[Elecraft] Bumblebees -- actual mondo-sized bees, not just the RF variety

[Dave Sublette]

We were putting up a 2 element Moxon for 40M this week and I ran over a
Bumblebee nest.  Two of them got me before I bailed out and left the
tractor running (in neutral).

Oh the joys of country living  :-)

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Mon, Jul 30, 2018 at 7:54 PM Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:

> I operated pedestrian mobile in Sunday’s /BB QRP event, using a KX2 with a
> prototype AX1 4’ whip (15/17/20 m) and a dragged 13’ counterpoise.
>
> The whip was attached directly to the back of my Patagonia Atom 8L sling
> bag, which turns out to have rugged, stretchy loops in exactly the right
> places, holding the antenna perfectly upright with no additional mounting
> hardware. The antenna is exactly the right length for this when the
> telescoping part and base are secured together.
>
> For control purposes, I just held the rig in my hand, with nothing but a
> coax cable running back to the pack. The rig weighs only one pound with
> batteries, so this turns out to work much better than putting the rig in
> the pack and trying to control everything with fancy firmware (something I
> reported on earlier).
>
> Later I operated a bit of /PM SSB, using the rig’s built-in mic and XMIT
> switch as PTT. The KX2 fits easily in one hand, so you might think of it as
> a mic on steroids, one that happens to have and all-band/all-mode radio
> built in :)  I think I’ve finally found the magic elixir -- pure HF Pack
> Light. The sling pack gives this lash-up a bit of Errol Flynn cache.
>
> As for operating, this was no walk in the park!
>
> During one memorable QSO I was sending fast CW with the built-in keyer
> paddle while climbing a narrow 45-degree trail, praying my shoes had enough
> tread to grip the loose soil. The operator at the other end put up with a
> bit of dodgy sending as the trail’s slope hit a local maxima.
>
> Arriving at the top of the bluff, I found myself in a maze of imposing
> weeds sculpted by some evil California parks department employee. The
> plants were Vulcan in appearance, 7 to 8 feet tall, and simply irresistible
> to the local oversize bees. Dozens of them. I was ducking left and right to
> avoid the real bees while finishing my QSO with the contest “bee." About
> halfway through the maze, tuning the VFO knob with the thumb of my
> rig-holding hand, I found another /BB station to call. I’m guessing I now
> hold the all-San-Mateo-County record for in-maze pedestrian mobile CW
> contacts.
>
> Overall, the experience was somewhere between Little Shop of Horrors and
> The Shining. But I didn’t get sunburned, stung, or ejected for public
> nerdiness.
>
> It doesn’t get much better than this.
>
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
>
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