The 2009 Manassas Campaign
We talked about this campaign all spring and our forces were gearing up to move south. Several said they were looking for stuff but most wanted to unload. There was this one fellow
who planned to take the same old boxes of you know what and hoped to unload something. And another said he might put some stuff out. In the end, five loaded rigs moved out at O-Dark-Thirty with Paul -
N4PD at the Point and Z - KU1T in trail. We closed on the gates at 0605 hours local.
Paul - N4PD set up first and most decided to put out a few choice items with Paul's. Everyone stopped to look and comment respectfully on Ray (SK) - K4AJA's Viking.
We told them it had been refurbished by Charlie - K4LJH of Hamilton and was ready to fire up. A bigger audience may have brought a buyer. Everyone was looking for a special deal. Rick - AI1V couldn't
part with his very nice HP scanner with 35-mm slide adaptor for $15; no matter what Rick would say the guys worried about whether their old computer could handled it. For about the sixth year, Norm
- AI2C carried home his HW-32 and HW-12 Heath Single Banders. It's clear that few know the joy of dipping the plate and peaking the grid. Norm did find a fellow who wanted to part with his Vibroplex© Iambic
Deluxe; it was too good to be passed up and will reside on the farm in Pennsylvania.
By mid-morning many current and past members - some twenty-some - stopped by to say hello. It was great to see everyone. An old buddy of Norm's, Milt - N4SN, ex-EP2MW from his Tehran days, spent some time spinning a few old DX stories about operating from rare Southwest Asia. Around 1200 hours the place started to empty out and so we closed station and march ordered. We were home within the hour.
