07/03/2006 | N1LT Day #1: Field Day on the Water
By Jim,W1PID

For the last few years Dick, N1LT, and I have been talking about doing Field Day on his sailboat. This year we did it, and what a time! We used Dicks call, N1LT, for our Field Day station.

We just brought a simple QRP rig and two small dipoles. Even though we had done lots of talking about our big day, the setup was so simple it required almost no preparation. We got ready an hour or so before the start time. Instead of packing trailers full of gear, everything fit into a couple of backpacks, including our lunches.

Threatening rain and thunder showers didn't stop us... but it did keep us at his mooring at the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club on Lake Winnipesaukee in Gilford, New Hampshire. We had planned to sail to and anchor off of Bear Island, but prudence kept us closer to home.

We rigged 30-foot poles off the bow and the stern and hauled a 40 meter dipole up the mast. The poles supported the ends of the dipole and gave us a perfect inverted V. We used the same setup for the 20 meter dipole. We operated an FT-817 at 5 watts CW with a solar panel and small batteries. When it started to sprinkle we extended a tarp over the boom rather than go below. Later, when the sun came out, it kept us in the shade. The slight breeze was relaxing and we didn't see a single black fly or mosquito.

Dick's friends at the Yacht Club got a kick out of the new rigging on Dick's boat. Hey Dick, catching any shrimp? shouted one skipper as he passed. Ok Dick... what is it? yelled another. So we got a brief chance to explain Field Day and educate a few sailors about ham radio.

We made about 65 QSOs in four hours of operating on the boat. We worked as far West as California and surprised ourselves by adding Russia, Germany and the Virgin Islands to our Field Day log.

It was a different and definitely relaxed way to spend a Field Day. We didn't rush to get on the air (but we started at 2:00), didn't worry about food (we had great sandwiches from home); setup and logging were a snap. We stopped for the evening before we were exhausted and when it was all over, we were ready for more.

DAY #2----FIELD DAY AT THE CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS
By Dick, N1LT

Sunday morning came and Jim and I spoke on the phone. We decided that we had accomplished our goal of operating maritime mobile and that we should head up to the Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro, NH and finish our Field Day from there. This is the location that our club, W1JY, Central NH Amateur Radio Club, operates from every year. I met Jim in Meredith and left my car in the theatre parking lot. Jims VW van is the perfect Field Day operating vehicle. It has a solar panel on the roof, a large car battery on the floor, comfortable seats and a movable operating table---all the comforts of home. Once at the castle, we set up across the road from the club picnic area. They had had a busy Saturday and had worked most of the night. We tossed our lines into two trees and had support for our 44 foot dipole. Setup didnt take very long and soon we were in business. We made about 50 CW QSOs in three hours. Teardown took about ten minutes---just long enough to coil up the support strings and wind up the antenna. The entire station, including the antenna and lots of extra gear, fit into my backpack.

Here are some notes on Field Day scoring: We operated class 1B-battery (one or two persons portable). Each CW contact was worth two points and because we were at five watts or less there was a multiplier of five giving each contact a value of ten points. We did make one phone contact. It added five points to our score. We also picked up additional bonus points for emergency and natural power, public location and W1AW message copy. It will be interesting to see how our seven hours fair against others who operated similarly, but ran for 24 hours. There is also something interesting to be observed here. At low power, 5 watts, if we could hear them, we generally could work them. I find this to be true also at my home station. Since I got my FT-817 in March, I have used the 100 watt rig only a couple of times. CW is a most versatile mode! -- N1LT