The first weekend of June marks a special time for amateur radio operators. That is the Museum Ships OTA Weekend. Each years several hundred museum ships come alive at the hands of Hams around the world in the form of special radio stations. This year, the Trident Amateur Radio Club had the honor and privilege to put the H.L. Hunley (Call sign N4HLH) on the air. The weekend started at 8 P.M. local time Friday June 2nd (0000Z, June 3) at the Cooper River Boat Yard, a stones throw from the Nash Conservatory where the Hunley is being restored. It turned out to be a special event indeed as the clubs new Mobile Operating Radio Station was used for the event. The station used a new club radio and a Hi End Fed Multi-band antenna. Before Midnight, 137 contacts were logged. Operators decided to break for the night and resumed at 8 A.M. Saturday for a full day of operation. Throughout the day, many club members came down and put in some time on the air. By early evening, all were pretty much burnt out and the decision was made to pull the plug and not continue the second day. Take down was easy and quick thanks to the use of the trailer. The whole crew could not have made it through the day were it not for the cooking expertise of Jim Self, KW4PW who fed the group the entire day. A special thanks to Jim and a hearty thanks to those who helped out through out the day. David, AE4ZR
