[K3PZN-List] Interesting FD - Re-enactment

[Curt Milton]

I found this posting of something different. 
Ironically, the writer designs and sells some of the
smallest HF rigs available.  

gang-

This year's Field Day was decidedly different! I was
invited to 
participate
with a WWII re-enactment outfit, the 1st Canadian
Paratroop battalion. 
This
was a small outfit- a half-dozen uniformed personnel,
several tents and
jeeps and some crowd-pleasing military 'hardware'.  We
were set up in a 
busy
public park along the waterfront in Stamford, CT, and
literally 
hundreds of
folks of all ages stopped by to check us out.

If there was ever a year for operating challenges,
this was it! Our rig 
was
a Model 19 Mk III transceiver, dating from the early
forties. This 
equipment
was intended for use in tanks and armored vehicles and
featured a cage
across the front panel- intended to keep both
transceiver and personnel 
safe
in the harsh armored environment. Dial markings were
in English and
Cyrillic. The beast weighed nearly a hundred pounds,
not counting 
various
control boxes. A single tuning dial covers 2.5 to 8
Mhz, so you can 
imagine
that tuning was a bit touchy!  Fine-tuning a station
was an art- the 
dial
backlash was about a KHz. It gets better- the receiver
passband width 
seemed
to be at least 15 KHz, so there was no lack of signals
to listen to.  
Keying
was strictly by straight key- an insulated affair with
about 1/8" of 
travel.
T/R switching involved plugging the key jack in and
out with each
transmission. The sound of the dynamotor  addded a
certain 'charm' to 
the
experience as well This beast was powered by a bank of
4 deep-cycle
batteries under the operating table, this being the
sole concession to
modern technology.

Results:

We operated under the callsign of Chuck Counselman,
W1HIS, and worked 
about
50-60 stations on 80 and 40 meters. Our third
operator, Barbara- K1EIR, 
was
a sightless amateur and put us to shame- an artist
with the straight 
key!
The antenna was an OCF Zepp up about 25 feet and tuned
with a 
variometer.
This is a low QSO total, but considering the gear,
this felt like a 
very
satisfying result.  In past Field Days, I've worked
drifting, chirpy 
signals
with QLF keying. I'd assumed they were 'shade-tree
operators' running 
on low
batteries. I know better now, and have a better
appreciation for what 
the
old timers went through.  We're sure got it good these
days!

Memorable experiences:

Meeting people!  My 'standout' was a Russian emigre
who'd gotten his 
Reserve
training in the early eighties. We had a good laugh
over the mutual 
fear and
paranoia of the Cold War years. Veterans from nearly
everywhere checked 
in
with us to share their experiences- one old gent had
crossed the Rhine 
at
Remagen under fire- a participant in the capture of
that beachhead.    
The
radio shack attracted a *lot* of interest- everyone
knew what Morse 
code
was, but had largely never heard it before. Lots of
questions about 
using
the code, and it was especially gratifying to have
young folks stick 
around
for up to a half hour, enthralled by the whole thing!

73- Dave

***************************************
Dave Benson, K1SWL
dave at smallwonderlabs.com
http://smallwonderlabs.com
Phone/fax 860-537-8031
**************************************




		
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