2009 ARRL Field Day
07/06/2009 |
KM5VI
KM5VI
1B1
North Dakota
After battling with hail, power loss, and a series of thunderstorms in the Michigan Upper Peninsula in 2008, yours truly decided to travel west this year for FD. Destination North Dakota.
After picking a location, studying the aerial photos of the terrain, and running some propagation models, I decided to use a tri-band beam, a 40m dipole, a G5RV, and a 40m/80m wire trap vertical for antennas this year. Having observed sporadic-E openings in Milwaukee for 12 consecutive days prior to FD, the tri-bander only made sense. I planned to use the remaining combination of wire antennas to cover low and high radiation angles on 40m & 80m, covering two directional orientations on 40m. I would set all the antennas except the vertical on a hill behind my selected site, and use a remote switch to select antennas.
I made a point to watch the WX predictions in North Dakota daily, and with only a 30% chance of rain for Friday on the evening before my departure, I decided to proceed with plans and embarked on the 14 hour drive early the next morning. My destination was Turtle Creek State Park, west of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
By Thursday evening, I had arrived, set camp, and unloaded my gear. I checked the WX forecast on NOAA radio and the NWS had now increased the chance of rain for Friday to 50% with an approaching cold front. By Friday afternoon I was well on the way to getting the antennas up and it was very hot with loads of moisture coming up from the south along with a warm front that was moving north. I knew there was also a cold front coming in from the west. The NWS reported that a line of T-storms would remain to the west and not affect the local weather, however possible new storms could make-up around dusk.
By mid-afternoon the WX was starting to change. Winds had shifted and there is a big line of storms on the horizon to the west. I was under a severe T-storm watch. A few hours later the situation began deteriorating rapidly. I could tell that things were not good. The NWS issues a T-storm warning and a tornado watch for my area. Other areas to the west were under tornado warnings as tornados were being sighted. I pulled out my map and looked up the sighting locations the bad stuff was clearly heading towards me. I decided to secure my campsite, which turned out to be a good decision as before I could even finish the WX was upon me. The storm quickly turned even more severe than I had anticipated, and in the absence of a secure refuge, the thought occurred that I should seek a safer location. I grabbed my radio, computer, and my clothes and got them into my truck. I threw a tarp over the rest of the gear and another over my bedroll and decided to head towards Grand Forks (about 30 miles to my east).
I was thinking at the time that I could outrun the storm, and sit it out over dinner hoping that the severe WX would likely dissipate after dark. When I arrived in Grand Forks I proceeded to look for some place to eat. What was that horrific noise? I rolled down my truck window and suddenly realized it was a civil defense siren. Yipes! I tuned into NOAA radio once again. Tornado warning for Grand Forks Tornado on the ground near Avilla (just south of my campground) and heading east projected to arrive in Grand Forks within 30 min. I looked to the south intently at the clearer skies. Should I get back on the interstate and make fast tracks to the south? Then I remembered the heavy road construction detours to the south and I thought about all that flat country here you can run but you cant hide came to mind! I should immediately locate some place locally to take refuge.
I decided the restaurants had too much glass and the big box shopping centers didnt have very strong roofs. Where to go? I spotted a Holiday Inn. It looked structurally sound & there was a crowd there looking out in the parking lot so I decided it was my best bet. Inside the Holiday Inn everyone had been moved into the lobby. The WX radar was playing continuously on the big screen TV and a weatherman was drawing circles around the tornado on the radar picture and arrows showing its projected path. Wow this thing was really big! In my mind I was picturing one of those monster F5s you see in the movies and wondering if the Holiday Inn was secure? It was really too late now I just needed to just sit tight and wait it out. About 20 min elapsed without change so I went outside to take a look around. Behind the west side of the building I saw a massive wall cloud approaching rapidly from the west. I had never seen a wall cloud this big before it was massive. I realized my camera was in my truck so I ran out to get it and tried to take some pictures but it really was too big to capture in the lens. I noticed there was no breeze what-so-ever. As the clouds arrival became imminent I decided it was time to go back inside.
Within minutes the skies suddenly darkened through the windows as we were enveloped under the low-lying dark canopy. I wondered close to the window for a minute to take a glance. Looking up I could see the wind shears as different layers within the mass were moving rapidly in opposite directions. I noticed that the ground wind had picked up significantly so I decided to move away from the window. Five minutes passed and it seemed like an eternity no tornado. I moved back to the window to look and saw nothing new at first. Then just to the north I caught a glimpse of two funnels hanging down like fingers under the black atmospheric canopy. I could not really see if they were on the ground and soon they moved beyond my line of vision. The wall cloud did not seem to be moving now and just sat there over us. The WX radar on TV showed it had stopped for the time being. Something was changing. 10 or 20 minutes must have now passed and it became clear that the storm had stalled and was turning south. I remained there for the hour and watched as the storm now turned to the south and new tornados were sighted and reported. There were a total of 6 tornadoes sighted in the Grand Forks area that evening while I was in the Holiday Inn. The sun had now set and it was pouring down sheets of rain. The tornado warning was over for our area. I left the hotel and found a place to eat. After dinner it was still raining hard with much lightning. I was tired and decided to find a hotel room and crash for the night.
Saturday morning I woke early, showered, and drove back out to my camp site. The WX was now much cooler, still sprinkling, and the winds were gusting strongly out of the north. The front had arrived. I was thinking this was good now the WX should clear up. As I approached camp I found that many trees had been snapped off and fallen. There was debris everywhere. I was wondering what I would find at my campsite. As I approached I could see that my tent was still standing that was a good sign. There was a large branch on the ground just feet away from the tent wow was I fortunate! Inside the tent I found that a smaller branch did hit and pulled the rain fly back just enough to let the rain in. The tarps were still in place though and kept my gear & bed dry! Next my thoughts went to the antennas.
I climbed up the hill wondering if the antennas survived. I was thrilled as I caught the first glimpse of the beam elements still aloft! The mast was leaning at about 15 degree angle but the guys were still intact. Both dipoles were still up but one end had slipped out of the branch and dropped about 15 ft. I worked quickly to secure the beam. The wind was still gusting quite hard & I was able to level the beam out somewhat but decided to settle for OK rather than push my luck. I went back to the tent and proceeded to mop up about 2 gallons (realistically) of water off the floor. I pulled my vertical back up in the air then climbed back up the hill to pull down the coax. By this time a tree branch had since fallen on the wire antennas and taken the whole array down to the ground. The wind was really gusting I estimate about 45 mph. I briefly considered trying to put the wires antennas up again but decided it was probably futile in that wind.
I pulled the coax back down to the station and finished setting up. It was now 12:30 with FD kicking off in 30 min. There was no time for lunch so I snacked a little and fired up the computer and radio. I found a spot on 20m and started to QSO for signal reports to reserve a spot. At 1:02pm I cleared my last signal report and barked out KM5VI QRZ FD!
I started a good run on 20m at 67 QSO/hr. This was to be short lived though at 2:30pm I heard a loud burst of static in the middle of a QSO and pulled my headphones off. Thunder!! I ran up the hill to take a look and saw a new line of thunderstorms moving in. Back down the hill I started disconnecting coax. I dropped the vertical to the ground. I checked NOAA radio yupT-storm warning until dusk with threat of hail. I was thinking there simply could not be enough energy left in the atmosphere now for any real chance of tornados. But there was definitely lightning striking so I had no choice but to sit it out. The storm passed in about 20 min. I went back up the hill now to pull down the coax but saw another T-storm coming. I set this storm out as well, but through the afternoon the storms just keep coming in waves one right after another. It became obvious that a stationary line of storms was setting right on top of my location.
I decided to eat lunch and then tried to rest a bit. How long could these storms last? Over the afternoon I saw my chances for reaching my personal goal of 2,000 QSO start to slip away. None the less, I knew these storms would eventually pass and my FD could resume. Perhaps I could at least better my 1,600 QSO from 2007?
Just after 7:00pm the storms appeared to finally subside. I ran up the hill to check. YES!!! The skies were starting to clear behind the last storm. I pulled the coax back down the hill and fired the station back up. KM5VI was QRV again at 7:16pm.
I went straight back to 20m and decided I had to revise my contest strategy to play catch up. I needed to run 20m hard now and would have to depend on propagation holding up. My first hour back on 20m and the QSO rate was 106/hr. The band did hold up like this for the next several hours and peaked around 11:00pm at 121 QSO/hr. At about 11:30 I got a call from a VK station wanting to know my county WOW! I knew this was a sign that the band was starting to run long now and would soon die. 15 min later 20m was all but gone.
I moved down to 40m and searched frantically for an open spot. The first 90 min were difficult but I managed to hold 60 QSO/hr. I had a hard time being heard close in on 40m. It seemed as if everyone coming back to my call was weak and on the extreme far ends of the east and west coasts. I realized then that I was going to have a hard time of it without the higher angle antennas on the lower bands. I worked off the low angle vertical it was all I had. Through the night I rotated between 40m and 80m but I never could get a good run going. About 30-60 QRO/hr was the best I could hit.
As the night wore on the temperatures became as cold as the action on the bands. It was now in the high 40s and the wind was whipping right though the tent. I was wearing long johns, sweats, and jeans, two shirts & two jackets and wrapped up in a towel. That sleeping bag was starting to look really good! I decided to take a bladder break and outside found that the sun was just behind the horizon it was 4:45am.
At daybreak on 40m the QSO rate finally started to improve. By 6:00am I could tell a run was coming on as my rate quickly improved. It peaked between 7am and 8am at 109/hr. Interestingly I heard some very loud waves of atmospheric noise that sounded like blowing wind gusts. These lasted several seconds each time they would pass. Sometimes I had to ask stations to QRX until they passed!
By 8:00am 40m was dying fast. I decided it was time to move up to 20m and for the next 75 minutes I only managed 28 QSO with hopes that the 20m band would begin to open up. By 9:15am it was clear this was not happening. 40m was running short by then so I decided to check 10m. I could only hear 2 stations and worked them both a 10A and an 8A. It didnt sound like they were getting much action. 40m, 20m, and 10m were all in such poor shape what to do? I decided to check 15m. Wow there was activity there and the band scope was hopping!
I worked a few at the bottom of the band and decided to set down at 21.300mhz. My QSO rate immediately jumped up to 72/hr and started climbing. By 10:00am I had moved up to 21.318 and my Q rate hit 105/hr. By 11:00am the band was going crazy and the Q rate maxed out at sustaining 192/hr.
Just about noon the 15m activity started to fall off rapidly. It was now clear that I would not beat my previous 1,600 QSO best unless I could hit another big roll. I decided to re-check 10m. I pulled 23 QSO in 15 min but the propagation just wasnt there stations would QSB right into the noise before completing an exchange and they didnt come back up. I decided to go back to 15m where I found 29 more QSO in 28 minutes by running up the band there just didnt seem to be anyone left to work on 15m. I decided to drop down to 20m for the last 15 minutes just to shoot for an even 1,400 QSO. 1:00pm arrived and I was still 6 QSO short of 1,400.
I did not reach my goal of 2,000 QSO, or even break my 1,600 best, but none-the-less I had fun and felt that I improved my operating skills. During the peaks I worked on techniques to help me hit & sustain good QSO rates. I concentrated on mentally keeping track of multiple calls simultaneously and tried to work stations in order as they would show up even with 4-5 stations consistently coming back each time. I was really hauling as fast as I could and I think it kept folks interested instead of turning the dial. I would always slow down for the ones that needed it. I tried to keep the information passed from my side to absolute minimum but still remain courteous. I would try to reserve giving my call out until I worked everyone that was waiting. I would practice working the weakest signals first. When nobody answered the last QRZ I would bark out the full call and location loudly so a new batch could come back in. It seemed to work for me.
My overall comment on propagation was that I could hear much more than I could work. Based on impressions from responses in QSO I surmise that I was not being heard well, although I really could hear very well from my location. Perhaps this is why many of the locals affectionately refer to the Midwest as the Black Hole of RF. The only exception to this was the 8th call district where many stations commented on my strong signal, and some of them really knocked my headphones off! We must have had a pipeline between us because I could work 8s regardless of which direction my antenna was pointed.
After the FD I opted for a power nap and awoke later only to realize I had a bit of a problem on my hands. I needed to get the antennas packed up and there was no way to safely get the beam down in the unrelenting wind. I pulled up the wire antennas and then made some dinner. Just after dinner and about a half hour before dusk the wind broke. My first assumption was that the wind was now over but somehow I knew better. I decided I better get up there on the hill pronto and get that beam down. 30 minutes later it was on the ground and just as dusk arrived the wind returned and did not stop again even until I left the next afternoon!
The WX had yet one more trick in store for me. Sunday night brought clear skies and the NWS forecast called for continued clear skies behind the front. I awoke Monday morning and looked up to see the faint light of daybreak (or so I thought). I decided to doze back off as I knew daybreak was not until about 5:00am. I woke some time later and noticed again the faint light of daybreak hey wait a minute! I put on my glasses and checked my watch 9:30!!! Whats up with this I peaked out the tent door to find the skies completely overcast and rain drizzling! I checked NOAA radio and they were still forecasting clear skies with an occasional wrinkle. The skies never cleared nor did the wind ever stop even as I was pulling out at 2:30 pm. I arrived home exactly 12 hrs later at 2:30am. Another FD adventure completed
Most surprising & enjoyable QSOs:
W3/NH7C Congrats on 5BWAS Sid!
KK5CA (Jerry) operating K5VFD a good friend and a true FD elmer!
NA9Q/VY1 called in at the exact instant I was coming around with the beam. Thanks for the call Mike.
Log results:
80m 69 QSO
40m 406 QSO
20m 567 QSO
15m 326 QSO
10m 26 QSO
Total 1394 QSO
73 to all, -- KM5VI
1B1
North Dakota
After battling with hail, power loss, and a series of thunderstorms in the Michigan Upper Peninsula in 2008, yours truly decided to travel west this year for FD. Destination North Dakota.
After picking a location, studying the aerial photos of the terrain, and running some propagation models, I decided to use a tri-band beam, a 40m dipole, a G5RV, and a 40m/80m wire trap vertical for antennas this year. Having observed sporadic-E openings in Milwaukee for 12 consecutive days prior to FD, the tri-bander only made sense. I planned to use the remaining combination of wire antennas to cover low and high radiation angles on 40m & 80m, covering two directional orientations on 40m. I would set all the antennas except the vertical on a hill behind my selected site, and use a remote switch to select antennas.
I made a point to watch the WX predictions in North Dakota daily, and with only a 30% chance of rain for Friday on the evening before my departure, I decided to proceed with plans and embarked on the 14 hour drive early the next morning. My destination was Turtle Creek State Park, west of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
By Thursday evening, I had arrived, set camp, and unloaded my gear. I checked the WX forecast on NOAA radio and the NWS had now increased the chance of rain for Friday to 50% with an approaching cold front. By Friday afternoon I was well on the way to getting the antennas up and it was very hot with loads of moisture coming up from the south along with a warm front that was moving north. I knew there was also a cold front coming in from the west. The NWS reported that a line of T-storms would remain to the west and not affect the local weather, however possible new storms could make-up around dusk.
By mid-afternoon the WX was starting to change. Winds had shifted and there is a big line of storms on the horizon to the west. I was under a severe T-storm watch. A few hours later the situation began deteriorating rapidly. I could tell that things were not good. The NWS issues a T-storm warning and a tornado watch for my area. Other areas to the west were under tornado warnings as tornados were being sighted. I pulled out my map and looked up the sighting locations the bad stuff was clearly heading towards me. I decided to secure my campsite, which turned out to be a good decision as before I could even finish the WX was upon me. The storm quickly turned even more severe than I had anticipated, and in the absence of a secure refuge, the thought occurred that I should seek a safer location. I grabbed my radio, computer, and my clothes and got them into my truck. I threw a tarp over the rest of the gear and another over my bedroll and decided to head towards Grand Forks (about 30 miles to my east).
I was thinking at the time that I could outrun the storm, and sit it out over dinner hoping that the severe WX would likely dissipate after dark. When I arrived in Grand Forks I proceeded to look for some place to eat. What was that horrific noise? I rolled down my truck window and suddenly realized it was a civil defense siren. Yipes! I tuned into NOAA radio once again. Tornado warning for Grand Forks Tornado on the ground near Avilla (just south of my campground) and heading east projected to arrive in Grand Forks within 30 min. I looked to the south intently at the clearer skies. Should I get back on the interstate and make fast tracks to the south? Then I remembered the heavy road construction detours to the south and I thought about all that flat country here you can run but you cant hide came to mind! I should immediately locate some place locally to take refuge.
I decided the restaurants had too much glass and the big box shopping centers didnt have very strong roofs. Where to go? I spotted a Holiday Inn. It looked structurally sound & there was a crowd there looking out in the parking lot so I decided it was my best bet. Inside the Holiday Inn everyone had been moved into the lobby. The WX radar was playing continuously on the big screen TV and a weatherman was drawing circles around the tornado on the radar picture and arrows showing its projected path. Wow this thing was really big! In my mind I was picturing one of those monster F5s you see in the movies and wondering if the Holiday Inn was secure? It was really too late now I just needed to just sit tight and wait it out. About 20 min elapsed without change so I went outside to take a look around. Behind the west side of the building I saw a massive wall cloud approaching rapidly from the west. I had never seen a wall cloud this big before it was massive. I realized my camera was in my truck so I ran out to get it and tried to take some pictures but it really was too big to capture in the lens. I noticed there was no breeze what-so-ever. As the clouds arrival became imminent I decided it was time to go back inside.
Within minutes the skies suddenly darkened through the windows as we were enveloped under the low-lying dark canopy. I wondered close to the window for a minute to take a glance. Looking up I could see the wind shears as different layers within the mass were moving rapidly in opposite directions. I noticed that the ground wind had picked up significantly so I decided to move away from the window. Five minutes passed and it seemed like an eternity no tornado. I moved back to the window to look and saw nothing new at first. Then just to the north I caught a glimpse of two funnels hanging down like fingers under the black atmospheric canopy. I could not really see if they were on the ground and soon they moved beyond my line of vision. The wall cloud did not seem to be moving now and just sat there over us. The WX radar on TV showed it had stopped for the time being. Something was changing. 10 or 20 minutes must have now passed and it became clear that the storm had stalled and was turning south. I remained there for the hour and watched as the storm now turned to the south and new tornados were sighted and reported. There were a total of 6 tornadoes sighted in the Grand Forks area that evening while I was in the Holiday Inn. The sun had now set and it was pouring down sheets of rain. The tornado warning was over for our area. I left the hotel and found a place to eat. After dinner it was still raining hard with much lightning. I was tired and decided to find a hotel room and crash for the night.
Saturday morning I woke early, showered, and drove back out to my camp site. The WX was now much cooler, still sprinkling, and the winds were gusting strongly out of the north. The front had arrived. I was thinking this was good now the WX should clear up. As I approached camp I found that many trees had been snapped off and fallen. There was debris everywhere. I was wondering what I would find at my campsite. As I approached I could see that my tent was still standing that was a good sign. There was a large branch on the ground just feet away from the tent wow was I fortunate! Inside the tent I found that a smaller branch did hit and pulled the rain fly back just enough to let the rain in. The tarps were still in place though and kept my gear & bed dry! Next my thoughts went to the antennas.
I climbed up the hill wondering if the antennas survived. I was thrilled as I caught the first glimpse of the beam elements still aloft! The mast was leaning at about 15 degree angle but the guys were still intact. Both dipoles were still up but one end had slipped out of the branch and dropped about 15 ft. I worked quickly to secure the beam. The wind was still gusting quite hard & I was able to level the beam out somewhat but decided to settle for OK rather than push my luck. I went back to the tent and proceeded to mop up about 2 gallons (realistically) of water off the floor. I pulled my vertical back up in the air then climbed back up the hill to pull down the coax. By this time a tree branch had since fallen on the wire antennas and taken the whole array down to the ground. The wind was really gusting I estimate about 45 mph. I briefly considered trying to put the wires antennas up again but decided it was probably futile in that wind.
I pulled the coax back down to the station and finished setting up. It was now 12:30 with FD kicking off in 30 min. There was no time for lunch so I snacked a little and fired up the computer and radio. I found a spot on 20m and started to QSO for signal reports to reserve a spot. At 1:02pm I cleared my last signal report and barked out KM5VI QRZ FD!
I started a good run on 20m at 67 QSO/hr. This was to be short lived though at 2:30pm I heard a loud burst of static in the middle of a QSO and pulled my headphones off. Thunder!! I ran up the hill to take a look and saw a new line of thunderstorms moving in. Back down the hill I started disconnecting coax. I dropped the vertical to the ground. I checked NOAA radio yupT-storm warning until dusk with threat of hail. I was thinking there simply could not be enough energy left in the atmosphere now for any real chance of tornados. But there was definitely lightning striking so I had no choice but to sit it out. The storm passed in about 20 min. I went back up the hill now to pull down the coax but saw another T-storm coming. I set this storm out as well, but through the afternoon the storms just keep coming in waves one right after another. It became obvious that a stationary line of storms was setting right on top of my location.
I decided to eat lunch and then tried to rest a bit. How long could these storms last? Over the afternoon I saw my chances for reaching my personal goal of 2,000 QSO start to slip away. None the less, I knew these storms would eventually pass and my FD could resume. Perhaps I could at least better my 1,600 QSO from 2007?
Just after 7:00pm the storms appeared to finally subside. I ran up the hill to check. YES!!! The skies were starting to clear behind the last storm. I pulled the coax back down the hill and fired the station back up. KM5VI was QRV again at 7:16pm.
I went straight back to 20m and decided I had to revise my contest strategy to play catch up. I needed to run 20m hard now and would have to depend on propagation holding up. My first hour back on 20m and the QSO rate was 106/hr. The band did hold up like this for the next several hours and peaked around 11:00pm at 121 QSO/hr. At about 11:30 I got a call from a VK station wanting to know my county WOW! I knew this was a sign that the band was starting to run long now and would soon die. 15 min later 20m was all but gone.
I moved down to 40m and searched frantically for an open spot. The first 90 min were difficult but I managed to hold 60 QSO/hr. I had a hard time being heard close in on 40m. It seemed as if everyone coming back to my call was weak and on the extreme far ends of the east and west coasts. I realized then that I was going to have a hard time of it without the higher angle antennas on the lower bands. I worked off the low angle vertical it was all I had. Through the night I rotated between 40m and 80m but I never could get a good run going. About 30-60 QRO/hr was the best I could hit.
As the night wore on the temperatures became as cold as the action on the bands. It was now in the high 40s and the wind was whipping right though the tent. I was wearing long johns, sweats, and jeans, two shirts & two jackets and wrapped up in a towel. That sleeping bag was starting to look really good! I decided to take a bladder break and outside found that the sun was just behind the horizon it was 4:45am.
At daybreak on 40m the QSO rate finally started to improve. By 6:00am I could tell a run was coming on as my rate quickly improved. It peaked between 7am and 8am at 109/hr. Interestingly I heard some very loud waves of atmospheric noise that sounded like blowing wind gusts. These lasted several seconds each time they would pass. Sometimes I had to ask stations to QRX until they passed!
By 8:00am 40m was dying fast. I decided it was time to move up to 20m and for the next 75 minutes I only managed 28 QSO with hopes that the 20m band would begin to open up. By 9:15am it was clear this was not happening. 40m was running short by then so I decided to check 10m. I could only hear 2 stations and worked them both a 10A and an 8A. It didnt sound like they were getting much action. 40m, 20m, and 10m were all in such poor shape what to do? I decided to check 15m. Wow there was activity there and the band scope was hopping!
I worked a few at the bottom of the band and decided to set down at 21.300mhz. My QSO rate immediately jumped up to 72/hr and started climbing. By 10:00am I had moved up to 21.318 and my Q rate hit 105/hr. By 11:00am the band was going crazy and the Q rate maxed out at sustaining 192/hr.
Just about noon the 15m activity started to fall off rapidly. It was now clear that I would not beat my previous 1,600 QSO best unless I could hit another big roll. I decided to re-check 10m. I pulled 23 QSO in 15 min but the propagation just wasnt there stations would QSB right into the noise before completing an exchange and they didnt come back up. I decided to go back to 15m where I found 29 more QSO in 28 minutes by running up the band there just didnt seem to be anyone left to work on 15m. I decided to drop down to 20m for the last 15 minutes just to shoot for an even 1,400 QSO. 1:00pm arrived and I was still 6 QSO short of 1,400.
I did not reach my goal of 2,000 QSO, or even break my 1,600 best, but none-the-less I had fun and felt that I improved my operating skills. During the peaks I worked on techniques to help me hit & sustain good QSO rates. I concentrated on mentally keeping track of multiple calls simultaneously and tried to work stations in order as they would show up even with 4-5 stations consistently coming back each time. I was really hauling as fast as I could and I think it kept folks interested instead of turning the dial. I would always slow down for the ones that needed it. I tried to keep the information passed from my side to absolute minimum but still remain courteous. I would try to reserve giving my call out until I worked everyone that was waiting. I would practice working the weakest signals first. When nobody answered the last QRZ I would bark out the full call and location loudly so a new batch could come back in. It seemed to work for me.
My overall comment on propagation was that I could hear much more than I could work. Based on impressions from responses in QSO I surmise that I was not being heard well, although I really could hear very well from my location. Perhaps this is why many of the locals affectionately refer to the Midwest as the Black Hole of RF. The only exception to this was the 8th call district where many stations commented on my strong signal, and some of them really knocked my headphones off! We must have had a pipeline between us because I could work 8s regardless of which direction my antenna was pointed.
After the FD I opted for a power nap and awoke later only to realize I had a bit of a problem on my hands. I needed to get the antennas packed up and there was no way to safely get the beam down in the unrelenting wind. I pulled up the wire antennas and then made some dinner. Just after dinner and about a half hour before dusk the wind broke. My first assumption was that the wind was now over but somehow I knew better. I decided I better get up there on the hill pronto and get that beam down. 30 minutes later it was on the ground and just as dusk arrived the wind returned and did not stop again even until I left the next afternoon!
The WX had yet one more trick in store for me. Sunday night brought clear skies and the NWS forecast called for continued clear skies behind the front. I awoke Monday morning and looked up to see the faint light of daybreak (or so I thought). I decided to doze back off as I knew daybreak was not until about 5:00am. I woke some time later and noticed again the faint light of daybreak hey wait a minute! I put on my glasses and checked my watch 9:30!!! Whats up with this I peaked out the tent door to find the skies completely overcast and rain drizzling! I checked NOAA radio and they were still forecasting clear skies with an occasional wrinkle. The skies never cleared nor did the wind ever stop even as I was pulling out at 2:30 pm. I arrived home exactly 12 hrs later at 2:30am. Another FD adventure completed
Most surprising & enjoyable QSOs:
W3/NH7C Congrats on 5BWAS Sid!
KK5CA (Jerry) operating K5VFD a good friend and a true FD elmer!
NA9Q/VY1 called in at the exact instant I was coming around with the beam. Thanks for the call Mike.
Log results:
80m 69 QSO
40m 406 QSO
20m 567 QSO
15m 326 QSO
10m 26 QSO
Total 1394 QSO
73 to all, -- KM5VI
Back
