K0GQ Field Day

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KC0KM

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My brief report for the Raytown, MO, K0GQ Field Day operation. I just got home a little while ago, after spending most of my time at the event. It started Friday, and although I had to work, set up began at 1300 local time. I got off work at 4:00 PM, went home relaxed for a few minutes, before going up there. I was able to use the tent from work (one of those pop up tents), and took it up there. By the time I got there most of the towers where up, although we did have to pull one down to fix a rope. After dinner, I went back and helped set up the Beverage Antenna, losing my new name tag in the process, and hung around to around 10 PM.

Saturday I went up around 10 AM, to look for my name tag, not intending to stay very long. But the Beverage had blown down over night, and I helped set it back up -- until almost 1 PM. Went home, at lunch, and went to bed, sleeping until about 5. Went to the site, but did not operate until late -- around 10 PM doing PSK31 on GOTA (had a minor mishap when the radio stopped TXing, but was replaced, and I went back to it until it died around 2-3, but back on at dawn. I bounced between doing nothing and playing second chair at Phone. My last 3-4 hours was at phone, where we did 1712 contacts. All total I think I heard we have 4500 contacts (all total).

Raytown, K0GQ is one of the top rated operations in the nation. Last year on 2A we where 5th, with an average of being in the top 3 in the past 5 years (they first in 2007). For State/Division we are first (all classes), and average about 35 overall in all classes.

I have included a few pictures I took with my phone. I did not include our VHF/UHF, but the first one is the primary trailer, which is owned by the city EOC. To the left is Phone, the right GOTA. THe next ones are CW, with it's tower, and other antennas, and the last one is the satellite. There are co course other various of antennas not shown.
73
KC0KM (a very tired ham)
 

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mtindor

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AA8IA ..... Hmm were you running 6m? I swear i worked that call on one or more bands from W0BXO 2ASD.

Yes indeed. You can go to my website, click on Logbook, type in W0BXO and click Send and you'll see the entry.

Glad to have worked you! Most of my 6m SSB activity was into NY/NJ and New England in general Saturday night because it was a big [and rare, for me] opening. But I looked for the heartland and found some of you guys.

Mike
 

KK4DAN

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Newnan, GA
BTW, I made the front page of the local newspaper. This was our psk31 machine and I had just gotten there about 30mins before this picture was taken. I'm the younger guy without the hat. - Amateur radio operators contact 48 states, Canada - The Times-Herald

hamradio.jpg
 

mtindor

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What a small world. Seems like a lot of us worked each other [or at least the stations we were at] and wouldn't have even known it if one of you guys hadn't thought to ask.

Nice to see more active hams on RR than I thought!

Incidentally, I typically am a CW guy. I use only dipoles, so oftentimes my signal isn't strong enough to start calling CQ in the middle of a contest on SSB. Lot easier to pick out weak CW than SSB. But I did do a ton of SSB on 6m though and had a real blast with it. That was the really fun band this time around.

Unfortunately, I put so much time in playing around on 6m that I nearly completely overlooked 15/20m SSB, and from all of the reports I've seen thus far 15/20m SSB was really rocking too. I hate having to learn these lessons after the fact and then waiting a another whole year to do it again.

I think ARRL should have a summer and winter FD !

Mike
 

KK4DAN

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What a small world. Seems like a lot of us worked each other [or at least the stations we were at] and wouldn't have even known it if one of you guys hadn't thought to ask.

Nice to see more active hams on RR than I thought!

Incidentally, I typically am a CW guy. I use only dipoles, so oftentimes my signal isn't strong enough to start calling CQ in the middle of a contest on SSB. Lot easier to pick out weak CW than SSB. But I did do a ton of SSB on 6m though and had a real blast with it. That was the really fun band this time around.

Unfortunately, I put so much time in playing around on 6m that I nearly completely overlooked 15/20m SSB, and from all of the reports I've seen thus far 15/20m SSB was really rocking too. I hate having to learn these lessons after the fact and then waiting a another whole year to do it again.

I think ARRL should have a summer and winter FD !

Mike

Yeah, since I'm only a Tech, I don't usually get to play on 15m/20m sb, but during the contest, it was amazing how open they were. The pileups on 20m were massive at times, even 15m was rocking. We sat on 15m for a long time in one spot and the responses just came piling in. If you were really good, you could definitely work it.
 

IowaGuy1603

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Jones County Iowa
Yes it is nice to see the hams chatting up on here.

I also don't do CW-----------------but am a newly minted General ----after 10 yrs of being a Tech. The only HF experience I have had is at FD --No HF rigs yet.

This year at FD we were a bit novel-----------------we used nothing but Icom 706's........rather than the "big rigs".

Due to some other commitments I only got about 2 hrs of play time just before the contest ended.........but was going gang busters on 15 meters.
 

mtindor

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Yeah, since I'm only a Tech, I don't usually get to play on 15m/20m sb, but during the contest, it was amazing how open they were. The pileups on 20m were massive at times, even 15m was rocking. We sat on 15m for a long time in one spot and the responses just came piling in. If you were really good, you could definitely work it.

I don't know what it is, but you can be an 8-call and you won't have nearly as many people knocking on your door in a domestic contest. The propogation will be there, but nobody is enthusiastic about talking to 8-calls, apparently since there are so many of us on the air during all the time heh.

Of course, it also helps to have a good setup. Most of the field day stations, even if they are using just dipoles, have a vvery efficient antenna system. I, on the other hand, probably don't. My deal was that I spent too much time on 6m [and I'm glad I did -- huge opening to New England on FD Saturday evening], and I could have likely accumulated a ton of Qs on 15m and perhaps 20m.

Also, being that CW has always been my preferred mode, SSB is often an afterthought to me. During FD you don't want SSB to be an afterthought -- a large number of people sitting in front of FD radios are either not going to be very comfortable running code, or they are going to be salivating to run SSB because their current license restricts them from doing so normally.

My voice was giving out. I don't usually talk much, so it doesn't take too long working a pileup or calling CQ before I can't talk worth a darn.

It was great fun though. Hopefully everyone had as much fun [or more] than I. Here in Ohio it was absolutely perfect weather for FD too. I'm not sure how it was for the rest of ya'll.

Mike
 

texasemt13

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Mike,

You worked our club also, WB5LVI. You "talked" to our CW Op Skip, WB4DAD, on 15m. Skip is pure CW (he doesn't own an HF rig with a mic or SSB module). He was using an Elecraft K2 on a Force 12 yagi, mounted on a 50' tower. We were 3E South Texas. Anytime Skip was elsewhere, I was switching the K2 to SSB to work some phone contacts on that Force 12. Good Field Day guys, maybe next year we can have a pre-field day thread...
 

mtindor

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Mike,

You worked our club also, WB5LVI. You "talked" to our CW Op Skip, WB4DAD, on 15m. Skip is pure CW (he doesn't own an HF rig with a mic or SSB module). He was using an Elecraft K2 on a Force 12 yagi, mounted on a 50' tower. We were 3E South Texas. Anytime Skip was elsewhere, I was switching the K2 to SSB to work some phone contacts on that Force 12. Good Field Day guys, maybe next year we can have a pre-field day thread...

Awesome. You know, there is usually no shortage of Texas stations. But I obviously was on the wrong bands at the wrong times to catch a lot of guys SW of me because I worked very few Texans. Glad you guys were on.

I've checked out the K2/K3 many times, but I just haven't been able to convince myself to spend the money. Given that I like to contest, albeit very casually, the Elecraft radios are extremely good in a contest environment and it would behoove me to plunk down the dough for one some day.

I think IG's thread has been semi-hijacked. So, back on topic -- did you guys work K0GQ?

M
 

mtindor

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I also don't do CW-----------------but am a newly minted General ----after 10 yrs of being a Tech. The only HF experience I have had is at FD --No HF rigs yet.

Congrats. Now that you have adequate HF privileges for SSB, you really need to try and get a rig. I don' t know why I say that. I mean I rarely "talk" to anybody on HF. But I make hundreds of contacts a week most weekends working a QSO Party or contest of some sort... again in a very casual way. I'm not a contester. I don't have what it takes to do 12, 24, or 48 hours straight like those guys. But, it sure is fun on contest weekends having no shortage of people to contact, and you only have to talk to them for 2 seconds :) And you can easily work all states and get DXCC in a year if you contest.

Even though the solar cycle is on the upswing, predications are that it will only be a mediocre peak. But already 10m is open a lot more and even 6m. I do enjoy working those bands and talking.

Mike
 

KC0KM

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Kansas City (Raytown) MO
Here is a aerial view of where we hold our field day site.
Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

This was taken last year roughly a month before last year. The trailer on the walkway is owned the city, and it roughly where we use it, but is about 50 feet to the north and to the side of the walkway (located about where the smaller trailer is) , which is our Phone and GOTA. CW is located the top, at the curve. Satellite is inside the NE corner, and VHF/UFH is cross from the other trailer. Generator row is behind the hill to the west of the walkway. Tents are set up in the middle.
 
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