As Newsletter Editor for the Oklahoma DX Association, I'm often called upon to rally interest for various group activities. Here are two excerpts from our July and August 1999 Newsletters relating to Field Day, OKDXA Style: (Note: Previous and current Newsletters can be found at http://www.qsl.net/okdxa. The OKDXA Net can be heard every Monday evening at 6:30 pm central time, 3860 kHz +/- QRM) - AC5UP

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There's no denying the rumors of Field Day Fame by the OKDXA have grown to legendary proportions, some dare say monumental, but like most tales of our DX'cellent activities, some of what you've heard might be just a bit exaggerated... Our theme for this year is `Arabian DX Nights' and here's the proposed schedule for Field Day 1999, OKDXA Style... You decide if the rumors are true:

10:00 AM Mid-Continent Steel arrives with six 200' cranes to install an array of twenty one towers in a phase-rotatable all band Log Periodic Vertical as designed by Continental Electronics for the VOA. Computer modeling predicts a forward gain of 23.5 dBi in 15 degree steps with better than 126 dB of isolation per band.

10:15 AM Since ARRL Rules require all FD equipment be within a 1,000' circle, installation begins on the 999 foot `tapered cone' elevated bonded copper screen ground plane.

10:30 AM Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas & Electric crews arrive with six each field-portable generators and begin wiring them into a 440 volt, three-phase, 7.5 megawatt power grid.

11:00 AM The Rockwell-Collins semi trailer arrives with the transmitting gear.

11:10 AM The Rhode & Schwarz semi trailer arrives with the receiving gear.

11:20 AM The Tektronix and Hewlett-Packard semi trailers arrive with the automation, telemetry & monitoring gear.

11:30 AM Omar The Caterer arrives with the air-conditioned tents and food service equipment. Each operating position is fully staffed by nubile red-haired servant girls who cater to every whim of the FD OM's and will refer to them as `Your DX'cellency'. A brace of Egyptian eunuchs with feathered fans assure that not one drop of perspiration moistens the brow of any club member, no matter how intense the pileup.

11:45 AM Hughes Telecommunications installs the uplink to Galaxy VI for relay of log entries in real-time to ARRL FD HQ in Newington, CT.

12:00 PM Luncheon is Served. Today's menu features an international assortment of gourmet delights as exotic as the DX every OKDXA Member is accustomed to: Sake No Koganeyaki, Agnolotti di Ricotta e Spinaci, Polo Al Limone, Cous-Cous, Boeuf Bourguignonne, Tartare des Deux Saumons and Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte. For those who prefer a more traditional FD lunch, choose the Marinated Roasted Rack of Lamb and Stuffed Mushrooms with Bananas Foster for desert... Yummm!

12:01 PM Removal of slack-jawed FD interlopers from the dining tent.

12:30 PM NASA begins `Operation OK DX Propagation' where 3.7 metric tons of finely powdered Aluminum DX'illate is released from the Space Shuttle Atlantis during an East-West orbit to enhance F-Layer reflectivity. Twelve hours later, an additional 3.3 metric tons is released on a North-South orbit to minimize log dupes. Solar Flux readings in excess of 350 are predicted along many long-path routes...

12:45 PM Final checks of the operating positions by the OKDXA FD Crew with confirmation of the performance proofs and NIST traceable calibration as verified by the factory technicians.

12:57 PM Thanks to an FCC waiver approved in a bipartisan vote of Congress plus an Executive Order by the White House, NN5Z takes the air on all six HF bands to signal the start of Field Day by playing The National Anthem at the 10kW level. This assures a clear frequency and makes it easier for the teeming throngs of Hams worldwide searching for the FD QSO of their dreams to find the OKDXA calling frequencies. The US Marine Corps Band and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform the Anthem live with special guest soloist Barbra Streisand. Woe and Doom unto those who dare QRM the OKDXA, as FBI Field Agents will be on nationwide standby to deal with any so foolish...

1:00:00.01 PM QRZ FD de NN5Z .

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As you can imagine, this schedule proved to be somewhat ambitious. And we all know what they say about the best-laid plans of Mice and Men... At least there's always next year. Hey, wait a minute, THIS IS NEXT YEAR! In any case, here's the 1999 post Field Day follow up:

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I try to begin each newsletter on a positive note, but with the dog days of summer in full effect, finding a cool place to hide has become a priority. The OKDXA Field Day effort was also an exercise in diminishing expectations... As you could tell from the schedule published last month, our ambitions were noble, our expectations high, but a scheduling conflict caused the Log-Periodic Tower Array to be scaled back to an eight-foot CB whip with a cross-threaded stud mount. The high-dollar commercial radio gear was downgraded to an FT-101 with one missing tube in the finals and a 27 MHz crystal in the first 10 Meter band position. The factory trailer of high-dollar test gear was likewise thinned down to a loaner Simpson 260 VOM with a cracked case and sticky needle found while dumpster diving behind a Radio Shack. (It's amazing what some people throw away!) Omar the Caterer claimed his largest truck had a leaky pinion seal (a likely story) and couldn't make it. An elderly woman recruited at a local truck stop (who refers to everyone as `John') replaced the red-haired servant girls. The F-Layer DX seeding experiment was cancelled after NASA demanded a $13.2 Million advance payment and our club treasurer insisted on a vote for anything over $50.00. Barbra Streisand attended a fundraiser in New York for a Senate candidate instead of our Field Day, then both the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Marine Corps Band were unanimous in their position of No Babs, No Deal. The only music I had was an old 8-Track of `Convoy' by CW McCall, but my 8-Track player is broken. (I thought it was a code practice tape when I bought it at a HamFest!) We did make one contact on 10 Meters before the contest began but forgot to log it, probably because of the crummy 2 by 4 signal report from a Ham Club across town and their use of the phrase `Good Buddy' followed by laughter. At least there was a McDonalds nearby where it was discovered that even the crustiest of OM's can be amused by a Happy Meal, but only if the Club President is buying... You might say we had A Classic Field Day Experience...

73 AND GL THIS YEAR! - AC5UP