Here's Bob - N0BIX's annual Field Day shot.
However, it looks like he is out sitting in his garden rather than in his field! Har de har!
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A number of the BARF group are IOOK Vice Presidents.
Here's a link where if you scroll down a bit you can see the Field Day photos on the BARF (Benzie Amateur Radio Friends) web site.
http://benz-arpsc.org/2017-photos/
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Massachusetts Proclamation for AMATEUR RADIO DAY
Tony AB1XK working CW 40M.
K1TP, Jon working 20M CW
BILL, WZ1L. Operating 20M SSB
W1REJ, Ron operating JT-65
Interesting how similar his call is to Rob - W8REJ up in Michigan!
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Many thanks to Bill for sharing his Field Day shots!
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Here are a couple of shots from our Field Day Operation here in middle Tennessee.
N4MRS Operated 3A from Rock Creek Park in Lewisburg, TN. in Marshall County.
The IOOK was represented by N8KXM.
Our club banner and GOTA
station...
The stage served as our operating area. 2 phone
stations and 1 CW station.
Lou - N8KXM, logging for Steve - K2SMA, operating
Lou - N8KXM in his IOOK shirt and James Puckett - N5INV
73, Lou
N8KXM
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Many thanks to Lou for sharing these shots!
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Here is the group photo of the team we had
at Field Day!
You will find our Poway Field Day pictures posted on the site below.
I sent you a link: https://www.go2evo.com/AMRAD/2017%20ARRL%20Field%20Day/
73 de NN3V
Charlie
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Many thanks to Charlie for sharing!
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Friday morning Keith - WA8ZWJ picked up Randy - AB8CO and we headed east on I-70!
Before too long we got into the remnants of storm Cindy!
Keith is enjoying a cigar while he drives in the rain.
We decided to stop in Athens for lunch and the place we wanted to eat at had no parking. It was near the university.
We headed towards another area of town and found a restaurant and managed to get all fed up!
Then we continued eastward. We arrived at Charlie - WB8NSL's in Pennsboro, WV about 1:30 PM.
Here's Charlie receiving his IOOK mug from Keith!
Thanks Chas!
After we visited for a bit where do three guys go who haven't seen each other for a while?
Well of course! We went to the shooting range!
Naturally storm Cindy decided to mess with the guys some. Thankfully there was a nice cover over the shooting area.
Here Keith is loading his .357 magnum, but with 38 shells
made for cutting paper.
Charlie had brought the tape for the targets so he was
designated as our target buddy!
Here's Randy - AB8CO making a shot. This is the first
time since Randy was 14 years old that he has shot a gun!
Now it is Keith's turn.
Charlie takes a turn...
We each shot 6 shots at 2 targets except for Randy.
Randy managed to get a couple of extra shots because Keith accidentally loaded the gun with some brass that had already been shot up!
Originally we thought there must be some duds in the ammo.
But no, Keith was just saving brass from the last time he
had shot out of that box of ammo!
The good news is that only two shots managed to miss the paper!
Of course, the rain stopped about the time we finished our time at the range!
From there we went to the City Park where Field Day was
held back in the 70's.
Here's the shelter where we used to set up our equipment.
This picture is of Keith in 1979 and was taken during Field
Day!
Here's a shot of Keith sitting in the very same spot only
38 years later!
Needless to say, a lot of memories were shared during our visit to the City Park!
We then went back to Charlie's and traded Keith's van for Pam's 4 wheel drive car.
Then Charlie took Keith and Randy to the repeater site.
Here's our first look at the tower and the repeater
building!
Charlie is preparing to unlock the door.
Here's a look at Pam's car on the ridge where we parked to
walk to the repeater building.
The VHF repeater has some kind of audio problem. The audio is VERY low.
Charlie is adjusting the audio on the repeater controller.
Charlie is now messing with the interface cables trying to
see if there is a bad connection.
While Charlie is testing on his portable radio Keith is
attempting to make adjustments on the repeater.
Charlie is doing more checking...
Twiddling the control while listening to the HT.
Sadly, no matter what we did the audio coming out of the repeater was still very low.
Since the audio from the local microphone, the weather station and the controller are all low, we decided that the problem must be an internal repeater problem and we were not properly set up to take apart the repeater and attempt a repair inside there.
So, the VHF repeater is still out of service.
Charlie is now working on the UHF repeater and Keith is
helping...
The good news is, Charlie was able to make a few minor adjustments to his UHF repeater and it seems to be working OK now!
Charlie called Pam and told her we were heading off the hill so she could meet us for dinner.
Yes, time is passing in a 4X time warp!
We have been to this restaurant before but it has recently
become a BBQ place!
Here are Randy and Charlie under the sign out front!
Pam has joined us!
Here are Pam and Charlie!
The restaurant owner makes all of his own sauces.
He even brought one sauce out from the kitchen that was very hot but Keith found it to be delightful!
Randy liked it too!
Yes, we all managed to get all fed up!
After all, the IOOK does travel on it's stomach!
Here's a chalk drawing the owner did of a fisherman on a
stream!
So, he is talented in more than the art of cooking and sauce making!
Wow! BBQ in West Virginia! No, it wasn't Bunkhouse BBQ but it was VERY good!
Just as we got back to Chuck and Pam's storm Cindy let loose again and Keith and Randy got wet getting their stuff out of the van to stay the night.
Look at the rain pouring out of the drain spout!
The rain is coming down quite heavy!
The guys sat on the porch visiting and watching it rain until it started to get dark.
Then we went inside and watched Bob - N0BIX's HamVention DVD! Thanks Bob!
Charlie had a pleasant surprise Saturday morning.
One of the local hams actually was able to get into his UHF repeater!
Here Charlie is talking with him on the front porch.
No, his mother did not dress him this morning!
One of Chuck and Pam's kitty cats was watching Charlie on
the front porch.
They have three cats and they are all delightful.
The youngest one is a bit skittish of visitors.
Here's a look at Chuck and Pam's place from the east.
Now here's another look from the west...
Before long it was time to meet Don - KE8NK, Da Bear, for breakfast!
Here are the four of us getting ready to go into the
Crossroads Cafe!
L-R - Keith - WA8ZWJ, Charlie - WB8NSL, Randy - AB8CO and Don - KE8NK
Keith and Charlie were wearing their W8I special event shirts from the 2013 Field Day!
Here's a link for you!
http://www.iook.org/fieldday/wvfd13.htm
Tyler - KD8AJH saw Keith's van and came in for a short
visit on his way to a training session.
I believe that Tyler is now a firefighter who is studying to become a paramedic!
Good luck Tyler!
The waitress was too funny! Of course, she knows Don and Charlie and has a very special nickname for Charlie!
Yes, we all got all fed up again!
After breakfast Keith presented Don with his IOOK
mug! Thanks again Chas!
Another shot with Charlie in the shot as well!
Then we went back to Charlie's to drop off Don's pickup truck as he planned to spend the entire day with us!
Here's Don telling a whopper!
We headed to the gun store but we were too early and they weren't open yet.
We had some time to burn and since Don's place was close to our next place we stopped by Da Bear's for a while.
Here's Don's place.
Here's a new garage addition that will become a new
workshop area for Don.
Don has also added a new metal building to store his new Kubota!
Inside we visited some and then visited Don's radio shack.
Here Don is at the central location of his ham shack!
From there we went to a place called "The Building".
"The Building" is Cliff's Museum Of Automobile Memorabilia and it is open by chance or by appointment!
Charlie had made an appointment for our tour!
Another look at the front of "The Building".
This view of "The Building" was scanned in from
Cliff's business card.
Here's a black and white photo from back in the days when "The Building" was originally a car dealership.
There was a restaurant on the left, then a barber shop and
then the car dealership. Yes, they sold gas too!
One of the first things you see when you walk in the
door...
Cliff is telling Don about the car in the showroom he is
working on restoring.
Cliff is quite knowledgeable about his collection!
Amongst the things he is telling us about is the NCR Cash
Register that is on the right here.
The cash register was actually being used by it's previous owner when Cliff bought it!
The next place we saw was Cliff's restoration of the
restaurant.
There is lots of memorabilia here too!
The barber shop has been converted over to an office.
However, he does have a barber chair from the period in
there as well!
Cliff is telling us about how he is working to make this
frame into an old wrecker!
Lou - N8KXM, here's an old fire truck for you!
Just a few of the assorted tools of the trade...
When was the last time you saw one of these?
This is much like Charlie's first car...
As we were heading out to lunch, these folks were dropping
off this car.
It turned out they were taking it home but needed a place to leave it for a few hours while they went out on a two track that was made of dirt and didn't want to get the car all dirty.
We headed nearby to Zilly's Pizza in Harrisville.
Somehow I neglected to a photo of the front of the place.
I must have been hungry!
Here's a sign inside the restaurant!
Now I know why I am bald!
This is a cross stitch picture that was hanging on the
wall!
Neat old times...
Yes, we got all fed up!
This is on the retaining wall across from the restaurant!
After lunch we stopped by Don's for a short visit.
He wanted to show us his antique telephone!
"The phone was purchased when the family moved to this farm around 1919.
Will not swear to it but that was what I was told."
Don
The crank is inside the box so it can't get accidentally
bent!
Then we spent some time visiting in the living room.
Here's Charlie resting his eyes! :-)
A short while later we headed back to the gun shop.
Here's Charlie, Randy and Don.
Here's Charlie, Keith and Don.
Yes, Keith actually made a purchase! It was a magazine for his .22 pistol.
He managed bring the pistol and to forgot to bring along the magazine so this way he will have a spare magazine.
Then we went back to Charlie's place.
Now we are in Charlie's radio shack!
Here's Charlie looking for an unsuspecting Field Day
participant.
He has found one and is attempting to make contact!
"Yes, sir! I QSL your info. Please copy
one delta West Virginia, one delta West Virginia!"
Yee haw! We have actually participated in the 2017 Field Day!
Obviously it was a team effort!
Time being on it's 4X time warp, it was soon time for Keith and Randy to head west towards home.
Many thanks to Charlie and Pam for putting us up over night.
Many thanks to the great hospitality shown us by Charlie and Don!
We have thoroughly enjoyed our very special visit!
Keith and Randy decided they would eat at Schmidt's Sausage
Haus in German Village in Columbus on their way home.
The catch was German Village was very busy on Saturday night and was wall to wall people!
We decided against waiting an hour an a table for two.
We continued westward...
Randy found an exit west of Columbus that had a lot of different restaurants.
When he ran across White Castle Keith said he had not had a slider in a long time! That sounded good to Randy too!
So, our Saturday night dinner was at White Castle and we
managed to get all fed up once again!
Then we continued west towards Randy's place.
Marilyn was at home when Keith dropped Randy off!
Here are Randy and Marilyn!
It was around 9PM when Keith got home.
It was good to see Marian!
Here I am getting ready to make a Field Day contact before
our 8AM Sunday morning CW net!
My report was one delta Ohio!
Wow! What a great trip to West Virginia! It was great to see the guys!
73, de Keith - WA8ZWJ!
Over and out!
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Photo contributors for the West Virginia trip were Randy - AB8CO and Keith - WA8ZWJ!
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Jim says "I wanted to share with you a Field Day site I visited last Saturday along with the Oklahoma ARRL Section Manager Kevin N0IRW. We visited the USS Batfish. Yes! A WWII sub in Oklahoma. It is over on the Arkansas river which has a navigation channel up to near Tulsa. The sub rests now on dry ground.
The USS Batfish is maintained by the USS Batfish ARC. They have done a great deal to bring it back to the way it looked inside during it operational life. Lights on the panels now work. It looks like an operational torpedo room with all panel lights for firing. I thought I would share some photos with you.
The ARC club was operating HF and satellite operations."
The Batfish rests about 150 feet from the bank of the Arkansas River in a field near Muskogee Oklahoma. The boat was brought up the river, slug between six river barges, three on each side to give it the draft needed to clear the shallow river bottom. During its journey up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, the boat passed through 16 different lock and dams to rise about 600 feet above sea level at the port of Muskogee. A slit trench was dug in the river bank where she sits today, and the boat was floated into position with help from a river barge and two Caterpillar D4 Tractors, which were the biggest built at the time. Once in place, the trench was blocked back off and the water drained away.
Wade - KS5IF and the USS Batfish
The conning tower...
Kent - K5WTS and Wade - KS5IF
Wade - KS5IF
Bow and stern drive plane control wheels...
Torpedo room...
Crew mess area...
They have found original radio equipment and put in the radio room which is remarkably small. Of course the old gear is not operational but shows people what it looked like.
They set up next to the sub in trailers. I will include a few photos of that operation.
Austin - KF5EZI working satellites...
Batfish ARC with Austin - KF5EZI and Kent - W5WTS working
satellites...
Satellite antenna...
The USS BATFISH #310 was begun when her keel was laid on 27 December 1942 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, N.H. It was launched on 5 May 1943, Commissioned on 21 August 1943.After a shakedown cruise it passed thru the Panama Canal and on to Pearl Harbor. T.H. The Batfish made seven wartime patrols sinking 14 ships (including 3 submarines in 76 hours) 37,080 tons of enemy shipping plus damage to 3 other ships (4500 tons damaged) and rescued 3 down airmen.
After WW2 the USS BATFISH was re-commissioned during the Korean War & the Cuban Missile Crisis, then served as a training submarine and then was decommissioned again. In 1972 it was given to the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma to be used as a memorial to members of the silent service.
The Muskogee War Memorial Park Summer hours are from 10am to 6pm Wednesday thru Saturday and 1pm to 6PM on Sundays and the winter hours are from 10am to 5pm Thursday thru Saturday and 1pm to 5PM on Sundays. More information about the museum and its operations can be found at www.warmemorialpark.org
The WW2 call sign for the boat was "NYSD".The call sign for the AMATEUR RADIO operation at the submarine was selected to honor the history of its WW2 service. The WW2 radio equipment aboard the boat is not used (mainly CW and AM with crystal control) but includes RCA RAL and RCA RAK Receivers and Westinghouse TBL-8 and Collins TCS-13 Transmitters
The USS Batfish...
The club, operates WW2OK to commemorate the USS Oklahoma memorial at the War Museum in Muskogee, OK, which has obtained the largest known surviving part of the USS Oklahoma; a 45 foot long, 25,000 pound mast that supported one of the fire control centers.
The club also operates the WW2SUB memorial station aboard the USS Batfish SS-310, a World War Two Balao Class Submarine on display at the Museum in Muskogee.
For more information about the Muskogee War Memorial, please go to www.warmemorialpark.org
For more information about the USS Oklahoma, Please go to http://www.ussoklahoma.com/
For more information about the radio club, please go to http://www.ww2ok.org/
73, Jim - W5JCS
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Many thanks to Jim for sharing his Field Day experience with us!
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