Greetings,
I could not resist commenting on using football stadiums for Field Day.
Our gang at New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University, operated
W5GEM/W5GB for Field Day out of the Aggie Stadium.
We had very little support from the university; so we made do with whatever
we could find. I believe we borrowed a generator from the CAP, and paid 25
cents per gallon for gasoline (it was either 1956 or 1957).
We shot a line over the power lines between the light poles and attached
some really
tough field wire which we dragged across the grass to the other side.
First problem: No one had the guts to climb the pole on the opposite side.
We just
left it hanging/drooping across the field. Tried a quick CQ (CW) and it
worked fine as
it was. Main operators were W5SUC (Jim) and Warren (W5KKW). This long wire
worked any frequency with that pi network.
About midnight before time to start competing, Buddy showed up, a little bit
tipsy. He had what it took and raised the wire to 75 feet and tied it off.
With that little DX-35 and one hour down time (RF choke opened), we still
came in about
29th place.
We are not sure who took the long wire back down. I think we just left it.
No one would go up to disconnect it. That field wire was way to tough to
yank on to break it; I think some strands were steel.
Press boxes with no windows were fine in NM, but those nights get quite cool.
Those were the good ole days. Folks around here, so I am told, choose to
skip FD because of the heat! Maybe I can activate a couple of CW folks next
year??
Regards, Warren; W7WY
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