SSB Field Day 2000
Setting up the tri-band beam antenna - it takes five
people, you know! (Click for larger photo)
The tower being cranked up, with dipoles and guy ropes
in place. (Click for larger photo
Martin, DL5RMH, takes his turn at the helm of the GM3TKV
station. (Click for larger photo)
It's such hard work, this contesting lark! Sigi takes
a rest and a drink. (Click for larger photo)
Achim uses the "phone box" - well, we had
to put the bales somewhere to make space for the station!
(Click for larger photo)
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Intro
In September 2000, MFARS entered the SSB Field day event
with the help of several German hams from Landshut. The city
has been twinned with Elgin since 1956, and a party from Landshut
came to Moray on holiday as part of a twin-town association
event.
Among them were four keen radio contesters, who brought their
trusty TS850 rig and logging laptop, along with several family
members, to Moray. Their trip neatly (and intentionally) coincided
with SSB Field Day, so while the families spent the weekend
on a tour of Moray, the hams got stuck into the contest with
MFARS members.
Before the contest, the group spent a week exploring the
nooks and crannies of Moray and even managed to catch the
Highland games at Braemar (including a glimpse of the Royal
Family) and take in some of the Highlands, although Nessie
refused to cooperate. Distilleries and the cooperage were
on the programme (of course!), along with numerous castles,
ruins, ancient monuments and museums. The only rainy day was
spent, appropriately enough, underwater in the Sea Life Centre
at MacDuff. The intrepid travellers covered nearly 2000 miles
in total!
During this week, we held a "cultural exchange"
evening, where stories were swapped, local Bavarian beers
were sampled, whiskies were compared, and the Landshuters
presented MFARS with several gifts including an engraved pewter
tankard to mark the Landhut club's 50th anniversary.
The Station and Operators
Achim DL3RY, Martin DL5RMH, Ben DL6RAI, Sigi DF9RD and Geoff
MM5AHO operated as GM3TKV (MFARS club callsign) from a freshly
harvested barley field near Lossiemouth. The club's 3-band
beam (10, 15 and 20m) and a 40/80m dipole were mounted on
the mobile lattice tower, with the station housed in MFARS's
converted ex-dental van. A small caravan provided sleeping
quarters and cooking facilities. A 7kVA generator provided
power for both caravans.
The Contest
The Landshut amateurs were made honorary members of MFARS
before the contest so they could legally use the club callsign.
The station was quickly set up with help from various MFARS
members and the seasoned Landshuters.
The operators then proceeded to show everybody how world-class
contesters do their business, in between interruptions from
visitors (both hams and the public) curious to see what these
odd people were doing with a bunch of strange equipment in
the middle of a farm field.
The last call in the contest log was DL0LA - the callsign
of the Landshut club (DARC U08).
Unknown to us, the remaining club members in Germany had been
waiting to jump in at the last moment as a surprise and gave
us our 999th contact.
We had 994 confirmed contacts on the 5 bands and came a very
respectable 4th place in the open class.
The Post-Contest Party
To round off the Landshut visitors' holiday in style, Robin
GM0NEG and his wife Angela organised a barbeque in their garden.
The entire contest team and many other MFARS members attended.
More whiskies and beers were sampled, and a further Scottish
flavour was provided in the form of live folk music.
The MFARS committee presented the visitors with an engraved
quaich to mark the end of an enjoyable holiday and successful
contest entry, before the weary Landhuters drifted off for
a bit of sleep before flying back home.
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