We made a recon of the camp site in advance and coordinated with the camp director. The Goose Creek Scout District had issues an announcement and registration form. A Warning Order was posted to the "QST de K4LRG" eMail Reflector on March 29, 2000.  Our OPLAN was released on April 2, 2000. It included the scheme of operation and assignments for the members of the Loudoun Amateur Radio Group.

This was a cool operation. We arrived on site on Friday afternoon. Larry - KG4CGR was there and Bob - KF4VBM arrived shortly thereafter. We started with the big 130 foot Off-Center-Fed HF Antenna for Bill - K8SYH's HF Rig. We had picked a good spot with a tall pine tree in the right spot. One shot with my sling shot and we were in business. Next, up went the 4 element 2 Meter Antenna provided by Tom - WB9RXJ on the Radio Shack Mast provided by Ray - K4AJA. Finally, we found a low limb to hang the 10 Meter Dipole from. Then we made contact with our Out Stations on 2 Meters and 10 Meters. Bill - K8SYH arrived about 5 PM and after setting up his gear, he discovered he needed a better battery. So off to Charles Town for one and a Big Mac. Finally, all was ready and we packed the rigs and planned to return at 8 AM in the morning.

Throughout the night we all kept one eye on the weather which was projected to turn stormy by mid afternoon and later to snow by midnight.

In the morning, things went very well. All the rigs came alive and we made contacts with our Out Stations. Jeff - KoZR, Mary - KF4UUY, Bob - KF4VBM, Bill - K8SYH, Larry - KG4CGR and myself were ready to talk to the Scouts. They came in small groups and we told them about the antennas and radios and what Amateur Radio was all about. Most made QSOs with our Out Stations. Mark - N3GMW was on 10 Meters and handled a lot of Scouts in a very nice way.  Ray - K4AJA was on 2 Meters and Charlie - K4LJH was on 75 Meter SSB.  Sometimes,  Mary - KF4UUY and Larry - KG4CGR would take their handheld and go for a walk and talk back to the Scouts at the site. They all got an ARRL Archie Radio Adventure Comic Book and several Scouts started down the road to the Radio Merit Badge. About 75 QSOs were made by the Scouts and these logs will be posted to this site.

About 1 PM on Saturday, we all knew it was just a matter of time before the storm hit. So, we pulled the big switch, took down the antennas and headed home. By 2:30 PM there was heavy rain throughout Loudoun County. By Sunday morning we had an inch of snow to boot.

Bill - K8SYH Helps With A QSO With Philadelphia On 75 Meter SSB

Scouts Watch The Operations On 75 Meter SSB

In summary, all had a wonderful time. Our members worked very well together and with the Scouts.

Best Regards, Norm - AI2C

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