[Elecraft] Camping radio ops: then and now

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

My first was in the summer of 1954 in the Mojave Desert near a place called
"Giant Rock", actually an Air Force emergency landing strip where Flying
Saucer enthusiasts gathered for meetings, calling it the "Giant Rock
Interplanetary Airport" although I never say any extra-terrestrial visitors.


My buddy John (also a Ham) borrowed his family's Willis station wagon and
built up a motor generator set with a small gas engine driving two 115 VAC,
400 Hz surplus aircraft generators. We had a national receiver and a Babcock
and Wilcox CW/AM transmitter running a single 2E26 in the final so, I
suspect about 30 watts d.c. input. No trees in the desert, so we had two 30
foot masts made out of pipe and lots of guy wires. 

It was more of an adventure setting up and getting on the air than actually
making contacts, but a fun 3 days in the desert. We slept on the ground and
perhaps the most memorable part of it was waking up one morning, crawling
out of my sleeping bag and when I went to roll it up I discovered that a
rattlesnake had crawled in with me to keep warm during the cold night.
Fortunately he was still pretty cold and lethargic and so it was easy to
extract him and send him on his way after a few minutes in the morning sun.
It has henceforth known as the Great Rattlesnake Expedition.

73, Ron AC7AC