Perfect Day at the Beach
July 2, 2019

Judy and I went to the beach today. Holy cow! It was so perfect...
85F and sunny. The propagation was pretty good too. I worked
Colombia, a bunch of the 13 Colonies Special Event stations
and had a great QSO with Jim N3JT.

While Judy was swimming, I set up at a bench overlooking
Rye Harbor. I used the KX3 and a 33 foot mast with a
half wave wire, strapped to the bench.



I used a 9:1 unun between the rig and the wire. It tuned perfectly
on both 20 and 40 meters.



Right away after tuning up on 20 meters, I heard Frank HK1/DL5PV calling CQ. I was surprised
that he was so strong. We completed the exchange easily. Then I worked five of the 13 Colonies
stations. They were all very strong and I received quick replies.

From the bench I could gaze out at the expanse of the ocean beyond the harbor entrance.
In the foreground was a hedge of wild roses (Rosa Rugosa).



The fragrance of the roses enveloped the whole area.



I operated about a half an hour. Here's my log:

2 Jul-19 1940  14.008 HK1/DL5PV CW 599 599 Colombia  
2 Jul-19 1944  14.039 K2L       CW 599 599 SC    
2 Jul-19 1952  14.023 K2B       CW 599 599 VA    
2 Jul-19 1958  7028   K2M       CW 599 599 PA    
2 Jul-19 2000  7034   K2H       CW 599 599 MA    
2 Jul-19 2010  14.031 K2F       CW 599 599 MD    
2 Jul-19 2011  14.028 N3JT      CW 599 599 VA

Certainly the most fun QSO was the last. Jim N3JT was operating
from Virginia with 15W. We had a great path. At one
point Jim turned on the amp and ran a KW. His signal jumped several
S units. But it still sounded great when he returned to low power.
After a few minutes the QSB hit us and we signed.

While I was still at the beach, I received a nice email from Jim.

"Fun QSO for as long as it lasted, Jim!   You were honestly S9
at the very beginning, then settled to about S7.  But at the end
your signal went into the noise."

No matter. It was a perfect day for an adventure at the beach....
and a perfect spot to play radio for a while.