Brought the 7300 out and erected the 7-band OCF; it was huge! Literally. It spanned nearly 200’ in its longest dimension. While I could probably have done better if I were able to have gotten the feed point to 30’, I managed to make 24 contacts and participated in a 10-10 net via relay that I had chanced on while zipping around 10m.
It was a beautiful day down in EL96, I setup the radio bench under the tree for shade and kept a close eye on the antenna in case someone wandered around it.
Running barefoot, I managed QSOs with Namibia (7000+ miles), Chile, Spain, Costa Rica, and New Foundland. Amazing people all around.
Got my mom spun up and handling the radio (we got licensed at the same time a couple years ago) and the contacts nearly poured in for her.
An all around amazing day.
E: Updated the photo; the klansman look was terrible. Do not recommend.
I feel so sorry for 667. They’d obviously had a brilliant day with their hobby and wanted the world to know. Sensibly they’d decided not to broadcast their face because now the internet is what it is… and as a result at least two random people have momentarily jumped to the worst possible conclusion. I just hope they continue to have fun. I’m glad they could see the funny side though.
The lesson here for me is to just use a plain circle or a square next time.
I am fortunate I don’t harbor any kind of bigotry in my heart.