[Elecraft] OT: Field Day anecdotes

[Craig Buck]

We put up a beam and it was working great. It rained Saturday night and 
the morning SWRs were terrible.

When we took it down, we discovered the beam was upside-down.  The 
trap's weep holes were facing up and the traps were full of water.

Buck, K4ia
Fredericksburg, VA

On 5/21/2026 4:03 PM, K9ZTV via Elecraft wrote:
> Good one, Fred.  The best yet.
>
> 73,
> Kent
> K9ZTV
>
>
> On May 21, 2026, at 2:39 PM, Fred Jensen via Elecraft<elecraft at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>
> A "One ham" QRP FD on a picnic bench at Washoe Lake State Park between Reno and Carson City NV.  K2 + Alexloop antenna, 25W solar panel, couple of LiFePO4 batteries.  All going well, about 0.5 Q's/min on CW.  I had taken my license in its frame thinking it might impress someone.
>
> Two guys in cowboy ["CB"] hats with one guy -- CB1 -- packing a stubby revolver on his belt approached: <see below>
>
> CB1: "What's going on here?"
>
> ME: "Amateur Radio Field Day. Take your radio to an outdoor location and contact as many stations as you can"
>
> CB1: "The radio sounds like a secret code"
>
> ME: "It's Morse code but it's not secret."
>
> CB2: "Is this safe?"
>
> ME: "Yes, but" [with feeble attempt at humor] "move away from the loop to be sure"
>
> CB1: Starts to remove gun from holster. "What?"
>
> ME: "Just kidding!"
>
> CB2: "This is weird.  You look like a foreign agent"
>
> ME: "No, I'm not ... but if I was you must know I couldn't tell you."
>
> CB2: "So you are CIA?" <see below>
>
> CB1: "You need a permit to be here."
>
> ME: [showing him my license] "This is my permit"
>
> CB1 to CB2: "Call 911."  To ME: You just sit still and don't touch anything."
>
> ~5 mins of silence followed by arrival of two state park rangers who suggested CB1 reholster his gun, looked at my ID and license, wished me good luck, and escorted the CB's away.
>
> 73,
>
> Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
> CWops #142
> Sparks NV DM09dn
> Washoe County
>
> PS:  I don't know why, but Nevada is an "open carry state."  Both CB's seemed to be a couple of French fries short of a Happy Meal.  They didn't come back.
>
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