On the 7/8 September weekend, the HF5L team took part in the Fieldday SSB contest organized by DARC. This time in the preparations and the contest took part (in alphabetical order of call signs): Ewa SP5-1593, Andrzej SP5DDF, Mirek SP5GNI, Sławek SP5ICS, Marek SP5ISZ, Marek SP5IXS, Zbyszek SP5JSZ and Maciek SP5LCS.

The place of installation was the same as in the CW round in June, i.e. near Brok in the Ostrów poviat. Previously used antennas were: full-size inverted-V antennas for 160, 80 and 40 meters, 10-meter vertical tuned via CG-3000 and Spiderbeam. This time, instead of the Spiderbeam, a Mosley Mini-32A beam with a rotor was used. It is a lightweight antenna that is easy to transport. Unfortunately, it is paid (at least in our copy) for low resistance to minor assembly errors. With an unexpected slipping of one of the mast segments (it happens when unfolding or folding) many antennas – even a lot heavier – can easily withstand it. Here one of the antenna elements made of dielectric broke. However, we had enough time to buy spare parts in a nearby building warehouse and repair, and the antenna was ready for use from the beginning of the contest. The opinion that amateur radio is an interdisciplinary hobby is confirmed.

A separate article was devoted to the Mosley antenna itself – assembly, repair, use. The contest went without major problems, although we noticed a smaller number of participants than before. We wonder if the logs of other stations will confirm this. At the same time, the All Asian DX Contest SSB took place. We have made over 500 contacts.