October-November 2006

My, how a few years can change things.

For my first Flight of the Bumblebees a few years ago, it was foggy and drizzly, temperatures in the 50s F and I was wearing a winter coat hiking to my favorite spot at 8000 feet MSL on Mt. Blodgett in Colorado Springs.

This year, the temperatures broke records in the mid to upper 90s, which made hiking and operating from the same spot a bit more tedious. Nevertheless, the Bee went on and I had a good time, although I was wasted when I got home.

I made 54 QSOs, all on 20 meters, 30 of them with fellow Bees. Considering we're at or near the bottom of the sunspot cycle, the conditions were surprisingly good, as I had propagation – from time-to-time – to the entire East coast, VE3 land, and mid-west.

Folks running 1-2 watts from the east coast were heard clearly.

By the way, the rig here was an Elecraft KX-1, portable homebrew vertical, 12V 2.2A battery, and a small solar charger.

I worked 3.5 of the 4 hours. I packed up a little early because the QSO-to-heat index was not high enough for me to stay longer!

It was another great event and I already look forward to next year – hopefully with a few less degrees of heat.

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Shel Radin, KFØUR, is a QRPer living in Colorado Springs, CO.