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.

Was out in EL96 today at a park 65 feet up for my very very first Tech CQs on 10m. This past December I picked up an IC-7300 and finally got some time to go out. I put my kit together, wired the radio directly to the car battery and went whole hog. In one hour I logged eight contacts.

While I have a 7-band OCF antenna I received as part of the starter kit, I don't yet have all I need to get it standing for portable ops, so I managed to turn up what seems like a quarter wave mag mount CB whip I found in the garage. I tuned it up with the built in tuner, ran barefoot at 100W and managed to QSO as far as 1700mi.

I can't tell if it was propagation or local equipment configuration, but nearly all of my contacts were to the northeastern seaboard region, including one in Rochester, NY.

The most distant contact was in DM79 Colorado, though he indicated he was picking me up out of the noise floor.

Everyone I met on the radio was very charismatic, and I really REALLY enjoyed my first outing. In a few days I plan to haul my gear out again, including the OCF, plant it, and see where else in the world I can reach.

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