Luke, K5EDW interviews club amateur radio operators on why they operate outside of their homes in publc parks.

Field Day morning started at Tio Tony's in Midlothian for a hearty breakfast. After everyone was well fed, we proceeded to the Midlothian High School Stadium parking lot to set up the stations. We operated in the 3A category under the special events callsign of W5A. A mesh Network was set up so the computer logs could be consolidated into one submission file. Various operators took shifts. Craig N1XAC ran the GOTA station allowing the Civil Air Patrol Cadets and the liaison from the Midlothian Emergency Management office. At 6 PM, Steve K5SVV arrived with the magnificently prepared brisket dinner. Everyone brought sides to round out the hearty dinner. All in all, a good time was had by all.

Click on the Continue reading link below to see some additional pictures. We will be updating this article as more submissions come in.

During the last storm, Steve's antenna took a hit. A quick call went out to the club and a bunch of the guys pitched in to help with the repair.

Steve lured the club members to his place with donuts, breakfast taquitos, coffee and orange juice.

The telescoping pole made getting the antenna down and up a little tricky as the pole had to be kept vertical or it would be destroyed. The antenna snapped at the insulator section requiring a new insulator to be formed out of schedule 80 PVC. In addition, a new bushing was machined out of bronze to insure the antenna fit tightly on the mast. What was expected to take 2 hours turned our to take 5. In the end, the job was completed putting his station back on the air. A big thanks to all of the club members who participated.