Another highly successful field day was the general conclusion at the end of the weekend camp on Cleeve Hill – in spite of the chilly and windy weather. The event started on the Friday afternoon with the erection of a couple of gazebos and a mast. And with the positioning of the club’s newly acquired “portaloo” in a quiet spot.. A few of us stayed overnight and were joined by a few more for a superb breakfast cooked by Rich M0XRB.
Most of the weekend’s activity took place on the Saturday with a good number of members turning up to play radio or just to chat and drink beer or cider. One of the highlights was the WW2 military truck owned by Tony G3YYH and Martin M0MGA equipped with a fully working station – a Wireless Set No12 transmitter and an R107 receiver – which was put to good use on 80m AM. Tony and Martin accompanied by Rich M0XRB will be taking the truck to France in June for this year’s D-Day celebrations in Normandy by which time Tony’s WS52 equipment, which he spoke about at our April meeting, will also be fitted into the truck. (Hopefully we’ll have more information about this trip nearer the time.) Another highlight was the HexBeam erected on site by Peter M1TCP – and very impressive it looked too. He worked some interesting DX in the couple of hours that the antenna was up in the air. Mike G8NSZ was active on QRP for much of the weekend with either an FT817 or an IC-705 and with end-fed wires in inverted V configuration. Although the antennas were only some 4m high at the apex, Mike worked across the pond to North America as well as all around Europe. Mike G4GHL spent some time operating the club’s station, signing G5BK/P, and he too made a number of interesting contacts mainly (all?) on CW. Other members operated from their cars or with hand-helds, so plenty of RF was generated on the site during the weekend. Some kite flying took place but none supported an aerial. Saturday afternoon/early-evening saw us joined by family members and friends for the customary BBQ with a seemingly endless supply of pizzas cooked by Smurf M0URF. Chatting and drinking went on until late into the night – for a few at least!
Sunday was lower key but members still turned up to chat and play radio. We started to dismantle the camp around mid-day and by 3pm we had packed up, were clear of the site and on our way home.
It was a great weekend. Records show that at least 24 members visited the site, plus three radio visitors and eight family members and friends. Considering the poor weather conditions that’s a good attendance. Many thanks must go to the organisers: Rich M0XRB, Smurf M0URF, Tony G3YYH and James 2E0RLE and to their many helpers, especially those who turned up to help with the “uping” and the “downing” of the camp. They all did a great job. We look forward to the next Fun Field Day – 16th, 17th and 18th September. Let’s hope for better weather.