I can succinctly sum up Field Day 2025 in this manner - The weather was hot ...the bands were not!
Overall, the weather was dry, but it was incredibly hot and humid. Set up on Saturday morning felt like we were setting up in a sauna. It was a bit drier on Sunday for teardown, but there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun provided a relentless reminder that it was indeed, Summer
Ahhhhhhh, but it would have been nice had the bands been as hot!
Last year, Marv and I racked up over 200 CW QSOs. That accounted for a couple hours off the air for thunderstorm and an educational activity that we performed. This year, with no lightning to worry about and no educational activity to interrupt our operating, we still only managed to log 169 CW QSOs. And Marv and I were behind the key at all times. He and I both noticed that there were many times that a station as loud as heck, calling "CQ FD" would just not answer us, as much as we would try. A reminder, I guess, that propagation is not always symmetrical.
Digital and SSB QSO totals suffered as well. We had a lack of operators this year, as a few that usually come weren't up to it this year. So, in a pinch, when Marty WB2BEW, our resident SSB Op went to his car for an AC break during the overnight, I picked up the mic and was making SSB QSOs while Marv was behind the key. Talk about feeling like a fish out of water!
Propagation held us to mainly the eastern and midwestern parts of the US and Canada, although we did manage to work the California coastal sections, as well as Alaska and Puerto Rico. The Alaska QSO was made by Dave KD2FSI on FT8 and I worked Puerto Rico twice on CW.
And what can I say more about Dave KD2FSI? He's a mainstay to and a MAJOR part SPARC's Field Day efforts. If he wasn't with us, we'd never have the success that we enjoy. He brings equipment and antennas in addition to what I bring and what Bill W2AOF brings. Without Dave, we'd be hurting puppies, indeed!
Under the miscellaneous file:
The Jackite stand worked perfectly. It held the pole upright to allow for easily installation of the tent pegs and CamJam tie down ropes without everything flopping over. In fact, it held everything so securely that I had a bit of a time getting it uninstalled!
From the "Stupid Me" Department:
The Vibrokeyer looked so mint out of the box, I did not check the condition of the contacts. They are tarnished and gave us fits all weekend. The key would work intermittently. I need to go over the contacts with a Q-Tip and some NOXON tarnish remover. For a major portion of the weekend, we used the QRP Guys paddles that I keep permanently attached to the KX3.
From the "Hog Heaven" Department:
The plan was for me to go out and purchase about five pizzas for dinner for Saturday evening. During setup on Saturday morning, the Vadney brothers, Dave W2OIL and Dan KC2YRC came by and told us they were bringing BBQ ribs and baked beans that evening. Wow! The ribs were tender, juicy and fall-off-the-bone perfect! The beans were the epic compliment to the ribs and made for a perfect Summer feast! Thank you, Dave and Danny!
We had a lot of visitors and walk-up pedestrian traffic. We were visited by the ARRL, the American Red Cross and by members of our Borough Council. We were able to give our Mayor a copy of the plaque indicating that our Field Day was dedicated to the memory of his father, John AB2VE.
Here are some photos:
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