AmateurRadio.com

 This weekend was the running of the ARRL Field Day event. For some they get out into the elements and set up an emergency-type station. Both individuals and clubs take part all over Canada and the U.S. There is a category for home stations on mains power....that was my preferred setup. This year the solar conditions were a bit of a challenge which involved considerable fading. I find that during ARRL Field Day when calling CQ FD I had to really listen for stations. There were many QRP stations, those using minimal antenna setup and then the good old poor solar conditions. I found many stations coming back to me just at the noise floor. I entered CW only at 100 watts from my home station and to the noise floor stations who were running who knows what I could be booming into them. I wanted to make every effort to make the contact. It was a good workout of skill. Below is the final score I did pull the plug a bit early as I found myself just calling CQ FD without any responses.