The
LARG Convoy, consisting of Norm Styer, AI2C of Clarkes Gap and Bob Oliphant,
KF4VBM of Waterford, in Norm's F-150 Pick-Up, and Art Laurent, KD4CSO
of Leesburg, in his Ford Bronco, left Leesburg at 6:00AM on Saturday, September
8, 2001. They Arrived at the Flying Circus Aerodrome, east of Bealeton, Virginia
on Route 644 off of US Route 17, at 7 AM. The team established a shelter
and installed their equipment by 8:45 AM.
The HF station was the LARG TS-440 Kenwood 9-Band
HF Transceiver with a Johnson KW Matchbox feeding a W3DZZ-antenna that had
80 and 40 Meter dipole elements off the center-fed balun at a height of 30
feet.
The VHF-UHF station was a Yaesu FT-836R Four-Band,
All-Mode VHF Transceiver operating on 6-Meter, 2-Meter, 70-Centimeters and
1.2 GHz amateur radio bands provided by Art Laurent. The antennas were a
Diamond X-50 2-Meter and 440 MHz Dual-Band Vertical Antenna on a 25-foot
Collapsible Portable Mast, and a 1/4-wavelength vertical for 6-Meter with
a magnetic mount on top Art's Ford Bronco. Belton 9913-F coax cables
were used as feedline.
Both stations were powered by separate deep-cycle marine
battery. Art Laurent also kept his battery charged by two 22-watt solar
panels.
About 50 QSOs were made on 40-Meters SSB and 8 on 2-Meters
by about 20 visiting Girl and Boy Scouts and LARG operators. These radio
contacts were made with Paul
Dluehosh, N4PD
of Leesburg,
VA, John Unger,
W4AU
of Hamilton, VA,
Tom
Garasic,
NA4MA
of Bull Run Mountain at Haymarket, VA,
Gary Quinn, NC4S
of
Lovettsville, VA, Watts,
K4WJZ
operating Mobile off the 145.21 MHz 2-Meter Repeater,
Hargrove,
KE4RUN
of Coats, NC, Don,
K3DRT
of Fongrove, PA, Joe, N3BDI
of Johnstown,
PA, Jim - N3LBY operating
Boy Scouts of America Station
K3BSA
at Delmont, PA, Andrew, KB3GQY
at K3BSA, and Chuck,
WG2A
near Rochester, NY. DX QSOs were made on 15-Meters SSB
with DJ8HJ, DF0HQ, LZ5Z, HG6N,
DK0JW, YU1JW, SP9LJD and
DK2OY.
Our ON-Site LARG Operators were Art Laurent, KD4CSO of
Leesburg, Bob Oliphant of Waterford, Chester Kmak, WA9LAZ of Leesburg, Angi
Garasic, KG4AVR and her dog, of Haymarket , and Norm Styer, AI2C of Clarkes
Gap, VA. |
