The Grayson County Amateur Radio Club (GCARC) gathered in the weeks leading up to the Bulb Antenna QSO Party event to build our very own bulb antenna. Per contest rules, a lightbulb had to be an integral part of the antenna and had to glow upon transmission.
From August 22nd to August 23rd 2020, members of operated from the home of Glen Davis – Club President, using his call sign N5LDO. We had a total of 85 contacts logged; however, after a quick quality check of the log, Glen determined that we had 71 clean contacts between the 20 meters and 30 meters bands. Of the 71, we had 7 DX contacts to: Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and St Lucia. Our longest range contact was to St Lucia ~ 2600 miles! All of our contacts were made on FT8, as voice was unattainable when we tried it. Overall, 71 contacts is not too bad for a compromised antenna and installation. We had fun both making it and using our bulb antenna.
Thank you to our QSO Bulb Antenna Party Participants: Lee N5SLY, Angel N5APJ, James KW5CW, Ricky KG5FDT and Bill K5XBP, and a special thanks to Glen N5LDO for hosting!