N7DLV's 2005 Field Day Activities!
Hello! Described here is what I did during Field Day 2005. If you are new to Amateur Radio, or do not know about Field Day, I'll try to describe it as best I can. Field Day is an anual event occuring on the fourth full weekend in June and is sponsered by the American Radio Relay League. The purpose of Field Day is to allow Amatuer Radio Operators, or Hams, in North America to practice thier emergancy communications skills under simulated emergancy conditions. Hams set up temporary portable amateur radio stations in an effort to accomplish this goal.
Field Day is many things to many Hams. Many Ham Radio operators belong to clubs and make Field Day a social event. They get together and as a group, construct elaborate portable stations consisting of a number of radios and big antennas on towers. Other Hams operate at home under emergancy power. Others, operate from various vehicles in a mobile enviroment. Most Hams will set up portable emergancy powered stations in the tradition of Field Day. In my opinion, the elaberate productions put together by clubs do not realistically simulate the condtions one would expect under actual emergancy conditions.
My personal philosophy about Field Day is that the portable station must be complete. It must have all the required radios, coax, coax switches, neccessary antennas, required power, accessories, shelter, plus food and water for several days. It also must be transported by the family vehicle. The antennas, equipment, and shelter must be set up by one person, the Field Day station operated by one person, and when Field Day is over, taken down by one person. In my opinion, this more realisticly simulates the conditions that would be presented under actual emergancy conditions.
Here is my story!
For the first time since my work accidents, I decided to set up a portable station for Field Day 2005. In previous years, I operated as a mobile amateur radio station. This year, I wanted to see how well I could perform physically. The following is a discription of what I did during Field Day 2005. Dial up users please be patient, there are a number of large images to be displayed.
Everything is packed into my car and I'm ready to head out to my Field Day site. As can be seen in this image, I was able to fit everything inside the car. This year, I'm going all out. All of my equipment can be operated from a 12 volt power source or the vehicle's electrical system. I plan to operate on as many Ham bands as possible. I brought 6 HF antennas, a 2 meter vertical, and enough coax to connect them to my radios. Using solar power, I charged one of my two 12 Volt batteries. I also plan to set up a Slow Scan Television demonstration.
This sign is at the begining of Forest Service Road #70. This area is open to the public and this road leads to my Field Day site. FS #70 spurs off of Washington State Highway 410 just south of Greenwater, WA. If you have a topographical map, just follow FS #70 for about 16 miles to where my Field Day site is located.
I have arrived! FS #70 starts out paved, but becomes a gravel road about half way to my Field Day site. It is well maintained and is easily traveled by standard vehicles. I've been using this location for Field Day for many years with the exception of Field Day 2003. The altitude here is about 4,700 feet. It's already noon the Friday before Field Day and I need to get going if I am to get everything set up in time to fix supper.
My favorite antenna hanging tree. This branch is perfectly situated and around 60 feet up from the ground. In past years, I was able to use a sling shot with a 1 ounce lead weight and get a guide line over this branch. This would allow me to haul up a rope and all of my HF antennas. 3 antennas for north/south and 3 antennas for east/west. But not this year. Due to my work related injuries, I was unable to get a line over this branch. I couldn't pull back the rubber band of the sling shot far enough without experiencing pain in my wrist and shoulder. I am very dissappointed and this will greatly limit my performance and overall scores.
I settle upon this tree and branch. It's only about 25 feet high, but it is positioned properly.
GRRRRRR! I couldn't even haul up the 6 HF antennas without experiencing pain in my wrist and shoulder. I back off and assess the situation while the pain subsides. I decided to use only 3 antennas. I settle upon a 40/80 meter dipole with light weight coax, and a home built 2 element wire beam for 20 meters, both oriented for signals from the east. For north/south operation, I settled upon a G5RV.
Up they go! Finally the antennas are up! I had to use a light weight coax for the 40/80 meter dipole. I wanted to use the lower loss RG-213 but I did not want to risk any pain, if I were to try to haul it up. For the same reason, I decided upon the G5RV. The ladder line feed is much lighter than RG-213.
Good grief! How did this happen! Oh well, it's too much of a hassle to untangle this mess!
This is one of my batteries for the emergancy power bonus points. The other battery was charged using solar power for more bonus points. It will be placed in service when this one is discharged. Everything except the computer is powered by this battery.
Here is the operating position. As can be seen in this photo, I have the computer up and running. It will be used for the alternate mode demonstration bonus points. I even hooked up a memory card reader, so I can take digital photos of any visitors and send them over the air via SSTV. I also have a KAM set up to copy the W1AW Field Day message when it is sent. To make sure I stay in the 1B 1 operator catagory, I will make sure that one of the rigs is turned off when not in use during Field Day. This operating position is nice and compact. Well, almost. I suppose I could have used a laptop! The computer is powered from a voltage inverter attached to the vehicle's electrical system. I wanted to use the same battery as the rest of the station, but the inverter is specified at 13.8Vdc for nominal operation. The computer was turned off and the inverter disconnected when the other battery for the Natural Power QSOs is used.
And here is my information table with a vistor logbook.
Here I am at the operator's position just prior to the start of Field Day 2005! It's a bit chilly here at 4500 ft., so I'm wearing warm clothing. I am excited and ready for Field Day 2005 to begin.
Considering the antenna situation, I think I did pretty good. I made a total of 175 QSO's, 23 SSB QSOs on 40, 141 on 20, and 1 with K7LED on 15. I could have made more QSO's but I took a nap and slept through the alarm, Drat! Additionlly, I am claiming 660 Bonus Points. My total claimed score if the ARRL confirms, will be 1010 Points. I was unable to copy the Field Day message, so I lost out on 100 points. Next year, I hope to get more antennas higher, and get more bonus points.
If you want an interesting challenge, try going out on your own next Field Day. Like me, you might find that it is a lot of fun. I'm already planning for Field Day 2006!
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Copyright (c) 2005 by Eric A. Snyder. All rights reserved