06/26/2007 | K3WQ For the third year in a row, my brother Mike, N3UMY, and sister-in-law Michelle, N3SYE, hosted the Drumheller Family Ham Radio Field Day Party. The weather was warm with low humidity and lots of sunshineperfect!

Once again, prior planning prevented poor performance (PPPPP). I started packing the ham station in a suitcase about a week ahead of time. The site, my brothers backyard screened porch, was prepped with a clean table and plenty of drinks. Set-up and break-down took less than one hour each.

The 20- and 40-meter bands were quite active, so rather than just playing the hunter by constantly tuning though the bands looking for contacts, this year I spent some time parked on a single frequency calling CQ Field Day. It paid off. I had several sessions of sequential rapid-fire contacts that beefed-up the log book. And although we didnt complete any SSTV contacts for demo mode points, we did have a youth operator make three BPSK-31 contacts to boost our score.

Good weather, youth participation and open bandswhat fun! Cant wait til next year!

Dave -- K3WQ