2020 US Islands QSO Party

By Fred Ackley, W4FRA

Via email

Well the Aug 29, 2020 U.S. Islands Party is over.

First, I want to thank the club members who braved all to participate at the West Bank Park Pavilion.  Terry Joyner, W4YBV, came early to set up the two antennas and helped us get underway.  Sam Proctor, KO4BCO, came early and stayed to the bitter end at 7:45 PM.  We were assisted throughout the day by Wayne Garber, KE4WYU, Edith Collins, KN4NDV, and soon to be a NFARL club member Michael Wheable, KC6GPY,   Michael, licensed long ago, is just getting back into the hobby and wanted to try out my Yaesu FT-450 we were using before selecting a new rig to buy.

Second, I want to thank all the NFARL club family for doing their best to help us through a  frustrating day.  Providing spots, asking where we were on the bands, and finding strong local signals for us to try.  Fantastic effort. 

Unfortunately the Band Gods were not very kind to us and we had limited success with a grand total of 29 contacts on 20 and 40 Meters (one actually on 10m thanks to Steve, KS4KJ 😁 )  We did have four island-to-island contacts, though.    We certainly need some people with CW and digital skills.  We had none, so all our effort was on SSB.  So next year I hope more will join.  The park is a lovely place to spend a day.

73,

Fred Ackley
W4FRA