Sunday, June 28, 2015, 2 p.m. — Just wrapped up my 1 Delta Field Day operation, and let me say that I’ve had the most fun I’ve had in a very long time on ham radio. That’s probably because I’ve spent more time at the operating position over the past 24 hours than I have in several years.
I didn’t get on the air until after supper … I let the tumultuous first six hours get by before I joined the fray on 15 phone. I operated phone for a while, took a break to watch TV with the family, then went back to the rig at midnight.
I worked some 40 phone, then 40 digital before I moved to 80 digital and then 75 phone.
My favorite band and time to operate is the midnight-to-8 shift on 75 phone. I started at the low end of the band and worked my way higher, picking off contacts as best I could.
75 phone overnight on FD is a time when we’re all a little tired and loopy, yet we’re all doing our best to make contacts. I had a great time last night, though I went QRT at 4 a.m. rather than working through the night.
I got back in the shack about 11:30 a.m. and worked 10 and 15 meters until 2 p.m. Don’t remember the number of contacts, but it doesn’t matter … it was all fun.
FD NOTES. I haven’t worked much digital on Field Day, and honestly, I was surprised at how many of the FD stations had such crappy, overdriven PSK31 signals. The band was — of course — very crowded, with signals shoulder-to-shoulder, and in some cases, overlapping. But putting a PSK31 signal out that’s so 1000 Hz wide just runs the band for all but the strongest signals.
I should have taken some screen shots, but didn’t think about it. I was too busy trying to wade through the crappy RF.
It only took a couple of really crappy signals to make it really tough to work the signals that weren’t S9 or better.
Of course, I’m preaching to the choir … overdriven/overmodulated FD signals aren’t exactly rare or that unusual, hi hi.
The one thing I did not do was operate CW … at my lack-of-practice speeds, I would do well to copy the F or the D in the CQs.
I did do some prowling the CW parts of 40 and 80 meters on Friday night, and enjoyed copying CW. First time in a long time.
I have stuff to do outside my ham radio life, so I better do that and protect my standing with the XYL.
73 es CUL de KY4Z SK …. dit dit …