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ARRL Field Day

My first Field Day was in the mid sixties. I wrote a letter to the mayor and got permission for me and a bunch of my fellow teenage hams to camp out in a city park and operate field day. At around mid-night, the cops came by and shut us down because our generator was keeping the neighbors awake. We got to fire it up again at 7AM the next morning. We didn't make more than 300 Q's in that Field Day, but we had a lot of fun.

 For the past twenty years, I've been operating Field Day annually. I know Field Day is not billed as a contest but I like to post a competitive score. Here are some tips that might help you move up the rankings..

Antennas

There is no need to have a high Yagi in Field Day. I've used tri-banders 10 feet off the ground and done fine. Around 20-30 feet of height is ideal. Remember, you want high angle radiation, so don't waste your effort getting the tri-bander high - this isn't a DX contest. A Radio Shack push up mast with a light weight tri-bander like a Cushcraft A3 or a Force 12 C3 is just right.

Pair the tri-bander with a trap dipole for 80/40 at 50 feet or so, and you're in business. If you don't have adequate supports for a dipole. A vertical will work fine. Here in Colorado, we have no need for 80 meters during Field Day since there's nothing close by to work. So, we use an C3SS and a 40 meter vertical. This set up has netted us over 1200 CW Q's a year for the past few years in the one transmitter category.

W0CP Field Day Site near Badger Mountain - elevation 9000 feet

 

Generator

A 2500 watt generator is ideal for one or two 100w rigs and miscellaneous accessories. I use a Honda. It cost me $700 used. One 5 gallon can of gasoline will keep it running all weekend. Place the generator 100 feet from the shack, to cut down on the noise.   

Mode

CW is the way to go for Field Day. There's really no point in running SSB at all given the point differential. If you don't know CW too well, make your next field day a CW training exercise.

Here's our 1999 Field Day equipment list. This is for a 1A field day setup.

2m handi talkies, cables for pwr station

1-2 meter beam, cables

1- 12v power station

1- ct 232 interface (radio/computer)

1- ac adaptor for above

1- keyer

1- 9v battery for above

1- phono to mono phone cable

1- computer to mono phone keyer cable

1- straight key

2- bencher paddles

1- solar panel, cables

1- stereo headphone

1- 5 position coax switch

1- ts850

1- 20 amp 13.8v supply for ts850

1- mike adaptor cable

1- mike headset

1- laptop computer with pwr supply and ac cord

1- writelog logging program

1- cushcraft r7

1 - steel mast for r7

1- radio shack mast

1- force 12 C3SS

1- ac power strip

1- panamax surge protection strip

1- roll of duct tape

1- set manuals for electronics

2 - fan

1 - little light

1 - fluorescent light

1- tool kit

1- small sledge hammer

8 - 4ft rebar

1- arrl flag

1- package of cable ties

1- stereo phone to dual phone adaptors

1- soldering gun

1- soldering pencil

1- autek or mfj antenna meter

1- solder

4- barrel connectors

4- coax connectors

connector kit

150ft - RG8x coax

2 - legal pads, ball points

fd rules

misc magazines

10 gal unleaded gasoline

gasoline funnel

12 gal fresh water

electrical tape

1 camera

1 binoculars

1- short coax -( to ant switch from rig )

3- clamp inductors

1- wrap inductors

1-6 foot ladder

1- water pail

4- rags, towel

1-broom

1- cabin tent

4- operator chairs

1- 24x48 inch op table

1- aluminum op table

1- 500 ft twine

1- 100 ft rope

1- 100 ft extension cord

1- 50 ft extension cord

1- Honda 2500 generator

1- lawn chair

1- lava soap

 

cw post

3- 2 liter evian water

low fat milk

half n half

rudy's sourdough white

orange juice

micro popcorn

6 pak pepsi

6 pak coke

8- sesame large hamburger buns

catsup

hamburger dills

2.3 lbs of groud beef

motor oil

4 stouffers microwave dinners

1 stouffers pizza

1 pizza

1 bar of butter

1 bacon

doz eggs

mjb coffee, small can

mustard

swiss cheese

1 bar lava

1 bar zest

1 pack of toilet paper

1 roll paper towels

1 box raisins

1 bunch bananas

2 bags potato chips

1 red onion

1 dish soap

1 lb nectarines

cherries

2 rolls of color print film

1 quart of motor oil

1- box trash bags

2-rolls paper towels

1-broom

 

 

personal:

chap stick

down jacket

fleece pullover

long john pants

thermal shirt

4- tee shirts

1- polo

1- pants

1 - shorts

handiwipes

kleenex

earplugs

mug, mess kit

leather gloves

belt tool

flashlight

sleeping bag

sun lotion

hat