2007 ARRL Field Day
11/03/2007 |
W0MXW
We had 62 participants in Field Day this year. It was the largest turn-out the RARC has enjoyed for some time. Many new licensees joined us, and the new General Class hams learned to operate SSB contest style!
The RARC field day event this year was a smashing success, operators, and bystanders all got a taste of what Ham Radio can be under abnormal circumstances. The point of Field Day is to simulate a catastrophic emergency where permanent structures and systems are unavailable and the Ham must fend for themselves. We operated from the Cahill farm in south-east Minnesota for the year 2007 event, using no power from the electrical grid to run the radios, instead we relied on generator and battery power. Yes we even used solar power! This year the RARC chose the 3A category for entry. One Morse Code (CW) station, one Voice (SSB) station, and one digital (PSK31) station were in operation at the same time. The bonus "Get-On-The-Air" (GOTA) station doesn't count towards the transmitter class, but instead is there as a 'free' station, to allow non-hams or those who don't operate HF much, to make contacts under MUCH less stressful circumstances. We also put together and operated a VHF station for a good part of the contest, Mel, KC0P, headed up the VHF operation in what I call the "Mel-mobile" pictured here. Our stations consisted of an Icom 756ProIII and Tokyo Hy-Power amplifier, putting out ~600w of cw into vertical dipoles for 20 and 40 meters (14 and 7mhz respectively.) The station was under computer control, saving many thousands of dits and dahs on the paddles. Fred, K4IU, Larry Wo0z, Scott KD, and Peter Cross WA manned the CW statio. Well, they made 1381 contacts, while the voice and digital stations combined only made 1187 contacts. Throughout the course of the contest, these guys just kept plugging away, running our total score up 2 points at a time. It really pays to have a good CW operator or six!
The GOTA Station was a big hit, especially for the youth who came. We had over a dozen kids get involved, many of whom are licensed. MWA - Look out!
The only threat to operating this year was the meal times when our club Vice President, KC0WIP, brought donated food from local businesses. All we could say was Wow!
A complete write up can be found along with more pictures at http://www.rarchams.org/ftp-gnd/FieldDay07.htm
73's and see you down the log. -- K0MD
The RARC field day event this year was a smashing success, operators, and bystanders all got a taste of what Ham Radio can be under abnormal circumstances. The point of Field Day is to simulate a catastrophic emergency where permanent structures and systems are unavailable and the Ham must fend for themselves. We operated from the Cahill farm in south-east Minnesota for the year 2007 event, using no power from the electrical grid to run the radios, instead we relied on generator and battery power. Yes we even used solar power! This year the RARC chose the 3A category for entry. One Morse Code (CW) station, one Voice (SSB) station, and one digital (PSK31) station were in operation at the same time. The bonus "Get-On-The-Air" (GOTA) station doesn't count towards the transmitter class, but instead is there as a 'free' station, to allow non-hams or those who don't operate HF much, to make contacts under MUCH less stressful circumstances. We also put together and operated a VHF station for a good part of the contest, Mel, KC0P, headed up the VHF operation in what I call the "Mel-mobile" pictured here. Our stations consisted of an Icom 756ProIII and Tokyo Hy-Power amplifier, putting out ~600w of cw into vertical dipoles for 20 and 40 meters (14 and 7mhz respectively.) The station was under computer control, saving many thousands of dits and dahs on the paddles. Fred, K4IU, Larry Wo0z, Scott KD, and Peter Cross WA manned the CW statio. Well, they made 1381 contacts, while the voice and digital stations combined only made 1187 contacts. Throughout the course of the contest, these guys just kept plugging away, running our total score up 2 points at a time. It really pays to have a good CW operator or six!
The GOTA Station was a big hit, especially for the youth who came. We had over a dozen kids get involved, many of whom are licensed. MWA - Look out!
The only threat to operating this year was the meal times when our club Vice President, KC0WIP, brought donated food from local businesses. All we could say was Wow!
A complete write up can be found along with more pictures at http://www.rarchams.org/ftp-gnd/FieldDay07.htm
73's and see you down the log. -- K0MD
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