[amsat-bb] Field Day

[Bill ACITO, W1PA]

Ran the satellite station for W1BIM (6A central MA). 
Nothing fancy --  FT-847, tripod mounted arrow, no computer 
(full manual). Worked KA4H on the very first AO-7 pass (but 
out of habit used my call instead of the club call ---  
idiot), then worked Wyatt at W0GQ on the next FO-29 pass. 
Tried a few more times Saturday afternoon but no luck. 
Packed up the gear and moved to one of the HF stations.

We were on a high plateau football field with a single 
Winnebago and multiple tents/easy ups. Started raining 
around 7pm, turned to horizontal rain by 11pm, and then at 
3am the wind gusts toppled multiple station tents --  one of 
the easyups  was found 30ft up in a tree, with the aluminum 
structure.  Horizontal rain, and 30mph gusts the rest of 
Sunday morning -- a real Nor'easter.  No injuries, but we 
may have lost one rig and one laptop. I was sleeping in my 
car when it happened. Winnebago stations kept going; what 
was left of the tent stations were packed up by 6am.  Btw, 
these were all properly staked and secured...   in at least 
one case, the bottom flanges of the easyup post stakes were 
torn from the metal masts --- metal welds torn off.

Found during FD: the UHF internal pre-amp on my FT-847 had 
failed. Before I go through the schematics, anyone ever had 
one fail and can identify the MAR or FET device I am most 
likely going to have to replace?

Bill  W1PA