[NLRS] 10g First Weekend notes from W9FZ

[Bruce Richardson]

Wow!  For what could/should have been a bust weekend, look what
was accomplished!

Oh sure, I ended up experiencing even more rain than I
anticipated.  But I also exceeded goals such as distance and fun.
I really enjoyed our slower pace.  I know it made it a bit tougher
on the fixed stations--they showed incredible patience.  Thanks
Parking Garage guys and Burnsville guys. Also thanks to Dennis
NT0V, Barry VE4MA, Wally W0PHD, Bill K0AWU, and Mike KM0T for
their patience.

I've updated that little webpage at:

http://w9fz.com/ham/10g20071st.html

I appreciate the guys who got on for activity hour.  I also
stopped by K0SHF a km away from Lenny's house to get his unique.
Still, not having enough, I gassed up and continued out Hwy 55 to
near Randolph, MN. I called KM0T at 9:40p because I recall him
saying he'd be up till 10pm local.  He had already shut everything
down. But he brought his station to life and there I was--easy to
find so that was another quick Q.  I knew there was rain all
across the Iowa border area and gave N4PZ a cellcall. He says,
"can't talk now I'm trying to work NE8I--I'll call you back."
Well I got on my laptop and did a bit more computation and
determined that the site I was at (EN34mn) didn't really have a
good view in his direction. So I moved to EN34ln and was setup and
warmed up when he called. He started beaconing off some rain near
LaCrosse. There he was. We got peaked up and he heard me.  Of
course, with his 18watts, he's easier to hear than I am.  I
promptly moved about 18 miles to try again.  But I must admit that
finding quality sites in the dark isn't easy.  My first sites must
have been lucky.  Well we banged away from this last site and I
could hear him but he couldn't hear me. So my last Q went in the
log at 1012pm local. I got back to my apartment about midnight.

I think I drove about 820 miles before my little jaunt to the SE.
I think I ended up at about 920 miles.

I think we had a great plan for the weekend.  I agree with the
change of plans on account of the weather. But I also thank ALL
the other ops I worked this weekend for being there.  Look at some
of the distances each of us worked!  Thrilling!

I'm at 18 callsigns so far (1800) and 9233 distance points for a
total of 11033 so far.  I've had 38 QSO's so far--four of them 1km
shots.  Even so, the average distance is 243 km.

I like this slower pace. I enjoyed the conversation with my
traveling companions.

For busted plans, I think we had a great success!

Thanks
Bruce W9FZ


Attend the CSVHFS Conference in Wichita on July 25-26, 2008!