Flex on Field Day

Michael McGinty

Just finished Field Day using a 6300, Maestro and a 160M (long) G5RV. The CW Team made over 200 contacts from 10 to 80 meters. Tried 160 but no CW. Everybody loved the rig for contesting. This is the best CW rig ever. The high res display makes all the difference. This is our third Field Day with the Flex.

Bill -VA3WTB

I know it's fun, I did not work field day this year. Last year I was using my 5600. I loved the filters. I had zero interference from the other operators close by in the field.

I had three people working on the 6500. I would use slice A to work a contact while someone would be using slice B setting up my next pounce. I would jump over to slice B to work that contact while he goes to slice A to set up another contact. So we just leap froged back and fourth. The poor person logging for us could hardly keep up lol.

Duane_AC5AA

Out of curiosity, how often was a hand key or paddle used vs. automated CW?

Michael McGinty

Just used a keyer and a bug, no automatic messages. Both ops are old timers from 1957.

KENT HUFFORD

Like shooting ducks in a barrel. Is this legal?

Was showing a new ham how my flex 6600 displayed stations on the waterfall and how easy it is to find or not find them. He asked, Is this legal to use on Field Day?..

Well, we just finished Field Day 2018. We had 4 Flex 6xxx radios running. 2 on SSB and 2 on CW. Made over 1100 SSB contacts and over 1000 or so CW contacts. It is like shooting ducks in a barrel. We also had a FLEX 1500 w/amp for PSK31. 

NOW my 6600 goes back today to Texas for the fixes.. and upgrades.

Michael Coslo

I used a K3S over Field day. It heard CW well, to be sure, but the panadapter was very inferior to my Flex. I really missed a good panadpter.

Bill -VA3WTB

We who see them almost every day take them for granted till we use something else.

Don w2xb

It was like stepping back in time. fd on my back porch, using a "K2,battery and 5 watts with a end fed dipole at 10 feet.Many contacts after the big rush. Logging was done with a pencil and paper log. 
 Sure feels great the get back to my Flex 6600m and PC logging. But running fd using  my old gear was fun..(for a while)

Don...w2xb

Michael Coslo

Very true, Don. I would love to get back to a simple Field day. Ours seem to get more complicated over time. Now it takes me a week to recover. My best FD experience was some 12 years ago. 2 radios, 100 Watts, and 2 OCF dipoles. Took only a few hours to set up, and 30 minutes to strike. 

Now its individual Beams on 40, 20, 15, 10, and 6 meters and In-V on 80, Full legal limit on 4 radios, totally networked and setup takes until noon Saturday, and teardown until late Sunday. It's a lot of fun, but exhausting. I'm not getting any younger.