[amsat-bb] Field Day

[John Brier]

Overall it was good. As for satellites it was a bust. For the 7pm
Eastern SO-50 pass, 70 degrees here in North Carolina, I found a good
spot in the field and found markers for the AOS, max elevation and
LOS. Then a major storm front came through which wiped out all
possibility of making any contacts. Most of us took cover in the
garage. I stayed at my local club's field day and worked some 40
meters and socialized and ended up trying the 3:30am pass, only 31
degrees over the Atlantic ocean. I figured it wouldn't be a "melee" as
I've heard it described on FD since it didn't cover as much land and
was at such a late time. It wasn't jam packed but it wasn't easy to
work either. I heard a normal amount of people in my opinion, maybe
less, but it didn't seem like people were completing QSOs. I never got
into the bird AFAICT. I was trying to operate a bit differently than
normal. Normally I just put my call out and let people come back but
this time I was trying to follow who was on, what their calls and
section/type info were and call them back, but I guess with the
overall lack of contacts being made and confusion I was confused with
who was available and who was still trying to make contact. By the
time I tried putting my call out or calling people half the pass was
already over and like I said I never even got in. I think I also may
not have been aiming right because it was hard to see my markers in
the dark. Plus I was tired and more nervous than normal because I
setup differently than normal. Normally I set my gear on top of my car
but because the field was wet and uneven I couldn't put my car out
there so I had to setup with a battery and put my gear (I use two
mobile radios) on a step ladder. Gah! It was quite disappointing. I
really wanted to get my club the bonus points. I have a recording of
the madness if anyone wants it. Sorry for the rant but you asked!
haha. Next time I hope to be more skilled and more prepared. :-)

John Brier, KG4AKV, Raleigh, NC FM05


On Sun, Jun 28, 2015 at 10:00 PM, Paul Stoetzer <n8hm at arrl.net> wrote:
> How did everyone's Field Day go? Heard quite a bit of QSOs made. Heard
> quite a bit of struggling too!
>
> Weather was awful, so I was just operating from the grounds of my
> apartment building here in DC. I managed 20 QSOs with 5 watts, which
> wasn't easy with how overloaded the transponders were with strong
> signals.
>
> Next year maybe I'll help out a local club on the sats.
>
> 73,
>
> Paul, N8HM
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