ARRL Field Day
Call: W2GD/1
Operator(s): W2GD
Station: W2GD
Class: 1D LP
QTH: Portland, ME
Operating Time (hrs): 1
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80:
40: 8
20:
15:
10:
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 0 8 0 Total Score = 16
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
This was my 49th consecutive FD operation....and I'm sure will ultimately prove
to be the the most unusual of my life.
My entry class was actually 1H which stands for 1 - Hospital. My hour plus of
FD operation took place from my room at the New England Rehabilitation
Hospital, in Portland, Maine using a remote control system via the internet.
Some background. A tower accident in Union, ME on June 17th eliminated any
chance of operating with the W2EN (3F NNJ) group near home. The accident left
me with a broken pelvis and broken back, internal injuries, and several days in
the ICU. On Monday June 24th I had successful orthopedic surgury to repair/pin
the most important pelvic fracture, and the following day got fitted with a
hi-tech brace to keep my back stable while the factured T-12 vertebra heals
over the next 6 to 12 weeks. On Friday June 27th I was transferred across town
from the Maine Medical Center to the New England Rehabilitation Hospital, where
I remain today and most likly for the next 10 days to two weeks.
Early on in this saga, I made my desire to somehow participate in FD, to keep
my 48 year streak going, known to Doug, K1DG, my good friend of over 35 years,
who has been a constant bedside visitor and support team leader since this all
started. Doug loves challenges, so he marshalled the troups and came up with a
plan. The key ingredient would be access to high speed internet service (which
was in doubt if I were moved to the Rehab Hospital prior to FD - but there was
a backup plan for this too).
By Thursday Doug had my laptop loaded with Skype and a copy of the Ham Radio
Delux interface software. The nitty gritty work of configuring the remote
setup was performed by IT guru Dave, W9ZRX. And Tim, K3LR, graciously made his
station available for my use on FD. The plan was to provide me with access to
40 meters both phone and cw - using an IC-7800 running 100W connected to the
stack of 4 element 40M OWA yagis.
Friday morning the decision came down unexpectedly about 11 a.m that I would be
moved via ambulance to the rehab hospital at 12:30 p.m. Of course this raised
questions about internet access, etc. at the new QTH. Fortunately our fears
proved to be unfounded, a new WIFI system had just been installed a few weeks
earlier, but most of the rehab staff were unaware of its existance. The
on-site IT guy even stopped by my room to make sure it was working properly.
Doug K1DG came by later Friday afternoon and tried to get my laptop system to
work on CW, but it wasn't to be.
The ebb and flow of life in the hospital pretty much dictated my operation
would take place after dinner Saturday evening. During the day three hours of
OT and PT had me pretty busy and tired.
I fired up on 40M SSB about 2300Z. It took a few minutes to learn how to
manipulate the remote interface program, and I soon found tuning in 100 cycle
increments was the the way to go. There was plenty of QRN at the time, but I
could hear a number of strong signals over the noise. Over the next hour I
worked 8 stations all S&P. It was really a thrill to be able to make my eight
contacts....it somehow seemed like an omen, that things will continue to get
better for me.
Thanks again to K1DG, W9ZRX, K3LR and everyone else who had a hand in helping
me keep my consecutive string of FD operations in tact.
73,
John W2GD a.k.a. P40W
http://www.w2gd-updates.blogspot.com/
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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