Here's the deal. The call
sign W3AO
has appeared in almost every Field
Day log since 1999, when the group began an unbroken run at the top of
the QST
Top 10 box. Members of the Potomac Valley Radio Club and Columbia (MD)
Amateur Radio Association assemble an awesome operation, with phone, cw
and digital in all bands, satellite, VHF/UHF and all the bonus points a
group can rack up. Their entry class is usually in the low to mid 20's.
With top contest operators behind the controls, year after year their
score is head and shoulders above everyone else.
In 2003 and
2004, though, they were listed in 51A and 50A. Stations
they worked had a hard time believing the report they were receiving.
Was it real? Was it made up? How does a Field Day operation accomplish
50 or more transmitters? And why has it never been done after 2004?
The Last BIG Field Day
documents the W3AO 2004 operation from their site just outside
Baltimore, MD. We cover it all, and show you just how this huge station
was assembled and operated. In true Field Day style, not everything
went according to plan. But once again W3AO triumphed!
And yes, we'll show how they reached the 50+ transmitter total, and why
nobody's done it since, and probably no one will.
The video runs 41 minutes, just about right to use as a club meeting
program. No matter what size your club's Field Day effort, you'll find
this program entertaining and enlightening.
BONUS
FEATURES
The DVD also contains several bonus features:
Additional interviews.
We couldn't squeeze it all in the program, so we added lots more
interviews with the W3AO experts in a bonus interview segment.
News coverage. This
is news coverage of producer KN4AQ's home club, the Raleigh Amateur
Radio
Society in North Carolina. Gary is the PIO for the club, and gets some
air time on the
local stations every year.
1971 Pacific Palisades ARC Field
Day Movie. This is a very special feature – a 35 minute
"docudrama" of the club's Field Day operation, shot and edited on
Super-8 film. It's great to see all the old equipment and young
operators, many of whom are now no longer with us. This might make
another
good club meeting program. For more info on the movie, click HERE.
