The decision to enter HF SSB field day was very much last minute. None of the Galway VHF Group members had entered a contest for years so enthusiasm was not a major player here. Four of the Group rose to the challenge. We had the tent, we all had a portable stations which were either used on AREN operations or some of our many activations. The formula was there. It was going to be minimalist station and also there was no doubt that it would conform to the Restricted Section of NFD. It came down to the choice between the Icom 706MkII or the Yaesu FT897D. The FT897D has always been all gain and loads of noise yet reasonably good for portable work. By comparison, the Icom 706 MKII was quieter, the DSP worked well and it had a nicer feel to it. The Heil headset was used in conjunction with a Behringer microphone pre-amplifier and equaliser. The old Icom was going to sound good if nothing else!
The next item under discussion was the antenna. We generally use a top-band or 80 metre doublet fed with open wire feeder and tune it for all bands. One can’t go wrong with this arrangement. The use of a G5RV was muted and shot down immediately. The “Windom” was another antenna that often brought about disparaging remarks because it never really seemed to pull in contacts for another group. Just because it was offset fed didn’t mean it wouldn’t work. Antenna modelling and many articles showed that, in theory, it should work well except maybe on 15 metres. This antenna was hoisted and tests were made using the MFJ antenna analyser and, surprisingly enough, it was as good as described. Any minor mismatch could be tuned out with an auto ATU or an Armstrong (manual) ATU. We decided to run with it.
We were fortunate that Enda, EI3IS, had access to lan in the Monivea/Athenry area and there were plenty of locations to choose from without having to trek too far. All of the locations had trees and one area in particular was sheltered from the weather and had the perfect antenna orientation for the contest; not that this probably mattered with a height of only 30 feet and probably absorption of signal in the trees and growth in the area. There was a good solid wall, close by, behind which we could locate the generator and minimise the noise. Unlike many areas in Galway, we could get a good distance into the ground with earth rods for both the generator and the station.
Saturday was perfect in every way as there was sunshine and although there had been rain the night before the ground 
was dry. The antenna went up a dream and with coax already attached it was just a case of cutting the coax with a little to spare and soldering a plug on the end. Aldi tents are huge and a dream to put up. We seldom use the inner section as we were not going to sleep in the operating tent. The portable station was already in a rack system and lifted out of the vehicle and plonked on the table. A MFJ auto tuner was used and a spare SWR bridge on hand also. The generator was 2.5 KVA Honda which powered the rig and lights and we also had plenty battery back up just to be on the safe side. Superfluous equipment inside the tent was kept to a minimum as there is nothing worse than tripping over equipment or boxes that have no useful function.
Initial tests, saw 20 metres reasonably quiet with the usual scattering of Europeans and an occasional American station. The antenna was tuning well and the Auto ATU tuned out the miss-match on 15 metres. At the appointed hour 20 metres changed from a relaxed area to wall of activity that developed in seconds. The SD program was proving its worth and there was a check-logger present to assist if anything was missed. Not being accustomed to this style of operating meant that practices had to be established between operator and check-logger and this didn’t take too long. Gerry EI8DRB was first in the hot seat with Steve EI5DD as a check-logger. A steady flow was generated and there was a hard choice to make between occupying a frequency and being a “searcher/pouncer”. Low power is not conducive with occupation of a frequency. It is not too long before the boys in the open section let you know where your place is in the contest. We were sat upon! It was therefore decided that a bit of both would happen. During the steady flow of operation it was nice to see the QSO’s per hour working on the program along with a tally of the score so far and the multipliers and dupe’s in the window.
The two that were not operating stayed well away from the operation tent to avoid distracting the operators. There was plenty to do on the site as in tidy the area and set up the kitchen and make plenty of tea and produce biscuits. A good fry was prepared later in the evening and the operator shift changed around that time. Comments about the difficulty of holding a frequency or getting over the high powered stations were noted. The actual number of stations worked seemed to be in keeping with other reports received although the obvious “big guns” were surging ahead. Neither 10 nor 15 seemed to come alive at the time although 15 at least had a few stations but they were insisting on receiving ages rather than a serial number (something only god, the tax-man and the bank manager know in my case). Another set of operators were looking for Asian stations. Occasional checks were made and a few minutes spent on working the stations evident on 15 metres but it was better to stick where the action was.
As darkness fell the action was more concentrated on 80 and 40 metres and a good number of contacts were made on these bands. Occasional checks were made on 20 metres but it did start to fall off as the evening wore on. Gerry EI8DRB had to leave in the evening leaving 3 on site. The remaining operators rotated until around 0100. Enda and John continued operating until the early morning leaving Steve to sleep through until 0700. Things progressed slowly during the night and an awful lot of the stations on the band had been worked before. Every so often there would be a new one to be found. A few CQ calls also resulted in an occasional reply as well. Whatever happened the momentum had to be kept going as even an occasional contact was worth a few points.
At 0630, what a sight for sore eyes, one look at the two operators said it was obviously time for them to go for a good rest. They were still willing to continue but there was little point. 20 metres was beginning to open at this time but 40 and 80 were still reasonably open so an occasional sojourn to 20 occurred when there was no headway being made on the those bands. By about 0830, 20 metres had opened up and 80 metres was on the way out. There were a few G operators involved with nets but little else. This was hard going and the rest of the contest involved alternating between 20 and 40 metres until the end of the contest. Things seemed to pick up and then slow down and it was hard to know what the best strategy was.
At around mid-day there was a quick QSY up to the news. A bit of a break was needed at this time. The news was short on this occasion and when portable stations were called we gave our call. All EI signals were very strong on 80 metres. Was it the nice location we had, may be the “Windom” wasn’t such a bad antenna after all.
We got the report from Sean, EI7CD, and moved up the band a little to work a few EI’s before getting down to business again. A good opportunity anywayfor a mug of tea and biscuits and a breather! Back to business again and we continued on with our last contact made a minute before the contest ended. What a relief!
A good fry up was enjoyed with plenty of tea before dismantling the operation. Strangely enough there was only >>ONE<< bottle of lager consumed by the group over the whole weekend. A subject for concern at the next meeting.
In conclusion, most of the operators were not used to fancy rigs with roofing filters, using more the filter between the ears. The Icom 706 was not a bad little rig to operate and it certainly withstood the bashing it got for the 24 hour duration. There was an ‘RTFM’ problem with theSuper Duper Program and it is thought that the only way to learn is to have first hand knowledge. Maybe two more operators would have lightened the load a little. The antenna was as good as it gets for the restricted section and it is unlikely that another multi-band antenna would have performed any better.
The weather was with us on this occasion but it could have been worse! If somebody were to ask what the conditions were like we wouldn’t have a clue – there were plenty of stations on the bands! DX wise we nearly got a Japanese station but we had not enough power although he did make every effort to pull us in without success. Although we have never really bothered with contesting in the past, this was really good fun and it is hard to understand why we never tried it before.
This could be the start of a new direction within the Galway VHF Group. It is, at the end of the day, not about trying to win, but more about working together as a team, assembling a good station out doors and improving operating techniques. The winning bit probably comes together if one gets all of the other bits right.
