2005 ARRL Field Day
07/10/2005 |
KG6AIR
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BROKEN ANTENNA (ALMOST) RUINS FIELD DAY 2005 (by KG6AIR)
The last time I touched my Yaesu FT-890AT was Field Day 2004, when I was the clubs GOTA station, as a no-code technician. I used a fishing combo to hoist a home-brew antenna into the pine trees near Big Meadow in Sequoia National Forest, east of Fresno CA. The 20-meter double-bazooka design was fabricated from cheapo RG-58 and insulated #12 stranded wire, with an SO-238 jack in the middle. Thought of as a monoband antenna, I was astonished when 10-meters opened up, and the log started to fill.
Fast forward to June 2005: my tent and sleeping bag were airing out in the backyard, while the rig and antenna were still under a layer of dust. Field Day takes a lot of preparation and coordination, but it wasnt meant to be. After repacking my camping gear, I stared up into the backyard tree and remembered tossing that 12-lb test into the pines. In Visalia, on the San Joaquin valley floor, maybe Id hear some contest action and feel that wonderful sensation of bumping into a distant pileup.
I went for my fishing pole and my home-made monobander. My first cast toward the 60-ft treetop was on the money, and I pulled up a length of twine, followed by one end of the antenna. For some reason, I thought that 50-ft of 9913-coax was a good feedline, not thinking of its weight. My intent was to stretch the second end into another tree, but Murphy paid me a visit, or so it seemed.
The antenna popped like a pine log in the campfire. I was just giving it a little tug, and one of the coax-to-stranded joints blew out on me. I muttered something that would make a sailor blush. It was nearly 4pm on Saturday, getting hotter in the valley, and I felt defeated. Cripe, I just wanted to listen, and I didnt feel at all like soldering. Three fourths of an antenna lay in a mess on the lawn, connected to the big fat coax.
I had poured concrete earlier that day, and considered a nap. First, maybe Ill hook up this mess, still on the lawn, and give a listen. I straightened out the loops in the wires, connected the dusty HF rig to the partial antenna and power supply, stared at the microphone in its cardboard box, and flipped the switch.
Hearing alpha-alpha-zero-alpha right away caused me to quickly print some make-believe log sheets. Im not great with that phonetic alphabet, and hearing stuff like zulu-whiskey-tango conjures up a mental image of people dancing in an African bar. But I soon settled down and enjoyed being an SWL with my admittedly underutilized HF rig.
AA0A was one-alpha Missouri, and my pitiful wire is lazin in the grass. What is going on? They would have to bounce over the Western Divide, and need a 7 or 8 degree takeoff angle to clear the sierras. Minutes later, I was hooked once again, as I listened to both the serious-contesters and the point-givers on 20-meters and later on 40-meters. Forget that nap.
I spent about 6 hours logging less than 100 stations, listening, and wondering about the broken antenna I had disdained so terribly. What kind of reception could this train-wreckof an antenna still laying on the lawn possibly bring in? Here a just a few of the points I didnt get this Field Day 2005, with callsign, location, and distance (in miles).
W1NVT Vermont 2,469
K8BB Michigan 1,959
WY5I Florida 2,383
NP2I Virgin Islands 3,550
N5TT Texas 1,306
ZL1BMW Auckland NZ 6,573
VK2APG New South Wales AUS 7,563
KH6J Hawaii 2,527
KL7Y Alaska 2,172
VE4ARM Manitoba 1,346
In summary, I had a **fantastic** Field Day without making a single QSO. Three days later, I repented and re-soldered the antenna and packed it away, to wait for another Field Day. Oh yeah, and I started studying code again.
I cannot explain the behavior of that busted-up antenna, and would appreciate your insight into the matter. Tell me about it at KG6AIR (at) tcarc (dot) net. -- KG6AIR
BROKEN ANTENNA (ALMOST) RUINS FIELD DAY 2005 (by KG6AIR)
The last time I touched my Yaesu FT-890AT was Field Day 2004, when I was the clubs GOTA station, as a no-code technician. I used a fishing combo to hoist a home-brew antenna into the pine trees near Big Meadow in Sequoia National Forest, east of Fresno CA. The 20-meter double-bazooka design was fabricated from cheapo RG-58 and insulated #12 stranded wire, with an SO-238 jack in the middle. Thought of as a monoband antenna, I was astonished when 10-meters opened up, and the log started to fill.
Fast forward to June 2005: my tent and sleeping bag were airing out in the backyard, while the rig and antenna were still under a layer of dust. Field Day takes a lot of preparation and coordination, but it wasnt meant to be. After repacking my camping gear, I stared up into the backyard tree and remembered tossing that 12-lb test into the pines. In Visalia, on the San Joaquin valley floor, maybe Id hear some contest action and feel that wonderful sensation of bumping into a distant pileup.
I went for my fishing pole and my home-made monobander. My first cast toward the 60-ft treetop was on the money, and I pulled up a length of twine, followed by one end of the antenna. For some reason, I thought that 50-ft of 9913-coax was a good feedline, not thinking of its weight. My intent was to stretch the second end into another tree, but Murphy paid me a visit, or so it seemed.
The antenna popped like a pine log in the campfire. I was just giving it a little tug, and one of the coax-to-stranded joints blew out on me. I muttered something that would make a sailor blush. It was nearly 4pm on Saturday, getting hotter in the valley, and I felt defeated. Cripe, I just wanted to listen, and I didnt feel at all like soldering. Three fourths of an antenna lay in a mess on the lawn, connected to the big fat coax.
I had poured concrete earlier that day, and considered a nap. First, maybe Ill hook up this mess, still on the lawn, and give a listen. I straightened out the loops in the wires, connected the dusty HF rig to the partial antenna and power supply, stared at the microphone in its cardboard box, and flipped the switch.
Hearing alpha-alpha-zero-alpha right away caused me to quickly print some make-believe log sheets. Im not great with that phonetic alphabet, and hearing stuff like zulu-whiskey-tango conjures up a mental image of people dancing in an African bar. But I soon settled down and enjoyed being an SWL with my admittedly underutilized HF rig.
AA0A was one-alpha Missouri, and my pitiful wire is lazin in the grass. What is going on? They would have to bounce over the Western Divide, and need a 7 or 8 degree takeoff angle to clear the sierras. Minutes later, I was hooked once again, as I listened to both the serious-contesters and the point-givers on 20-meters and later on 40-meters. Forget that nap.
I spent about 6 hours logging less than 100 stations, listening, and wondering about the broken antenna I had disdained so terribly. What kind of reception could this train-wreckof an antenna still laying on the lawn possibly bring in? Here a just a few of the points I didnt get this Field Day 2005, with callsign, location, and distance (in miles).
W1NVT Vermont 2,469
K8BB Michigan 1,959
WY5I Florida 2,383
NP2I Virgin Islands 3,550
N5TT Texas 1,306
ZL1BMW Auckland NZ 6,573
VK2APG New South Wales AUS 7,563
KH6J Hawaii 2,527
KL7Y Alaska 2,172
VE4ARM Manitoba 1,346
In summary, I had a **fantastic** Field Day without making a single QSO. Three days later, I repented and re-soldered the antenna and packed it away, to wait for another Field Day. Oh yeah, and I started studying code again.
I cannot explain the behavior of that busted-up antenna, and would appreciate your insight into the matter. Tell me about it at KG6AIR (at) tcarc (dot) net. -- KG6AIR
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