LIDS Field Day Plans

The May gathering of the Lost Island DX Society was starting to wind down.  The 807s were either empty or getting warm, which was the sure sign that it was time for the meeting to end.  Just before the president could call for an adjournment motion, Skinny Dennis stood up.

“Before we adjourn, I want to talk about Field Day.”

Silence meaning acquiescence, Skinny continued.  “Every year it’s the same routine. Charlie and I show up on Friday afternoon to set up. Four or five others promise to show up and help out, but nobody ever does. So Charlie and I sweat out the day putting wires in trees and setting up tents and trying to get the generator to crank.”

 Looking around the room, Skinny saw a few members discreetly avert their eyes in a sign of guilt. He continued, “Saturday morning we’re back at getting radios running and coaxes run. A few of you guys show up around 10 or 11 o’clock, but by then we’re usually about finished."

“Someone will show up with a big sub and a cooler full of 807s around noon and the crowd falls into it, between telling ‘war stories’. At 2 o’clock when the opening bell starts, it’s just Charlie and I sitting in front of the radios trying to crank out some Qs while the rest of you blather on.”

“Maybe around 3 or 4 somebody might offer to relieve us, but they usually get bored after about a half hour and wander off to see about helping with the grill for dinner.”

“If we want to have any kind of score, Charlie and I are pretty much stuck at the radio. By dinner 10 or 12 others have shown up to see what Chef Arnie has on the grill. After eating they all sit around telling lies about the DX they worked and draining more 807s. If I try to get one of them to operate for a while, they’ll usually say, ‘Oh, no, you got right ahead. I don’t want to take away any of your fun.’”

“By 7 o’clock most of them have cleared out and headed home for the evening. Charlie and I are getting tired listening to thunderstorm crashes while hearing the hub bub of the crowd enjoying their 807s behind us. But Charlie and I are stuck there the rest of the night trying to put Qs in the log while everyone else is sleeping in their air-conditioned beds at home.”

“By morning someone will usually show up and bring Charlie and I some coffee, but will they take a turn at the radio? Noooooooo.”

“By lunch some more have shown up with another sub and more 807s in a cooler. But by 1 o’clock they’ve all disappeared. At 2 o’clock when Field Day ends, Charlie and I are by our lonesome again, left to take it all down and drag it home where we collapse.”

Skinny Dennis looked around the room, where few would meet his gaze. He hoped he had shamed them into showing up and actually helping out this year. Just then the president spoke up.

“Well, I guess the Field Day plans are all in order, so do I hear a motion for adjournment?”

The din of movedsecondedallinfavorayetheeyeshaveit erupted in the room, followed by a quick departure of the membership by every exit available. Skinny Dennis was left standing while Charlie still sat in his chair.

“Guess I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Charlie,” Skinny said as he turned toward the door.

The TRUTH About Hara!!!

Photo via WHIO.com

News out of Dayton Tuesday revealed that the aftermath of severe storms and tornadoes on Monday caused extensive damage in the Dayton area. News reports showed that the historic Hara Arena of past Hamvention fame was extensively damaged with roof and walls torn completely off. This damage has been blamed on the storms and tornadoes, but the Fi-Ni Report has learned that is not the truth.

The damage at Hara was actually the result of a post-Hamvention K9PG extracurricular Hooters party. K9PG and assorted compatriots still hanging around the region post-Hamvention snuck into the deserted arena and threw a Hooter's catered shindig that literally 'blew the roof off' of the place.

There would have been an investigation and, no doubt, criminal charges pressed if the damage had been done under normal circumstances. But, 'PG and party were spared embarrassment when a line of storms came through shortly after the party broke up and caused significant damage in areas around Dayton. When the Hara damage was discovered, authorities assumed it had been cause by one the storms or even a tornado. With all of the winds associated with the storms, almost all evidence of the 'PG led soiree was blown away. The only incriminating piece of evidence that remained was a hideously ugly green Hawaiian shirt which got speared on a roof rafter, the significance of which eluded local authorities.

Elsewhere, some long time Hamvention attendees viewed photos of the arena and were convinced that there had actually been some improvements made to the buildings.

Hefty Ate

“Leche, it is time.”

“Time for what, Macho?”

“Time for us to return to the bands. With the sunspots growing weak, many have lost faith in the possibilities of DX.”

“How will we do that, Macho?”

“We have time before the great WW in the fall when the world can witness the greatness of Macho Cueso, so in the meantime we will take a new opportunity to demonstrate our DX prowess.”

“What is that, Macho?”

“We will use the Hefty Ate to work all the DX.”

“What is the Hefty Ate?”

“It is a new digital mode.”

“Digital? You mean fingers? Like cw?”

“No, it uses a computer.”

“Computer? So like RTTY?”

“Not exactly. The Hefty Ate doesn’t decode errors like RTTY. It is always accurate.”

“No errors? Where is the fun in that? Leche likes trying to decipher DSDHJCNWITRZM,QWP457NVL to pull out a QSO. Perfect copy is boring.”

“Leche, it is the way of the future. As spark gave way to CW, AM gave way to SSB, we must make way for the Hefty Ate.”

“But Macho, they say you can’t run more than 20 watts with the Hefty. What will we do with the amplifiers?”

“Leche, worry not. The Hefty is a weak signal mode. That does not mean it is low power. The QRPers are used to being weak; they think that weak automatically equals QRP.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Leche, you’ve been on 160m. You know better.”

“Si.”

“Macho, the word on the grapevine is that Hefty Ate will destroy ham radio.”

“Leche, is this the same grapevine that said that eliminating the code requirement would destroy ham radio? Is it the same grapevine that said that incentive licensing would destroy ham radio?”

“Maybe.”

“Is it the same grapevine that said that computer logging and sending would destroy ham radio? I think your grapevine grows sour grapes.”

“Macho, I hear there is now a Hefty Fore. How will that affect things?”

“We will have to wait and see on that one, Leche.”

“Macho, I am confused. Is Hefty Fore half as good as Hefty Ate?”

“It is definitely twice as controversial.”

“Will there be a Hefty Dos?”

“I don’t know. We have to wait for the Princes of Princeton to decide if we need it. In the meantime, we need to get our clocks synchronized.”

Bad Day for Macho

Last week Macho Cuesew, the World's Most Extreme Contester, stopped by the Lost Island DX Society club station. Macho was obviously feeling very down.

"What's the matter, Macho? Another solar flare hit and wipe out the bands?"

"No. No solar flares."

"Well, what's got you so down in the dumps?"

"Macho is very sad. First, when they announced the team leaders for WRTC 2014, Macho was not included in the list."

"Well, don't take it so hard. There were a lot of top notch operators who didn't make it as a team leader. Maybe someone will pick you for a teammate."

"Macho already has a teammate - Leche Dinero. Macho and Leche were going to be Team Cuesew! We would win it all. We would be unstoppable - the World's Most Extreme Contester. And Leche."

"There's still a chance, Macho. There are those sponsored teams left to fill. If you can find a sponsor to pony up the cash, they could name you and Leche as their team and you'd be in. Maybe you could sponsor the team yourself?"

"No. Macho lost most of his money trying to buy an Alpha 77 over the Internet from a guy in Nigeria. And I still don't have the Alpha. I just need a little more money to pay the export registration paperwork fee. And the import registration paperwork fee. And shipping turns out to be very expensive from Nigeria. You have to pay for everything up front."

"Hmmm, does sound like a sticky situation. You said the WRTC was the first thing upsetting you. What else is wrong?"

"Macho is very sad to learn that the CQWW committee has eliminated the Extreme category. That was Macho's home in the greatest contest of all. It was the only contest that recognized the greatness of Macho as the Most Extreme Contester in the World."

"The WW is still the greatest contest on the planet. You just have to compete with the rest of us plebes now is all."

"Yes. I now compete with you puny ordinary contesters. Where is the challenge in that?"

"I see your point, Macho. Guess its time to hang up the tights and start hanging out on 75m phone in the evenings and relive the glory days."

DXpedition to Mud Island

Thanks to an earthquake on September 24, a new island has appeared off the coast of Pakistan near the town of Gwadar. The new island, named Zalzala Koh, is made of erupted mud, spewed from the seafloor when either gases escaped or subsurface water was violently expelled. The new island is approximately 576 feet by 525 feet and has an elevation of 60 to 70 feet. It is located approximately 2 km from shore.

News of the new island sent a titter through the international DX community. New Ones of any sort difficult to find. But there is no denying that Zalzala Koh is a true New One.

An international group of DXpeditioners is being assembled to mount a expedition to newly formed mud island as I write this. Sponsorship is being secured and travel arrangements are almost complete. It is hoped that the call AP4ONY can be secured for the DXpedition.

Although Zalzala Koh has not been approved by either IOTA, DXCC, or any other award program, the DX spirit of WFWL (Work First, Worry Later) is at play here. If past history is any indication, Zalzala Koh may disappear within a year succumbing to the erosive power of the pounding of waves from monsoon storms, so work 'em while you can!

CQWW Is Just Around The Corner

Last week while hanging out at the Lost Island DX Society clubhouse, SSB operator extraordinaire Rusty Key stopped by. Someone mentioned that CQWW was quickly approaching. While the other LIDS were excitedly discussing the prospects for banner propagation this year, I noticed Rusty was awfully quiet.

 "Hey, Rusty, you planning another big operation for WW phone this year?" I asked.

 Rusty turned exceedingly shy, looked at the ground and said, "Naw, don't reckon I'll do much."

 For one of the most prominent LIDS phone operators this was shocking and suspicious. It took a little prying to find out what was going on, but eventually Rusty fessed up.

"I was DQ'd last year."

"What!? Were you running Uncle Percy's amp that has the tube with handles again?" I asked.

"Naw," Rusty replied indignantly, "I won't even running the limit. My fancy digital wattmeter sat on 1495 all weekend!"

"Well, what was it then?"

"If you must know, they said I was operating outside the contest time period."

"Rubber clocking?! Who in the world gets nabbed for rubber clocking in this day and age of computers? Besides, the contest is 48 hours long and there ain't no less than 48 hour categories, at least until this year. How did you end up 'operating outside the contest period'?"

"Well, come 2359Z on Sunday night I had been up for over 48 hours straight. I guess I just zoned out and kept calling CQ. Guys kept coming back to me, so I kept working 'em."

"You mean guys kept calling you after 0000Z? Didn't, uh, your rate drop quite a bit?"

"Well, yeah it did, but you know the secret to contest success is Butt In Chair even when the rate drops. I figured it was just a lull, so kept CQing and kept working 'em even at 5-10 an hour."

"Hmmm, well guess fatigue can come into play and anybody can have a lapse of judgement. Well how long did you operate?"

"You mean when did I stop?"

"Yeah, when did you stop?"

"Tuesday."

"Tuesday!!!"

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. I was so tired I finally fell asleep at the mic and didn't realize what had happened until I woke up Thursday. I apparently hit the macro button I had written to automagically send my log to the contest sponsor when I fell asleep. It was too late then."

"So the Contest Committee automatically disqualified you?"

"No, not a first. They wrote and asked me for an explanation. I panicked and responded with some gibberish about the compression and expansion of time due to Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. I think I even worked in something about leap years. It was desperate and stupid. That was when they disqualified me."

"Can't say as I blame them. So you're sitting the old 'WW out this year?"

"I guess so. I was thinking I might borrow the club call for the contest. It would be a good year to run Uncle Percy's amp again."

3rd Annual Talk Like a Pirate Radio-Sport Contest

The closest thing the Lost Island DX Society has to a tradition is the annual Talk Like A Pirate Contest. Every September 19, corresponding to Talk Like A Pirate Day, the LIDS take to the air in an unholy amalgam of radio contesting and piratey behavior. 

So once again starting at 0000Z September 19, hoist the Jolly Roger, tune up your best Death Ray Amplificator and call "Sea-Q, Maties!" Exchange Aahhrr-est-tee reports and ye pirate nom de plume (that be what da' Cap't calls you for you unedumacated scallywags). Work as many other pirates as you can and scribble it all down on a piece of foolscap, roll it up, and stick it in an empty rum bottle and toss it in the sea. Eventually it will wash ashore on Lost Island and we'll tabulate the results. An added doubloon or two in the bottle might make the bottle here a bit sooner and encourage the log checking crew to not look so closely at yer scribbles.

Get You Log In On Time

The CQWW Contest Committee has announced that starting with the 2012 contests, the time period for log submissions after each contest has been reduced from thirty days to just five days.

As with any change to a contest rule, the contestsenti are all atwitter with opinions pro and con. The hyper-competitive type-A proto-Big Gun types greeted the announcement with a hearty huzzah and only complained that the committee didn't adopt a WRTC-style rule requiring log submission within ten minutes after the end of the contest. A contingent claiming to represent those whose lives don't revolve around the weekend's contest du jour thought five days a bit too restrictive as some people like to do things like eat, sleep, and go to work in addition to contesting. No mention was made of finding time to sit around a campfire and have a drum circle. Their proposals for a reasonable log submission time ranged from 8 to 14 days.

The staff at the Lost Island DX Society Research Center have applied their best brain cell to the issue and after extensive research, which coincidentally lasted precisely as long as two six-packs did, have arrived at the optimum time period for log submission. The precise optimal time period for log submissions is 7 days, 3 hours, and 52.8 minutes.

No need for the CQWW Contest Committee and the contest community as a whole to thank us. We at the Lost Island DX Society are happy to contribute where we can. That should end the controversy and we can go back to discussing what 'assistance' really means.

Field Day on Lost Island

The Lost Island DX Society hosted Macho Cuesew and Lech Dinero  for Field Day. For those looking for the location of Lost Island, there might be some clues in the video.

Original Box

We’re BAAAACCCCKKKKK! Not that anybody seems to have missed us. The last couple of months Cousin QRM has been severely depressed due to SADD (Sunspots Ain’t Doing Diddly), which have made the bands about as exciting and sluggish as day old cold oatmeal. As a result, activities around the Lost Island DX Society clubhouse have been at a lull.

But now it’s SPRINGTIME. A time when a young Big Gun’s (or Old Phart’s) fancy turns to ANTENNAS! It’s time to nurture those small springs of aluminum and steel that were planted last winter in hopes that they will blossom into magnificent spires reaching to the heavens and sprouting stacked arrays, or at least tribanders.

But even QRP DX’ers know that big antennas require an infusion of See Eh Ess Ach to grow to the heights needed to bust that new Yemen pileup. Short of a well-crafted Ponzi scheme involving P5 QSL cards, the quickest way to raise some See Eh Ess Ach is your local hamfest. Those lovingly cared for (cough) veteran rigs and amps of many past pileups and contests can be traded to a sucker fellow ham for that all important infusion of See Eh Ess Ach to feed your current habit of power and tower.

Every flea market scrounger knows that the one feature that differentiates treasure from trash is ………The Original Box. Any radio or accessory, regardless of its condition immediately doubles in price if it is accompanied by The Original Box. Just catch an episode of one of those Roadside Antique Picking shows and watch as the professionals wet their pants over the most insignificant trinket, looking old and dirty, but …. in …. its ….. Original Box.

Let’s be honest though. How many of us still have an Original Box for any of our gear? If we do, it beaten and dog-eared with the corners rounded off. And the styrofoam inserts? Forget it. If they’re still there, they’re cracked and crumbling. If you’re anything like me, and I hope you aren’t, the Original Boxes you do have certainly won’t have any Antique Picking Roadshow guru getting his undies even slightly damp.

But now there’s a solution! Dr. DX’s DX Industries and Pig Pharma Industries have combined in a joint effort to bring you The Original Box Company.

The Original Box Company can provide genuine Original Box replicas for your old gear. Have a TS-520 or Drake 2B collecting dust in the bottom of your closet? Double its value at the flea market or on ebay with an Original Box, including foam or cardboard inserts. It might have 10,000 hours of operation on the tubes, but with an Original Box it can pass for a gingerly babied shelf queen and bring top dollar.

If you’re worried that showing up at the local swapmeet with a battle worn KWM-2 in a pristine box will raise a few eyebrows, The Original Box Company offers appropriate box aging as an option with all its boxes. By giving an Original Box signs of gentle wear and aging, the value of the gear can be enhanced without raising suspicions. Collectors and eagle-eyed flea market junkies expect a modicum of wear and tear on an Original Box. A gently worn box is testament to the excellent condition of the equipment inside it.

Original Boxes will be offered for Drake, Kenwood, Yeasu, and Icom radios and accessories. Original Boxes for equipment prior to 1975 by special order only. Box aging additional. See us at Dayton. Blue van with Texas Bugcatcher on the rear bumper in the grass field across from HARA. Catch us before you setup in the flea market.

Original Box

NOT in the Original Box