07/26/2005 | AC7FT Field Day 2005, AC7FT and crew the Chehalem Mountain Contest Club

What a collaborative and engaged group! Each of the five of us contributed one or another special brand of operating or setup talent and/or provided a key piece of equipment.

With only two lunchtime meetings for planning, each member of the Chehalem Mountain Contest Club came prepared to be effective on his own, but more effective as a team. And it worked. Field Day transformed us from five guys who knew each other from work and shared some interests, to a fully engaged team that pulled off a rip-roaring Field Day and had a blast doing it!

Dave N7IQQ firmly planted our seeds Friday with his tent trailer, which housed the groups three operating positions. The other four converged on the ridge top Saturday morning like hams seeking a discount on good coax. The Butternut HF9V vertical was almost a one-man installation, clearing the brush for a safe spot for the generator took one more ham, and the rest of the team busied themselves assembling the C3S triband Yagi. The vertical reared its mighty head first, ready to assault the ether, and immediately thereafter the 30 foot tower with the Yagi proudly asserted itself, followed moments later by the impatient roar of the generator. In a rush of exuberance that would make a 10K runner proud, the first of two TS-850s was set up, the clock struck 1800UTC and we were on the air the moment FD officially began!

Greg WB6IWY and Steve K6UM began cranking out SSB QSOs as fast as they could talk. Satisfied that the QSO counter was rising, the other team members assembled the VHF/UHF antennas to the second tower. HF operations ceased just long enough for five sets of muscles to be used to hoist the second tower, Greg and Steve champing at the bit to resume their prodigious log-filling extravaganza. Wires were added to round out the antenna selection from 3.5 through 432 MHz, the second HF station was assembled, and Dave W8NF started putting CW contacts in the log as fast as he could hear them. Moments later, the VHF/UHF station was set up with Dennis AC7FT working the magic on Magic Band and above.

With all three stations busy, N7IQQ busied himself preparing a feast for the group. And a memorable feast it was, the fragrance so compelling that we eschewed the Field Day tradition of eating and logging; we shut down all three stations to enjoy the food and camaraderie of our newfound collaborators. Hard work, fun operating, great companions and hearty food this is why Field Day weekends in June exist!

Stuffed with sumptuous food, we werent able to operate much longer. Eyelids drooping, we kept watch on the logs, and the first operators headed to their tents only after being convinced we had logged at least 1000 QSOs.

The logbook shows nearly five and a half hours of being completely off the air for all stations. Then, Phoenix-like, the operators sprang back to life Sunday morning and the bands suffered yet another RF assault from the AC7FT horde. The VHF spirits shone down upon us; at about 1500UTC, K6UM noticed that six meters seemed as crowded as 75 meters on Saturday evening and hauled our VHF guru AC7FT into the tent. Dennis proceeded to work just about everything that was 1000 miles due south and a bit east, covering all of Southern California, plus New Mexico and Arizona, hopping right over Northern California in the process. In only a few hours, six meters became our third most productive phone band, delivering more QSOs for us than 10 and 80 meters combined. What a fabulous coda to a well-played operation!

In this most collaborative effort, every member contributed equipment and operating talent, and each member had something special to give. K6UM, a top notch contester, served as the perfect low-key, patient mentor. We would not have gotten on the air so quickly without WB6IWYs enthusiasm. AC7FT served as a veritable one-man equipment supply depot, propagation predictor and operator for VHF/UHF. N7IQQ provided everything needed for the rest of us to concentrate on radio, and contributed his commanding voice to crack open 10 SSB when the band otherwise sounded dead. W8NF kept the CW station going as a one-man operation for hours. Yet we all found time to operate some HF SSB and most of us some CW, and there was no lack of friendly banter throughout!

We closed out the operating at 1800UTC, had the antennas down in less than an hour, and were completely packed and ready to leave in less than two hours. Being good public citizens, we did some site cleanup, leaving this bit of public land cleaner than when we found it. As we departed, the rain that had been threatening all morning left its gentle reminder that human endeavor is only accomplished with natures permission.

Were already talking about what we can do to make next year even more thrilling and that will be a challenge! -- W8NF