Amateur Radio in Northwest Arkansas
 

Big Blue Whale Official Unofficial Fun Station

Musings Ramblings Observations After The Fact

Q: Well, how did it go?
A: It was fun. There are several things I would have done or changed based upon my experience, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. It's never been done before, but it will be done again.

Q: Would you do it again?
A: In a heartbeat! I think next year I will organize a formal special event station and make it a full blown affair.

Q: What did you observe in terms of operations for amateur radio?
A: Safety and security were my biggest concerns. There was only me and my wife, Anne, to run the event. It would have been a lot more fun if I had more folks there to run the event. My partner became ill and was unable to help me, but I had made a committement to do it anyway. Operating under field conditions teaches you to cope with circumstances.

Throughout the operation people stopped by to see the whale and several were curious about ham radio and what I was doing. I had to be careful when people came through and walked out to the tail section. Several climbed the ladder next to the antenna mast. I was careful to make sure I was not transmitting because of them being close to the antenna. When people were back near the antenna I took the initiative to talk with them, answer questions about the whale and about amateur radio. A couple people told me that they had swum there when they were kids. One guy, on his way home to Texas, brought his two kids to see where he had spent time swimming as a child.

I was careful to see that no one tried to tinker with the station equipment. Most walked quickly by the table as if the radio was some kind of alien device. No one, including children, would come near.

With the entire operation being done over water I was concerned with electrical safety. I ran a ground wire from the radio and tuner to the structure of the whale. It is a attached to a steel rod with a copple clad clamp. The AC power was through a three conductor power chord. The weather was sunny with a gentle breeze and even though the operating station was over water, the floor and interior area of the whale itself was dry.

Q: Did you make many contacts?
A: Given the band conditions I made a total of 13 contacts on 20 meter SSB between about 11AM and 3PM. The band, at first, was not very good but later on it began to open up a bit. The Washington State Salmon Run (state QSO party) was going full swing and 4 of the contacts was with the contesters from Washington state.

My first contact was with the net control of the Woebegone Net (former Minnesotans). I don't think W7JG was was aware that he made the first contact in an event that has never been done before! I'll send him a certificate so he can tell the members of the group what he's experienced. Won't they be surprised?

I managed to work W6G, an official Route 66 OTA station, in Flagstaff, Arizona. It took a while to make it through the pileups, but I finally suceeded. We had a pretty good ragchew despite all the QRM (station interference) and QSB (signal fading). I was able to tell him a bit about the Big Blue Whale.

I made one DX contact; would you believe that? It was all the way from France... kinda. Emmanuel Angé and his wife, from Brittany, stopped by to visit the whale as a part of their vacation exploration of Route 66. Okay, it's what we call an eyeball QSO. Later I heard DL5RBW Roger in Bavaria, Germany, but I couldn't get through the pileup to work him. He was coming at 10 over 9 on the S-meter. Rats!

By about 3PM I was beginning to get tired and it was getting a bit warm. Fortunately there was a nice breeze wafting through the body of the whale. As the breeze subsided it got warmer and warmer. High humidity made us sweat. We also did not bring enough water and soda just doesn't cut it. We won't make that mistake again.

It was fun for me and the XYL to do this alone, but it sure would have been a lot more fun if there had been a larger group to set up, operate and pack up. I would have like to have shared the experience with other operators. I'm going to have to do some serious recruiting!

Q: Tell me something more about the whale. Who is the guy in the photo with you?
A: That's Blaine Davis the son of the Hugh Davis who worked on construction of the whale between 1970 and 1972. Blaine spent a hour or so helping us set things up while telling us more about the whale. It was fascinating to say the least. He's retired and lives in fifth wheel trailer on the grounds. Interestingly, he uses the whale for his tornado shelter. He said, "This thing has withstood a lot of storms so I know it is safe." It's made of concrete and steel.

The whale was hand built by Hugh Davis who spent 2,920 hours on this labor of love. Here are some more stats on what went into the whale:

= 2,650 ft. of steel rod
= 1,179 ft. of 2 inch steel pipe
= 100 ft. of 1" pipe
= 2,520 sq. ft. of plastic lath
= 126 bags of concrete mix
= 19.5 sq. yds. of Redi-Mix concrete
= 19,400 lbs. of crushed stone
= 15 tons of sand
= 2,454 linear ft. of wood
= 20 lbs. of assorted nails
= Assorted tubing and valves (water for the two water slides and a water spout for the the head!)
= Material cost was less than $3,000
= 100 hours of welding was donated by Harold Thomas, a family friend

Dimensions of the whale:
= Length: 80 feet
= Height: 15 feet
= Width: 10 feet

Q: Howazbout some photos?
A: Okay!

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