BEACH RADIO OPERATIONS
I enjoy portable ham radio operations, especially at the beach. This is a photo of my original ocean side station. It consists of a DX-70 HF transceiver, a tuner, and a large gel cell for power. The antenna is an Inverted V cut for 20 Meters (my favorite DX band). It is supported by a fishing pole, which is tied to the
side
of my kids' Little Tykes wagon. Each end is staked with tent stakes. And, the
station is well grounded, with a 4 ft copper post driven into the beach sand.
This was a day in late September, with mild winds and a calm sea. The sea gulls were very curious, but so were pedestrians walking the beach. Several were hams who had never operated portable and were curious about the station. Some didn't know about ham radio, and this was a great opportunity for teaching. The worse part was the folks who walked into the antenna supports, even though they had streamers and other markers. My kids had fun warning the oblivious walkers.
Beach operations are great most days. One day, the tide came in suddenly and the rig was sitting in a foot or more of ocean water, but on a plastic table. Reluctantly, I had to pack up quickly, because the DX was great, the higher the tide rose.
We have also operated Kids' Day from the beach. Several years ago, QST published this photo of my kids at the ocean side station working Kent W5RRR at NASA Johnson Space Center. Kent trains most astronauts to obtain their ham radio licenses. Notice Bobby with the CW key.
Now, everyone in the family is a licensed ham. I hope it will help our kids learn to enjoy science and technology. And maybe help with college scholarships.