Soapbox for the 2001 Flight of the Bumblebees
Your_Call -- KW4JS
Soapbox -- Originally I was to be bumblebee #65, however, due to work and weather constraints, I was forced to work the contest from my home and not my originally planned "bumblebee" location. I apologize for not being able to fulfill my "bumblebee" role and activating #65, but I enjoyed working the event and look forward to next year.
Your_Name -- Carl Bredberg
Your_Call -- K1KID
Soapbox -- This was my first contest of any sort. Learned a few things too, like don't forget to turn RIT off after each use. Was wondering why some folks didn't respond after answering their CQ. Must have done that dumb thing 5 times. Had a ball though, lots of fun. Looking forward to the next sprint.
Your_Name -- Todd Enders
Your_Call -- AG0T
Soapbox -- Only ran 250 mW on 20m, and missed the first hour and 15 minutes, but it
was great fun! Don't know what mountain K7TQ was on in Idaho, but man
he was *loud* for the entire run.
Your_Name -- BILL
Your_Call -- KA9IKK
Soapbox -- This was my first flight. Had a great time! worked 7 bees with an indoor 20m
dipole and Ten Tec QRP rig running 2W. Look forward to future QRP events.
Your_Name -- John Paul Keon
Your_Call -- AB4PP
Soapbox -- Heavy QRN from rain storms but worked as many as I could hear. Had a real good time.
Your_Name -- Paul Beckmann
Your_Call -- WA0RSE
Soapbox -- While I couldn't finish up my equipment for field operation, this was a great way to convince me of the fun and effectiveness of QRP operation, both on the trail and from home. Thanks, Bees! You're still buzzing in my ears!
Your_Name -- Bob Armstrong
Your_Call -- N7XJSoapbox -- Difficult band conditons in Utah
Sunny day ... moderate wind on Big Baldy Mountain about 10 miles North West of Manti, Utah. Rig = K2 + G5RV
Your_Name -- David Ruth
Your_Call -- KC2AFK
Soapbox -- Fun event, pleasant, courteous OPs. Hope to play as a bee sometime. Thanks!
Your_Name -- Carter Craigie
Your_Call -- N3AO
Soapbox -- I really had fun this year. I had hoped to be a Bumble Bee, but church duties called! I enjoyed hearing fellow EPA QRP Club members in the test, and hearing lots of others familiar from Spartan Sprints! I was in the contest for the full 4 hours, and 79 QSOs is a personal high for me! Thanks to all who made contacts!
K2 at 5 W and Yagi at 40 feet
Your_Name -- Mal Goosey
Your_Call -- N7GS
Soapbox -- Great fun--would have been even better with a higher solar flux. The SE was difficult for me.
Your_Name -- Gary
Your_Call -- K4MF
Soapbox -- The afternoon showers never showed- nice sunny day but conditions only fair.
Your_Name -- Steve Baker
Your_Call -- K8PZ
Soapbox -- 1/2 hour of very casual operating netted 5 bees on 20M. Hey, this could be fun!
I'll have to try harder next time. (First ARS contest for me)
Your_Name -- Walt Holling
Your_Call -- N9MZP
Soapbox -- Could not hear anything on 10 meters and 15 meters had a few weak signals. 20 Meters was very active and 40 meters was very noisy. Heard some weak signal, but QSB caused missing some of them.
Your_Name -- Zack
Your_Call -- W1VT
Soapbox -- Tried out my homebrew K2 knob--works great!
Your_Name -- Rick
Your_Call -- W8PIG
Soapbox -- w8pig went flying with the bumbleeebeeez..
and made 36 contacts, and one dupe.....
ok, i know,,,, what did spandex ham do during that big time with no
contacts???? well, some young'n probably 17 or 18 years old, male, on a bicycle came by, looked interested, and started asking the 1000 questions, so i took some time out to give ham radio a bit of a sales job on the kid. gave him some url's and email addy's, so we will have to see what happens from
there...
anyway,, operation was from voa park, bethany ohio, (on the sacred ground),
15M was dead... nill, /dev/null, nada, nuthin...
20 rocked!
40 didn't,,,,
my keyer battery died 0.5min into the contest, so i had to use straight
key...20M rig was mfj 9020, 40M was sw40+, 15 was hw8
had crossed inverted vee's (2 antenna's on one pole) one for 40/15 and one
for 20, worked great!
was in the shade, most of the time....only got visited by 2 large black fat dogs, and a bunch of funny lookin bugs... and the young'n on the bike.
used up 3 batterie packs (c-cell nicad's)
had a blast!
Your_Name -- Jake Carter
Your_Call -- N4UY
Soapbox -- Well, I was having such fun playing "space ship" with my 7 yr old (we had the O'scope on and the ham gear off) that I missed all but the last 20 minutes of the "Bees". Got the Tuna Tin II on the air at 20:40 and worked 3 QRPers. Heard several Bees, called, but no luck -- guess my 800 milliwatts just wasn't enough. Maybe next year :-)
Your_Name -- Jim Lageson
Your_Call -- N0UR
Soapbox --
I was surprised to work more non/BBs than BBs. Fair condx, 15 had a little action, nothing on 10. I missed being on in the "field" on such a nice day, next year.
Your_Name -- Woody Hester
Your_Call -- WD9F
Soapbox -- Great time. Could only work 1.5 hours but 20 meters in great shape. 15 poor here in central Illinois and 40 had lots of QRN. Lots of FB Bee signals on 20. Thanks to all for making the effort and getting out there. Hope the minor scrapes, poison ivy etc. all manageable :-)
Your_Name -- Mike Boatright
Your_Call -- KO4WX
Soapbox -- Bzzz Bzzz Gurgle Gurgle. Had a go on 15M today from Stone Mountain, Georgia. Plan was to operate from the top of the mountain at 780 feet above local terrain. NWS radio predicted a line of thunderstorms to reach western side of Atlanta by 1:30pm (EDT). Got to the top of the mountain at 1:07 and could see the storms off to the west, about 25 miles away, but already 15-20MPH winds on the top of the mountain. Pavillion would not provide enough shelter, so after a rest, it was back down the hill to the "half-way point" (about 2/3 way up the mountain) where I was QRV at 1:54pm. 15 was up and down, but then pretty solid after 3:00pm or so. N0UR was BOOMing into Georgia! But so were the storms.
First line hit about 2:30pm. Sorry for the crummy signal reports...you were fighting 30-40dB over S9 lightning crashes. Sun came out about 3:00.
Worked just about everybody I could hear, running my K1 at 1W into an MP1. Treats were VA7NT/BB, W6QC (WA), and Russ, AA4QU (OR)--two more states towards WAS QRP 1Watt. Also, always enjoy working Zach, W1VT. Thanks, Gents!
Heard the second line of storms moving in at 4:00pm. Figured I could hold out until 4:30, but pulled the plug after working Paul, VA7NT. Packed up and headed down the mountain. Made it about half-way before the skys opened up. The solid granite of Stone Mountain (purported to reach into 5 states) turned into a sluice-way. K1 and MP1 packed tightly and neatly and were safe from the rain (thank you Wayne Burdick for that new KBT1!), but I was drenched. The lightning was SPECTACULAR!
So, only made 18 QSO's, all on 15, but had another really enjoyable BB. See y'all next year!
Your_Name -- Jim Cluett
Your_Call -- W1PID
Soapbox -- It was a perfect day in New Hampshire. Bee #44 was in Franconia, NH not far from the Hamm River (an appropriate place). I set up at the edge of a field with a stunning view of Mt. Lafayette and Cannon. The bands were erratic but productive. Thanks to everyone who worked to pull me out. I was operating an FT-817 with an inverted L up about 30 feet as a random wire and a ZM-2 tuner and a counterpoise. Probably about 3 watts. Using a 7 aHr battery and a 5 watt solar panel. I had a ball.
Your_Name -- Barry Gross
Your_Call -- N1EU/BB
Soapbox -- I operated from the ridge of the Taconic Mountains, at the tristate border of New York, Mass. and Vermont. My best guess is that I was in New York, about 500m south of Vermont and 500m west of Mass. If anyone is interested, my location can be seen as the red cross at
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=18&n=4733178&e=641198
This was my first FOBB and sure was alot of fun. I operated with a 50ft doublet fed with twin lead into a ZM2, and hung inv. V fashion up about 50ft. In retrospect, I wasn't really satisfied with the antenna's performance and I'll try something different next time. Lots to learn, including knocking about 20lbs off my pack.
15M sure seemed under-utilized, and there was quite good east coast/west coast propagation. Signals weren't overly strong, but the noise floor was unbelievably low. Great ESP contacts, including GM3SKN/BB from across the pond giving me a call with ten minutes left in the contest (my report was 319, but it was solid copy!).
Condx on 20M seemed so-so with pretty deep QSB. I can't believe how many stations crammed into 14059-14060. Guess the strange propagation is partly responsible. Condx on 40M seemed good, although not much action there. I suspect 10M was also somewhat open, but everyone just seemed to swarm on 20M.
Thanks for all the contacts; thanks to ARS for a fun, unique contest and thanks to all the other bees who ventured out and put signals in the air from far afield.
Your_Name -- Ken Newman
Your_Call -- N2CQ
Soapbox -- Location: Red Bank Historical Park, Gloucester County, NJ
Equipment: K1 40M CF Zepp up 30' in tree. Balun & internal ATU.
Great conditions! Weather terrible! Rain started at 10 minutes in.
40 minutes down to cover gear. Same thing for the last 30-40 minutes.
Visitor (Adult) was wondering if I was teating the tree in some way!
Location in view of Phila airport landings on setup. After 1 hour
in can't see the planes at all. Mist most of the time at 66F. Missed
perhaps an hour due to rain with the great activity. Nerts!
Your_Name -- Bob Cooley
Your_Call -- AD4MZ
Soapbox -- Even a rainy hike up to Tryon Peak on White Oak Mountain, didn't keep this bee down. Nice to work AA7QU for my last qso of the day along with a few I remember from prior years: VE3JC, VE3ELA, K0EVZ, N0UR, WD3P and all the others. My power level was at 700 milliwatts. What a great day thanks to all in Adventure Radio Society. Can't wait 'til next year
Your_Name -- Charlie Mason
Your_Call -- W4NJK
Soapbox -- Good event but conditions not ideal here
and worked BB's #,29,27,66,42
from home QTH at 5W on 40m wire beam.
No one really moved the S meter except
some station hrd signing 200W!
Heard N3AO, WA9TZE,AL7FS, N6WG,AD6GI,
AA7QU,XE2IAT but no contact.
Got 6 SPC's total.
Your_Name -- Cam Hartford
Your_Call -- N6GA
Soapbox -- How does Murphy strike? Let me count the ways... The ski lift operator overslept; I left my 15/30 Meter module for the K1 at home; The spinning reel unscrewed itself into many little pieces... But it was a fun and rewarding contest.
So did I miss anything on 15 meters??
Your_Name -- David Bixler
Your_Call -- W0CH
Soapbox -- Boy, that was fun today. WD0DDU and I teamed up to hike back into the Buffalo Hills Natural Area in rural McDonald County, Missouri. We set up shop on a hill where the trees thinned out a bit and erected a G5RV and a Extended Double Zepp antenna. We had two stations going, one for 20 and another for 40 meters. Looks like the 20 meter station got the lion's share of the business with steady contacts from coast to coast. Let's do this again next year!
Your_Name -- BOB TELLEFSEN
Your_Call -- N6WG
Soapbox -- Great day for the outing, neither too hot nor too cool. Hiked up to our FD site with all my gear on a hand truck :-) Hard to carry a card table and folding chair on my back plus gear.
Took along a solar panel to help stretch my battery, and it worked fine. Voltage never fell below 12.0v. The handtruck made a good mount for the panel, as I could just rotate it to follow the sun.
Ran 2w with my K2 most of the time to minimize impact on the battery. Ran 5w for my 3 40m contacts. Antenna was two 15m halfwaves in phase with a tuned feeder. By careful pruning of the 300-ohm feedline, I got a good low impedance feed at both 15m and 20m, so the K2's ATU had an easy time matching both bands on the one antenna.
Worked just about everyone I called. Either conditions were great, or there are some very good ears out there. Event seems to have been reasonably well attended. It was nice not to be one of four stations calling CQ in a QRP contest :-)
Hope everyone else had a good time. See you all next year.
Your_Name -- Gene Ingram
Your_Call -- KC5WX
Soapbox -- First time as a BumbleBee. Was on top of Kendall Mountain at 13,066 feet. Beautiful site with the whole world below you. Kind of short on Oxygen though. Had a straight up hike on loose skree. Was using a new K1 that was just finished a week before. Used 8 AA batteries. Runing 3 watts. Had a ball. Am ready to do it again.
Your_Name -- Greg Farkas
Your_Call -- AK7Y
Soapbox -- Band Conditions were poor. Weather was worse with monsoon rain storm complete with lightning arriving at our 10K ft elevation mountain-top during the last 10 minutes of the test. Never have antennas come down so quickly as after the FOBB test. K1 and QRP++ at 5 watts to end fed half waves for 20 & 15 meters, (J-Poles) at 60 feet. Equipment stayed dry..I got soaked !!
Your_Name -- Richard
Your_Call -- G3CWI
Soapbox -- Operating from Foxlow Edge in the Drebyshire Peak District, I found it hard going from Europe. I did hear all the European Bees though I only worked one (2 bands). This was a great improvement on last year when I was the only European Bee and didn't even hear another bee! I fought hard to retain my last place from the previous year but eventually gave up after 2 1/2 hours due to the cold. I used my K1 and an 85 foot vertical (kite supported) on 40 and 20. I will post a write-up at http://www.AdventureRadio.org.
Your_Name -- John Sullivan
Your_Call -- KG0MZ
Soapbox -- A multi-op effort with W0FNQ from the ridge on Generaux's North 40. Very, very
hot and the humidity was punishing. For some reason 15 wasn't cooperating or
maybe it was the HW-8. We were hearing signals with the W3FF dipole that weren't
there with the SLV. Jack thought maybe his coax was bad. So we used the OHR and
the W3FF. The SCAF helped. I hadn't used a straight key in ages and I had
no business trying. The red plastic mini-paddles were wired wrong and didn't
work well upside-down. FNQ's Norcal paddles worked like a charm.
Eric Clapton live at Kemper Arena Saturday night. BB 'test Sunday. It doesn't get
any better.
Your_Name -- Dan
Your_Call -- Ni9y
Soapbox -- Worked Bob, AD4MZ/QRP/700 MW, on top of Tyron Peak, NC. Station notes. Backpacking during a rain storm. Station set under a tarp at 3,200 foot level. Antenna was a dipole at 10 feet. His signal was s5 to s7. Wave file available to interested hams.
Your_Name -- John Farler
Your_Call -- K4AVX
Soapbox -- Just got a new FT-817 on Sat., and enjoyed learning how to use it during the contest.
Your_Name -- Doc
Your_Call -- K0EVZ
Soapbox -- It was a blast, even more fun than last year. 20 Metres was band of choice, though there were 2 QSOes on 15 Metres. Even 20 Metres was plagued by QSB, and there were long periods of near silence on the band. No DX and no Jim AL7FS this year. Setup = K1 to Inverted WYE with 2 counterpoise wires on SD-20 pole.
Your_Name -- Lyndel
Your_Call -- N7LT
Soapbox -- Got a late start. Took 2.5 hrs to get to site. Took another 45 minutes to set up. Finally got on the air with less than a hour left in Flight of the BB's. Took a lightning hit to my home previous week and lost my Ten Tec Argosy. Used my Ten Tec Argonaut for the contest. Worked GREAT for what little time I had. Used a balanced dipole for all band use at about only 25 feet. I had the rope up to about 50 feet in a tree but any higher and the stiff twinlead would spiral twisting itself around the dipole legs creating a mess. Never the less, from atop the Continetal Divide at the intersection of the states Montana, Idaho and Wyoming operating from Yellowstone National Park in the Wyoming section of the Park, I had a great time operating and the signals were really good. Now I just need a better rig like a K2 to tighten down the bandwith and fight the qrm which was intense on both 20 and 15 meters. Where was everyone on 10 meters? Not a sole up there but heard lots of PSK signals on 10 meters! Bummer there. Look forward to operating longer next year!
Your_Name -- Bill Carter
Your_Call -- KG4FXG
Soapbox -- Hi all,
The Flight of the Bumble Bees was fun. We had storms here in Georgia so after
an hour into the contest I had to shut down the station. Hope to make more
contacts next year. Will continue to participate in future ARS contests.
Your_Name -- Brian Wingert
Your_Call -- N7RVD
Soapbox -- Mt. Pilchuck, WA – 2000 ft up and 2 miles in,
50 degrees and fog, just enough visibility to see the trail.
Contest went about as I expected, that is, spent more time
discussing ham radio with other hikers that I did running the
rig. It seems everyone had a father-brother-cousin-neighbor
"that used to do that". Most folks wanted to know where my
microphone was. Beats me. Station setup:
Homebrew DC rig at 2 watts to 20m dipole
fed with TV twin lead up 5300 feet! Only managed 7 Bumblebees
and 14 qso’s. Fun event.
Your_Name -- Gary Slagel
Your_Call -- N0SXX
Soapbox -- Should get the 'most tenacious operator' award. About 90 minutes into the
contest a swarm of gnats (or some kinda little flying bug!) found me. Couldn't
believe how many there were and they hung on me till I packed up 3 hours later!
They whole last part of the contest I had 10 or 20 of these miserable little
critters on me at all times. Usually had one or two on my glasses and was
staring at em all the time! Luckily, the weren't biters, just crawlers! Other
then that... Great Time! I scrambled up a big granite outcropping and felt like
I was on top of a 300 foot tower. Tied my black widow to a boulder and operated
the k2 at 5 watts against my homebrew 10/15/40 vertical. 103 QSOs my best ever!
Tnx ARS guys for the great contest!
Your_Name -- Dieter (Diz) Gentzow
Your_Call -- W8DIZ
Soapbox -- Never had so much trouble stringing an antenna in the trees.
I think I need to lift weights.
Best signal heard was Seab AA1MY, better than 599 all day long.
Your_Name -- Jim Akre
Your_Call -- WA9TZE
Soapbox -- Had a fairly good run on 20m Just stayed on 14063kcs and worked about 2:45 min(approx). Put up my Alpha-Delta DX-CC at 35 ft in a v configuration with ends up 10ft. Ran my old HW-8 Mod off a battery using the 8044 curtis chip in the, vibroflex keyer. Thanks for those who hung in for the tough ones and sorry for the ones i could just not pull in. Keep up the good work on all the qrp contest's-i enjoy them all.
Your_Name -- Ken Paulson
Your_Call -- N0HRL
Soapbox -- Weekend getaway to Lake Superior's North Shore with my wife. She was kind
enough to drive so that I could operate N0HRL/M on the way home Sunday. Great
chance to try out the FT-817 mobile, with the MP-1 on a roof rack mount.
Lot of stations heard, a few busted QSOs (QSB and shaky sending), got 4 QSOs
in the log including 3 BBs, and had a lot of fun
Your_Name -- Randy Foltz
Your_Call -- K7TQ
Soapbox -- Weather conditions on my favorite mountain ridge were cold. I had on 3 layers
and was still cool much of the day. Temps were in the mid 50s with a breeze.
On the other hand propagation conditions were great. I worked 36 states, 2
provinces, and the District of Columbia for a total of 110 Qs and 39 Bees. The
cold conditions sometimes made my fist a bit shaky. Thanks to all who participated.
Your_Name -- Harvey Hetland
Your_Call -- N6MM
Soapbox -- I arrived at my QTH by backpacking the gear and antennas. Extentive bicycle riding for the past two months was a good conditioner both for the century ride of the previoua weekend and for the short hike up the mountain. However, I should have read the rules again prior to the activity, and I would not have missed the 1700Z hour. I worked only three hours (1800 to 2100Z), but 15m was the best I have experienced in the Flight of the Bumblebee activities. Gear consisted of a Sierra modified for 5 watts output, OHR WM-1, ZM-2 and a CMOS-III keyer. Antennas were dipoles for 40m, 20m and 10m with the 40m dipole also used for 15m. Power was provided from a 4.0 A-hr gel cell and a flexible solar panel. Weather was great, the insects were minimal and the wildflowers were still out. A great way to spend a weekend, and nice to meet many friends on the air again!
Your_Name -- Ron Zoerb
Your_Call -- KI0II
Soapbox -- Dundy County Nebraska, population 2700.
Rock Creek State Park, 10 miles north of Kansas & 15 miles east of Colorado.
Temp 100 + with 10-20 mph south wind.
A nice place in the hot and dry rolling hills and valleys.
Around this small but peaceful lake were a number of large cottonwood and cedar
trees which provided plenty of support for the 20 meter dipole feed with 450
ohm ladderline. A Ten Tec 247 tuner kept the Ten Tec ARGO 556 happy when swithching
between 10, 15 and 20 meters.
Several beacons were noticable on 10 meters but only one contact was made in several
trys of calling CQ. 15 meters would yield a few contacts on each attempt with the
majority of signals heard between 14.058 and 14.063. After trying S&P I gave up and
sat just above or below the racket and called CQ with pretty good results and enjoyed
it a great deal.
The dipole was NW-SE so a good number of stations from CA, MN, MI, WI, OH and ON are in
the log. A few surprises like MT, ND, MD, FL, KY and TX were worked as well. 28 SPC in all.
Since most of my FD effort this year was spoiled due to work, so this was my chance to
get out and enjoy some portable operating and see some country I had been curious about
for a long time.
Thanks for the fun!
Your_Name -- Delbert Long
Your_Call -- AD6WE
Soapbox -- This was my first ARS event. Arrived at my location by foot about 2 1/2 hours early, and set up a dipole for 20 meters and end-fed half wave for 40. SWR on the dipole was 3:1, so I went to an end-fed half wave for that band as well. Managed to hear AK7Y, WA7LNW, N7SR, K0EVZ, N7XJ, W7QC, N7LT, AA6ZL, KC5WX, N6GA, and others (Heard a very faint signal identifying from KY.) Not able to make any contacts at all on 20 meters.
Only managed two contacts on 40 meters, one with unmodified SMK-1! and the other with homebrew transceiver from QST November 1994. QST transceiver was built by W6JAZ, SK and I operated this event in his memory.
Your_Name -- Thomas J. Warren
Your_Call -- K3TW
Soapbox -- Heavy rain prevented me from setting up my station on Theodore Roosevelt Island, however I was able to operate from nearby Columbia Island in Washington, DC, adjacent to The Pentagon. The station was an MFJ-9020 and a loaded vertical. Despite poor weather, the effort was very enjoyable. I used the Bumblebee checksheet to greet each operator by name and visualize their operating location. Thanks for another great ARS event.
Your_Name -- Bob Edwards
Your_Call -- W4ED
Soapbox -- Bee #77 went to a local park due to pending lightning storms.
And storm it did. KO4WX/Mike was close enough to have the
same storms, but his adventure was truely dramatic. I've climbed
Stone Mtn several times and can picture what he was going through.
SLV & K2 were nearly swamped with static crashes. Not proud of
my contact count but it's still my favorite contest.
Your_Name -- Steve Buroker
Your_Call -- W7QC
Soapbox -- Great contest guys -- gets better every year. Lots of activity and it is amazing what can be done with 5 watts. Thanks for sponsoring it.
Your_Name -- Dave Winfield
Your_Call -- WR5O
Soapbox -- Conditions were unusual...the only stations east of the Rockies I worked were NØSXX, KC5WX and N3AO. Still, I had fun in the two hours I was on. I'll be back next year :-).
Your_Name -- Eric Silverthorn
Your_Call -- NM5M
Soapbox --
Although I got started late due to rain, I operated for two hours on 20 meters using a Norcal Red Hot Radio, a 4.5 AH SLA battery, and a dipole up about 15 ft. I hiked into the Arbor Vista Nature Preserve in Plano Texas, and had the station set up in about 20 minutes. Fortunately the rains provided a welcome relief from the Texas summer heat, and it probably never got above 90 during the contest.
In preparation for the Bumble Bee event, I remembered loaning my Bencher paddle to a new ham that I recently met. I have a Brown Brothers paddle in my shack, but I didn't want to take it on my hike. I decided to "roll my own key" on Sunday morning. I found an old hack saw blade, and a few pieces of my kids Legos, a tube of super glue, and several machine screws. About an hour later I had a working key that is several pounds lighter than my Bencher. The key worked well, and I hope to use it in the field again soon.
Your_Name -- Jerry Scherkenbach
Your_Call -- N9AW
Soapbox -- Had a good time in the Bumblebee contest. Operated for first time from a local park in New Berlin, WI. which is at one of the highest points in Milwaukee county (about 920 ft. ASL). Thats about 160 ft. higher than my home QTH and the extra height seemed to help. Used a 15 mtr delta loop on a DK9SQ mast and a G5RV up about 30 feet. ARS contest are always a blast.
Your_Name -- Bob Patten
Your_Call -- N4BP
Soapbox -- Setup was standard Field Day station with K2 and 4-band vertical.
QTH was in the Everglades, about 35 miles west of the Atlantic.
Noise was the name of the game, with grass mowing machinery, screaming
kids, and thunderstorms.
Your_Name -- Dave Cary
Your_Call -- W9SUL
Soapbox -- Band conditions were "challenging" here in the heartland (south east Minnesota). Deep QSB was the norm for the event... stations strong one minute and gone the next. I worked mostly on 20 meters, but had 2 contacts on 15 meters and 2 contacts on 40 meters. Weather was hot and humid... but still had tons of fun!!!
Your_Name -- Bruce Draper
Your_Call -- AA5B
Soapbox -- Tried a new spot, not on the top of Sandia Crest for a change. I was on a hill in the Cibola National Forest south of Tijeras, NM. A half hour before the contest I had the 20 meter station ready to go and had gotten an honest 599 from a WD5 near New Orleans. The inverted vee at the top of a 60-ft ponderosa pine seemed to be working well, but I had nothing in the air for 40 or 15 (I figured 10 would have no activity). I measured out wire for a 40 dipole, stripped the end of an RG8x pigtail, connected the dipole wires, and hoisted it up on a DK9SQ mast. It was too long, but I got it working well on 40 and 15 on the second try, with 5 minutes to spare.
Great first 30 minutes, but then the QSO rates fell. I heard very little out here on 15, even less on 40. Twenty was packed with people stepping all over each other.
I had lightning and rain static most of the last hour (and few QSOs), but the storm stopped long enough for me to pack up right at the end of the contest.
Station:
NC20 on 20 meters, inverted vee with apex at about 60 feet.
QRP++ on 40/15 meters, inverted vee with apex at about 30 feet.
W9XT memory keyer, paper logging, earbuds, ...
Had fun in my first FOBB. Thanks, ARS!
Your_Name -- Mark Dulcey
Your_Call -- KE1L
Soapbox -- This was my first attempt at the Flight of the Bumblebees. Not the glorious
success I had hoped for, but so it goes. I've written a web page about my
experience: http://mail.buttery.org/mark/leisure/bumblebee.html
Your_Name -- Howard Kraus
Your_Call -- K2UD
Soapbox -- Certainly had an interesting location. Off of the Amherst, NY bicycle trail on the University of Buffalo campus (otherwise known as UB, and yes I was). A club of nitro-powered R/C boaters shared the lake that I operated next to. They only operated during the 4 hours of the Flight, and sounded like a swarm of bees themselves! They asked, "you'll be using headphones, right?"
My location was amidst a thicket (I've always wanted to use that word) of thistle plants. You know the kind with those purply flower thingies growing around them? Bees absolutely love them. Suffice to say, I was surrounded by bumblebees! They didn't bother me (hey, I took a shower), and I didn't bother them.
CNDX, well 40 was a bit sparse, methinx. 20 came and went, but had fun working similarly equipped bees in the Pacific NW there. Equipment: Wilderness NorCal 40A/KC1, NorCal 20 (TiCK keyer without memory, oh my aching fingers!), 40/20 Gusher up a DK9SQ pole. Solar powered until the clouds were invited, then ran off of camcorder batteries. The mission was a success, and provided an entirely splendid time away from life's drudgeries. Lessons learned: bring beer and RF adapters, and try not to get the guy lines stuck to those thistle thingies next time. Bee #10 said that!
Your_Name -- Gary Hanson
Your_Call -- KJ5VW
Soapbox -- I missed most of the first 2 hours, but operated about 90 minutes and had a ball. Lots of very strong QRP signals here in Central Texas.
Folks in Minnesota and Wisconsin were booming in all afternoon. Thanks for a fun contest!
Your_Name -- Rick Tavan
Your_Call -- N6XI
Soapbox -- Fabulous location atop Martis Peak on the ridgeline between Lake Tahoe
and the town of Truckee. High wind and poor planning resulted in sub-optimal
antenna situation but managed to make a few Q's with my K1 with KAT1 and KBT1.
Eight Green Batteries "1800" NiMHs easily lasted the four hours.
Your_Name -- Steve
Your_Call -- N7SR/BB
Soapbox -- Southern Minnesota is not blessed with mountains. In fact, elevation of any kind near where I live is at a premium. However, I was able to find a ridge that rises about 100 feet above the surrounding farm land, and slopes off to the east, south, and west. There were adequate trees for antenna supports. It proved to be a good location, providing some breeze to help with the very hot day. I used a 40 meter full wave loop, a ZM-2 antenna tuner, and a FT-817. 10 meters had almost no activity here. 40 wasn&Mac226;t much better. 15 wasn&Mac226;t bad, but 20 provided the great majority of my contacts. My highest contact rate was actually during the third hour. Heard a number of powerhouse signals. Had a great time, and not nearly as exhausting as Field Day.
Your_Name -- David Lear
Your_Call -- NO5DL
Soapbox -- Site was a hill top in Vestal NY with great weather
(visiting from TX on my 65th birtday.
Used K1 #817 @ 5W (20 and 40m)Internal ATU, Internal 10 x nimh batteries, earbuds
Ant - 66 ft dipole with 66 ft feedline made from 4 conductor computer ribbon cable (Nor-Cal) style. Mounted on fiber glass poles 33ft center, 20ft at ends,
with the ends NE/SW.
Conditions on 20m rough, but qso'd 24 states, 1 P:- CT,CO,FL,GA,ID,IL,KY,KS,OH,
ON,MA,MD,ME,MI,MN,MO,NE,NJ,NH,NC,NY,PA,WI,TX,VA.
First field trip with the KI and first FOBB, had a great time, I'll be back.
Your_Name -- Morg
Your_Call -- K5HWT/5
Soapbox -- I've finally succeeded at beedom! Unlike the dead batteries and threatening
lightning of previous years, everything worked just fine. The SW20 and newly
completed BLT fed twinlead to a dipole at Chisos Mts. Basin at Big Bend NP. My
hign point was being told "thanx, Morgan" after an exchange...(keeping that bee
list handy was a good idea, wish it had occurred to me!) The low point was someone
who I had contacted about 30 mins. before the start of the contest refusing to
exchange nrs., saying "already worked you"...well I didn't count you, so there!
Your_Name -- chris freshwater
Your_Call -- KB9LCK
Soapbox -- Great fun on a hot day! Very hot and humid here in the Midwest. About a 105 degree heat index
Prefer to do my bicycling near sundown for the sake of cooler air. But my faithful Trek 2300
got me to Lincoln Log Cabin State park, Lerna, Illinois in good time
got my "spider" vertical set up and on the air by about 12:05.
Operated only the SST20, who knows, a little more antenna experiment'n and
the Sierra for 15 and then 10 meters oughta be worth considering. 20 was
lively, though, as usual,some of us were victims of QSB, but the strong
guys (AA5B)were heard all day.
Your_Name -- Dan Birnbaum
Your_Call -- AD6JY
Soapbox -- I had a lot of fun operating my K1 from Joaquin Miller Park. I used a St Louis pocket vertical which probably needed a few more radials hooked to it. My family
went to a nearby planetarium while I played in the contest. When they were done I was told politely it was time to g
Your_Name -- Chuck Boblenz
Your_Call -- AD6GI
Soapbox -- Bands were sporadic, but still had fun.
Thanks ARS and all for a greaat time!
Your_Name -- Allan Taylor
Your_Call -- K7GT
Soapbox -- I operated from Bearpaw Meadow, Sequoia National Park. Elevation was high at
7800' but the surrounding mountains were much higher. This limited propagation
to the east. I got much better response on 40m but fewer ops there due to
the deprecation of 40m by the FoBB scoring. Views were magnificent, though.
Rig: K1 supplied by 10 AA cell packs. Antenna: inv dipoles with apex at 28 ft
in a fir tree, fed with RG58.
Your_Name -- Rick Tate
Your_Call -- KQ6NO
Soapbox -- Operated from a hilltop in the Thousand Oaks, CA, Botannical Garden. Antenna was 1/2 wave inverted vee, apex at 32 feet. Not an exotic spot, but very pleasant. Many honeybees and one bumblebee sighted during the operation, apropos the theme.
Your_Name -- Jack
Your_Call -- WA7LNW/BB
Soapbox -- Operated QRP portable from Locket Meadow, near Flagstaff, AZ, 8,500 ft. elevation, following the annual Ft. Tuthill Hamfest and QRP Festivities. Used my DK9SQ fiberglass mast to support wire groundplane antenna overlooking distant Navajo Indian Reservation to north and Painted Desert to my east. Elecraft K-2, and internal ATU worked like a champ as usual. BB event ended just as a large thunder storm arrived on the mountain. One passerby stopped me to ask if I was conducting some sort of lightning study? My reply...."I'm just about to"....hi! Perfect ending to a terrific 100% Amateur Radio weekend of fun!
Your_Name -- Don Minkoff
Your_Call -- NK6A
Soapbox -- Next year I need to go out and be a Bee.
Couldn't operate for too long but had fun with my 5W from a K2.
Your_Name -- Bruce Grubbs
Your_Call -- N7CEE
Soapbox -- My operating site this year was above Lozier Lake, at 10,600 feet in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. We reached the site on the third day of a nine day backpack trip.
Another fine Bee event! Thanks, Russ, and ARS for sponsoring my favorite contest of the year. Details and photos to follow in an article for the Sojourner.
Your_Name -- Wes Spence
Your_Call -- AC5K
Soapbox --
Sorry for the poor showing. It rained and we had severe thunderstorms
during most of the sprint. Better next year!
Your_Name -- RICK MCGAVER
Your_Call -- NK9G
Soapbox -- FOUND A NEW SECLUDED SITE A BEAUTY, 15 IN AND OUT W/QSB 20 WHERE THE ACTION WAS
NK9G
Your_Name -- Steve Smith
Your_Call -- KI0MZ
Soapbox -- Had a good time operating from a local park using my K1 and a vertical dipole antenna. Was able to only work the last hour of the contest.
Your_Name -- Joe Spencer
Your_Call -- K5RAC
Soapbox -- Great event..but it was 98 degrees here with a heat index of 103 at the start and three hours later it was 103 degrees with heat index 105. Only made a few contacts but got to test the K2 with KK5PY's new "computer cable" Dipole. Had to take it easy as I just had some dental surgery and was on some medication not good to be in sunlight. Used the Club call K5RAC.
Your_Name -- Arthur G. Silvers
Your_Call -- W6AGS
Soapbox -- The FOBB event coincides with the first weekend of my summer vacation and the
Bear Valley Music Festival, in the Sierra Nevada of Alpine County, Northern
California. My site this year was Bloods Ridge, the same ridge as the Bear Valley
Recreational Ski Area with an elevation of about 8200 feet.
The climb to the ridge summit is pretty steep but I made it to the top by 0900
PST. With an hour left before the contest, I proceeded to set up my new field
antenna, a 20 meter extended double Zepp (EDZ, aka. DEZ) that consisted of 42
feet of split light speaker wire, some fishing line, a center insulator
fabricated from PCB material, fed with 40 feet of light 300 Ohm ribbon. The
strategy was to sling shot more fishing line into a tree and hoist up the center
insulator. Then do the same for the ends. Not as easy as I thought. The fishing
line kept getting snagged on the mulear, thistle, and other ground flora.
Two hours later, I finally succeeded in getting center of the doublet up about
25 - 30 feet. I then tied off the ends in inverted V fashion which is probably
not the best configuration for the somewhat directional EDZ.
Anyway, I was now on the air with an SST20 and ZM-2. With only 3 hours left in
the contest, I was, however, quite pleased to exceed my prior 2 years
performance with 15 BBs out of 17 Qs
Contacts were: K7TQ, W7QC, N7CQR, N2CQ, N7XJ, KI6II, KB7MBI, K0EVZ, WA7LNW,
VA7NT, N9AW, K5SWT, AK7Y, N0SXX, N7LT, KC5WX, N7XJ.
Since I just returned from vacation, photos from the ridge have not yet been
developed but I hope to post them on http://www.qsl.net/w6ags in the near future.
Your_Name -- Dale Anderson
Your_Call -- KB0VCC
Soapbox -- For the first time in my history of the BB contest
I didn't get rained on. Band condx were less
than optimal, but at least there wasn't any RAIN.
My destination was the Pequaquet Fire Tower on the
Summit of Kearsarge North, in Chatham, NH.
It's a 3.1 mile hike with 2xxx vert ft gain. The
360 degree view was worth the effort! Effectively
packed for field-day, I was loaded pretty heavy so
it took me nearly 2 hrs and almost a gallon of water
to make it to the summit. Upon my arrival there, I
encountered a crowd of hikers. Something I hadn't
anticipated. As I started stringing the random wire
from the fire tower to some wild blueberry (ripe, YUM!)
bushes to the south and the counterpoise hanging straight
down, the questions started coming at me from the curious.
Aware that I was supposed to be "the face of ham radio"
to the general public, and despite my temporary
exhaustion, dehydration, etc. I explained what I was
setting up to do. Some seemed skeptical of my ability
to transmit beyond line-of-sigh, others just didn't
get it. One cute Barbie-Doll-looking hiker (I mean, who
hikes wearing make-up in THAT humidity!) kept at me
with "well what does that mean..." no matter how I
tried to simplify my descriptions. PHEW! Finally,
one comment from me how dissapointed I was with the
crowd, and she got the hint. I wasn't on-air until
1845Z. I went straight for 20m and at first heard
only weak stations. Then the QSB let up its suppression
and there everyone was. I first heard AA1MY over in
Maine (right next door). He must've been 40+. Called
him three different times yet he didn't return. Found
a hole and tried CQ. Nobody answered. Looked down
at the rig. DARN!!! The RIT was hard over to the left.
I was probably QRM'ing all the FISTS guys (what a LID).
The knob must have turned while in the pack. Setting
the RIT to zero, I tried AA1MY again. He returned
immediately! Hurray! I went on to work stations
from coast to coast. Even snagged Nebraska,
a state I've never hit from the home QTH. Took
advantage of my time there to photograph the valley
below, including my QTH (using a 400mm lense) some
eight miles away. I kept alternating between
operating during the event and photographing, often
going inside the fire tower to warm up, as some
clouds had arrived creating cool shadows and
breezes. I wasn't trying to be competitive
that day. I just wanted a relaxing ham/hiking
day. The descent to the car only took an hour.
I got everything I wanted out of the event and more.
Your_Name -- Russ Carpenter
Your_Call -- AA7QU/BB
Soapbox -- Roy Lewallen, W7EL, and I loaded our packs with gear and water Friday afternoon and bushwhacked to the top of a ridge on the south slope of Mt. Hood, OR. We reached the top in time to construct a two band version of Roy's famous Field Day special antenna. The whole darn thing was built with "found" materials, including old pieces of circuit board for insulators, scraps of wires, ancient Douglas Fir branches for spreaders, and pieces of basalt to stabilize the 15 meter elements.
Conditions in Oregon were pretty darn challenging, with the mid-day absorbtion levels reducing signals to very low levels. But the reward of the event was operating a station in which every component (except for my keyer) had been built from scratch. Great!