Hider, K6SNE

The night started out OK. The plan was to place 2 transmitters several miles apart with several miles of convoluted driving between them. I placed one transmitter at the ecological preserve at Bolsa Chica State beach. This transmitter was a 5 watt PicCon controlled box attached to a horizontal beam pointed at Palos Verdes, and timed to come on at 6:45. This T would have been heard at the start point as a bounce from PV (I hoped). I then drove off to place another transmitter. This second transmitter would have only been heard from the Bolsa Chica T. When I could not hear the main transmitter come on as scheduled I began to worry that something was wrong. I was not confident that I would have been heard at the start point from the second location, so a mad dash was made back to the Bolsa Chica site to see what was wrong with the transmitter. I was hoping that I had just made a mistake in programming the PicCon. That was not the case. When I arrived back at location One I had discovered that my 3 element beam and coax were missing from the transmitter, which was still chained up where I left it. I gerri rigged a solution using the transmitter in my truck and laptop computer to put a signal on the air, and the rest is history. You were hunting 6 watt vertically polarized 19" spike with radio and submarine sounds courtesy of "Run Silent, Run Deep".

I then used the remaining half hour of daylight to search for my missing beam but it was nowhere to be found. Many thanks to all the hunters who helped search the area later that night also. I checked with Fish & Game and the Beach Rangers, no one had turned it in nor did any officers confiscate it. I believe that a group of teenagers saw me setting up and took the antenna after I left the parking lot. Next time I'll chain the antenna down also.

The results:



Call/s           Miles



KF6GQ/KD6LAJ     24.0 Winners!

N6XFC/N6MJN      25.8

N6IDF/Bob (dad)  29.2

N6AIN/WA6PYE     30.0

AE6GA            41.0





Crenshaws were not a factor





73!





Mike, K6SNE