I enjoy Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, Field Days, QRP, satellites, and CW. I have many friends in the hobby that make it fun. I will keep you posted on what I learn about amateur radio on this blog.
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Friday, January 31, 2020
N4Y Winter Field Day 2020 Outing from Falling Waters
This year we had a setup similar to previous Winter Field Days at Falling Waters State Park near Chipley, FL. At campsite 5, Linda and I had a camper. We also had a tent for operating. Chris VA3ECO and Dennis WA6QKN used the tent for sleeping quarters. Tom WD0HBR and Sandy joined the group for Friday set up and dinner at the Mexican restaurant in Chipley. George W4GHG brought his family on Saturday and made his first out of town HF contacts. Bob KK4DIV and Carla had a tent site and station at the other end of the campground. Visitors included Frank KC8VKA and Rick NZ2I.
Dennis WA6QKN in operating tent
The N4Y class/category was 2O. We used non-commercial power. Chris helped out with a satellite contact for 1500 bonus points. This year, I created a logging program I call Cycle 25 Logger. It worked well enough. A couple of improvements were noted.
Carla and Bob KK4DIV camping and operating.
We balanced our time among eating, socializing, and operating. Chris warmed up Margot's Canadian Chili Saturday night. Chris also cooked eggs for breakfast. We found plenty of activity on the 80, 40, and 20-meter band. However, 15 meters was dead, which could have boosted our multiplier of 9X. Digital PSK-31 contacts were our biggest point maker.
Here is Bob KK4DIV's excellent video on Winter Field Day
The experience was enjoyed by all. We plan to combine camping and radio for the Florida QSO Party from Three Rivers State Park near Sneads, FL in April 2020.
