Howdy All,
Welcome to the Frozen Chosen ScQRPion Team's FYBO
report! Bottom line is that we definitely froze our
b____'s off, made about 150 Qs total, and had more
fun than mere mortals were ever meant to have. :-)
Now for the gory details.... (it's a bit long, but
hope to entertain you as we go).
We initially received some flack when FYBO was first
announced. "Oh sure, of *course* you guys in AZ would
want a winter field day!" So there was only one thing
to do - make sure that I and a few (fool)hardy souls
faced some of the coldest wx out there. With nearly
half the state at 5000+' elevation, no problem!
We broke up into two groups for the expedition. Glenn
(KC7SXW, co-worker and new ham) and I would drive up
Friday afternoon to set up the site, and Mike (NQ7K)
would arrive early Saturday morning. Figured we'd all
use our own calls to put more sigs on the air.
Friday got off to a bad start. Turns out that all three
of the campsites we'd been considering near Mingus Mtn
were closed. Argh! We were welcome to hike in from the
main road, but with camping gear *and* multi-rig ham gear,
that didn't sound too fun. Since we couldn't think of a
way to make Mike carry all of our gear, we looked else-
where. :-)
Luckily Glenn hikes northern AZ alot and had an idea -
a ridge overlooking Prescott, elevation 6700+'. But were
there any trees?!? Was a bit nervous, but decided to go
for it. It paid off! Glenn had picked an incredible site.
Great dropoffs to the east and west, 40' trees, awesome
views. Pay dirt!
One hour of sunlight left, so we started setting up the
main antenna - a fan dipole with 20m and 40m elements.
Using N5EM's patented method of "tree fishing", I could
get the line up 30' at least, but couldn't get it to
come back down. :-/ Swiss army knife took a beating.
Finally Glenn went to his truck and pulled out a 14"
socket wrench. Now I don't know how many of you have
ever tried throwing a 5 lb wrench high into a tree, but
when you bounce it off the tree trunk and it starts
falling back down on top of you, it's amazing how nimble
you can become. Proactive Darwinism. :-)
Finally the antenna was up. Smoke test! The Autek showed
a 1.4 SWR on 40m and 1.3 for 20m. Looked good! Plugged in
the QRP+ and called CQ. First taker on 40m was N.J. - not
bad for late night 40m! Terrain was clearly giving the
sig a nice boost. Next was QRP Jim (N0OCT) who was quick to
point out how warm it was in his house. Talk about rubbing
it in. :-) (And yes Jim, I'll stay clear of the donkeys...).
By 0500Z the temp had dropped to 28F - good sign for FYBO
temp multis! Chatted with Jeff (KN6YD) for a second 2xQRP
QSO, then pounced on a QRO MS ham as a backup MS QSO for
QRP WAS. Then worked another(!) QRPer - Gary (KJ5VW), who
offered to let me thaw out by the fireplace if I could make
it to TX. Hmmmm. Tempting! Almost got in the truck. Finished
the night by working an XE2 on 7040. Must've mistakenly
thought there was a Fox around to QRM. :-) Went to bed with
a log full of QSOs under the wide open sky. Nirvana.
The night was incredibly beautiful. Full moon was bright
enough to read by, no clouds, no noise, no wind. No heat. :-)
Low that night was 22F. Downright balmy!
Next morning we set up the other dipole, and sat waiting
for the starting gun, chomping at the bit. And they're off!
Started off a bit slow. I was in the Novice section of 40m,
nobody was answering my CQs and I couldn't hear anyone
calling FYBO either. Such was the way the Novice band would
go for me all day. :-/ Finally headed off to 20m. Hey! RF!
Off I went, while Glenn hit 40m and slugged through his 1st
FYBO QSO and only his 4th QSO ever.
The bands were a-hoppin'! An hour into FYBO, Mike showed up
bearing sacred gifts of Pop Tarts and hot chocolate with
those tiny little marshmallows - alright! It was in fact a
shallow trick to lure me off the rig so he could get on.
It worked. :-)
The rest of the day was spent juggling two rigs between the
three of us. I had a trump card though - Mike was drinking
more than me and hence needed more "tree watering" breaks.
Like a rabid vulture I'd pounce on the unprotected rig when
he'd venture away from his post. Frankly, I was out of control.
They need to have a 12-Step program at the Betty Ford Clinic
for QRP contesting....
We had a good system - Mike and I would each take turns
working 20m dry, then trade off again to work the next wave
of FYBO Folks. Added in a few jaunts to 40m for good measure.
Couldn't believe all the familiar callsigns out there! Non-
stop grinning all day long as we filled up the logsheets.
It was amazing how strong all the sigs were!
Night began to fall, and Mike announced that he had to leave
to have dinner with his wife and in-laws. Hey, wait a minute!
What's this hanging out for the sunny wx then heading for the
homestead when the temp drops?!? But that meant no more
jockeying for air time, so I wasn't complaining. Besides, he
left the Pop Tarts and hot chocolate behind. :-)
Only stressful part was toward the end of the contest. The
temp had been steadily dropping all night, then leveled out at
30F. NO! AAAIIIEEEEEEE!!! Cruel Fate, why must you mock me?!?
Finally, with 30 minutes left, the temp dropped to 29F. Wahoo!
Masochism at its best - "I wish it sucked more!"
Right after the finish bell rang, I heard my callsign echoing
in the night air. It was QRP Jim (N0OCT) again, obviously part
of a plot to freeze me to death by keeping me on the air, so
I wouldn't have a chance to submit my log. :-) Glenn and I
camped out a second night on the ridge, while Mike was undoubtedly
chuckling at us from a spouse-warmed bed. I vowed to hatch a plot
that would put him in charge of checking all the incoming FYBO
logs.... :-)
Drove home the next morning, stopping in the metropolis of Kirkland
(Pop: 300, if you include 4-legged critters) for breakfast, where I
encountered the largest pancakes ever produced in the western world.
I have photographic proof!
Worked 12 hams who were running 1 watt or less. (CA, IL, LA, MO, NC,
NM, NY, PA, and SC)
Lowest temp received was the ever-suffering KI0G: 10F at 12:51 MST!
Unless anyone else heard a lower one, I think we have a winner....
Didn't work a single Oregon station. Hmmmmm. Weird. Where were
you guys?
Never found *any* N/T+ hams. :-( I tried, guys. Really.
Worked 31 states and 2 provinces 2xQRP - Wahoo!
A simple antenna sitting high on a ridge really gets out!
Final tally for me: 94 QSO Pts (92 QSOs) x 33 SPCs x 4 (Field)
x 2 (Alt Pwr) x 5 (29F - Whew!) = 124,080 pts.
Mike bagged about 50 QSOs as NQ7K, and Glenn worked his mandatory
5 QSOs (we weren't going to let him off the rig 'til he had at least
the minimum :-) ). Fun meter was pegged!
Thanks again to all who participated! Don't forget to send in those
logs! By the time the random drawing is held, TenTec should have
their circuit boards debugged. :-)
So.... QRPTTF, anyone?
Cheers de AB7TT,
-Joe, vole@primenet.com, AZ ScQRPions (Phoenix)
MST3K Fans Unite!
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