In August of 2009 we had another multi-club event, a train trip to ARRL headquarters in Newington Connecticut! We did the same thing two years ago and it was a blast. This time was no different. You can see an ARRL article about our first trip at:

http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2007/11/15/1/

Once again we went via Amtrak, getting on in Pittsburgh and Greensburg PA. The ride is smooth, clean, comfortable and most enjoyable.

We took the train to Hartford where we stayed at a hotel right across the street from the train station. In the morning we went via a rented car to HQ! We all got to tour ARRL headquarters, chat with many of the folks you read about each month in the pages of QST and best of all, operate W1AW! We had a great time and the ARRL staff treated us like family.

In the evening we hit a restaurant for dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep for the ride back home in the early AM. We got to hang out in some of the Hartford light life and some of the non-ham folks got to go shopping or just touring the lovely area. A great time was had by all.

Thanks to all that came along and to all the ARRL staff that were so nice to us.

In June of 2009 we took another trip to Mount Davis. Mount Davis is the highest point in Pennsylvania at 3213 feet ASL. Our last trip up here was in November. It was VERY COLD! June was much nicer. This was another multi-club event and all were welcome. We all met for breakfast and headed for the mountains from there. It’s very hard to beat the beauty of the Pennsylvania mountains, the views and sites second to none.

When we got to the top of Mount Davis we set up our radios and got straight to work. Some of us set up on the large, flat rock on the ground near the base of the observation tower. Others climbed the 50 foot tower and set up shop at the top! We had everything going from 40 meter up to 2 meters on the air. We worked SSB, FM and CW, making contacts all over the county and the world. We had a blast.

It was quite surprising to see all the visitors this place gets. We had a constant stream of hikers, biker and even a large group of Amish travelers. Many had lots of questions as to what we were doing and some really enjoyed seeing Amateur Radio operated in the field.

We brought along a small disposable grill and made some burgers for lunch. If there was one complaint it would be the mosquitoes were hard at work on everyone’s legs down on the ground. They were no problem up on the tower. Band-pass filters are also another must for next time to reduce inter-station interference.

After quite a few hours of operating we decided it was time to head home. There was a lot of talk about doing this again before summer goes away. All we need is a clear weekend and we are set!

Many thanks to all that came along on our little trip. It was once again a blast. We’ll talk again from the big hill in PA

Last Update November 4, 2009