[K3PZN-List] FD CW Station #2 - and the Other Fine Stations to Be Assembled

Fri May 14 15:55:34 EDT 2010

Bill

FB - i was afraid you were tied up and glad you can participate in FD.  

CW ops were scarce/weary at both K3PZN and WY3P last year -- so of course you will find time at a rig !  

speaking of rigs - I am open to whatever - and since I haven't used an Omni VII before that would be an easy sell .... so feel free to join me as co-captain if you are available

I am expecting NY3A and ND3F (my friend Brian aka N3IQ) to jump in with both feet -- but I hope plenty others also do some CW.  I suspect Pete, Steve N3SB, N3III, W3JJH and countless others will also want some operating time.  (we also need to invite N3DF, K3ESE .... )

Shhhh ... don't tell anyone but if we use the K2/100, it has a second PS feed that hooks up to a battery - and perhaps an hour or so of lower power operation would be interesting .... and might bring dit-dididit-dit out of the woods)

I know that John W3JJH has volunteered to bring some 'stored' solar energy to the site (maybe even collect some photons there also ....) that we could integrate into CW station 2.  Speaking of alternate energy - we need to find Phil who has also done this in the past and get him to a rig as well.  

Can a large number of radio geeks transmitting from many rigs simultaneously have a blast -- sure -- but a little work will be required.  Important to make a place for everyone at the 'table.'  

73 Curt

----- Original Message ----
From: Bill Mellema <mellema at qis.net>
To: Carroll County Amateur Radio Club <k3pzn-list at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Fri, May 14, 2010 1:23:36 PM
Subject: Re: [K3PZN-List] FD CW Station #2 - and the Other Fine Stations to Be Assembled

Curt:

I appreciate your insight...I hope to help set up and operate CW in the 
evenings until around 11pm if needed. I offer my Omni VII station since 
it has both the 500 & 300 cw filters.I'll give Bill W2EGL a call as 
well. I think part of the fun at FD is getting a chance to operate 
different rigs and of course good food..

I'll see you at the BOD meeting next week..

Best 73's

Bill N3WM

On 5/14/2010 12:52 PM, Curt Milton wrote:
> I was challenged to consider being captain of station 2 - and I am willing to do it with some help.  This station will major on 40m operation, while that station pulled together by Steve NY3A will major on 20m. 
>
> An interesting theme from Dayton has captured my imagination: 
>
> 1300 - 1400  B. Scott Andersen, NE1RD
>     * "The 100 pound DXpedition"
>
> Operating from some far away place can be great fun. This talk describes how good planning and the right gear can make it possible to create an effective station with just the stuff in your checked bags. Portable, temporary, and ... (words censored for this audience) ... should be on the menu for your next vacation with the help of ultralight transceivers, new battery and solar technologies, and portable antenna solutions. Successes and lessons learned from operations on VP2M, V4, KP2, and the latest adventure to J6 will be highlighted. The 100 Pound DXpedition motto is: "Go light. Work the world."
> OK I am thinking to try to put together CW Station #2 for less than 100 lbs (which may be 2-3X per station at those DXpeditions perhaps!). 
>  
> While if my employment holds up I wish to purchase a new 20-some lb rig, I could supply a K2/100w/autotuner rig for FD use - if that is a rig folk wish to use.  Otherwise I am open to other choices.  I figure this is less than 10 lbs .... but yikes I don't own a light weight power supply so maybe I won't count this in the weight!).  I hope to deploy 4 or more different operators over the 24 hours -- time to locate my tent ! 
>  
> Could we also put together one of our ~ 3 SSB stations with a lighter-weight theme ??  Not that I wouldn't enjoy operating any rig at FD !  I have enjoyed so far using K3, FT-1000, Jupiter, Omni-whatever, IC-756 and K2 at previous FD's. 
>  
> I suspect CW station2 will use a 40m dipole, but it would be nifty if someone could assist me in developing a light-weight 15 or 10 m moxon beam for some other band operations ?  I really need some help with engineering. 
>  
> Networking -- as we benefitted from Andy's work last year, perhaps networking a few of our rigs could help us be more agile ?  I am open to using either Writelog or N1MM - and I have been warned to expect log diversity amongst the passionate participants. 
>  
> Non-contest modes - I would welcome more radio happenings at our FD site, to better engage the public and get more of our members involved.  My crazy idea was to establish a VHF point-to-point link with another FD site -- perhaps manning this 'intercom' on FM from our VHF station -- and being ready to pass audio and visual traffic thru the prime time hours.  Can anyone take this idea and run with it ?? 
>  
> GOTA - I confess given the choice, I would rather have an extra SSB station than a rig devoted to GOTA.  I would much prefer to mainstream the new hams into SSB Station 3 or 4, as well as participating and learning from the big gun operators at 1 and 2.  I think this makes for a better 'one field day' operation than being on its own.  Also it is better for reducing QRM since we won't be on the same band as the other SSB stations.  Please think about it !  The real deal is getting as many participants as possible to a rig making contacts. 
>  
> Site Design - an operation this big is a larger challenge.  But our site may give us more flexibility in planning antennas for coexistence.  Definitely we need a design that will allow 3 simultaneous 40m operations to thrive (SSB/digital/CW).  Does someone have the recipe - or is it time to query our neighbors for their trade secret ?
>  
> Ideas appreciated. 
>  
> Curt
>
>
>
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