JEEP Field Day

Well another FD has come and gone think it is number 37 for me. They have come in all forms, full up big efforts with many operators, QRP, backyard, and Jeep trips. The last time we had a real Jeep FD was in the 1980's in one of my CJ5's in Owyhee Co. in SW Idaho running my trusty FT-301 mounted between the front seats....great time we spent five days jeeping and had a great time.

Due to time constraints this year there was only a plan for pal K7BUY to arrive from Ore. and we would take the Jeep and head to the hills exploring some of our old stomping grounds and stop and radio from several places along the way.
It was a great day wonderful visit with old friend and beautiful Idaho...First radio stop and lunch was on the south fork of the Boise river below Anderson Ranch Dam, great lunch and a few contacts...however the mosquitoes loved us a little to much so off to higher ground with less water.

Next stop Cow Ck. summit with wide open views in all directions we set up the Jackite Pole antenna and went to it, the band conditions were soooo bad but we worked many western stations with a few 8's 2's and 4's thrown in. The setup worked well with the FT-897 LDG tuner Hustler mobile antenna for 40,20, and 15. The Jackite Pole Antenna is a carbon fiber pull up that is in 4ft sections and holds a 32 foot wire fed with a 9 to1 UnUn...it preformed great on 20m.

At the days end we had driven over 100 miles had a great time and proved our portable/mobile setup works just fine...I hope you all had a good FD if you went out and enjoyed good friends and the great outdoors like I did....Everything is more fun in a Jeep.....Get on have fun and 73

Tear Down

Blogs are a funny thing we just set here and talk about things that may or may not be of interest to others. You have seen photos of my station and it is nothing special, no new $10k radios on the desk but many old classics that I use on a regular basis.....It seems to be what ever turns us on so to speak.

My new rigs are now 7 years old a pair of FT 897's one is set up for general use SSB, CW and 6M the other is set up for CW and RTTY...and mobile in the summer in my 2001 Jeep YJ. The rest are old rigs from the 70's and 80's TS 940s my main SSB rig, TS 430 a like new rig I seldom put on the air and a TS 180s that I use for other band RX in contests but is like new also....A FT 301 and all that goes with it that dates back to the 70's and it works great, and a bunch of boxes that switch PTT functions, noise bridge, keyers, meters and tuners....You get the idea.

In about a month this all has to be torn down and removed as the entire house is getting new flooring....what a job, not to mention everything else in the house that has to be moved...I plan to rebuild the station with better wire routing, better cooling for the four power supplies and the computer. A constant problem here is grounding so will work on that too.....

I will set up a 6m station in the garage and that will be about it for the month of July....Wish me luck get on have fun and best 73...