Another Field Come and Gone... Is it 2010 Yet?

That's right Ham fans, another Field Day has come and gone. How did you all do during Field Day? What do you find was the highlight of the day? Well I have to say that the highlights are our day was the opportunity to actually operate during Field Day. You see, last year on field day we were on vacation down in Florida. Needless to say, on Field Day we were on the road headed to New Orleans to see my folks and family and the only radio at my disposal was a Yaesu FT-90r. I had the radio tuned most of the time to 146.520 or 146.550. From time to time I would hear a brief QSO and then it was gone.

Of course, don't forget that we did have our own personal field day prior to going on vacation. 2 weeks before vacation we did go up to the field and set up all the stuff and made a few contacts. That was actually one of the first times I made any HF contacts.

Fast forward to Field Day 2009. This year we brought up the following for our operating situation:
- Yaesu FT-450
- LDG 200AT Pro Auto Tuner
- Power Supply
- Lenovo Net Book for computer logging with N3FJP's Field Day contest log, which we then exported seemlessly into our ACLog.
- A 1800 HP Gas Generator
- ZS6BKV Multi Band Dipole

I think that covers the equipment. Of course we brought snacks, fans, and a percolator for coffee.

Once we arrived and had some hot dogs that we picked up from a convenience store we got to looking around and found that one of the ropes we left up there for the antenna had gone missing. This rope by the way was a bit in the edge of the woods and out of site. The other rope is in plain view so we wondered why they only took the one. Well we assume it must have been hunters. Anyway, we got another rope up in a tree for the operation. This was just a temporary fix. We didn't have the sling shot or a fishing pole so we resorted to tying the rope to a bottle of Gatorade.
It wasn't much longer and we had the equipment set up and we were ready to call CQ. I spent a couple of hours calling and ended up with a total of 60 contacts. Robin (AJ4IJ) worked for just a little bit. She was pretty wore out from running around during the day getting supplies for the evening and getting things ready to go. Ashby (KJ4EGJ) towards the end of our evening finally decided to work some stations and ended up with 16 contacts. I was so proud. Mom (KF4SSI) and Dad (KU4ME) didn't work any. Dad was pretty tired from working on the Jeep all weekend as was I. That's right, we did get the Jeep in running condition. She still needs some work but at least she isn't spewing radiator fluid anymore.
As a final note, Robin had found earlier on QRZ'd that the QSO Radio Show was broadcasting on the air for Field Day and were taking calls from Field Day stations all over the world. Well it was around Midnight when Robin and Dad got the big idea about calling in and handed the phone to me. So I took the cell phone and made the call. I gave them my information and it wasn't long after that they called us back and I was on the air speaking with Ted Randall (WB8PUM) about our setup and our Ham Family. As a matter of fact on Ted Randall's site he has a streaming rebroadcast of the show.
So this year's Field Day was considered a success. We got setup in short order and in total made 82 contacts between us. As I know it, Dad worked some stations the next day but at this time I forget how many he made.

That's all I got for now. Stay tuned as I plan on posting on my contest experience and results over the first year of my Ham life and The First Annual 470 ARG 4th of July QSO Party special event. Until then, 73 and Good DX to all.

Tim - AJ4JD

P.S. You can get another view point on our Field Day adventure over at Robin's Blog.

Our Trusty Side Kick Enjoying Field Day

Robin Enjoying Field Day

Mom (KF4SSI) and Dad (KU4ME) having a blast

The Rope Raiser

Me (AJ4JD) calling CQ

The Net Book with the Beacon of Light
that provided us with Internet access

The Station setup

Ashby (KJ4EGJ) at the helm

A New Contact with a New General YL

So today I made a contact with a special station today. She just got her general a couple of weeks ago and got on HF today for one of her first times. Her callsign is KF4SSI and I got her on 40 meters about 60db over S-9 from across the street Hi Hi.
I know what you are asking. What's so special about a 40 meter contact with a station from across the street? Well I'll tell you. KF4SSI is my mother in law, Karen, and she's just now starting to get her feet wet in the land of HF. She was in there just calling away CQ so I thought I would jump in there and give her a call.
Anyway, I thought that was pretty cool and just had to let everyone know. So if your up on the low bands and hear "CQ CQ CQ this is KF4SSI calling CQ", jump in there and make her day by giving her a call.

Love ya momma.

73 de AJ4JD,
Catchya on the bands.

Happy New Year to all HAMs

Seeings how this is a new year now, I thought I would wish ever one a Happy New Year and hope that it brings much fortune, as well as many hopes and blessings. 2008 was a good year for me and my family personally. I got involved in Ham Radio this past year, having earned my ticket in May and worked up to Extra by July. Since then I became a member of the Claiborne/Union County ARES and look to be appointed EC of Union County sometime this month. I became a certified storm spotter along with the rest of the family (Robin - AJ4IJ, Ashby - KJ4EGJ, Mom - KF4SSI and Dad - KU4ME). We attended a few hamfests (Knoxville, Waynesville, and TenTec). We worked several special events (The Smithsonian Institute, The FBI, Collins Radio 50th anniversary of their S-Line radios, just to name a few, and we even called CQ for the 470 ARG 1st anniversary special event as W4H). We participated in a few contests (IARU HF Championship, NAQP, TNQP, and the PSK31/63 Deathmatch, speaking of which I placed 26th in the Medium Power Category). Finally, to cap off the year we finally purchased our very own HF rig (an ICOM 756 Pro). Those were the highlights of 2008 not to mention all the great HAMs we have had the pleasure of getting to know and meet at different times and occasions like the All Hams picnics held by Jack and Teresa (KD4TNY and KI4ZQO), and we are looking for many more highlights in 2009.

To start the year off right in 2009 we plan on attending the Morristown Hamfest tomorrow. We are hoping to find some deals on parts to put up a Windom so we can bring our HF rig home and get on the air. The rig is currently over at Dads as he has a couple of HF antennas up already and we needed a place to test the radio out before we bought it. This weekend is Kids Day, a chance for youngsters (HAM or not) to get on the HF bands and make contact with other HAMs (young and old) and get to know what HAM radio is all about. I think we will try and get Ashby over to dad's to make a few contacts. The weekend after next is the 1st North American QSO Party of the year. If everything works out okay I'm hoping to work the contest so if you hear me calling CQ, call back.

Yes 2009 definitely brings promise on it's wings and hope for many great things. Maybe this year I will earn the WAS, and WAC awards. I should also obtain EmComm levels I & II along with several ISO certifications in preparation of becoming EC for Union County ARES. There will also be several contests to participate in and hopefully, with any luck, any of us may have a great showing. So to all the HAMs out there, Happy New Year and may 2009 bring you the best DX, best contesting and many achieved milestones.

Best of 73 and good DX to all
de AJ4JD
Tim

Antenna Maintenance, My First Asian Contact, and W4H Update (My first real pileup)

Well, yesterday we decided to go over to dad's (KU4ME) and play some radio. This was of course after we did a little maintenance to the wires we have up in the air over there. We needed to remove some of the tension on the ZS6BKV multi bander. There was a branch that was creating tension on the twin lead close to the choke as well as to much slack in the support rope we have strung the wire on. So after cutting out a whole big branch and removing the slack in the support rope we moved to the inverted vee for 80 meters. The balun had slid down a little back towards the house and had dropped a little as well. So we moved the balun back up the support rope and hoisted the antenna a little higher. We also got the multi-bander up a little higher as well. After we finished the antenna maintenance we went inside to eat supper that mom (KF4SSI) had made and watch an episode of Dexter.

Once we finished with supper we headed out to the shack to see how well our maintenance improved things. I started scrolling around on 20 meters and heard a station calling CQ contest from Japan. Ever since the Summer Olympics special event, I've been aiming at making a contact with Japan. Unfortunately, we've never heard any station from Japan when we seen that they were spotted on the DX Cluster. Well, I heard this station calling CQ contest on 14.317 and realized that it was a Japanese station (JR5VHU). So I tried a time or two but my timing was off. On the third go round I threw out my call and running a bare 100 watts, he picked me up. I was so elated that it didn't matter to me that it was a very short contact due to the station being a contester. I couldn't believe it, I had just made contact with Japan on 100 watts. I started doing my little Japan DX dance in the commanders chair and asked my XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) if she wanted to try. So she sat down and proceeded to make contact as well (her first Japan contact also). So she did the Japan DX dance as well. We finally convinced dad to give it a try even though the station was starting to fade. He almost gave up after the third try but went more time and made contact as well. It appears that the maintenance we had done had paid off. Robin made another contact with a Japan station (JH4UYB) shortly there after and we decided it was time to start calling CQ for the special event W4H.

It was about 8:00pm and I was all set up to log. However, Robin did not want to take the first shift calling CQ so we swapped spots and she logged and I called CQ. I found us an open spot on 80 meters as 20 was dying fast and there wasn't much happening on 40 meters other than noise and broadcasters. So 80 it was and I was able to find a spot on our special event calling frequency 3.850. My very first call and N1UK came back to me. We ragchewed for a few minutes and when we signed with each other he said he'd put me on the DX cluster. Sure enough he did and it wasn't long before the pileup started. It wasn't to bad at first. It was a slow trickle and I had time to give each calling station a little information about the event and how to receive QSL cards from us. I must have called CQ for about 40 minutes and made contact with 24 stations. I did talked to Mrs. Teresa (KI4ZQO), Mrs. Cathy (KI4YPO), Rick (N4JTQ), Bill (N4BHK), and Kevin(KG4LGL) . These are all local hams that are active on the 470 repeater and active on the 470ARG net. As a matter of fact, Rick is out NCS for the net and Cathy is the NCS for the 470 ladies round table.

So after about 40 minutes I was desperately needing a break and Robin was more than happy to take the reigns. She called CQ for about an hour and let me tell you the hornets nest of a pile up she had. There were a couple of times where everyone was calling at once and she couldn't make out anything to call for in return. She instead had to go back and call QRZed again just to try and pick out a call. Well in the hour she called CQ, she ended up with 46 contacts. Some of the most notable were with N3FJP (the maker/programmer of the logbook program we are using). She also had special event station N8F for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald event contact her. In total now Robin has made a total of 51 contacts for the special event in 21 states.

Well after her hour she still had a pileup that wouldn't quit. However, she was needing a break and we tried to get dad to take it over. He declined and so I had to take it back over. I must have taken it for almost another hour and made another 30 contacts or so and ended up with a contact in Puerto Rico(KP4BAI) and many different states. Overall I now have made 88 contacts for the event and have worked a total of 32 states and 1 DX entity.

So with a week to go on the special event, I don't know if I will be able to get back on until Saturday. Hopefully though, Robin and Dad, along with other 470ARG participants will be able to get on during the week and call CQ for the event. I know that Rick has worked the event a little bit but I'm not sure of anyone else at this moment in time. Anyway, that's about all I've got for the present moment in time. I now await the QSLs to start rolling in. I just hope I can use the special event call towards my WAS award.

Anyway, until the next post,
73 and Happy DX de AJ4JD
Tim

W4H (1st Anniversary of the 470 ARG) Special Event Update

Just a quick update on the W4H special event. Last night Ashby(KJ4EGJ) and me (AJ4JD) went over to Dad's(KU4ME) while Robin(AJ4IJ) and mom(KF4SSI) went to do a little Christmas shopping. Once the station was warmed up and tuned I started calling CQ on 40 meters and ended up with another 13 contacts on the special event. Dad logged for me as he was going to wait until during the week to work the special event. Ashby listened to music and then talked to guys on the 470 repeater once I was done to get an update on who all had worked the event yet.
So in two days I've worked 32 stations in 23 states for the W4H special event. Hopefully I'll get to work some more and get Ashby and Robin going on it as well.

Until next time, 73 de AJ4JD.
Catch ya on the bands.

TenTec Hamfest

This past weekend was the mother of all Tennessee Hamfests. Well I might be exaggerating a bit but being as new to HAM radio as I am, it might as well be. That's right, the TenTec Hamfest was this past weekend and we had a really good time. We got to put faces with names/calls that we hadn't yet. We also got to visit with those we had met previously. We walked the bone yard and the only thing we really found that we were looking for was some rope.

We also got to take a tour of the TenTec facility. That was really neat to see where the TenTec radios are made. We got to touch an Omni and got pictures to prove it. Aside from the rope, we also bought an EmComm I book, a TenTec coffee mug, and a couple of TenTec 40th anniversary t-shirts.

After the hamfest, we attended a storm spotter class. This class was pretty interesting. We learned about spotting storms and what to look for in a storm to properly identify it. My thanks go out to Rick(N4JTQ) for arranging this training and to Howard for providing the training. Thanks to the class, Robin (AJ4IJ), Ashby(KJ4EGJ), Dad(KU4ME), and Mom(KF4SSI) are now certified storm spotters along with everyone else who attended the class. Congrats to all.

Well now it's time for what you all have been waiting for...

Ashby (KJ4EJG)
At the control of a TenTec Orion II

John (KU4ME)
At the control of a TenTec Orion II

Tim (AJ4JD)
At the control of a TenTec Orion II

Look at all the pretty Omni VIIs

Skywarn Class after TenTec
Our most recently Certified Storm Spotters.

All Hams Picnic

This past weekend Jack (KD4TNY) and Teresa (KI4ZQO) put together the second All Hams Picnic at Norris Dam State Park. Several of our area's HAMs showed up for fellowship and just a good time with good food. We got to meet several of the Hams that we talk to on a regular basis on the 2 meter repeaters that are in our area. It was good to meet them all and finally put faces to callsigns. The final count in the guestbook was 46 and after further observation the count amounted to around 65 or so when the signatures included and family... I'd say it was more like 80 considering not everyone signed the book.
Anyway, we all had a great time and we all got our bellies full on BBQ, hotdogs, and all the other fixin's and trimin's along with desserts. For those who missed it, below are some pictures we took. Maybe this will entice you to show up for the next one.
You can also check out Robin's (AJ4IJ) blog for more picnic pictures.

Robin-AJ4IJ, John-KU4ME, and Karen-KF4SSI
sitting around having a blast

Jack-KD4TNY, Teresa-KI4ZQO, and another Gent
who was there with Bruce-KI4QIS and family

Cathy-KI4YPO, Rick Sr.-N4JTQ, Ashby-KJ4EGJ, Robin's Head (AJ4IJ),
and a few others in the background

Several Hams gathered around for a live QSO. Sharon,???
Dusty, Ricky-KG4WYW, Jim-KQ4AB, Kevin-KG4LGL, and Tom-AG4SF

Wet Waynesville Hamfest Update

So I thought I would get in here and give everyone an update on the hamfest in Waynesville, NC. Robin (AJ4IJ) awoke early Saturday morning to a rainy one. It was around 6:00am as we were heading out the door when mom (KF4SSI) and dad (KU4ME) call. Robin says, "tell them we are on our way." At the same time I hear mom on the phone, "we just got up, can you give us an hour?" To which I reply no we're heading out the door now. I then hear dad in the background mumble, "they can't wait, they'll miss the deals." Mom's reply, "Well, go ahead and go on, don't worry about us."
So out the door Robin and I trot to the car and the out the driveway and off into the rain. We stopped to fuel up and the rain just kept falling. We stopped shortly after the fuel stop to grab nourishment and make a pitstop at a Micky D's. Once we were finished there we continue our drive east in the rain, struggling to stay awake and pondering if the rain would let up once we were through the mountains.
We finally reached our destination and the rain had let up considerably. We paid our entry fee and entered the hamfest. We walked around and looked at the wares that were available. We checked out the bone yard and really didn't find anything. Robin did spot a tower that would have been nice to have. However, we did not have the money, nor the means to transport it home. We really weren't going with the thought of purchasing anything unless we found a deal we couldn't pass up. It was nice to see that there was plenty of HAM gear at the HAM fest though.
We didn't stay very long. It was about 30 - 45 minutes before we decided we seen all we wanted and decided to head back west. On our way we rain back into more rain, but we figured once we were back on our side of the mountains the rain would be finished. With that in mind we decided that we would go home, pick up our trusty side kick b3ene (that's our dog Clover) and head North to Kentucky and take Clover for a sniff/walk at a park. You can read more on that at Robin's and mines outdoor blog.
We didn't get any photos at the hamfest. There really wasn't anything that caught Robin's eye. So we hope for better luck at TenTec's hamfest towards the end of September. There we will get to meet some of the hams we frequently talk to on the radio.

Well that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for the new toy (lent to us by dad). Also, check out Robin's blog for the latest special event station we've worked (The Smithsonian Institute has gone QRT forever). BTW, thanks Jack (KD4TNY) and Teresa (KI4ZQO) for calling dad who called Robin about it, who called me.