06/27/2006 | W6O
W6Ocean - Field Day at the Beach!


Huntington Beach (CA) RACES W6Ocean again did FD on the beach - what a way to go! This year, our theme was "alternative sources of energy" and included battery power charged with wind and solar.

Noteworthy visitors included Bob Heil, K9EID, of Heil Sound and Gordon West, WB6NOA. The unique vertical turbine wind generator was silent, and, with gasoline over $3 a gallon, we decided to leave the smelly and noisy gasoline generator at home.

The Huntington Beach Police and nearby Costa Mesa police choppers did a fly-by with ATV onboard, and this was a crowd pleaser on the ground.

Some 10GHz QSOs were made, although the 10G rig developed some problems - actually a "good thing" since it now can be repaired before the microwave contest!

Our CERT members chipped in and provided the food, we are always grateful for the meals!

More images are posted on the HB RACES website:
http://www.hbraces.org/fd2006/index.html

More information on the wind generator can be found at:
http://www.pacwind.net/




-- KH6WZ