07/06/2009 | N7DLV The weather for Field Day 2009 was expected to be warm and rain free. This was going to be a great opportunity to try out some antennas I had built but did not get a chance to use last year.
Unfornutely, I was involved in two rear end collisions less than thirty days apart. As a result of my injuries, I was unable to operate as Class 1B. Instead, I operated as 1C again this year.

My mobile set up was a 102 inch whip with a tapped base loading coil for 15 through 40 Meters. For 80 Meters, I was going to use a modified PRO AM 80 Meter mobile antenna with the tapped base loading coil. This arrangement would allow me to adjust the 80 Meter antenna at the loading coil, instead of having to adjust the whip.

Field Day started out very promising and I was doing very well in the beginning. As Field Day progressed, I had to get out of the vehicle to stretch and move around every so often to alleviate the pain I was experiencing due to my injuries. After about nine and a half hours into Field Day, I had enough of the pain and shut down the operation. My total time at the controls was about 7 hours and this is reflected in my final claimed score of 576 points.

If you worked N7DLV during Field Day 2009 and would like a custom QSL card commemorating the event, just send your QSL card along with a SASE. I'll confirm the contact and send the card to you. -- N7DLV