[OKDXA] FD 2008

[N5PA]

Jerry:

The Hattiesburg (K5PN) club had a very loose FD setup.  They had a couple of
hard hitters that were coming at midnight to operate CW.  I could only stay
about six hours because we were taking care of our granddaughter.  I logged
some and gave the guys at the GOTA station some help on how to do FD.  We
got knocked off the air for about 2 1/2 hours because of lightning.  After
the storm passed I got on 40 meters and made about 320 contacts in about 2
1/2 hours.  They had an old Kenwood 130 on the run station with a desk mic
and no headphones or foot switch.  They did not even have a keyer hooked to
it.  I was surprised I could run as well as I did without any filtering.
The run station was set up in a 6x12 trailer with a side and back door.
There was a portable air conditioner unit in the back and it was loud and
made it hard to copy.  I do not know how many contacts they ended up with.
Hopefully the guys that brought the CW gear racked up because they did not
have any good phone operators at all.  I decided not to drive back down
there Sunday morning and I operated a couple of hours from the house with
100 watts and a vertical (real FD conditions) and I made 250 contacts but 42
of them were with other 1D stations and did not count.  I almost got the
generator out and ran 1E, next year I will.  I made all my contacts on 20 CW
and Phone.  I worked several OK stations both at Hattiesburg and home, but
never worked you guys.  Did you see the setup EARS had?  If not, I will
forward you the pictures tonight when I get home.  The guys at Hattiesburg
were there to have a good time and were not serious contesters.  When I got
there they only had 30 contacts in the log after over 2 hours of operating.
They were not forcing someone to get relieved before leaving the run station
so it sat there idle a lot.  Plus, it was very uncomfortable in the trailer
and was very cramped and a hard metal chair was not conducive to long runs
at the radio.  If I would have had a comfortable chair I would have operated
a good four hours or more because nobody else wanted to operate.  I know
after as many years as I have been a ham that contesters need to do FD with
other contesters.  The Mississippi stations you worked were:


K5MDX - Magnolia DX Association
W5PFC - Jackson Amateur Radio Club
WM5AK - No clue, not in callsign database either
K5DGK - From Austin, TX
W5TCR - Tishomingo Amateur Radio Club (very NE Mississippi)
KE5EXK - Starkville
W5OBM - Olive Branch Amateur Radio Club (Near Memphis)
WA5WRC - No clue, not in callsign database either
W5FQ - Meridian Amateur Radio Club
WV5V - Jones County Amateur Radio Club (First Ever FD, Coffee/Cake Club)
W5SGL - Mississippi Coast Amateur Radio Association
KD5EJG - Beaumont, MS (about 45 miles due south of me)
N5EBS - Columbus, MS, maybe Golden Triangle ARC

I had fun but I could have made a lot more contacts by myself at home.  I
figure I could have made over a thousand Q's by myself at home, but it was
good to visit with the guys and especially show some of the new hams how it
is supposed to be done.  I will forward the pictures from EARS to you later.

73,
Alan, N5PA




-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Chouinard [mailto:k5yaa at okdxa.org] 
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 12:01 PM
To: okdxa at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [OKDXA] FD 2008

A brief rain at Skiatook lake near the beginning of FD but it lasted only
a few minutes. No wind and/or lightning so operating went right on.
The balance of the weekend was near perfect and a fan wasn't even needed
on Sunday as temperatures started out in the mid sixties and didn't
top 85 until well after FD was over!  I can recall Texas Field Days when
the low never got under 90 but that could have been because the
rigs were tube jobs in those days!

20 meters didn't really stay open past midnight this year like last
so 40 and 80 had to carry more of a load.  We did however start
out on 15 with quite a few Qs.  Last year none on 15 or 10.
Fairly early Sunday several contacts were made on 10 meters.
Nice to put those in the log.  I believe we worked every ARRL section
except VE4, VE8, AK and PR.  Most sections were worked multiple
times including the Dakotas!

1,430 or so contacts which is about 25 less than last year.
Just CW and SSB no digital work plus 10 - 80 as we didn't have
anything set up for 6.  23.5 hours on the air whereas last year I
believe we managed only 20 hours so we had to work a bit harder
this year for the contacts.

Quite early on we were told - "There are a bunch of Oklahoma
stations on" plus we logged maybe a dozen or so ourselves so
looks like fun was had by many here in OK.  Alan, what was the
call of the Hattiesburg station?  Worked quite a few MS stations.
I'm sure you will recognize some or maybe all of them. Here are
the calls for fun:

K5MDX
W5PFC
WM5AK
K5DGK
W5TCR
KE5EXK
W5OBM
WA5WRC
W5FQ
WV5V
W5SGL
KD5EJG
N5EBS

We worked some of them both modes multiple bands.

Our set up was ( or as they say nowadays for some reason )
Our working conditions were - TS850 AL811 and a 130 foot ladder
line fed wire up 40' .  Battery on the TS850 and a Honda generator
on the amp so we were class 1A with no power multiplier.

K5YAA operator at K5YAC 2008 FD

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