This past weekend, we enjoyed one of the best Oh-Ky-In Field Day events I can remember. Friday afternoon to early evening was a wet, muddy, uncomfortable and miserable experience, and did I say wet…no, Monsoon. However, we were rewarded to the best weather we could imagine on Saturday and Sunday!Because of the heavy rains on Friday, there was much more to do on Saturday morning but everything was up and operating by the start time of 2pm. At the beginning of ops it seemed that the band conditions were down and we were off to a slow start but WOW…things greatly improved and enabled us to achieve the numbers UNPRECEDENTED in Oh-Ky-In history. Here are the numbers:
- CW Contacts:797
- Phone Contacts:1216
- Digital Contacts:135
- Total raw points: 3080
This was the year of the key and PSK31! NEVER has Oh-Ky-In achieved these numbers! While Nathan, Nathan Anthony, Dan Curtin and Kitty Hevener got this done for us on CW, Robert Gulley spearheaded the Digital station aided by Cesi DiBenedetto and others. On phone, as band conditions went up and down, we seized every opportunity to exploit the good and did a great job on SSB, GOTA and 6M/VHF!
Going back to the terrible conditions of Friday, we were reminded of the true reason why we do Field Day. It is an exercise to set up in emergency conditions and, these emergencies seldom come with great conditions such as good weather. We were tested, and we got the job done. And it is only because of each and every one of you who came out to help setup, operate, and tear down. Once again, the true spirit and teamwork of our membership is to be applauded. I can’t thank enough the souls who came out to brave Friday!
So, as we started drying out on Saturday, everything improved exponentially. The day started with an incredible breakfast served by our Chef John Phelps to get us going in the morning. As final setup completed and ops tempo increased, Chef was in gear to prepare for our annual Field Day picnic which was a success as always! And then behind the scenes, Chef was cleaning up and regrouping for our Midnight Steak Out.
At dusk, there is this one ham who comes out every year and always has to have his bonfire. And for some reason he has to use every piece of firewood that the park leaves us and no less to build a mountain of fire. Most years, it is so hot you can’t get near it. Well, it turned out very well this year, particularly because it was so pleasant out, cool and not hot and muggy as it usually is in late June. This gave us a great opportunity to sit around the fire and enjoy one great time…at a slight distance. As the numbers of QSOs rose, midnight quickly approached and we enjoyed our wonderful steaks and all the fixins! A great unwinding for those who worked so hard!
Never is there a Field Day without technical challenges along the way, but that is the nature of the animal. From having to come up with a cable or software at the last minute, or having to make a new network cable impromptu, to experiencing interference from one antenna to another, we look at these as challenges. Because of everything that happens at Field Day, we all grow, learn and persevere!
Once again, I hail Chef John for a great breakfast on Sunday morning, and then as the day progressed, we had a wonderful and beautiful Sunday as the clock ticked down towards 2pm. We usually take the beam down early but band conditions were so good we kept the QSOs going up till the last minute. Immediately at the end, everyone started tear down and pack up, and in record time! What a fantastic job by all!
In the next few weeks, I will be working on our submission package for scoring by the ARRL. Then the long wait till December for the results.
Once again, I can’t remember a greater Oh-Ky-In Field Day!
I sincerely thank you all for the hard work!
Eric Neiheisel, N8YC – Oh-Ky-In Field Day Chair
