Zepp.

CW 20 & 80 -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40' and 1/4 WL vertical.

CW 15 & 40 -- Elecraft K-2, Force 12 C-3 at 40' and a double extended Zepp.

GOTA -- Elecraft K-2, G5RV.

6 Meters -- Yaesu FT-817, homemade 3 element Yagi at 12'.

The band conditions from DM52 were poor overall.  Propagation was either
non-existent or short lived to most areas.  Ten Meters never opened at all.

Fifteen Meters opened late and closed early with no strong, prolonged
openings.

Twenty Meters was the money band for both modes, especially CW.

Forty Meters was fair on CW but extremely rough for the SSB ops.

Eighty Meters was a fill in when 20 closed for that CW station during the
early morning hours.  80 yielded 60 Q's in a bit over 6 hours of operation.
The best DX to the east was W3AO in MDC and to the west it was KH6J.  Many
thanks to W7KQZ, Ernie, for his dedication to this mind numbing drudgery.

Six Meters never had a real opening and the 32 Q's were spaced over 3 hours
Saturday evening and 3 hours Sunday morning.  Best DX on 6 was W0AA in MN
with K9ZO in IL coming in 2nd and K7LAD in WWA at 3rd.  Joe, K7JEM, and his
home made beam are to be commended for the VHF success.  He was assisted by
Ernie, KD7IOG and Dave, WB7ONJ with the GOTA and VHF stations.  Two kids
were able to make contacts, helping the score and adding a few bonus points.

Despite the poor conditions the SSB station had a run of 101 Q's during the
0200 hour.  The other 23 hours yielded 689 Q's for a rate of 30/hour, or one
Q every 2 minutes.  Team leader Larry, W7MCO, is to be commended for his
diligence and persistance when the digital voice keyer quit before Field Day
even started.

The 20/80 Meter CW station had a two hour run at the 0100 and 0200 hours
where it worked 57 Q's per hour.  The average for the other 22 hours was
23.2 Q's/hour.  Warren, NI5L, was the team leader of this effort.  Invited
guest operator Bill, WB0O, enjoyed his first Field Day since he was in High
School some 25 years ago.  He was the operator during the two peak hours on
20 Meters.

The 15/40 Meter CW station had two peak hours also; the 1500 & 1700 hours,
when it rang up a mighty 41 Q's for each hour.  The average for the other 22
hours was 22 Q's/hour.  Steve, N2IC, provided the leadership and expertise
for this grueling challenge, especially on 40 Meters.

All in all, a very good time was had by everyone.  The Saturday evening beef
steaks and the Sunday morning sausage and hotcakes, all cooked over open
flames, were superb.  Many thanks to KB7CSE, Grace, and her crew.

The EAARS bus peformed its function well, hosting all 5 stations inside
while it sported a brand new paint job on the outside.

The unsung heros of the EAARS FD operation were Lon, K7LON, and his family
of indentured servants; Richard, N7XEU, leading the tower erection crew;
Dave WB7ONJ handling the bonus points facilities and recording the bulletin
from ARRL; and the many other members of EAARS who assisted with moral
support and a bit of their efforts and talents as time allowed.

This year's score is the best ever for EAARS and reflects the improvement in
both station capability and the operating skill of the whole group.

Milt, N5IA
EAARS Field Day Chairman