Tag Archives: Field Day

Events, Field Day, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Videos

Field Day Recap: Good friends, lots of contacts, and a little portable POTA!

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Since I was first licensed in 1997, Field Day has been the on-the-air event I’ve always looked forward to more than any other.

I love the combination of playing radio outdoors, experimenting with antennas, hanging with fellow hams, and inviting the public to experience the world of amateur radio.

I’ve participated in quite a wide variety of Field Day events over the years. A few times, I’ve spent the entire event with one club playing radio for the full 24 hour period of time and only getting a couple hours of sleep. It’s exhausting, but loads of fun!

Other times, I’ve been a guest at clubs as we’ve spent the summer in Canada–most notably with the Charlottetown ARC and with the Club Radio Amateur du Québec.

That’s the great thing about amateur radio: no matter where you go in the world, you have a built-in local community of friends.

Many years, I’ve also combined Field Day and POTA (also NPOTA in 2016) with my good friend Vlado (N3CZ). We typically find a nice park to play radio, make some food (Vlado is the grill-master extraordinaire), and hang out for a few hours, many times with our families and other ham friends. Our goal is mostly to have fun, make contacts, and be ready to answer questions when a crowd gathers.

My buddy Vlado (N3CZ) draws a crowd in 2016,

Field Day 2023

On Saturday morning (June 24, 2023), Vlado and I met up around 12:30 at Vlado’s QTH and I placed my gear in his car.

The plan was to hit a park and do a POTA activation–albeit just running Field Day with my callsign–then go to the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Club‘s Field Day site for dinner and operating with their club call (W4YK).

Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856)

We made our way to Holmes Educational State Forest (K-4856). It was a logical choice since it wasn’t too far from the BRARC Field Day site.

I had hoped the covered picnic shelter at Holmes would be unoccupied, but it was very much the opposite. I think there must have been three birthday parties in that thing!

Knowing rain showers are all around, I packed my ENO hammock rainfly and, in fact, we chose our picnic site based on tree spacing to hang the rainfly over the picnic table.

Vlado (N3CZ) warming up his IC-703 Plus

We put up the rain fly first and it’s a good thing we did because showers moved in immediately. Fortunately, the fly worked a charm and we both–and more importantly, our radios–stayed bone dry.

Since this was primarily a Field Day effort, I didn’t schedule the activation or do any spotting. No one who worked us knew that it was also a park activation.

We ran as a 1B Battery station, thus our maximum output power was five watts. (Of course we were only going to do this QRP!)

Vlado and I both operated, but he made the bulk of the contacts. While one of us worked stations, the other logged.

In the end, we logged 45 contacts–all but one were CW.

Vlado really enjoyed using his IC-703 Plus. He built a small go kit around it some time ago, but this was actually the first opportunity he’d had to use it in the field.

I also packed the IC-705 and made quite a few contacts with it including our one SSB contact!

Around 4:30 PM local, we packed up and headed to the Blue Ridge ARC FD site at one of the members’ QTH.

Holmes Video

I made a short video at Holmes Educational State Forest–not a typical activation video, just a quick visit with us:

Click here to view on YouTube.

BRARC

We arrived at the BRARC site around 5:00 PM. Typically, the Blue Ridge Club sets up in very public ares–primarily the middle of some of the larger area parks.

This time, however, there was a permitting conflict that forced the club to find another space. Fortunately, two of the club members offered up their home which wasn’t in a public spot, obviously, but in every other respect was ideal.

We arrived and met with several friends I hadn’t seen in ages.

Vlado immediately hopped on KC5F’s Icom IC-7610 (the dedicated CW station) and gave Steve a break at the key.

I then took over after Vlado’s run and added a few more contacts to the W4YK logs.

I then moved to the SSB station and added about ten contacts to their logs. That particular station was the club’s Icom IC-718 and if I’m being honest, it’s not the best HF radio for crowded band conditions. It’s an overall good radio, but when the RF is dense (as it is on Field Day) its front end sort of falls apart. The difference between the IC-718 and IC-7610 was striking. The ‘7610 is a contest grade radio and it handles FD conditions with grace.

The barbecue at the BRARC Field Day was amazing. We appreciate good BBQ here in North Carolina. Don’t get me started about that potato salad–it was spectacular!

We left he BRARC meeting around 8:30 PM and on the way home decided to pop by the WCARS Field Day site at a Fire Fighters’ Union Camp Ground. This wasn’t a terribly public place for Field Day, but the grounds were ideal for setting up stations. A number of WCARS members belong to the Fire Fighters’ Union.

We spoke with a few WCARS members/friends we hadn’t seen in some time, then headed home.

In the end, I felt like we’d done a little Field Day tour that Saturday!

It was great hopping on the air, but even better seeing so many friends we hadn’t seen in such a long time.

How was your Field Day?

I’d love to hear what you did for Field Day! Please share your experience with us in the comments section!

Also, keep in mind that Saturday July 1, 2023 (tomorrow!) is the RAC Canada Day Contest! You can find out more about this event on the RAC website.

Thank you

Thank you for joining Vlado and me for a few minutes on Field Day!

Also, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon and the Coffee Fund. While certainly not a requirement as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

Have an amazing weekend ahead!

Cheers & 72,

Thomas (K4SWL)

Events, News, QRP

Making everyday Field Day

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Since I began my ham radio journey in 1997, I’ve always looked forward to one event more than any other: ARRL Field Day.

No doubt, this is due to the fact that one of my earliest experiences after being licensed was participating in Field Day with my (then) local club ACARA in Athens, Ohio. We were operating 1A battery which meant “One transmitter, club or non-club group, power output of five watts maximum.”

In short? It was a blast and a proper introduction to the power of QRP.

In fact, Eric (WD8RIF) has such a deep archive of field events on his site, you can read the original  field report here.

I was already looking forward to the next field day as we were packing up our site that year.  It was insane fun.

2022 Field Day

Gaétan Trépanier (VE2GHO) making final adjustments to the club’s HF Yagi during Field Day 2017

I had hoped to spend Field Day 2022 with the amazing crew at C.R.A.Q (Club Radio Amateur de Québec), but it just didn’t work out due to our family schedule which included some beautiful hikes. I’ve spent Field Day with C.R.A.Q. twice before and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did, however, make a couple dozen random Field Day contacts in CW on 20 meters from our condo.

I’m grateful to Vince (VE6LK) who held a Field Day Zoom conference call all weekend hosted by his local club, the Foothills Amateur Radio Society. It was a drop-in, drop-out 24 hour session and was a brilliant substitute for all of the amazing side conversations one would typically have during an in-person club Field Day event. It was great meeting members of FARS, friends like George (KJ6VU), and so many others who popped by for a visit.

Field Day Everyday!

I’ll admit that I get a bit of that Field Day feeling each time I do a park or summit activation.

There’s none of the in-person camaraderie because my activations are typically solo, but on the air I’m connecting with my POTA family and friends. It often feels like a little on-air reunion where we all check in.

Of course, it certainly scratches that Field Day itch of setting up my radio gear in the great outdoors, operating from battery power, experimenting with antennas, and sometimes even managing small pile-ups.

I live for that stuff!

How about your Field Day?

Tell us about your 2022 Field Day experience in the comments section!

Did you play Field Day with a club or at home? Did you hop on the air? What were conditions like? What gear did you use and did you experiment with any new antenna designs?

Inquiring minds want to know. Please comment!

Guest Posts, News, Portable, QRP

Guest Post: Field Day – 200 QSOs with a Flashlight Battery

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The PowerFilm LightSaver (Image: PowerFilm Solar)

Many thanks to Jim Cluett (W1PID) who has kindly allowed me to share this recent post from his website:

Field Day – 200 QSOs with a Flashlight Battery

June 2021

by Jim Cluett (W1PID)

Field Day was an experiment this year. I operated for nine hours using a 5V 18650 battery and made 200 QSOs before calling it quits.

I operated on the deck with an MTR 4-B designed by KD1JV. The antenna was an 88 foot doublet up about 45 feet. I used the ZM-2 tuner. For power I used the PowerFilm LightSaver. This is a 5 watt roll-up solar panel that charges a 3.7V 18650 battery rated at 3.2 Ahr. The battery inside the Powerfilm product is commonly used in flashlights. The combination of the rig and the power supply is crucial.

The MTR rigs will operate from 6 to 12 volts. The Powerfilm puts out 5V to a USB socket. The secret ingredient required to bring the USB voltage up to the operating voltage of the rig is a Baofeng USB charging dongle. This device takes a 5V input and outputs 10.3 volts… perfect for the MTR transceiver. With this voltage the MTR puts out a little less than 3 watts.

The PowerFilm LightSaver is designed to charge cell phones for hikers and campers. It weighs only about 5 oz. and rolls up into a tiny package. Any USB 5V cell phone charging battery could be used with the Baofeng dongle.

This year my whole station operated on 5V. I used a Samsung tablet for logging.

In New Hampshire it was cloudy for most of Field Day, but fortunately the amorphous solar panel provides some charging even when it’s cloudy. I’m guessing that after 9 hours of operating the battery was down to about half capacity. The beauty of this system is that one could operate indefinitely with moderate sunshine.

I’ve been experimenting with this setup during hikes and bike rides for the last couple of months with a view to using it for Field Day. This year’s emergency exercise proves that it is viable for an extended grid-down power outage.

Click here to check out Jim’s website!

What a brilliant challenge and test for Field Day, Jim! Thank you for allowing me to share it here on QRPer. Also, a hat tip to Eric (WD8RIF) for bringing this article to my attention!

Events, Field Day

Field Day on Holiday

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Field Day 2012 with VY2CRS

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been on vacation in Prince Edward Island Canada.

This year, our vacation coincided with my favorite annual event, Field Day.
Sadly, I missed an opportunity to experience Field Day QRP-style with the NC-based QRP club, the Knightlites, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, along with my buddy, Vlado (N3CZ).

Ron Morris, VY2RM, working 20 meters

Before I left my trip up north, I contacted the Charlottetown, PEI, Amateur Radio Club (VY2CRS) and was glad to learn that they had planned a Field Day event on the farm of their club President, Andy Speelman (VA2AS). Better yet, the location was just forty minutes from the cabin where we were staying on PEI.

Perhaps one of the benefits we enjoy as amateur radio operators is that we’re all part of one enormous event, an all-inclusive fraternity of like-minded individuals. When I arrived on site at the Charlottetown Field Day location, I was greeted as if I was expected. The large sign at the end of Andy’s driveway was a great advertisement for the FD location.

(Left to Right) Chris Vessey VY2CRV, Richard Burke VY2RB and Andy Speelman VY2AS

They instantly put me to work…eating a hamburger. After all, you can’t work a radio rig without a little something in your fuel tank, right?

“Islander” hospitality is legendary, and frankly, reminds me of the way it was when I was growing up in rural North Carolina where “no one’s a stranger,” and you’re free to accept invitations (and meals) without hesitation. This local club went a step further, and from the moment I arrived, included me in their jokes, making sure to laugh not just at but with me. I felt utterly at home.

The club had a wide array of antennas up by the time I arrived. All of them had been constructed just prior to the beginning of the contest, and all were field-deployable. Andy’s farm is a wide-open space and with no limitations to big antlers, thus they even fit a 160M “V” doublet out in front of the barn where we operated.

My view as I worked station after station on 20 meters

Though I had only a few hours to play radio before heading back to my family at the cabin, they put me on the 20M almost immediately. In perhaps an hour, I chalked up 100+ contacts on that band. The guys got a kick out of hearing me call “CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day, this is VY2CSR” and then offering up our “3 Alpha Maritime” in my North Carolina accent.

Though not great for identifying dupes, paper logs will work even if the power goes out

 

It was also fun to get a quick word in with those NC stations I worked from the island, many of whom were set up only a few miles from my home QTH.

I made sure I saved plenty of time for chatting with the club members, too. After all, this Field Day event– like many others I’ve attended–was more about comraderie and fun rather than about raking in the scores and multipliers (not that taking it to a contest level is objectionable, of course).

Darin Gay VY2GAY (left) and Andy Speelman VY2AS (right)

Fellows in Charlottetown: if you’re reading this post, I surely thank you for including me in FD 2012, Charlottetown-style.

Readers, if you happen to be on vacation during Field Day, search for a local event. There’s sure to be one and you’ll most likely make some new friends and create some notable radio memories.

Events, Portable, QRP

The ultimate Field Day tent?

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The 2 kW "Power Shade" is the right size to cover a full-size military tent.

Power Film Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of thin, flexible solar modules.  The company designs, manufactures and retails their products in Ames, Iowa–a quality made-in-USA product.

Last year, at the Dayton Hamvention, PFI’s booth was very popular. Why? Their sale of small, rollable and foldable solar panels, absolutely perfect for field use, drew crowds of hams, DXers, campers, and/or frequent travelers.  Needless to say, sales were brisk.

While browsing their website recently (just for fun), I came across their PowerShade™ Solar Field Shelters. They’re available in 1 kilowatt and 2 kilowatt versions at 15.4 V or 30.8 V.  Wow…

This paneled tent is primarily focused at the military market.  Perhaps exclusively.  And I readily admit, it would be overkill for QRPers, even for a multi-op QRP Field Day.  After all, aren’t we about “less is more”–?

But is it wrong for me to fantasize about this wonderful 2 kW creation? A tent-topper that sucks in Sol’s readily-available energy and, with the assistance of a battery bank, produces enough juice to fuel several QRP rigs?

I dunno.  I’m too busy fantasizing to care…!