Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Activation of The 1877 Tall Ship Elissa for 2015 Musueam Ships Weekend; N5E callsign

June 16, 2015

Hi:
Thanks for stopping by.  

Once again our "no -club group" was privileged to put the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa on the air for Museum Ships Weekend.  We had a great deal of fun doing so.  I think this was our best year yet!

Operators included:

Rick, KE5BZE; Michael, K5WRN; Jeremy, K0JCC; Dave, AE5CG; Dom, N5TCB; 
Leslie, AD5WB; James, W5AOO.  

We ultimately had four stations on the air and made contacts on the following bands:  6 meters, 10 meters, 12 meters, 15 meters, 17 meters, 20 meters, and 40 meters.
The combination of heat and humidity on Saturday was brutal.  As always the location was noisy :-)
A summary of operations is as follows:
675 Qs
QSOs by band
Band     # Qso
7 MHz     46
14 MHz   164
18 MHz   296
21 MHz   126
24 MHz      3
28  MHz   34
50  MHz     6

DX:
Chile
Hungary
Japan
Sweden
Canada

Ships:
15

Our logs are already uploaded to LOTW and Clublog.

Here are some photos and videos from the event.  I hope you enjoy.
 Lunch.  Hams work best when fed. Hi! HI!


 Another shot of our operating position.  3 of our antennas are visible.  We ultimately had 6 antennas for 4 stations set up.

  A shot of our operating position on the balcony of the workshop.  In this shot you can see 4 of our antennas.

Some of our operators trying to work you.  The bands were very tough the entire weekend.  We would be in Qso with someone in 57 conditions then they were in mud.

 Shot of our operating position from the other end.


 Another shot showing our 3 canopies and four of our antennas.


  Same shot as just above but lighter, difficult to see our antennas.
 Shot of our operating positions and in this shot you can see the two dipole antenna, the Transworld vertical and the six and two meter antennas.

 This shot shows the antenna farm a little better.  the only antenna not visible in this shot is the vertical we had set up on 20 meters.  It was on a corner of the dock right above the water.
 One of my buddies.
 I really miss seeing these guys, since I moved to the mainland
I really like watching them fly in formation!

 As mentioned earlier, the heat and humidity were tough.
 Another shot of our operating position
 Taking your calls
 CQ CQ 
15 meter SSB
This video shows all of our antennas and our operating position.  You can also see that the location is a working museum.
This video shows the crew hoisting a dingy using one of the ships capstans.  The two people walking in a circle are actually pulling the rope that is lifting the dingy.  Mark, the bosun, is directing the action.

We are privileged to be able to put the Elissa on the air.  As such, we would like to extend our gratitude to the staff and volunteers of the Elissa, the Texas Seaport Museum, The Galveston Historical Foundation and especially to Jamie White - Museum director and mark Scibinico Boatswain.  Mark is kind and allows us to take over part of his office on Saturday night to store our gear.

The Texas Seaport museum is the home of the Elissa.  Here is information about hours and admission.

Texas Seaport Admission:
Adult [Age 19 yrs and up]: $12
Youth [Age 6 through 18]: $9
Child [Age 5 and under]: FREE


Hours of Operation
Winter Hours:
Open Daily: 10am - 5pm
Last ticket sold at 4:30pm

Summer Hours:
Open daily: 9am 6pm
Last ticket sold at 5 pm

Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and during annual Sea Trials.

Note: Hours may be seasonal and subject to change. 

I hope we got to work you.  Please feel free to ask any questions you wish about the operation.
73
Leslie, ad5wb