Flight of the Bumblebees 2011


The Flight of the Bumblebees is one of the classic
QRP events of the year. Participants are given
a bee number and sent out to the field to work
as many other bees and home stations as possible.
Bees must hike, bike or paddle to their operating
position. This year I operated from the shores of
the Pemigewasset River.



The Pemi runs right through Sanbornton, N.H., only
several miles from my home. There are more than
3000 acres of protected flood control land along
its shores. It's one of the most beautiful places
anywhere.

I rode my bicycle about a mile and a half to the old
bridge abutment. The bridge used to cross the river
to the abandoned town of Hill. I set up in a field
not far from the old bridge site.



This year I used a 40 foot wire and a tuner so I could
switch between 20 and 40 meters easily. I used the
ATS-4 by KD1JV and the Elecraft T-1 tuner. I powered
the gear with 8 AA cells.



I set up around 3:00 pm. The first station I heard was
my old friend Carter, N3AO. What a great surprise and
a wonderful way to start the contest. Carter is in
Virginia. He was setup in a country church yard. We
had a solid QSO both ways. I operated for a little more
than an hour and had a relaxed time making contacts...
most of them were to the South. Here's my log:

Date      UTC   Freq   Call  Mode My  His Exchange
-------------------------------------------------
31 Jul-11 1853  14.060 N3AO    CW 559 559 VA 57 
31 Jul-11 1853  14.064 AE4IC   CW 559 559 NC 221 
31 Jul-11 1902  14.063 N5GW    CW 559 559 MS 142  
31 Jul-11 1903  14.060 W4MPS   CW 569 569 NC 5W   
31 Jul-11 1904  14.058 N5DRB   CW 559 559 AR 5W  
31 Jul-11 1908  14.063 AJ4AY   CW 559 559 AL 14   
31 Jul-11 1914  7038   W3BBO   CW 559 559 PA 4    
31 Jul-11 1920  7041   K3RLL   CW 559 559 GA 94    
31 Jul-11 1940  14.062 NM4T    CW 549 549 AL 195    
31 Jul-11 1944  14.060 KF4UCC  CW 559 559 VA 3W    
31 Jul-11 1953  14.062 AF4B    CW 339 559 TX 50    
31 Jul-11 1958  14.065 M/SP3CW CW 559 599 UK 100W    
31 Jul-11 2012  14.017 J48JJ   CW 599 599 Greece 100W 

The last two contacts were with foreign stations.
M/SP3CW was operating in the UK and J48JJ was
in Greece.

Around 4:15 pm the bands seemed to thin out, and
I decided to call it quits. I packed up and
rode my bicycle back to the van.



Another grand radio adventure is in the
log book.