K5DX

TDXS Field Day 2005

June 25-26, 2005

by Bill Frink - K5WAF

(see FD pictures below)

Fun! – Hot!! – Challenging!!! – Outstanding Hospitality by Dave & Lynda Topp!!!! --- but Better Luck Next Year.
AC5K, K5WAF, KC5DJI, N4AL, N5DD, N5ET, N5KTN, N5MT, W6KNC/VK4UC, WØMM, WØMYL W5BXX, W5MJ, W9DX, WB5TUF, K1DDO (12 Year Old Dominic!) and our unlicensed help from Brian & Mike Frink and Annette Layfield.

The much anticipated and extensively planned TDXS version of the 2005 ARRL Field Day was held for the second year in a row at Dave Topp’s summer home at Surfside Beach, Texas on June 25 & 26th. Running 2A with a beach located, RV based CW station, a garage located (with newly installed AC!) SSB Station and separate GOTA and Satellite under the cover of the porch, we were all set to make a valiant run at a Field Day win. But alias, a win was not in the cards with:
 

and a total score of 6,580 including 1,070 bonus points. Not great. Not terribly bad. But lots of fun.
For TDXS members that couldn’t make it to Field Day this year, I thought I would capture some of the highlights so you can share in the experience. As you will see, Setup was well defined but the problems encountered were not! Operations has some real high notes (hint – the SSB, GOTA, Natural Power and Satellite stations did great) and a few low points (hint again – the CW station had its problems!). And Tear Down went pretty well with the whole effort concluding with no one getting hurt and leaving with some pretty good memories.

Setup
It is pretty easy to jump into describing the setup on the day, but what is easy to miss is the extensive work that a few TDXS’ers provided well in advance of Field Day.
We really need to acknowledge the great antenna refurbishment work done by Steve -W9DX, Madison - W5MJ and Don - N5DD. The HyGain TH-6-DX rebuilt by Steve and used on the SSB station was a killer! The two element 40 meter beam rebuilt by Madison turned out to be the only antenna we had for the CW station and it allowed us to participate admirably. And though Don did a lot of work to get the Cushcraft A4 (with 40 meter element) ready for the GOTA station, we (not Don!) managed to destroy it during installation; a real disappointment, particularly for Don who put an extensive amount of work into the antenna.
The station captains did a great job of arranging for and setting up the CW (Madison – W5MJ), SSB (Mike – N5MT), GOTA (Don – N5DD), Satellite (Glenn – WB5TUF), VHF (Dave – W5BXX) and the Natural Power (Wes – AC5K) station.
So we had the equipment and the newly refurbished antennas and all we had to do is set it all up. As they say, easier said than done. Here are some of the challenges we faced:

• GOTA Antenna Destroyed: The assembled A4 looked great on the ground and the crank-up, 40 foot tower was positioned and ready to accept the antenna. The lines were manned, the antenna was installed and up she went – well at least until the cable pulley assembly broke and the extended tower came screaming down, antenna and all. All hands (and bodies) shot out of the way of the freight train sounding center tower section and it hit the ground with a thud! Seconds later, the reflective element of the A4 sheared off and surprised most of us as it hit the ground behind us, luckily with no one in its path. What a mess! But you do what you have to do – the undamaged driven element was intact, so the mangled antenna stayed up on the single section of tower and played like a hapless dipole for the duration on the GOTA station.

• 1 of 2 Generators Not Operable: We lugged the first and presumably the primary, 6.5KW generator out of the garage and set it up about 70 feet from the garage. And as a late request in the planning, we asked Madison to bring his generator, “just in case”. So out it came as well. After fueling, priming, and tugging till our arms felt like they were going to come off, it became clear that before we even had made Q #001 we had lost the primary generator. Though we held our breath and hoped for the best, Madison’s standby generator did the trick and it worked continuously through out the weekend. There were a couple of us that were pretty concerned, though.

• Networking Not Functioning: The Writelog software had been chosen, the concept of repeating last years standard of networking all the stations was well in hand – but we couldn’t make it work! While not a disaster, it sure removed some nice operating and logging features we thought we would have.

• Log Periodic (CW Station) Shorted Out: The main antenna for the CW station was the Tennedyne T8 Log Periodic mounted on the 50 ft, RV installed, crank-up tower. Sounds pretty slick and simple! Aux contraire monsieur! What a struggle getting it mounted below the 40 meter, 2 element yagi! The U bolts didn’t fit. The brackets didn’t line up. And some field modifications obviously went “south”. What we ended up with was a nice looking 50 ft tower with two antennas – the Log Periodic, though, being totally shorted out and unusable. Wow, what a mess! But as with the GOTA station, we made due using the 40 meter yagi on all bands with a tuner.

• Lost 1st Hour on CW Station with Antennas Setup: Not only did we have the physical problems with the Log Periodic, we had scheduling problems as well. We didn’t get to an operating position until about 2pm on Saturday, which was a loss of at least 1 hour of initial operation.

• 75 Meter Dipole Destroyed: By this time we were getting pretty good at messing up antennas. So for good measure, the 75 meter trapped dipole (courtesy of Mike – N5MT) that was installed on the SSB, trailer mounted tower was hoisted up with the yagi’s. But true to form, it got entangled with the guy wires and broke free. So much for 75 meter SSB.
  But everything else went great!!! (Well, at least we were able to operate all the stations). Seriously, the station set-ups were really well executed. Glenn did an amazing job with the satellite station as did Wes with the natural power station. And the same can be said for the Yaesu FT-1000 SSB station arranged for and provide by Mike and the Kenwood TS-2000 CW station arranged for by Madison.

We ended Friday night, by the way, with a great dinner at a local haunt, Willie Joe’s. Actually the meal was great, but the company was better. We should do this sort of thing more often.
 

Operations
With everything set-up and ready to go, all we had to do is push the pedal to the metal – or was it the fork into the shrimp, or something like that. I guess, I keep thinking of the post setup dinner at Willie Joes. Anyway, here are a few highlights of the different operations.

• Natural Power Station: Right out of the shoot, Wes – AC5K seized 100 bonus points by setting up and operating the natural power station. In fact we were still working on the Log Periodic antenna when we found Wes disassembling his setup and taking it home because he was all done! Neat! Anyway, for the record, the battery-less setup that Wes put together was comprised of a Solarex 40 Watt solar panel with a home-brew (from scratch) switching regulator, powering a heavily modified Ten-Tec Argosy 1 transceiver running 5 Watts output. Voltage output of the regulator was continuously monitored with a home-brew expanded scale 12 volt meter to reduce the chance of chirping due to voltage changes. (The sun was bright enough to run the full 5 Watts+, but should the voltage have started diving during key down power output is reduced until the power no longer dives. In this way, the solar set-up can still be operated during light clouds.) There was no power storage device of any sort used. The power was DIRECT solar. As a side note, there was also a hand cranked generator available on site if the weather would not have supported the solar power. Some of the modifications to the Argosy were: addition of a home-brew digital readout for frequency and time; a home-brew keyer built into the radio, all incandescent lamps were removed and replaced with super bright LED’s to lower power consumption, etc.

• Satellite Station: If you haven’t watched Glenn at work with his satellite tracking, receiving and transmitting equipment, it is more than intriguing. After what seemed very long waits, but a very definitive schedule, Glenn was able to locate and make several contacts. The one I personally liked the most was the contact with ISS, the International Space Station. Nice work Glenn!
   

• GOTA Station: The operation of the GOTA station was fun to watch. Don not only set it up, but nicely stewarded it’s operation with at least a couple of rookies. Mike Frink gave it a good go with about 20 Q’s or so. And Laurent – W0MM’s 12 year old son, Dominic – K1DDO, worked it like a pro. And there were others that took a turn and the GOTA clearly maxed out their bonus points, despite the massacred A4 antenna and the interference problems with the SSB station.
   

• VHF Station: We also tried 6 meters from an Icom 746 setup on the RV. Most of us thought it was a lost cause trying six meters, but with a little persistence from Dave Topp, in particular, bingo. 55 Q’s really wasn’t too bad and Dave, Madison and a couple of others had a great time picking out the openings.
   

• SSB Station: Now for the big producer in terms of Q’s. Mike, Don, John, Jim and others operating the SSB station actually had pretty good luck. Saying that, I know that they would comment on a couple of things; (1) being grateful for the air conditioning unit that Dave Topp installed in the garage wall Saturday morning and (2) a wish that the power line noise would go away. But at the end of the day, they had over 1300 Q’s, which by the way, was close to meeting the goal set for the SSB station.
   

• CW Station: Well what can I say. It started out rough with the Log Periodic problems and losing the first hour of operation. It was followed by an RV generator failure early in the morning that lost us another 5-6 hours (which might have been less, but we also had scheduling problems to boot). K5DX was not dominating the band or any frequency below 40 meters and the reports I had after the fact indicated that we were a pretty weak signal on the bands. Yet despite all, we got some good operating in and had fun doing it. Wait till next year!!

Field Day scores are not all from making Q’s. There are 1,750 points (equivalent to 875 low power SSB Q’s or 438 low power CW Q’s) related to bonus activities. We didn’t get them all, but we did get 1,070. Here is the breakdown:

Tear Down
It sure came down faster than it went up. It took about 14 hours to put it all together – about 5 hours to take it all down. All the equipment found it’s way back to their owners, the antennas disassembled and returned either to secure storage in Dave’s garage or back on top of the Don’s or Madison’s car to be reworked again. And boy, did we get smart about how to handle the yagi’s. To bad we got smart too late.

So, wait till next year!! Actually, there are some things we can learn with probably the central themes being (1) KISS – perhaps keeping it a bit simpler from the standpoint of antennas and towers and (2) improving execution of the plan.
Thanks especially to Dave and Linda Topp for their outstanding hospitality and to all the TDXSer’s who participated. And a real thanks to our guest, supporters and helpers who topped it all off and made this years Field Day a memorable weekend.
 

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Dave (W5BXX) and Lynda Topp, our weekend hosts.	Dave & Lynda's beach house, our FD home!	The Surfside Beach home of W5BXX where we tried to escape the mid-day heat.	Our trailer mounted crank-up tower used for the SSB station.	Steve W9DX finishing work on the TH-6-DX
How hard can it be to put a 2 el beam together?	Assembled TH-6-DX & 2-el 40 ready to mount on the SSB crank-up tower.	Madison W5MJ wondering where that 40m spider goes!	Michael Frink mounts the ARRL flag on the SSB tower with help from Brian Frink and N5MT .	Dave was feeling a little cranky Friday afternoon!
The SSB trailer mounted tower was located on a vacant lot between the beach houses.	The SSB antenna array (TH-6-DX & 2 el-40) at about 50 ft.	Mounting the A4 on the 30ft crank-up GOTA tower.	TDXS set-up crew working to get the GOTA antenna up. (l-r) Don N5DD, Michael & Brian Frink, Steve W9DX, Bill K5WAF, Jim N4AL, Madison W5MJ, Dave W5BXX	(l-r): Michael Frink, Brian Frink, Steve W9DX, Jim N4AL, Madison W5MJ, & Dave W5BXX
Just moments after the pulley snapped, the tower fell & the A4 was almost trashed.	The GOTA station antenna is up! Well, sort of!	The infamous Frink gang with Jim, Dave, Don and Madison holding the departed A4 reflector.	The crippled GOTA antenna with SSB tower in the background.	Mike N5MT & Bill K5WAF taking a break during set-up.
Jim N4AL and John W6KNC/VK4UC study the sign-up sheet and goals chart.	(l-r) John W6KNC/VK4UC, Steve W9DX, and Bill K5WAF.	The weary set-up crew enjoys a late Friday night dinner in Surfside	The set-up work made W5BXX hungry enough to eat a steak in one bite! Watch out for that bone Dave!	Wow! Ball lightning on the VHF antenna! Nevermind, it's sunrise.
Hummm, now how do we get the inverted V on top of the bird house?	The CW & VHF/UHF stations were located in the motorhome parked on the beach.	The gangway from the beach to the house (CW station to the FOOD!).	CW & VHF/UHF stations. The motorhome has its own crank-up tower!	Brian & Michael Frink on the GOTA station
The SSB station set-up in the beach house garage.	SSB station captain Mike N5MT at work.	Jim N4AL taking a turn on SSB.	John W6KNC/VK4UC no doubt looking for his mates down under!	Don N5DD on the SSB station.
The GOTA & satellite stations in action.	A ladder always comes in handy at FD!	The CW & VHF/UHF stations at sunset.	Glenn WB5TUF was our satellite station captain.	The satellite antenna array.
The satellite station set-up.	Glenn WB5TUF getting ready to "work the birds".	W5MJ keeping the generators going	GOTA station (KC5DJI) set-up.	GOTA station is a family affair with W0MM as control op & logger, Marylou W0MYL works the pile-up while Dominic K1DDO takes a picture.
Annette Layfield & Amy Daze KC5DJI handle the late night shift on the GOTA station.	Dave W5BXX manning the VHF/UHF station.	W5MJ working the CW pile-up.	Are we having fun yet?	A paper log??? Really Dave?
Marylou-W0MYL has help from a cue card for the exchange.	New ham Marylou-W0MYL on the GOTA station while hubby W0MM helps log.	New ham Dominic K1DDO looks on as mom (W0MYL) makes Q's as dad (W0MM) logs.	12 year old Dominic K1DDO gets training from dad W0MM on the GOTA station.	K1DDO gets a taste of contesting with dad W0MM as control op.
Laurent W0MM making contacts on the CW station.	W5BXX looking for Q's on the VHF/UHF station.	Don N5DD helps XYL Amy KC5DJI with logging expertise.	Arthur N5KTN assisting W0MM on the CW station.	Amy Daze KC5DJI coaches Michael Frink as Annette Layfield looks on at the GOTA station.
W5MJ pulling another signal out of the noise.	W5MJ can't believe the rate increase when W0MM's CW shift started!	W5MJ watches the log fill up as W0MM pounds away on the CW station.	ARRL Field Day - as American as apple pie!	Only a Texas station can claim bonus points for this special visitor!
Madison W5MJ trying his luck on 6 meters.	Our FD Coordinator Bill K5WAF on the CW station.	(l-r): W5BXX, W5MJ, and N5KTN.	(l-r) Annette Layfield, Madison W5MJ, Amy KC5DJI, and Dave W5BXX	It's over! The surviving TDXS crew on Sunday afternoon.

Pictures contributed by WB5TUF, WØMM, N5KTN, and N5MT.

Pictures & story from our 2004 Field Day Event