[LCC] Louisiana Multi-Ops

[Mark Ketchell]

Hi Guys,
         I, like many others, am constantly making improvements to my own 
station and after all the time and funds spent, like to work Single Op from 
home. However, In the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to 
guest op at some pretty nice "Shacks".

         For ARRL DX, 2009, I visited "the Camp", belonging to W5WMU. Wow! 
What an antenna farm. Pat and his wife put us up and fed us everything 
under the sun. Working with Dan, Charlie, Pat and others from the south 
part of the state was a blast ...and they said it was ME that had an 
accent. If you like lots of aluminum, THIS is the place to be.

         After my tree accident left me without my highest tower and 
aluminum last year. W5WZ invited myself and a few others to a multi for Nov 
SS, SSB in 2009. His new contest station was not yet fully assembled, but 
we had lots of fun. Scott and his wife were great hosts and Sharon made 
some fabulous home made soup. Fresh fruit and other snacks were on hand for 
the ops.

         This year, KG5VK threw out an invitation to Nov SS, SSB, his 
favorite contest. A couple of other guys ended up with conflicts, so I 
headed over to support Steve's effort. He had some new energetic operators 
as well as some veteran contesters. Steve has a set of noise cancelling 
headphones, and we all laughed as he excitedly stood there hollering parts 
of the exchange to the operator, who sat smiling with the phones on, not 
able to hear ANYTHING happening in the shack. Oh, the memories. Once again, 
I had a great time. Steve and his wife were also wonderful hosts, even 
providing sleeping quarters for those from out of town and keeping us well 
fed with two huge pots of fresh shrimp and mixed meat gumbo, brown and 
white rice and fresh home-made bread for every meal. The fresh baked 
cookies were a treat.

         I haven't yet made it to W5RU, but hope to some day, as those guys 
seem to know how to do it as well.

         As you can see, there seems to be a pattern here. If you attend a 
multi op in Louisiana, you're going to have some fun, laughing and visiting 
with some of the best ops in the state. You'll also make a bunch of Q's, 
get to operate some really nice equipment, and probably learn something 
new, or exciting, or a way to increase your own enjoyment. Bottom line, 
though, is that with all the good cooks, you will NOT loose any weight 
visiting these multi-op efforts. But it sure is FUN!! It is great to see 
the friendships (and competitiveness) blossom.

         Thanks very much to the all the station owners (and families) who 
host these multi efforts. These guys typically spend more equipping their 
stations so that others can participate, and feeding these crews can't be 
cheap. Part of their enjoyment is seeing others get on the air and have 
fun. My advice is: If you have an opportunity to accept an invitation to a 
multi, you should go at least once. Support these guys and their efforts. 
Just remember to respect the limitations and be sure to thank the host (and 
the spouse). The best way to thank them is to run up a few hundred extra 
Q's when you are in the operating seat.

73 and good contesting,
Mark, K5ER 
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