WFD 2024: An Attenuated Outing

With wet & nasty weather forecast for Friday and Saturday with clearing and cool on Sunday, I chose the path of dry comfort and decided to forgo the camping trip and just operate QRP with the FT-817nd from a picnic table at Wright's Lake for the last few hours on Sunday.  Altogether, it was far better than dragging home a pile of wet tent and damp gear.

The rules have changed somewhat for 2024.  There are no vast tubs of bonus points for the various outdoor/disaster related themes (alternate power, outdoors & away-from-home operation, etc.).  Rather, this year there's a simplified point system (1 point phone contact, 2 points for digital keyboard contacts, 2x multiplier for QRP operation) and a set of seven Objectives:

1. Operate 100% on alternative power: Check, with a solar panel no less.  See left side of pic.
2. Operate away from home: Check, at Wright's Lake.
3. Deploy multiple antennas: Argh.  Did all ops on the EFHW QRP antenna.  Would've picked this one up if I'd just screwed the rubber duck antenna onto '817, it was right there on the table.  Interesting twist on the rules: they only say deploy multiple (i.e. n > 1) antennas, not actually make a contact.  So call CQ a couple of times on 70cm and check the box?  That seems a little... gamer-ey.
4. Make a satellite contact: Nope.  Maybe next year?  I keep saying this...
5. Operate on at least six different bands: Nope.  40, 20, 15, & 10 were open (mostly).  160 & 80 are primarily nighttime bands (and good luck with QRP power levels there), and VHF-up simplex is always a long shot here in NFL.
6. Send and receive at least 1 Winlink email: Nope.  Maybe next year?  I keep saying this...
7. Operate 6 continuous hours during the event: Nope.  Squeezed it all into the last 4 hours.  Better than nothing.

So, 2 of 7 Objectives, and a big 12 contacts – 8 phone, 4 digital.  Still had fun.  Maybe the weather'll be dry next year.  I really don't like a big tent having to dry out in my living room.  Looking on the upside, last year would've been 5 of 7 objectives (1,2,3,5,&7), so knocking them all out of the park next year is entirely possible.

ps: Log submitted to WFD's site.  Another year, another foray into the world of frozen operations.  Even if it was a dry & pleasant 60F on Sunday.