06/30/2005 | K4PMR The Pine Mountain DX Rangers frequently operate from Costa Rica as TI8M or TE2M, but we decided to put together our first Field Day effort from Lake Wedowee, AL. We operated from Bill - K4WPM's lake house back porch, with a nice view of the lake directly over the rigs. We operated 3A, all on battery power, with one dedicated CW station and 2 multi-mode stations, which all saw CW and phone action. A temporary, 40', trailer mounted tower with a TA-33 Jr. was erected in the front yard and 6 wire dipoles for 10-80m plus an extra 40m were strung in the trees, with the two 40m dipoles actually suspended completely over the lake.

While our 660 CW and 640 phone Q's was a meager result, we had alot of fun, Bill's cooking was very good and the immediate availability of the lake provided welcome relief from the heat. Our only nagging problem was that, with no screens, Bill's back porch had plentiful bugs...including ones that bite! We're already talking about options for next year from this or a nearby location.

Ops were Bill - K4WPM, Eddie - K4UN, Brian - NA4BW, Van - N5VI and Bob - W4BW -- W4BW