Soapbox for the 1999 Flight of the Bumblebees
As I was pressed for time this year, I just drove to the park at
the edge of town, called Heritage Park. It's situated at the mouth of the
meandering Wye River where it spills into southern Georgian Bay, Lake Huron.
The oppressive temperatures had moderated somewhat, and a cool breeze
ruffled the treetops. Later it gathered strength to the point where I had to
keep all paperwork firmly clipped down, or risk it being blown into the
adjacent river.
I lugged all the radio paraphernalia to a replicated open-sided Aboriginal
longhouse. Full-length log (operating!) benches were constructed along each
side. Overhead, three trees almost perfectly planted to support my N2CX
Gusher multiband inverted V.
After setting up I checked 15-meters, but could not detect any signals
around 21060 kHz. During the afternoon I occasionally listened and called CQ
BB on 15- and 10-meters, but had no success. So 20-meters quickly became the
band of choice here. Later on in the day when I migrated to 40-meters to
garnish a few extra points, it was exhilarating to be greeted by a mini
pile-up of bees and bee-seekers swarming all over me!
Even the lone great blue heron fishing along the opposite riverbank appeared
to be listening intently while CW tones reverberated, disturbing the
tranquility. Meanwhile the chipmunks, squirrels and birds chattered and
chirped as if answering back. I concluded some animals must enjoy CW too!
When my last contact was completed and the frequencies fell silent, it took
about 20 minutes to pack up the station. A 7 amp/hour gel cell battery
powered my HW-9 transceiver and Island keyer for the duration, with power to
spare.
I had surpassed last year's personal results and everything performed
flawlessly. So for next year I'll investigate operating from a more
challenging, remote location. Many pleasurable hours can be spent engrossed,
pouring over maps and books to select the "ideal Bumblebee operating site."
What about you? See you next year?
****
From Jim, W4QO/BB
Operated from top of Kennesaw Mountain, a significant civil war battle in Sherman's march to the sea. In fact, some 4000 troops of both sides gave their lives here in support of their beliefs.
Conditions were less than optimum with high noise. Weather was hottest day of 1999 to date at around 98 degrees F.
I can only imagine the labor required in late June of 1964 to pull many cannon to the top of the mountain by hand.
View of Atlanta from the 1800' vantage point was good but hazy as is too often the case these days. The mountain is about 18 miles NW of downtown where the terrain is at 1000' ASL.
Encountered rig problems after 2 hours due to heat, I think. Packed up and hiked down for the day. Had lots of passersby who were visiting the site including several from overseas.
****
From Jim, KC1FB
Remembered the contest and was able to put up a portable station on the back deck with an SST-20 and about 1W to an end fed inverted V. Too hot to stick to it for the whole time and I won't win, but still a lot of fun.
****
From Dan, N7CQR/BB
Had lots of fun, and my setup with the DK9SQ fiberglass mast/inverted V worked without a hitch. Condx didn't seem as good as last year, especially on 15. Also, nothing east of the midwest heard except some of the southern guys-last yr had a lot of new england qsos. Still a good time, and perfect weather out here in Oregon!
****
From Steve, N1SB
I did not do as well as I expected, but I got to play with my antennas some and to make plans for the next event. Biggest thrill was hearing my old friends at WQ4RP - but I could not raise them.
****
From Richard, KI6SN/BB
Although band conditions were not the best on 40-meters, it turned out to be a great to-the-field event near Riverside's Box Springs Mountain in Southern California. A new collapsible PVC mast - supporting an inverted V antenna - got its maiden tryout and worked great. Looking forward to FOBB 2000. Thanks to all who pulled my 950 milliwatt signal out of the din.
****
From Wes, AC5K/BB
Barely got started when we were chased away by a huge thunderstorm. We
operated from a man made lake in the Big Thicket area of Texas. We used
bicycles to access the operating site. Better weather next time I hope.
****
From Jan, N0QT/BB
Comments: What fun! Had a rather humorous couple of moments trying to work
N0UR on several occasions. The first time I tried to work him, some crazy
friends decided to call me. So I worked them just as fast as I could and
then back to N0UR (who was holding the frequency to begin with). Aha!
Finally snagged him....my battery died and couldn't send him my exchange.
Okay, this is why we bring extra batteries! Change battery, there he is
again! Yea! Got him this time! Thanks to his patience! But then, I guess
it's beautiful scenery, crazy friends, and understanding ops that make it
all fun. Enjoyed working Roy and Russ as a team in Oregon. Thanks to
everyone who participated, this was a fun year! See you in 2000!
****
From Randy, K7TQ/BB
Up in the mountains of northern Idaho the temps were in the mid-50s. With the wind and a sweatshirt I got quite cold for the first two hours of the contest. Finally it warmed up a bit. Great fun and ready for next year.
****
From John, KG0MZ/BB
Location: Cheney Lake (20 miles West of Wichita)
Xportation: Klein Pinnacle w/rack & trunk. 50 miles round trip (mostly
pavement)
Highlights: 101 degrees F. Band condx: 20 fair to midland, 40 sucked.
The ride out numbed my right index finger so my cw was awful. Sri.
Late start (12:38) early stop (3:45) lots of water breaks. Headphones (full
coverage) baked my brain when the sweat didn't cause them to slip off.
****
From Chuck, AD6GI
First BB Contest and had a great time. Many thanks to all for the contacts.
Am already making plans for the next event.
Thanks, Russ and hope to see you on the air.
****
From John, W4IM
Operated from Ft. Tuthill, AZ and used W4IM/7 as my call.
****
From Larry, WD3P/BB
Operated from Lum's Pond State Park in New Castle County DE. This was one
fun. It was a hot humid day for the contest. But after hiking a bit around
the lake I found a good spot to operate from under a tree in the park
campground. The Ant. went up and all came off without a hitch. Equipment was
the Sierra running about 2 watts into a dipole using a gel cell battery.
Unlike last year I did not forget anything important.
****
From Rick, KQ6NO
WD6CCS (Bill) and I hiked to Blue Lake, SW of Lake Sabrina, on the middle fork of Bishop Creek in eastern CA, the day before the contest. The altitude was >10k feet, the weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous. Although we didn't make a larger number of contacts, we sure had a large amount of fun.
****
From Al, W2N/BB
We operated from the WNY Clubs Picnic (a multi ham-club picnic) with the special event call W2N. We did more picnicing than operating. A lot of QRN and some QRM from the high-power station at the special event kept us from making more contacts. We did have fun demonstrating QRP operating for the attendees.
Operators were: AE2T, N2IE and W2IV.
Equipment: K2, NC20, SW40+ and MFJ9030 (for demo only). Antenna was a W6MMA SLV. Most of the contest contacts were made on the K2. 14 AH Gel-cell "toy vehicle" batteries were used for power.
****
From Jon, KD3FG/BB
I hiked in the Maryland Heights in the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park
(same park I was in for the QRP to the Field event). I got the antenna up
after a few tries and was set to go a few minutes after the start of the
contest. I used a folded dipole made with 100 ft of 300 ohm twin lead with
another 50 ft as the feedline -- it worked pretty well! My trusty, slightly
modified Sierra cranked out 5W and I worked a bunch of folks on the east coast
and midwest; I only heard a few west coast stations. 15m was pretty quiet, 20m
was very crowded and I spent the most time here, but I was most productive on
40m where I was able to call CQ and work stations continuously. 40m was the
most fun -- too bad the Q's were only 1 point each... It was around 90 F
in the forest on the hill/mountain which beat the city heat by at least 10
degrees. It was a great event!
****
From Zack, W1VT
569/579 with KH6AFS! Newington CT to Hilo Hawaii
****
From Paul, VE7CQK
Well, had to change plans because the friend who was going to help was called
out of town on business. Stringing antennas in the trees alone is a real
challenge... Conditions turned out to be poor up here. I heard a number
of stations, weak, but q5 but they could not hear me. Looks like qrn was a
problem for some. High point was working KH6 on 15 meters. Hope to do better
next year.
****
From Rich, W5RXP
What a great turnout! It was totally amazing to hear the almost
instantaneous change from solid QRM for 6 KHz or so around 14.060 to
total silence at the end of the Flight. Thanks, Russ, all of the BBs,
and the rest of us for a great time.
And it was great to QSO Russ and Roy back to back on both 15m and 20m.
That was the most BB points/time for me during the whole contest.
40m was total QRN, and 10m was totally quiet here in Los Alamos, NM.
Called CQ on 10m but no hint of any replies.
I tried to work VE3ELA for about 15 minutes towards the end with no luck.
There was a lot of QRM and some QSB, but you had a good signal here, Ken.
Next year!
****
From Mert, W0UFO
Lots of QRN and QRM
But a fun contest and a chance for using my new narrow filter.
****
From Terry, K4KJP
Great turnout. Managed 27 two-way qrp qso's with a big thunderhead overhead here in "sunny" Fla. I re-discovered the joy of my old Argonaut 509 at 2 watts out on 20 and 15 m. Checked 10m. often, but nil heard on that band. Great fun as this qrp contest is really catching on! Band very active with qrp sigs in last hour of the contest.
****
From Edward, WA3WSJ
First BB Contest for me! Really enjoyed the contest, but only operated
for one hour. The wx here was very very hot! Next year to the mountains!
****
From Seab, AA1MY
Heat index well over 106, decided not to climb Mt Beacon. Biked/hiked to
site on base slope overlooking the scenic Hudson. Surface temp. of rock
unbelievable. Only some leaf shade available. (Drank over 2 qt. lemonade
-didn't pee once.) Antenna: 66' dipole @ 45'. Rigs: DSW-20 @ 1.2W; SWL-40+ @
2.2W. powered by 12V. Makita drill battery. Heat slowed ant. set-up so got
late start. Also affected my brain as I must have called CQ 25% of the time
-with the RIT on on my new DSW rig and never heard replies. Apologies to
those who tried. It was a great experience, but I now know I'd rather freeze
than roast. Looking forward to more of these.
****
From Atsushi, W7/JR1NKN
I used isotron for the former two hours, whip made by fishing pole for the
latter. I realized my isotron needed to be developed. Although I was excited
to receive signals from W1,4 and 0, all my QSO was with W6.
****
From Tom, KQ6DV/BB
Jeff, AC6KW, and I had fun operating from Mt. Madonna on the borderline of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties in CA at about 1800 ft. I used a Small Wonders SW40+, power about 2.5 watts, to a dipole up about 20 FT. The bands seemed pretty poor, and the action was definitely slow. We made a lot of good DX contacts Saturday night, 7/24/99, on 20 mtrs. during the IOTA contest using Jeff's Elecrafter and homebrew G5RV up about 65 feet
****
From Ken, WA4SQM
What an adventure! It was great (and interesting) time! I have some
pictures and text at http://www.mindspring.com/~kedwards/BB99/.
****
From Mike, KO4WX
Ooops! Who forgot to turn on 20M for the Flight of the Bees?
Worked 11 stations in 3 hours--one more than in 1 hour of the August Spartan
Sprint. Great to see a lot of interest in ARS activities in the North GA
QRP club...had 6 Bees plus 1 WannaBee (Sam, AE4GX, had to pull out for a
family commitment). Lots of fun none the less. Good warm up for the NOGA
"Run for the Kudzu" in October (we're resurrecting the "Run for the Trees,"
GA style.
****
From Chris, KB8LCK
enjoyed the 'test, ran the faithful Sierra and Butternut. Where wuz the 15 meter activity??? I checked--Where wuz you guys?? It essentially was a 20 meter 'test as far as I could tell--maybe I'll get on 10 next year. The CO boys usually boom here in the midwest--but--AA1MY gets my vote for the biggest signal!! See ya for SS.
****
From Bill, KB2RAR/BB
With a total of five participants, two of them being operators, Rob, KA2BEO and myself were able to make about 40 contacts total (16 Bees). Not a bad start, for beginner QRPers. We were pleased with a 579 report from Ontario with our simple 40-meter dipole. Overall, we had a blast! CU all next year.
****
From Roy, W7EL
I'd like to apologize to everyone I worked for the terse way I ended the exchange. I'm afraid I came across as a gung-ho contester, which I'm definitely not. Russ and I were trying the "two-for-one" scheme where Russ gave his exchange right after I finished mine. Neither of us had done this before, and we had trouble at first with the other station leaving before realizing that another exchange was coming. Most contest-oriented folks tend to split as soon as they hear even the beginning of any acknowledgement of the final exchange, and I found if I sent even "QSL", we'd lose some. So I changed to sending just "R", followed immediately by a couple of _AR_s in an effort to keep the other station's attention long enough to realize that Russ was calling. By and large, this did the job. So for all you fine folks who just got an "R", I'd like to add "TNX, GL ES 72". And "CU NEXT YR"!
****
From Paul, AA8WQ/BB
WE had the bees swarming on 40 meters. Rig was norcal40a
one watt long wire up in tree. We set up on a hill top in Dover Ohio
over looking the tuscarawas vally.The wx was very nice and we had the best
time.40 meters started not so hot but by two hrs in to bee hood it picked up
very gud.Hope every one had as much fun as we did. look to work evryone
agian next yr.
****
From Joel, K1QM/BB
Great EVENT. I was on Curtis Mountain about 15 miles SE of Albany NY at
about 800 foot. Worked lots of BB's. Never heard any 10 activity.
Great fun.
****
From Kent, AB7OA/BB
20 was best, but possibly because I had a better antenna (full-wave vert vs. a horizontal wire for other bands). Checked 10, but couldn't hear any activity anywhere on the band. Rained out after two hours from the strongest downpour I've ever experienced! Great fun; will be modifying equipment for 'rapid teardown'
****
From Harvey, N6MM
My location was Mt. Pinos, CA using a modified Sierra at 5
watts all bands, 40m and 20m dipoles and a ZM-1 antenna tuner. I only
checked 10m once, and I did not find any activity. The use of a flexible
solar panel that I could carry on my backpack allowed use of a much smaller
gel cell with the full five watts. I had what appeared to be man-made QRN
or image interference on 15m apparently from a nearby microwave and VHF/UHF
installation, but the 15m band was still very productive. 20m was very
crowded, and I missed the OHR SCAF filter I normally use with the Sierra.
Changing the position of the Sierra's RIT control and changing the RIT
potentiometer to a center detent prevented my knuckles from hitting the main
tuning and it was much easier to operate the RIT (no need to use the on/off
switch).
****
From Ron, KI0II
WoW!
That was fun. Scrapped my plans to operate from NE. due to boat problems and
decided to drive to WY. and find a suitable spot. In the neighborhood of 20
miles SW of Larmmie, WY. and 38 miles west of Cheynne, Wy. is a hilltop
covered with rocks which offers a great 360 degree view.
Operating time was limited due to thunder storms sweeping through and a 20
MPH wind was consistent. Temp was about 75 degrees, so almost chilly at
times. Hung a random wire between 2 rocks (no trees available). A portable
vertical would be ideal here.
Managed my all time best "hourly rate" of 27 during the last hour. Many
stations calling that I could not get back to.
Thanks to ARS for one of the best QRP events of the year.
****
From Pat, VE6AAN
Boy, do I
feel dumb! I thought the contest started at 1:pm local time. Wrong! When I
finally clued in, there were less than 2 hours left to operate. Next time I
promise to read the rules.
Conditions were spotty from up here. 15m didn't amount to much but I did
manage one contact there. On 20m, I was fascinated how sometimes there were
only one or two signals, then all of a sudden there were lots. Often, the
stations were gone before I had a chance to call them. In the end, I only
had 7 (including 5 bees) in the log.
As usual, K0EVZ was always audible with a big signal.
All in all, a fun contest.
****
From Herb, K2HPV
Operated from home station using IC735 at 2 watts and Gap Titan Vertical. Heard more stations than I could work.
Sorry if my log didn't belong in here. My first ARS Contest.
****
From Bob, AD4MZ/BB
Rode my
bicycle to a remote hill top location a few miles from Rutherfordton, N.C.
and setup my Sierra under a small sun canapy to reduce the blistering 100
deg temps. My antenna was an inverted vee hung at 30 feet. Thanks to all
the qrp'ers out there that made it really fun. Mayby I should have tried
other bands besides 20m but wanted to keep the spirit by keeping things
simple. Look forward to reading about other adventures.
****
From Alan, KO7X
A very part time effort. I heard many layers of Bees through all the QRM on 20.
****
From Brad, W5CGH/BB
Had a great time in my third year as a Bee, again operating from the shores of Lewisville Lake in North Texas. The propagation was pretty reasonable, but never heard anything to speak of out of the Atlantic coast. Worked MD, PA, and GA, but where were the rest of the right coasters? Equipment: Wilderness Sierra, MFJ-971 tuner, CMOS Super Keyer III and Brown Brothers paddles. High temperature during the contest was "only" 97F.
Suggestion: We all need to check the transmit offset on our rigs. I heard many, many stations who just couldn't seem to zero beat and were off my frequency by as much as three or four hundred Hz. I know I haven't checked my offset in a while, and guess I need to.
Oh, well.
****
From John, WB0FT/BB
This was my first BB contest. Thanks to everyone with those good ears who
pulled my 1 watt out of the noise.
****
From Joe, K5RAC/BB
Don,N5YAK and I KK5NA buzzed out to Red Kane Park here in arlington, TX and activated Bumble Bee #9 with the Radio Active Camping and Contesting club call K5RAC. It was hot at start time, about 100 degrees in the shade. It has been very dry this month and so the ants were out in force seeking water(fortunately not the fire ants). We set up a Butternut vertical and used a TenTec Scout at 4 watts. Twenty meters was hot with Bees and those wanting to work them. Two other club members braved the heat to help with setup and moral support, Barbara KK5QA and Larry KM5IH. All in all we had a great time, another great event from the ARS. Third year as a Bee and we are looking forward to next year
****
From Dave, W9SUL/BB
Tons of FUN again this year... but the weather was brutal. Temps at or above 95 degrees with matching humidity... glad I was in the shade. It felt more like Houston, TX rather than SE Minnesota. Great "BUBBA" weather!!! I'll remember it will this winter when it's 25 below.
Worked nearly everyone I could hear. Spent the entire "event" on 20 meters. I did check 40 meters a few times, but didn't hear any signs of life. Not equiped for 15 or 10 m portable.... need to work on that.
The signals seemed "very thin" compared to last year. Just part of the QRP "challenge"... as they say, just makes you a better operator.
Already looking forward to next year's "Flight".
****
From Bob, N7XJ
Terrible band conditions in Utah. It was fun to be out as a bumble bee! I was glad to see lots of enthusiastic participation.
****
From Armin, VE3TEQ/BB
Only nine contacts, five of which were bees. It was fun but hard work for nine contacts.
****
From Ben, KA8LLE
Great contest, conditions here not so great here, but had a fine time any how.
Seemed to be lots of QSB, I would hear stations calling and by the time they finished the call they would drop into the mud.
Used the Argonaut 509 and the RS DSP unit,it helped. Antenna was tribander at 60 feet stuck to the west, did work VT, off the back (W1VT) and got TN off the corner (K4KN) so did ok for what I had.
Looking forward to next year already.
****
From Bruce, N7CEE/BB
I had to operate from my alternate site, a beautiful alpine
meadow in the Dry Lake Hills, elevation 8,400 feet, north of Flagstaff, AZ.
My planned site, on 10,000 foot Schultz Peak, didn't seem wise because of
the forecast for numerous thunderstorms. The storm clouds built rapidly as I
was hanging my antenna, a 270 ft horizontal loop. I decided to set up my
tarp before the contest. A wise move- it started to rain shortly after the
start, and rained off and on during the entire period. But, I was warm and
snug under my homemade tarp, which has kept me dry in many wilderness camps
over the years.
40 was all but impossible because of the loud static crashes from teh nearby
storms. 15 didn't open for me. Even 20 was very quiet here when the event
started. I could hear east coast stations sometimes, but they were right in
the noise and I couldn't work anyone. Even western stations were a
challenge. Of course, right at the end signals got very loud!
This was the first field test of my newly assembled K2, and it performed
beautifully. A most enjoyable Flight- thanks Russ and ARS!
****
From Sam, AE4GX
Under threat of penality of bodily damage I sneaked off from my father-in-law's 80th birthday party being hosted at my house and managed to work one of my local NOGA QRP buddies Mike KO4WX BB#20 and then got WA3WSJ in PA. Decided not to push my luck. Maybe next year I'll have the chance to do it right.
Used home station - ICOM756 @ 5W and longwire.
****
Paul, WA9PWP
What a blast! Lots of good signals "buzzing" around 20, used my new RHR NC-20
at 4 watts to my 80 mtr Carolina Windom @ 30 ft, singleband. Glad I jumped in!
****
From Ken, N2CQ/BB
Location: Red Bank Run Battleground Historical Park, Gloucester Co. , NJ
Antenna: 40 Meter Inverted V fed by 300 ohm twinlead. 40' up. Tuner. Rigs:
NW8020 Xcvr, 20 meters (3 hours). OHR 100A, 40 Meters.(1 Hour). Better condx
on 40 meters as usual at the Bee Hive. Bee #37 had much fun on the Flight.
Took a walk with the station to the fare end of the park and set up next to
a great evergreen which became a proper tower. Not a great shot on the first
sling but since I was running late, I took the 40' limb anyway. Just made
it at the start at 5 minutes in. Next Bee Flight items: #1:Find
anti-Horsefly potion for the ankles. (They draw blood). #2: Find a big tree
right on the Delaware River to set up for a little breeze for the 100+
degree heat index. Wish I had that!
****
From Bob, N6WG
Setup was K2 at 5 watts on battery, 40m dipole with 300 ohm TV line for
feeder, homemade balun and LDG QRP Autotuner. I had planned on a 20m EDZ,
but fortunately I only brought the dipole. Turns out my trees were just a
dipole length apart.
I have added a +12v phono connector on the rear of my K2, so the LDG just
plugs into the K2. Only one battery cable that way. Also, using the
acoustic speaker filter outdoors really helped, as it would peak up a weak
signal over the background. Really helped when a helicopter flew near.
My site was Redwood Regional Park, in the eastern hills overlooking San
Francisco Bay. I thought it was Chabot Park, as they are adjacent to each
other.
I worked a lot of the old familiar calls from the Fox Hunts and from QRP-L.
It seems like a large extended family event.
My biggest success was just getting on the air ! I forgot the BNC to UHF
adapter to connect my cables to the back of the K2. I thought, DISASTER!
Then, "No, I can handle this."
I cut the UHF connector off one end of a jumper cable, and peeled the
covering back to expose the braid. Fanned out about 2 inches of braid, and
cut the center dielectric and conductor back to about 1/2 inch. Removed
about 5/16 inch of the inner dielectric to expose the center conductor.
Fortunately, I was using RG58 with solid center conductor. The center wire
is too small to stay in the BNC connector, so I used needle nose pliers to
crimp the wire into a tiny sinewave shape. This made the wire large enough
to wedge securely in the center of the BNC connector. Then I twisted the
coax braid together and wrapped it around the BNC shell, and held it tightly
with plastic electrical tape. Worked just fine for the contest.
After this, I think I'll tape an adapter to the underside of the K2 :-)
****
From Jeff, AA8PJ/BB
Lots of buzzing on 20m, heard a few very weak ones on 15 and no dice on 10m. Lots of fun hiking to the site (even tho somebody stepped on a Sasquatch pie) here's the station brought up the mountain ( ok....hill, we're in Ohio).
SIERRA...10,15and 20m modules 1.5watts
Full wave delta loop cut for 20m, fed quarter wave from apex with 300 ohm twinlead into a zm-2 zmatch tuner from Emtech, paddles from Whiterook, rig powered from a Yuasa 7ah gell cell. Thanks for a great Event!!!
****
From Bob, W3BBO
Great fun! Enjoyed the event. Strongest signal heard on 20
meters was W1VT (guess what antennas he was using..Hi) Used my new Sierra
running off a battery at 2 watts. Antennas were a R5 vertical on 20 meters
and a 40 meter dipole. I want to be a bee next time and get in on ALL the
fun!
****
From Mike, N0YO/BB
Congrats to ARS and participants for another great event. Lots of
thunder,lightning, and hail here in Colorado.
****
From Bob, KD5LX
Was all set up to be a BEE but got rained out. It's straight up-hill to Mt. Esther. Operated at home about a thousand feet below the target site (9000 ft elevation). I'm glad I did: first the keyer went crazy then the RX decided to start howling! Reduced IF gain and operated straight key for about half of contest. Used my old trusty old FT301S at 5 Watts. The radio for the proposed trip was a homebrew 40 Meter superhet but 40 was too noisy. Immediately beginning design on a tri-band 40/20/15 meter radio for next year. I'll also plan for rain! Thanks to those who tolerated my keyer problem!
****
From Greg, AK7Y/BB
I started my day in Flagstaff after enjoying the Ft. Tuthill bash. On the road at 4AM .. 200 road miles to the trail head and then up Noble mountain near Alpine, AZ a bit late (18:00 UTC) but had a wonderful first flight of the BBs. Signal levels seemed down but perhaps it was due to my quickly erected antenna (low dipole between two aspen trees) Used my QRP + at the 2 watt level for the entire test. Didn't have time to put up antennas for the other bands so made do with 20 meters only.
****
From Terry, KQ5U
OHR-400 QTH Spring Texas nr Houston, TX. Fun contest and gud cw practice.
****
From Ron, WB3AAL/BB
I had a ball even though I did not go to Pulpit Rock on the Appalachian Trail. With the heat index at 105'F I decided to bike to a local park and operate from there. Thanks to all the Great Operators that hung around until I got the exchange correct through the QRN, I had S-5 QRN on every band.
****
From John, N9KW
As a 'hunter'it is frustrating to hear BB's calling CQ on top of each other and not have enough filter(250 HZ filter)in the OmniV to separate...and give a QSO to the deserving, hardworking BB's! First BB...next time on my bike with my NC20!
****
From Mark, K7MPH
It was not difficult to avoid spending too much time on 40M, as I
couldn't hear a single station there! Ditto 15M (almost) and 10M; things
were difficult-but-possible on 20M. First contest experience with my
Sierra; had a great time, looking forward to next year.
****
From Bill, N8NRG
My first bumblebee. Had a great time. condx only fair on my end but managed to work most of what I heard. Even heard a KH6/qrp but couldn't get him. Decided not to try BB status cause the bugs are too bad around here this time of year. 20 meters was the most active band with everyone jambed up in 6 or 7 khz around calling freq. Pretty rough to find a spot to call cq test. Managed to run a few, though. Great contest! Will sign up for BB status next year, after I buy a screened-in tent. Hi! Rig is Sierra at 2 watts to a 3 el Mosley. Key is a Bull dog mini paddle.
****
From Sam, N5WU
it was a lot of fun. My first. CW is a bit rusty, but I was albe to hand out a few points to the Bees. Used my K2 in its first contest and got good reports.
****
From Jay, WT9S
Loads of fun! 20m was definitely buzzing here in Illinois.
15 opened briefly, 40 sounded sick, with weird distorted signals. Setup here
is an FT-990, running 5 watts, with a G5RV on 40/20 and a sloper on 15.
Thanks to all the bees! I'll try to be a bee myself next year :).
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From Royce, KE5TC
Soapbox -- Rig: Oak Hills Research Qrp Classic 20/40 meters running 2 watts
into a 3 element triband beam at 50ft.
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From Pete, N2PG
This is the first contest I have participated in and actually entered.QRN on 20m was terrible.40m was actually not to bad.All in all I had a great time and wouldn't mind becoming a Bumblebee someday.
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From Alan, KB7MBI
It proved to be a great time to experiment with the various antennas. From WA AC6KW, KI0II, KB9LCK, N0HJ, and NOSXX were really booming in here. There were a lot of solid 559 signals coming in here. Nice job!