07/02/2009 | N5OS First to thank the VIPs, Pascagoula and Gautier schools, The Mississippi Press Register, WLOX, Jackson County Amateur Radio Association, Gautier Police Department, Jackson County EOC, MEMA, Jackson County Sheriff Office, all the amateur radio operators, and all the people that came out to see us. Very speical thanks to John KO1N, Bill K5YG, and Jessica KJ4LDH for all the great photos. Plus everyone that we made contacts with this year.

This years Field Day event might be remembered for a good many things. High stress at times, High heat or even high costs. One thing our field day will be remembered for was the way we started our contesting. We lost a very close dear friend Jim KB5W. We started the day saturday by sending his call with the calls of a few other SKs and the letters of the five US service branches, to thank them and their families for defending us with their lives. This year we also proved that Jackson County, Mississippi is ahead of the curve and on the cutting edge of todays emergencies communications. To a person, everyone that showed up at Gautier High School was impressed by K5DXG and the Jackson County ARA. Both groups, most people are in both clubs, preformed with the spirit of youth and the knowledge of age. The score we placed will not be what we are remembered for most likely. This year will be remembered by the groups and press that we brought to ham radio on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Jackson County ARA and K5DXG took ham radio to the public this year!

The Mississippi Press Register made two wonderful articles on us one before field day and one the Sunday after. WLOX which is ABC channel 13 in Biloxi, MS came out and did a large piece on our field day that aired at 5:30pm local and 10pm. My email account has been full and as a write this the cell and 2M are still going on about this years fun. Scouts, church youth, school kids, many locals and hams showed up to see the excitement and join in the event.

Tower put up went well but the big 40M beam broke, Or we were trying a new polarazation method. The tri-bander had a gremlin and would go through the night and next day picking when it "wanted" to work. The 40M beam was put up at 48ft and the tri-bander was at 42ft and with these we should have had two wonderful beams. Well that was not the case, so first chance to show why ham "never fails". Out came K4GSG and his Buckmaster OCF wire dipole to save the day. Every ham was so totally impressed by the performance of this antenna that it was almost like Field Day 2009 was a promotion for the antenna along with the Pascagoula STAR bus. This wire dipole worked 1784 QSO points, all 50 states, and 24 hours in a row with no time to rest. Less then 100w at 44ft to the peak, this antenna showed why K4GSG brags about it's performance at his shack. The Buckmaster was to be our GOTA antenna and was the main antenna worked and it showed off. Thanks again, Buckmaster, what a great antenna for the price.

The STAR bus was the belle of the ball. Kids played on the computers reading about ham radio, the ARRL web-site, seeing live contest logging, Advanced Reading Tests and pictures from SSTV. This bus has a 10Kwatt built in generator two air conditioners 13 computer stations and the area to set up many hams at once and keep out even Mississippi summer heat. Pascagoula and Gautier can be extremely proud of how the STAR bus worked and will perform when it's number is called for real. The Pascagoula and Gautier School District have leadership and vision to see where the cutting edge of education and community fall, and are truely ready to meet the needs of the community in every aspect from education to serving this community like no other. Few areas can brag that their community leadership listens to the amateurs in the area, but we truely have Police, Sheriff, City, State, and School leadership that know "ham" radio is the Never Fail means of communication.

The amateurs we had show up and work the event from moral support to contesters are maybe the finest around. We ran a Two Alpha - Mississippi (2AMS) station with a part time GOTA and VHF. Points came and went and so did the about 140 local people to see us and see what we had to offer them. Through it all Jackson County can sleep well at night knowing that these fine Children, Women and Old Men are at the ready to attack any communication need that might arise. Thank you each and everyone that helped us put on a fine show for all of the area to see.

73s

Glen Smith, K4GSG

Jackson County Amateur Radio Association - Field Day Chairman 2009



For more photos:
http://www.systemanomaly.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=4670

For the WLOX spot:
http://www.wlox.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=15006&topVideoCatNoB=116100&topVideoCatNoC=116467&topVideoCatNoD=116474&topVideoCatNoE=88558&clipId=3910502&topVideoCatNo=15006&autoStart=true -- K4GSG