07/13/2004 | W1NVT / W1PU Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont W1NVT (W1PU) - 2A.
Williston, Vermont FN34

Our goal this year was to increase participation and to cut down on the insanity known as antenna setup. We usually have no trouble making lots of contacts and this year was no exception.

Setup was breeze! We had lots of help and two teams worked together to get antennas up quickly. We hauled 3 towers and 13 antennas into the air and had the heavy stuff up and tested by 6 on Friday. And, except for a balky tuner at the GOTA station, everyone was ready to roll Saturday morning, hours before the start.

It was wonderful to have a full complement of phone, CW, VHF and GOTA operators for the entire weekend. Getting the new folks interested in operating at Field Day has been tough over the years. This year, a number of people did some heavy recruiting and their hard work paid off! The GOTA station made more contacts then ever, and had a heavy emphasis on digital modes.

After years of doing Field Day, you would think that you have seen everything. We had a new visitor this year - an intense storm ripped through the area with 40+ MPH winds, taking down trees, knocking out power and even resulting in a fatality several miles away. We kept our emergency power up and continued to make contacts through the storm, although many of us were pressed into service holding tents down! The towers didn't even move. Big guy anchors to hold down the tents are on order for next year!

The final results: 3700 QSO's, 11000+ points, 30 participants, 20 visitors and nobody blew away in the storm (as far as we know...)

After a great Field Day with great conditions, it was topped off with a visit from not one, but two local TV news crews, resulting in some great publicity for amateur radio in our area! -- W1SJ