Flight of the Bumblebees 2024
Yesterday was the annual Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) QRP contest, a four-hour sprint sponsored by The Adventure Radio Society. It’s been a couple of years since I last took part, so I was glad to get out for a couple of hours this afternoon. Prior to the contest, I signed up to be a bumblebee station and was assigned bumblebee number 82.
I operated from a picnic area in nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). There were several picnics in progress, so I headed to an area well away from them. I found a nice shady spot under the trees, where I set up my table and chair. Except for having to swat the occasional bug, it was a comfortable spot.
My rig was an Elecraft KX3, running 5 watts. I dusted off my trusty homebrew 19-foot vertical and put it to use for this event.
In general, the bands weren’t all that great. Most of the signals I heard were weak, and there was considerable fading on the bands. A few contacts were a real struggle.
The FOBB activity was surprisingly brisk when I first started, but slowed dramatically as the contest wore on. In about two hours and a half hours of operating, I ended up with 22 contest QSOs. Fourteen of those were with fellow bumblebees. Before I shut down, I came across a POTA station and had a quick park-to-park contact outside of the contest.
Although I was in a POTA entity, I didn’t spot myself or call “CQ POTA.” However, my FOBB contacts were more than enough to complete an activation.
Given the conditions, I did better than I expected. Thanks to those stations that hung in there to pull me out of the noise.
72, Craig WB3GCK