[Elecraft] N6KR COVID/Field Day report

[Julia Tuttle]

Hi Wayne,

Best wishes on a quick recovery! Please rest up as much as you can, and
consider getting Paxlovid if you haven't and can.

73,

Julie

On Wed, Jul 2, 2025, 13:45 Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:

> No, that subject isn't an auto-correct fail: I managed to come down with
> Covid just as FD 2025 was starting.
>
> On Friday evening, I had mild symptoms I assumed were consistent with a
> cold or allergy. Then on Saturday, sleep-deprived and against everyone
> else's better judgment, I decided to go ahead with my 1B-battery operation
> as planned. My son, Griffin, was home from college for a few days and came
> along. He's been going to Field Day since he was six and was willing to
> humor me.
>
> We drove to the coast and started hiking up the trail from Highway 1 in
> Pacifica toward what would have been a breathtaking view overlooking Point
> San Pedro. We'd gone 90% of the way up, in the hot sun, when I got
> lightheaded and realized I had better get off the trail.
>
> Griff found a clear spot in the shade, kept me hydrated and checked my
> vitals. Then he put up an antenna and got my KX2 ready to go, just in case
> I was up to operating. Turns out I was -- but I had to do it lying down.
> This meant switching to the KH1, which I could use hand-held, logging on
> the paper logbook tray. (The log tray has a detent mechanism that keeps it
> open and locked in place even if the rig is upside-down.)
>
> I made one quick contact, but by then I was in worse shape. I rested for
> about an hour before we decided it was best to go back.
>
> Normally on an outing like this I'd be jogging both up and down through the
> switchbacks, even with a pack on. But now even going downhill was
> slow-going due to my queasiness and lack of energy. We had to stop three
> times. For a while I thought I might be suffering from heat exhaustion. But
> much later, with a low fever and chills, I took a Covid test and found that
> was the real diagnosis.
>
> Saturday night was rough but Griffin set up an AX3 and KX2 for me to use in
> bed Sunday morning to get in a few more Field Day QSOs. Despite being
> indoors, running 5 W, and using a 4 foot whip, I managed contacts as far
> away as Maryland.
>
> This year's FD would have been very disappointing if it hadn't been for the
> father/son bonding opportunity. We've also vowed to return to the same spot
> next year, and possibly even operate from San Pedro rocks at low tide.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
>
> --
> Elecraft, Inc.
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