2013 - Operate in the grass

For this year’s FYBO I wanted to use the Jacklite pole and the SOTAbeams Band Hopper that I got for Christmas.  As has happened in other years just before FYBO, the snowpack in Moscow, ID was good right up until a few days before FYBO.  2013 was the same with warm temperatures and rain chasing away the 5 inches of snow that we had on the Monday before FYBO.

I left the house at 1500Z and made the short drive to where I work.  I was pleased that the pole and 20/40 m Band Hopper went up as easily as advertised   I know that several folks use this combination, but this one was the first for me.  I put the radio gear on a roll up table, hooked everything up, and was nearly ready in than 20 minutes.  A quick trip home to get a needed adapter took a bit more time.

First QSO was with K0DTJ in CA on 40 m at 1608Z.  I just missed the valuable 20-29F multiplier with a temperature reading of 30F.  I stayed on 40 for half an hour with two more Qs.  From then until 2300Z, 20 m yielded 42 Qs and 20 SPCs.  Best DX was ON which also had the lowest temperature from Doug, VE3EFC, at -10F.  This year I copied nine sub-freezing temps which was more than last year.  At 2300Z I switched back to 40 m and picked up four more close in Qs.

A check of last year's FYBO log found 11 stations that worked me again this year.  They were K0DTJ (who worked me on both 40 and 20 this year), N5JKY, WA5BDU, W5MSQ, WA5RML, K6BBQ, NK6A, W4NJK, NE5DL, WA8ZBT, and WD7Y.  Two of them, Rem, K6BBQ, and Don, NK6A are also in my 2011 FYBO log.  This year I heard NQ7RP working another station, but I wasn't able to catch him this year.

For the day, I had 49 Qs and 25 SPCs with a temperature mult of 4 for the 30-39F and a field mult for a total of 19,600, down from last year’s second place, field category finish of 79,256.  The equipment was my K2, serial number 213; a NorCal Paddle (narrow finger paddle variant) designed by Wayne Smith, K8FF, circa 1997; a CMOS Super Keyer II, circa 1990; and 7 Ahr gel cell. For logging I used an IBM WorkPad c3 (a Palm copy) with keyboard running David Ek's (NK0E) GoLog software, circa 2002.  Not much recent gear in that line up, but it does a great job and can withstand sub-freezing temperatures.

I had to take a break around 2000Z (noon local) to warm up my sending hand.  Even though I kept it in a hand muff with MyCoal hand heaters, the constant pushing the keyer CQ button made for a cold hand and poor sending.

The take away things that I will remember about FYBO 2013 are the ease with which the antenna went up, the flock of geese heading north, and my observation that the sun set behind the same set of trees that the moon had set behind several hours earlier.