ARRL Field Day - 2020
Call: KY7M
Operator(s): KY7M
Station: KY7M
Class: 1E LP
QTH: SV
Operating Time (hrs): 6
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80:
40: 12
20: 36 15 4
15: 2
10:
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 48 15 6 Total Score = 123
Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club
Comments:
I operated from my son's backyard in Folsom, CA expecting my grandchildren would
do some operating with me. The original plans to set up by a lake were scratched
when we learned the temperature would be in the 90s all weekend. Operating from
inside my son's house was the practical solution. I brought military sleeving
mast and the driven element from my trusty MP-33 FD antenna. I purchased a deep
cycle marine battery and solar panel for FD and had the battery fully charged
before FD start time. We got the antenna up and guyed on 16' of mast. Testing
revealed an unusually high SWR for the "trusty antenna". We took it
down and removed the RF choke I borrowed from my box of antenna parts. I also
took the traps apart and cleaned the connections of corrosion. Back in the air,
SWR returned to normal low numbers. Unfortunately, there were few audible phone
signals on 20m, much to my surprise. That meant there was little opportunity for
my grandchildren to operate and get excited about FD. When I tried FT4 with the
latest installed versions of N1MM+ and WSJT-X, the programs kept crashing. I
made a number of CW QSOs, but had trouble hearing and being heard with the
single element antenna. As if Murphy had not caused enough trouble already, my
laptop computer refused to recognize that there was a mic input other than the
built-in laptop mic for WSJT-X. So, the only time FT4 would decode was when the
speaker volume was loud enough for the laptop's built-in mic to detect it. The
weekend was not a total loss -- I now have knowledge of how solar cells and
their regulators work with a marine battery and that my laptop wants to see 24
volts, not 12 volts from a power supply. It is also clear that operating
effectively from central California requires more than a dipole 16' high.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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