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The "Salty Hams" from NBARC took second place in our class at the national level.
This year the Boeing Employees Amateur Radio Society of Wichita, KS based their field day at the Bob (KA0MR) and Mary Jo Bailey Ranch near Moundridge, KS in EM18. We had a 4A station, an awesome barbecue banquet and waffle breakfast, and all the normal Field Day obstacles to overcome. Every year, we learn a little better how to organize, operate, and eat to the highest levels of efficiency…
Setup - Dexter Schnebly helped set up....
10m & 15m Station - Steve Canfield and daughter ran the 15m station.
20m Station - Dave Powers the usual sterling performance. I hope we figure out the IC-756 Pro II. Too many bells and whistles to get figured out in one day. Dennis Fredrickson. on 20m ….
40m Station - Dennis Gaskill & Gary Cowles on 40 m. Thanks to Sam Patton for helping me fight with my antennas....
PSK Station - John Harford wrote some checks and did some PSK......I didn't get time to meet his wife...
Good grief! James Whitfield (N5GUI) took down his antenna at home and put it up with three masts, a bunch of work. Thanks for getting the PSK station going James. This year the BEARS operated a dedicated PSK station on 15M, 40M, and 20M. The station's antenna was a 100 foot dipole fed with 450 ohm ladder line. An antenna tuner was used to change bands, which was a very puzzling task until we realized that the antenna analyzer meter bounced crazily when the other BEARS stations were transmitting. The support for the antenna was new this year - three 37 foot tall double guyed masts, using eight "5 foot" steel TV mast sections for each mast. We were not able to practice raising the masts, however set up time was under an hour, needing only three people needed, though we had lots of supervision. A pulley was mounted at the top of each mast to raise and lower the antenna without having to take down the masts. Plans for next year have aready started to improve the station, antenna, and masts.
Satellite Station - Bill Briles (W0OQC) and friend Greg Wycoff (N0ZHE), got all the points possible on satellite in about 3 hours.
GOTA Station and 6m Station - Good Job to Jim Enix (KC0QIE), daughter Rachel, and Samantha Wing (KC0MTM) for manning the GOTA station. They were really hoping for some openings on 6 and 10m. The girls also were designated as club photographers.
Food
Don Urban (KB0BVX) put out the usual fine spread for field day eats and took care of us poor starving Ham’s. We were not starving after he got done with us. Thanks to Don Thomas (W0PEA), for breakfast on Sunday Morning (waffles). Our strategy for next year is less fiddling with antennas and get to the food earlier.
Speaking of my antennas…I violated the Field day prime directive and brought an antenna that I had not tried. So! Two hours later and James' crimper I was on the air. I also think the antenna was too low, because I talked to every ham in OH, IL, And WI, but not many others. I may go back to a vertical for 40 next year. The 706 is a good FD radio, but needs a SSB filter to help it out.
Thanks to all others who helped out: Thanks to Bob Bailey and family for putting up with us, Jay and his Generator, Terry Gattis on PSK and helping out with a myriad of other things, Jeff Draughn and Lloyd Williams helped out where needed, Randy Wing for totaling up the logs and submitting them. And thanks to anyone else I missed.
- Dennis Gaskill
Dave Powers (KA0KCI) operating at the 20m FD Station. |
Don Urban (KC0BVX) preparing barbeque! |
Haley and Steve Canfield at the 10m/15m station. |
Jim Enix and the GOTA Station! |
Samantha Wing (KC0MTM) and Rachel Enix - GOTA team members. |
Samantha Wing (KC0MTM) and Rachel Enix - taking a break and showing how a tent bag can make you look like Marge Simpson... |
HF SSB Pedestrian Mobile operation. KQ6XA/PM |
The most fun you can have with your clothes on!
Once again, we held our Field Day operation in Kiroli Park. We ran category 3A, with one CW station and two PHONE stations. Additionally, we had a six meter rig, a "Alternate Power" (solar) rig and an ATV demonstration.
Our site was visited by three Public Service Agencies, Red Cross, Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office and the Ouachita Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Special recognition and "Thank you" are in order to the Red Cross for the equipment demonstration and to Sheriff Richard Fewell for the use of the Generator, Travel Trailer and Motor Home (mobile command post), used as operating positions during the event. Thanks also to Time Warner for the use of their generator.
More information available at: http://www.tchams.org or http://www.ares-nela.org
David S. Gore, KC5LFB
President, Twin City Ham Club (2003 & 2004)
As a member emeritus of the Philips ARC (W1HP), I was encouraged by the club station trustee (K1KP), to run my planned FD operation from Arizona with the club call for my 1B1B entry. I accepted his kind offer.
I set up at the White Tanks Mountain county park to the west of Phoenix. Equipment included a Yaesu FT-817nd, a Kenwood AT-120 tuner, and an Averatec laptop computer. Several wire antennas were supported by collapsible fiberglass support poles. It only took about three hours to complete the setup.
All the radio equipment was powered from a 105 AmpHour deep discharge battery that had been charged from a 60 watt solar array.
Nearly all operation was on CW or PSK31 on all bands 80 meters thru 10 meters. It was good to see an E-Skip opening on 10 meters, where I quickly made a few phone contacts.
This was the first time that I've ever tried a contest with only 5 watts, and I found it to be a fascinating challenge which I'll certainly do again in 2005. Obviously, good antennas are a key ingredient to getting out with low power.
If it looks desolate, it's because it was! Not many people visit a Phoenix area park when the temperature wil hit 115 degrees. The park rangers, however, were overjoyed to see "something new" during this time of the year, and they were extremely supportive and helpful. |
Here's the operating setup inside the RV. Note the reflective barriers placed on the windows to minimize the heat of Arizona's summer sun. |
Here's the hi-tech bandswitch used on the wire dipole. When changing bands, the collapsible support pole was lowered and the cliplead jumpers were added or removed at the appropriate points. |
Here's the radio power source for the weekend. In this particular case, the "Arizona sun" was particularly helpful in keeping the charge rate between 3 and 4 amperes. |
During the 'breaks' I found the desert landscape to be an inspiration to keep going in the contest. There are boundless spectacular views in this 30,000 acre park. |
I thought about using the Sahauro Cactus as an antenna anchor point, but climbing it would have been excrutiating! The park rangers might have had some concerns, too. The other good news is that I never encountered a single rattlesnake or scorpion. |
I operated mobile from Mayport Naval Base in JAcksonville, FL. Although I planned to be active on Saturday and Sunday, there were severe thunderstorms on Saturday which prevented me from putting up the antenna.
I set up Sunday morning and made a total of 20 contacts, all SSB. There was tremendous QRN. I had three bands available--40, 20, and 15 meters. The rig was an Icom 706 MKIIG at 5 watts. I used Hustler mobile antennas. The computer was my Compaq Presario running QRP Dupe (a nice little freeware program).
Next year I'll be active from Mississippi Section.
73, Jim Walroth N3AWS
This is a continuation from the first one, my internet connection was lost the other day and I didn't get to finish it, so I am going to just post a couple more pics...Everyone enjoy...
73's Fred
Glenn (KE4YZK) gives Luke (W4WCW) a wake up call to get him up and operating...that boy got more sleep than all of us put together...hahaha |
Glenn (KE4YZK) sits down and tries to show everyone how to tear up the 20 meter bands... |
We had a lot of unexpected visitors, but we sure enjoyed feeding them...This Mother duck had 8 babies....we made sure that all of them got fed, more than once.. |
Left to Right: Billy (KG4DXM) and Nathan (KF4VJE)the one operating the radio, try showing Frankie, our new HAM how its done...She is going to jump in there next year...was a little bit to nervous this year.... |
STERLING PARK AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
The Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club held its most successful Field Day in many years on the weekend of June 26th and 27th. After two years at Stone Ridge High School, due to summer contruction at our usual site, Park View High School in Sterling, we were able to return to Park View this year. New light poles had been installed on the practice field that we use for our activity. Although they were metal (the old ones were wood), the light structure at the top was not too complex, which allowed for our sling shot technique to easily get a couple of ropes up about 80 or 90 feet to the top of two poles. Much better than the 30 or 40 foot parking lot poles that we used last year at Stone Bridge.
The club purchased two tents this year which were used to house our three HF stations plus our GOTA station. Ray Mullins, KD4RSL, set up the VHF station in his own tent. He had a new mast with rotor and beams for both 6 and 2 meters, and they worked like a charm. Power was supplied by our trusty antique generator ably maintained by Russ Thomason, W3RST. The three HF stations were networked using CT, and the GOTA and VHF stations used hand logging. About 17 club members participated, and visitors brought our total to 25. Visitors included a number of folks that just stopped by, our local school board member, plus a run through by a girls athletic team (without tripping over antenna or tent guys) and a 1:00 AM visit by school security - and we didn't have our permission form on the premises.
After combining the computer and hand logs, we wound up with a net total of 1236 QSOs. This resulted in a claimed score of 3692 from 586 CW QSOs, 24 digitial QSOs, and 626 phone QSOs which included 131 from the GOTA station and 42 from the VHF station, with a power factor of "2" for our 100 watt tranceivers. This was a significant improvement over last year, due to a number of factors. Not only did the higher poles allow for our wire antennas - a Carolina Windom and G5RV - to be raised to a good height and thus be more effective, but Don Sambol, K7CS, provided a 40 foot mast that we were able to use to support the club's two element tribander. In recent years we've merely hauled the driven element up a lamp post as a trap dipole. And we had lots of operating support, including all night CW operations by Don, and Phone operations by Jim Chappell, AF4MO, who also set up his newly acquired Butternut vertical. Lots of folks provided support for various bonus points, and we only missed a few hundred of those possible. If all 1350 claimed bonus points are allowed, our total score would be 5042.
73, Dick, W2YE
Our Field Day operation was held in St. Clair County, Alabama at the Lakehouse of Bob Hood (KE4QCY) on Neely Henry Lake.
Well...as usual we had a blast again this Field Day..It came off without a hitch, but when you have a bunch of great people working together, what else can you expect...It started off on the wrong foot..hahaha..Bob (KE4QCY) had a broken toe,that is what happens when you let a 5 year old get the best of you..so he wasn't too happy about having to sit and not be in the midst of things, but, as you can see, he did what he could and rested when he was told to..We have won the last two years and are hoping for another win this year...We made alot of contacts, ate a lot of food and had a great time showing a new HAM how to operate..She was not quite ready this year, but she is going to jump right in there next year and go at it full force...Hope everyone had as good a time as we did, enjoyed talking to everyone on the air, and we look forward to it again next year..
73's to all...
Teresa (a.k.a. Fred)
It starts off with everyone standing around watching one person work...Things got done a lot quicker that way...Seriously, everyone pitched in and got all of the antennas up and everything ready to operate. |
O.k.who was the GENIUS that gave Luke (W4WCW) the sledge hammer?.... |
Every time we turned around, someone was trusting Luke (W4WCW) with a hammer...glad that was not my car sitting there... |
From Left to Right..Nathan (KF4VJE), Billy (KG4DXM) and Glenn (KE4YZK) try to put up the 75 meter antenna in the back yard, thank God Luke was not around with his hammer... |
Bob (KE4QCY) has to supervise, since that is all that the crew would allow him to do..I think he planned this broken toe just in time for Field Day..hahaha..They really took care of him though and did most of the work for him...We have a really great bunch of people working with us... |
Phillip (AF4NP), Bobby (AI4FL), and Luke (W4WCW) work on getting the 20 meter antenna going..They work well together don't they? |
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