My original plan was to try and get out for at least an hour a day this weekend to work the contest, figuring that what I can hear will turn over and keep it interesting. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t really care what I wanted to do. I got out for the first hour of the contest Friday afternoon (4pm-5pm), and it was cold. Metal patio chairs are brutal when it’s 50 out. I tried getting out again Saturday, but as soon as I got set up, it started raining and a quick scan across the band didn’t show any activity I could hear. I did fortunately manage to make four contacts Friday afternoon (Note: distances are assuming they’re operating from their home addresses):

  • 0:10 UTC 13 Dec: KF6UTE Casey in Saratoga - 4.5 miles
  • 0:26 UTC 13 Dec: N6NF Thomas in Woodside - 15 miles
  • 0:40 UTC 13 Dec: N6WG Robert in Newark - 14 miles
  • 0:48 UTC 13 Dec: W6YX The Stanford Amateur Radio Club - 11 miles

My setup was an Icom 706 with 50’ of wire about 15’ high. It was far from ideal, but it’s what I had. Even working these four stations was something of a challenge. Part way through, the furnace inside happened to turn on and it took out the whole band, so my family was kind enough to go without heat while I was playing outside in the cold.

Conclusion I’m really glad I borrowed YARS’ radio before getting my own. Owning an HF radio just isn’t for me at this point in my life. I have nowhere good to put an antenna, the noise in Davis is crippling, Sunnyvale’s noise is just tough. Frankly, for the amount of operating I would end up doing, it just wouldn’t be worth it. What I am going to do is make sure the contesters in my clubs know that I would like to work contests now and then, so I would be happy to come over and work the swing shift on a multi-op contest with them.

I’m really looking forward to Field Day next year. The guys who did the digital contacts last year made a point when I started coming to meetings to see if I was interested in coming back.