07/02/2007 | WS2Z Getting active again is no easy process, but having a short-term goal such as Field Day can help push things along. And the added pressure of an eager 14-year-old new ham (Dan, KC2RKB) in the household can really raise the stakes, too.

We managed to get a nice center-fed wire way up in the trees in the days leading up to FD, and even had the foresight to borrow a couple of deep-cycle batteries, hoping to stay 1E for the duration. But Murphy reared his ugly head, and the new '857 never got on the air; the old '440 was dragged out of mothballs and ran like a champ, albeit with a draw which really needed the big AC supply. 40 meter phone worked well for us for the duration. At night, we visited K2YG and the gang at NPARC's N2XJ site, where older sister Beth surprised us all with some world-class logging talent.

When it was all over, we all came away with a modest score but big goals for next year: an upgrade to General for one of us, maybe a first ticket for another, and for me, a lot more prep time before the big event! -- WS2Z