08/03/2009 | N6SJV The ARRL UHF contest was great fun, as always. We operated under the Lodi ARC club call but it turned out just to be a family event. A generator failure kept us close to home this time. So we operated portable from the back yard and set up adjacent to the swimming pool. Temperatures were mild here all weekend, so the crew only required a few swim breaks. This was the 1st time we had 902mhz ssb station up and running with 40 watts and 9 elements. We ran 4 bands total, 222 to 1296mhz ssb, cw and fm. The antennas were small and mounted low but we managed to eek out a reasonable score. My daughter, Frances, joined the crew this time. Near the end of the contest, after the boys had all abandoned the effort and while I was already dismantling equipment. She found 4 additional stations and we ran right up to the final seconds of the event. Frances has just started studying for her ham ticket and at 11 years old, is the last remaining member of my family thats not a ham, yet! 73 Tom -- WA6OSX