AA1PL   1-Bravo, RI

Field Day 2012 was a very fun weekend  for my field day partner & friend Jeff  W1QL and myself.  Again this year we were together at the same field day site but operated as two separate 1-bravo stations, each under our own callsign.  I enjoy operating from a different site every year.  This year we chose to operate from Jerimoth Hill in Foster, RI, the state's highest point.  Now granted, tiny little Rhode Island  isnt exactly a mountainous state, so the elevation of 812 feet above sea level is all relative.   My station consisted of my Icom IC-7000, an all band doublet antenna, my six meter homebrew Moxon and a 2 meter yagi.  The VHF bands were pretty much a waste of time this year, but HF propagation on 80 through 15 meters was good. I brought several used 50 amp-hour UPS batteries for a power source and planned on running around 50 - 75 watt transmit power.  The batteries' voltage one by one dropped below the level to sustain the 7000's operation.  As much as I hate to admit it, I had to resort to using commercial power via an extension cord plugged into the commercial tower site building.  Jeff ran no more than 50 watts off a large 100 amp-hour battery which sustained his station  weekend.  Jeff had two HF antennas: a 135 foot OCF and a really nice homebrew elevated vertical with elevated radials and an automatic tuner at the feedpoint.

The only accident of the weekend was when a gust of wind from a storm front pulled a guy stake out of the ground and my 22 foot aluminum pole with the 6 & 2 meter antennas came crashing down on our operating tent.  Thank God nobody was hurt and no significant damage was done.

We had a great relaxing weekend and concentrated on enjoying the experience rather than the number of contacts.  All said and done, I worked 241 stations stretching from the Canadian maritimes to the west coast.   Jeff worked around 120 stations.  We both enjoyed it and look forward to FD 2013.