My thanks to Paul N1PSX, our RI SEC (Section Emergency Coordinator), and the ARES team for a nice time this Saturday at their annual picnic/get-together. There were lots of folks from each corner of the state, most of them bringing hundreds of pounds of radio gear to deploy for a few hours today at beautiful Beavertail State Park.
I brought my 100 watt solar panel/charge controller/60AH LiFePO4 battery, and used it to run my IC-7000 to a 20-meter HF Stick mounted on the roof of my truck. The intent was to show off solar operation, but two other stations were on the air using solar panels by the time I arrived.
There were some impressive antennas in use, lots of tall poles, and even a truck with a 25 foot tower. However, my tiny rooftop ham stick worked fine and I was able to make a half dozen contacts. One young visitor, Jack (entering 4th grade this fall), asked if he could make a contact, and started calling CQ. It took him a bit to raise someone, but my thanks to Dave, N8MME, who came back to him from SE Michigan.
It was a beautiful day to be at the Beavertail Lighthouse on Conanicut Island (US0156, NA031, RI0007S).
Photo by Bob Rico (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWD7xdjlle8)
