[Milsurplus] AAR Hagerstown MVPA Show

[Ray Fantini]

AAR for the Washington Blue and Gray 50th annual in Hagerstown Maryland,  May 2nd, 3rd and 4th(the event once known as Aberdeen)

What was supposed to be achieved by this project?
Hagerstown MVPA Show is an annual event in May at the Hagerstown Airport. The event is a combined Historic Military Vehicle Show, Military vehicle parts sale and in recent years also showcases the Hagerstown aviation museum.
For a number of years now I have had the M151 mutt set up with all its radio equipment along with on air operations that included participating in the 7087 RTTY and MRCA MMRCG Nets.

What was actually achieved?
Arrived Thursday and dropped off the mutt. Friday did a lot of shopping, bought a set of side curtains for the MUTT along with an NOS Slave cable to use for several future power projects. Saw several vendors selling radio equipment from BC-659 with the aircraft mount, lot of RT-70 and RT-68 stuff to RT-1439 SINCGARS radios, also a lot of telephone wire, digital and analog field phones and a couple field switchboards. Weather was great, warm and sunny all day. Only did one QSO on 51.0 but Saturday is always the big day for Nets. The forecast called for rain on Saturday so many of the vendors packed up and left Friday night. There was rain late Friday night and Saturday morning so the vendors remaining never opened up but just packed up and departed Saturday morning. I arrived around seven that morning and it was light rain on and off. Had everything in place for operating the RTTY Net on 7087 and had no problems working all stations on that net. The rain picked up. I used the same antenna for MMRCG Net on 7296 but only five stations showed up for that Net. I was NCS for that net. With just five check-ins closed out net around twenty minutes after the hour. Had to drop the forty meter inverted V and replace with antenna cut for sixty meters, did that between rain squalls. In testing the sixty meter antenna had a good QSO with Ron K3TZJ but when the M&S Net came up had issues copying WB2JWU and had to have help via relay from N2MS but did check in and did one round. Packed up the MUTT and did the long drive back to Salisbury.

What aspects of the project work?
I worked the RTTY Net on 7087 starting to get to the point where I can work that net from the field just as well as the home QTH. The 7296 MMRCG Net went without issue although have no idea where everyone was. The 5357 M&S Net has had bad conditions for a while now, once thought it was my QTH but have had the same bad results from two different locations in the field now. I did have a good contact with K3TZJ on sixty before the Net.

What didn't work and why?
All hardware functioned properly, had plenty of gas for running the engine on the mutt for power, would like to have more activity on Friday but with the idea of playing around with field radios if no one shows up that's all you can do. There is nothing I can do about the weather.

What would you change if given a second chance?
Have no idea what it will take to get others to come out and take part, been beating the drum about these events for some time now but looks like people just don't want to come out and try working from the field, at least with military radios. Hamvention is coming up in a couple weeks. Let's see what happens there.

Ray F/KA3EKH




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