How can you not like Field Day?
Frankly, I am still recovering from the all nighter I pulled on Field Day Saturday…not as resilient as I once was I guess! The weather could not have been better for our event this year. It was a bit too hot on Friday for set up, but that certainly beats thunderstorms. It truly was a wondrous to see so many pitch-in to help…and so many who knew the routine. I was concerned because we had lost a couple of our regular contributors this year, but everyone sure came forward and did their best. The antennas and coax were up in record time, as were the new tents (thanks to Don Whiteman, Chuck Saunders and Hy for their leadership). The new tents came with a pre-installed frame work so all you had to do is open the tent and pull on two pipes to get the entire tent to stand tall. This turns out to be not so simple and also it was the single point of failure for the tents. One tent never did work properly, even when I was testing it before Field Day and I had to improvise some solution for it to work. They sure looked impressive…but I returned them right after Field Day because there were just too many flaws that would come to haunt us in future years. So, back to the drawing board. I am sure these tents were designed for single use…throw them up and throw them away. Looking to a real manufacturer this year (I was looking into some tents that REI makes that look pretty good, but a bit more expensive and tougher to setup.) Also, I had forgotten that our CW tent has a slight leak problem so when it rained on early Sunday morning, the poor operators got drenched, but continued working under tarps! After Field Day, I spend some time water proofing the canopy…so let’s see how it does next year.
I was also delighted to see so many operators throughout the event. There were people in chairs all 24 hours, except during the thunderstorm delay at 5 a.m. Personally, I had a great time with a great run on my early morning shift (I really don’t remember what time it was)….but the bands had a very strange characteristic. Stations would appear…you’d connect with them and then suddenly they would drop off the face…only to reappear several minutes later, hoping to finish the exchange? It made for some mad dashes. What I found worked best was to maintain a quick exchange…before their signal dropped. I am sure that is what helped me maintain my rate at 3 a.m….better than caffeine!
Also, I had a special treat teaching scouts from two different units: one on Saturday and another on Sunday. The boys not only were bright and attentive, but really got into the spirit of the event and worked the GOTA station until their moms or dad’s forced them home. It was encouraging to see such enthusiasm.
I also did a stint as mentor/coach for GOTA and I would highly recommend this for anyone to try. My operator was determined to get 100 Q’s…and he diligently plugged away, largely hunting and pecking his way through the band. He finally gave up the ghost at 1 a.m….and not quite hitting his personal goal, but it was enough to get him totally charged about the experience. His enthusiasm really was infectious.
The food was terrific again this year. I loved the chicken…thanks to Larry Leviton and his team – the attendance at the picnic was slightly down from previous years, but I know of one group that came at 4:30 p.m. and were still visiting at 1:30 a.m. when I had to report to the SSB tent. Thanks to all of the Band Captains – Mark Klocksin, Don Whiteman, Robert Lundgren and to everyone who did their part to make this year’s event so much fun.
So why do we do this, my next door neighbor asking me as I was drying out our tents and gear? Well, I which I had a better answer (saving mankind from the dark forces or something), but to see the smiles and sense of accomplishment on so many faces – people trying new modes or even attempting to handle a contest pace, fighting mosquitoes – all of this was really the purpose of this event.
And now on to another favorite outdoor tradition…our annual Fox Hunt. I will not be in attendance this year – work calls – but Warren Pugh will be handling the launch duties and we have a special guest hiding the Fox this year. I won’t spoil it – can’t reveal the keeper of the Fox until you find it!
Remember, we meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Starbucks in the Glen (Glenview) and the Fox will be released promptly at 7:00 p.m. Many hunters find themselves at one of the local watering holes after the hunt. Check in with Warren to check on the plan.
73, Rob K9RST