I intended to get this out last week, but I just could not get it done before I
left for Ham-Com on Thursday along with unloading my truck. I am glad I took
the time to unload because my gauge showed 6 inches of rain while I was in
Irving. MSWE was a disappointment for those of us who planned it. I am
grateful for the help I received from VP Mike Hardwick. The help was
essential.
We were disappointed to not receive any response to our request for RSVP on the
reflector and email. It is really difficult to plan things when you have no
idea who will show to operate and eat the food. Friday afternoon was a busy
day for Mike and myself. We did not get to the site until late afternoon
because packing was more difficult than we anticipated and took several hours
longer than we had planned. We had three people to set up the camp and the
beam antenna. New ham and new member Tom Johnson showed up to help us set up
the antenna on Friday. Thanks Tom, Mike and I really appreciated the help.
We got the antenna set up before dark, but then still needed to unload things
from my pickup and started just as it got dark. The first foray by a resident
Racoon came as we started to unload the pickup. The Cabana's were not usable
as the bird excrement was very prolific and we did not have cleaning supplies
nor the ambition to use them if we did. I brought a 10' X 10' screen room with
a roof to help with the mosquitoes and a good supply of bug repellent and
insecticide to help. The mosquitoes were tolerable. It was nearly 9 pm by the
time we got the screen room erected and Mike offered to find me a burger before
he left for a motel on the island. He had considerable difficulty finding a
place to buy a burger, but finally did and it surely was welcome to me. Mike
left for the island and a few hours sleep. I finished my burger and opened a
sack of cookies and ate a few. By this time it was after ten and I was
exhausted, so I did not try to operate Friday. I tried to get a decent amount
of sleep, but at least two Racoons took turns trying to steal my food. One
would distract me and the other would come under the screen and attack the
food. I lost the rest of the sack of cookies and a sack of 6 bagels plus some
sleep in the night. I also encountered a skunk, but stayed well away while she
chased bugs. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but some.
Mike reappeared about 0800 Saturday and we were joined by Travis Burgess, K5HTB
and David Elsner, KD7THU. David is a General Class Ham from Houston. I don't
know his club affiliation and I cannot find him on our roster. Travis brought
a NVIS 40 meter loop to try and was able to make about 12 contacts on 40 meters
and one on 17. David worked 20 meters on the beam and was able to make 33
contacts Saturday. I cooked some burgers for the four of us Saturday night.
Saturday morning we had a sack of bagels that the Racoons were not able to
steal and some fruit. Mike found some BLT sandwiches for lunch.
Mike went to look for a motel with an empty bed Saturday night and left Travis,
Dave and I in the camp. Dave tried to sleep in his car and gave up about
midnight. Travis tried to operate some, but had little luck and slept in his
recliner lawn chair. I stayed on my cot in the screen room. We chased a
Racoon once and he got into our trash. I was tired enough that I did get some
sleep on my cot.
Mike brought some Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon and Eggs for breakfast and three of us
enjoyed them. We decided to take down the antennas and go home around noon,
but Lubo Jakab, KG5DJS came in about 1100 and wanted to operate some. I had
tried the beam on 10 meters earlier, but the Triplexer did not work well on 10
meters with the long coax jumper. I tried the same jumper on 20 meters and it
did not work there either. I connected directly to the beam and tried 20
meters and it seemed to work that way. I made 3 contacts then put Lubo on the
mike since time was getting short. Lubo made 37 QSOs all over the US. While
Lubo was operating Jose Cantor, KF5ZAC came in and wanted to operate. When Lubo
hit a lull we switched operators and Jose worked 32 stations. This allowed us
to make one of our objectives for having the event and let Lube and Jose both
get some operating experience and make some 20 meter contacts.
Mike and Travis took down the loop and packed what they could before we shut
down operation at about 1:45 Local time Sunday. Then we took down the beam and
packed the rest so we left about 4:00 PM local. We had a good time, but the
results were somewhat disappointing, both in the number of contacts and the
participation. We made 121 total contacts including 13 ships. The money band
as usual was 20 SSB with 109 Qs. We made one on 10 meters and one on 17 meters
but both were with the Elissa, about 3 miles away. Travis made 13 Qs with his
NVIS Loop on 40 meters.
Willis 'Cookie' Cooke,TDXS Contest Chairman K5EWJ & Trustee N5BPS
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