Field Day 2002
The C.O.R.E. group participated in Field Day 2002 from the field behind the Woodlawn Volunteer Fire Department on US 79 in Woodlawn, TN. We operated 5A with mostly wire antennae from two tents and a pop-up camper. Power came from three 5KW generators, the food was kept cold with ice, the 6 meter beam had an Armstrong rotator- usually Hank’s arms- and all went very well. Our claimed score was only 2862 with the bonus points added in, but our goal wasn’t to set up a portable, big-gun contest station- if you wouldn’t have access to it in an emergency, we didn’t use it.
We were on the air for the entire period, even though the QSO rate got really low during the early morning hours. We had 9 participants, including the following amateurs: Al, KA1FFO, Angela, KG4JIF, Jack, AA4TA (SK), Rodney, KD4UEJ, Terry, N5HOT, Carmen, K1MED, Aaron, KB9MTD, Hank, N3ORX and Howard, K2LAW- along with guest operators. It was a low-stress, relaxed environment, as we had decided we weren’t going for score- we were trying to get some idea if the group could accomplish something much more important- operate for over 24 hours in austere conditions without committing homicide, suicide or both (and yes, you would have to make sure you got those in the right order!!). I am pleased to report we accomplished this mission- and even managed to keep all the radios working.
As for specifics of our operation, here are a few. Hank ran his IC-551D for 68 QSOs on 6 meter SSB, Terry had his TS-50S set up for 40 meter PSK-31, which he and Carmen ran until the dupes were outnumbering the new contacts. Jack was hammering away at CW on 40 meters, collecting 189 QSOs. Other rigs in use at various times were a TS-140S, FT-100 and an FT-940. Al and Angela were working away at 20 meter PSK, racking up 75 QSOs, while Terry and Rodney were working 15 and 20 meter SSB. I, Howard, was bouncing from station to station, working a little of everything, displaying my lack of operating prowess at all. But we all had a great time, from Saturday morning setup through Sunday afternoon teardown- which went so smoothly that all involved were still joking around instead of the more normal bickering and confusion that normally attends the final stages of a Field Day Operation.
We all look forward to an even better Field Day in 2010- better skills, more digital, and even more organized. Check back here to find out where we’ll be for the next round
KJ4GXU | 
December 16, 2009 9:49 am
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