2007 ARRL Field Day
06/25/2007 |
AA1PL
EVEN UNPLANNED CHANGES DIDN'T STOP THE FUN
Plan A: I was going to do an individual class 1B battery powered QRP field day station from a beautiful oceanfront scenic overlook in Westerly, RI. I built a full size 1/4 wave vertical antenna for 40M just for the event and made a special brace to secure it to my pickup truck. I had plans for another HF antenna or two. I was excited about operating from this beautiful location, taking advantage of the takeoff to the southwest across the salt water, and demonstrating amateur radio to the people visiting this spot. But the local police chief rejected my plans at the last minute due to concerns from the neighbors (mostly exclusive oceanfront homes).
I then went on to Plan B: I would set up my field day station in my backyard. I would set up a screen tent over my picnic table, set up my field day antennas in the tall white pines which surround my property, and even have a campfire Saturday night while operating. I had everyhing ready to go until Thursday night before field day I took a fall and sprained my ankle! Having my foot immobilized and unable to walk without crutches made me unable to carry or set up the antennas and equipment.
On to Plan C! I ended up operating as Class 1E from my normal ham shack at home. I wanted to run emergency power but hated to bother the family & neighbors with a noisy generator all weekend. So I used a bank of UPS batteries and ran QRP (5 watts). In spite of the fact that I was couped up in my basement ham shack on a beautiful weekend , I still had a blast. I was amazed at how well my QRP signal did ! I got most stations on the first call. My primary antenna was my 135 foot dipole center fed with balanced ladder line. It worked great! My CW has been a bit rusty lately, but field day certainly helped get my speed back up and renewed my love for CW. I operated on 80, 40 and 20 meter bands using CW, SSB, and PSK31. As I worked each station, I tried to imagine how nice it must be to be operating from the great outdoors! I hope you all had great time. I know I did in spite of the set backs. I can't wait for Field Day 2008 !
The most important lesson I learned: always have a backup plan. -- AA1PL
Plan A: I was going to do an individual class 1B battery powered QRP field day station from a beautiful oceanfront scenic overlook in Westerly, RI. I built a full size 1/4 wave vertical antenna for 40M just for the event and made a special brace to secure it to my pickup truck. I had plans for another HF antenna or two. I was excited about operating from this beautiful location, taking advantage of the takeoff to the southwest across the salt water, and demonstrating amateur radio to the people visiting this spot. But the local police chief rejected my plans at the last minute due to concerns from the neighbors (mostly exclusive oceanfront homes).
I then went on to Plan B: I would set up my field day station in my backyard. I would set up a screen tent over my picnic table, set up my field day antennas in the tall white pines which surround my property, and even have a campfire Saturday night while operating. I had everyhing ready to go until Thursday night before field day I took a fall and sprained my ankle! Having my foot immobilized and unable to walk without crutches made me unable to carry or set up the antennas and equipment.
On to Plan C! I ended up operating as Class 1E from my normal ham shack at home. I wanted to run emergency power but hated to bother the family & neighbors with a noisy generator all weekend. So I used a bank of UPS batteries and ran QRP (5 watts). In spite of the fact that I was couped up in my basement ham shack on a beautiful weekend , I still had a blast. I was amazed at how well my QRP signal did ! I got most stations on the first call. My primary antenna was my 135 foot dipole center fed with balanced ladder line. It worked great! My CW has been a bit rusty lately, but field day certainly helped get my speed back up and renewed my love for CW. I operated on 80, 40 and 20 meter bands using CW, SSB, and PSK31. As I worked each station, I tried to imagine how nice it must be to be operating from the great outdoors! I hope you all had great time. I know I did in spite of the set backs. I can't wait for Field Day 2008 !
The most important lesson I learned: always have a backup plan. -- AA1PL
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