[HCRA] FDF - Field Day Follow-up

[Jim Mullen]

Whew! FD 2002 is now history, and a history making FD it was.

I'd like to thank everyone on the list who participated in FD; at the site,
from home, with donations or moral support. With your help the HCRA will
probably chalk up one of the best FD's in recent club history.

The final log work still needs to be tallied, but it looks like we will come
close to the 10,000 point goal we set earlier in the year. Fantastic!!!
Especially considering the poor propagation forecasts going into the weekend
and the declining sunspot numbers. Just goes to show, don't always believe
what you hear.

Over 50 people visited or worked the effort over the weekend. At one time
Saturday afternoon AA1YW counted close to 60. He probably could have got a
more accurate count, but they kept moving! All equipment went up and down
without any problems or injuries, most everything worked as expected and
everyone had a great time. What else can you ask for? All that and a high
score to boot.

The "Tower & Power" crew led by AA1YW with help from KB1FTX and KB1GDG made
a HUGE amount of work look easy. They got a everything accomplished and made
it all worked as advertised.

Steve's site plan and antenna layout worked very well, with mostly good
antenna results and very little inter-station interference. Laying out a 7A
and accomplishing this takes skill and experience, thanks Steve.

Venture Crew DX deserves a lot of credit for their help again this year.
They were instrumental in helping get the towers and antennas up and their
operating skills have improved greatly over the past year. They were the
primary operators on the 15M SSB station and racked up over 1000 QSO's
before 2:00 PM Sunday afternoon. Great job crew!

Norm, Betty, Faye and Pat worked hard to keep this gang fed, even making an
emergency food run at 7:00 AM Sunday morning! Everyone went home well fed
and happy. A key component to a happy FD, thanks!

All the band captains (except perhaps the 40M CW guy) provided everything
necessary to keep their stations on the air, including a lot of operating
time. Our score certainly reflects those efforts.

The Springfield Daily News sent a photographer and reporter to the event.
Look for an upcoming article, probably in the Holyoke, South Hadley, Granby
edition. If you see one, please save a copy for the next club meeting.

The Dufresne Park location again confirmed our choice was correct. The park
management was very cooperative, the facilities excellent and we will
reserve that spot again for FD2003. And yes, it's already in the planning
stages.

In closing,  a repeat of what I said above. Thanks to everyone, members,
non-members and the general public who came from long distances, worked
hard, played hard and made FD2002 a Field Day to remember. It's another
demonstration of how folks with greatly varying backgrounds and experiences
can pool their abilities, work together and have a fantastic time. In
addition it shows that Amateur Radio can and will be able to support our
community's communications needs in case of a civic emergency.

Watch our web site (http://www.hcra.org) for scores, soapbox comments, etc.
as they develop.

'73...

Jim, KK1W