ARRL Field Day
Call: W2GD
Operator(s): F/T N4HY, W2GD, W2RQ, P/T K2TW, N2NC, N2NT
Station: W2GD
Class: 2A QRP
QTH: NNJ
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80: 212
40: 709 91
20: 333 50
15: 201
10:
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 1455 141 0 Total Score = 16,255
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
Location: NJAA Paul H. Robinson Observatory, Voorhees State Park, Lebanon
Township, NJ (Hunterdon County - 65 miles west of NYC)
Several 'firsts' this year for most of our core team:
New FD Location - on a ridge offering a 300+ foot
elevation advantage to the west and south.
New Power Class - first time entry in QRP Battery class using only radios
designed specifically for QRP operation.
New Transmitter Class - 2A
Transceivers: K2, IC703, FT817 5 watts output
Antennas: 80M Inverted V, apex @ 50', 3 ele 40M wire yagi, 50' boom @ 40', 2 el
40M "cloud warmer" @ 35', SteppIR 3 el yagi @ 40', SteepIR Vertical
Power Source: 5 deep cycle marine batteries, inverter for SteepIR and PCs
A severe t-storm Friday afternoon which produced nickle sized hail, 2+ inches of
rain and 50 mph winds raised the excitement level considerably. But we managed
to put up a 40 foot 25G tower and the SteppIR yagi in between precipitation
episodes. Special thanks to K5GN who stopped by to help with setup -at the most
opportune time! The wire antennas went up the following day.
Saturday and Sunday weather conditions were perfect....in high 70s, low
humidity, a nice breeze during the day. The absence of electrical storms was a
relief and we were blessed with low QRN levels throughout the event period.
All of us were pleasantly surprised by the performance of the QRP radios on CW.
Although selectivity was not quite up to the standards of the our regular
contest grade transceivers, the units all had excellent sensitivity and quite
good and tolerable selectivity, especially in the absence of loud signals (all
were equipped with cw filters). It was somewhat amusing to be making so many
contacts with these small boxes, particularly the very small FT817. WOW.
Last minute visits from Murphy resulted in a 1/2 hour late start. It was a nice
surprise to fine 15M open to the west and south both Saturday and Sunday. 40M
was the 'money band' as expected , our 3 ele 40M wire yagi beam was performing
exceptionally well...it was possible to run a large percentage of the time. 80M
was another surprise, very quiet and good signal levels. We managed to work
many W6 and W7 stations. Another WOW! Finally we were very pleased with how
well the SteepIR 3 ele performed. It was fun trying out the 180 degree and
bi-directional options.
During the weekend over 50 visitors stop by to ask about our operation, many of
them were attending programs at the observatory. Several mentioned seeing the
article announcing our FD operation in the local newspaper.
This was my 44th Field Day=D, and its still as educational and fun as back in
1960! 73, John W2GD
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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