[K6BW] What a Great Field Day!

[Bill Smith]

Doug Sekishiro, KG6IAB was our Robin without the Hood this year.  Our antennas were 70 feet in the air thanks to his expert bow-and-arrow work that flew pilot lines over the tree tops at Olompali.  We set up in record time this year and actually had an antenna working at the start of the contest, and had both antennas up before noon.  Even the local rabbit was impressed, though we haven't discovered who ate all the macaroni salad sometime early Sunday morning.  We were too busy operating to notice.  He's lucky, we couldn't recruit the critter to sound a "CQ field-day".

Haven't check the log sheets yet, but think we must have come very close to earning the club a WAS award and a WAC (Worked all Canada).  Band conditions, from 6 meters on down were stupendous!  Bands were packed Saturday, and Saturday night/Sunday morning.   Olompali is such a wonderful radio location, no electrical noise and signals boomed in.  Worked stations all over the place, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, East Coast; pileups galore.  All in all a great ham experience.

Great Big Thank You's go to Doug Sekishiro, KG6IAB who, when not logging, set up and was Chief Cook of a really tasty Tri-tip Steak Dinner.  Was great to see his family also.  Thanks also to Chief Breakfast Cook Jack Troup, WA6JYU for supplying a delicious home-made pasta dinner salad and serving a tasty organic egg and sausage breakfast in the morning.  Food couldn't be better, and there was plenty of it.

Thanks to Peter Bland, KG6MZV for logging and also for the use of his Honda generator.  We had planned to operate battery QRP, but the old car battery was soon spent, and we opted to run at slightly higher power.  Peter and Bill, AB6MT haven't finished the homebrew QRP SSB transceivers yet, perhaps they will be tested and ready for next year.  Jack, WA6JYU maintained his logs with 10 watts and added 6-meter with portable 3-element beam capability to the K6BW station.

All in all we had a Great Field Day!  Sorry if you couldn't join us, please plan to next year.  The event is getting better and better!  Oh, and when we were picking up the antennas from the clubhouse, two more Boy Scouts expressed interest in acquiring a Radio Merit Badge.

73 de Bill, AB6MT
billsmith at ispwest.com