07/23/2009 | W1SPC SPARC Shore Point amateur Radio Club New Haven County, Connecticut
Field Day 2009


Its a club that has existed (officially, by ARRL charter) for fourteen years, yet this was our first Field Day. The club was activated by Brian, K1SOX he is the be-all end-all of a repeater empire that has been established in the New Haven area for going on 15 years now. And, as one would have to be in that position, hes a pretty cool guy to boot.

Ive been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1976; Im one of the old buzzards of the club, yet this was my first true Field Day. I truly felt connected to our presence along the beach in West Haven; not just an operator sitting in for a few quick contacts although, lets face it, thats pretty cool too! I was really invigorated and excited to be a part of this outing. More importantly, there were other elements that came together that allowed all of this to happen.

Its the first time this club had someone like Chris, W1HVN, who had such an interest in ARES activities as well as the conception and inception of such a resource as the Mobile Communications Unit. Chris and Dan, KB1MMR, put together an outstanding resource. It had already proven itself invaluable in previous exercises, and this Field Day was no exception. The outboard generator provided the power for the computers, radios and other accessories two HF radios on the air simultaneously without a hitch. If we chose, we could have been configured for simultaneous operation on VHF, UHF and Micro as well, but we opted for practicality, focusing on HF.

We were on the air! Many of the folks never having worked the HF bands before, now having a chance to do some contesting under the club callsign W1SPC with myself and W1AIR looking on. And, although we were only up for five and a half hours, we still made a pretty big impact on all the folks that stopped by walking along the beach. Plus, 94 contacts on three bands is OK too (looked even more impressive on our whiteboard display, detailing the states and countries we worked!)

The bottom line is we ate well, we had fantastic weather, inquisitive guests and the best time ever. Now, whos this guy Murphy again?

Craig Lang, W1MHz
SPARC President -- W1MHZ