Field day 2009

From MMAE

This is our internal page. lets discuss our field day plans on here. Additional information for guests is on our general Field day page.

Last year we did a pretty good job. We also took care to make notes of all the things we want to change.

Field day is a national contest sponsored by ARRL Everyone interested in amateur radio is invited.

• Pictures
• Central Florida Future article

Contents 1 Recap 2 Antennas 3 Stations 3.1 unclaimed radios 3.2 station 1 3.3 Station 2 3.4 GOTA 3.5 Satellite station 3.6 Free VHF Station 3.7 Auxillary VHF station 4 supplies 4.1 Batteries 4.2 tuners 4.3 Towers 4.4 Antenna parts & misc 4.5 accessories 4.6 Chairs and tables 4.7 odds and ends 4.8 power supplies 4.9 Suggested personal items 4.10 shopping list 5 Bonus attempt planning 6 logistics 7 improvements to consider 8 Planning 8.1 field day targets 8.2 field day rules

[edit] Recap

• New location a great improvement
• No one likes red Gatorade. find a new color
• loop performance?
• spread antennas out?
  • isolate parallel line from all other feed lines (don't let the streams cross!)
• try yagi or verticals next year?
• try to improve time to first station ready

[edit] Antennas

The choice of antennas and their arrangement are critical to field day. Please add available antennas and suggest setups

• B&W + spare
• Inverted V
• Arrow 2M/70CM yagi
• attempt 100 foot circumference loop
  • use as full wave or half wave with tuner for 20-80m
  • use with capacitor as small loop for 160m? or shorten to use with other bands
• 2m yagi (3 or 5 element?) for horizontally polarized SSB and some kinda steerable pushup pole
• moxon
• J-pole

[edit] Stations

Were Planning on a 2A station. These our stations, fill in everything we will need

[edit] unclaimed radios

• ic756

[edit] station 1

• ic756
• 90ah battery

[edit] Station 2

• yaesu 897
• 90ah Battery

[edit] GOTA

• 706
• tripod
• Outbacker Antenna
• 90ah Battery

[edit] Satellite station

• TS2000
• Arrow 2M/70CM antenna
• antenna rotor [in shack]
• psu for rotor [use astron 20a]

[edit] Free VHF Station

• something that can do 2m SSB
• moxon or 3 or 5 element horizontally polarized yagi
• 90ah battery

[edit] Auxillary VHF station

• alinco / j-pole
• use for (non-contest) talk-in, general coordination (so ht's don't have to be on all the time)
• maybe use for NTS message passing
• Battery Box

[edit] supplies

These items are general supplies that aren't related to stations. If they should be please move them to the correct station.

[edit] Batteries

• Club Battery
• x2 90ah batteries KI4HXM[in shack]
• x2 90ah batteries KI4ORG[in shack]
• Battery box KI4HXM[in shack]
• 1 90AH battery K1VZX
• FSEC solar panels (requested)

[edit] tuners

• club tuner
• club broken tuner
• Keith's tuner
• (2) doug's tuners
• ts2000
• ic756

[edit] Towers

• steves tower (21 ft unless repaired)
• Club PVC tower
• Doug's tower
• Chris's partial tower?
• 500 ft uncut black dacron braid (kg4ydw)
• 4 S-hooks (kg4ydw)
• 1 small 9-hook (kg4ydw)
• spool of orange caution tape (kg4ydw)

[edit] Antenna parts & misc

• 1:1 balun (kg4ydw)
• 4:1 balun (kg4ydw)
• 1:1 pass through un-un (kg4ydw)
• 100 ft bare copper 7/22 braid (kg4ydw)
• 3 pulleys (kg4ydw)
• 2 two-pole antenna switches (kg4ydw)
• 4? pole antenna switch (shack)

[edit] accessories

• Coax
• power cords (kg4ydw: 25ft)
• dc power cords (kg4ydw: 1 50w style)
• adapters
• terminations tools
• soldering irons
• tool box
• bug spray
• sun block
• fans (John's squirrel fan???)
• bug candles
• wifi access: inventory, goal, prep for field day, (mall has full access)
• Antenna Tuner KI4HXM

[edit] Chairs and tables

• club table
• members' personal chairs (need 10? / have hxm ydw doug 1 )
• rent from arena??? (2?)

[edit] odds and ends

• coax
• power cords
• extension cords
• adapters
  • audio 1/4" to 1/8" (kg4ydw)
• power strips (?) (kg4ydw has one)
• fans
• inverters
• fuses
• tools
• signs (club A-frame)
• tower guy weights (buckets, bags, blocks?)
• ground rod
• new B&W (needs untangled)
• bazooka
• heavy gauge extension cord KI4HXM
• ratcheting tarp clamp (1 kg4ydw)
• John will loan us pallets
• 1/8 cord (ki4hxm)

[edit] power supplies

• FSEC solar panel
• Astron 50,25,70
• Doug's deep discharge
• marine deep discharge
• 400 watt 12VDC to 120VAC power inverter (Jeff)

[edit] Suggested personal items

• chair (!!)
• towel
• snacks
• sleeping bag, etc.
• fans?

[edit] shopping list

• box to keep paperwork dry
• tarps?
• more pulleys?
• boxes for radios?
• 7 buckets and lids
• 6 carabiners

[edit] Bonus attempt planning

All the possible bonus options are listed on the main discussion page. Below are last years bonuses attempted.

• 7.3.1. 100% Emergency Power: DONE
• 7.3.2. Media Publicity:look at ARRL press kit (word), call the Future and invite a reporter / photographeralso, we should advertise (good morning ucf, marquee?), listed on ARRL FD locator IVE STARTED DRAFTING A PRESS RELEASE KI4HXM
• 7.3.3. Public Location: DONE
• 7.3.4. Public Information Table: I WILL SORT THE SUPPLIES KI4HXM
• 7.3.5. Message Origination to Section Manager: NTS message to ARRL section manager: precompose this and fill in blanks the day of
• 7.3.6. Message Handling
• 7.3.7. Satellite QSO
• 7.3.8. Alternate Power: DONE
• 7.3.9. W1AW Bulletin: psk31 setup and electronic radio hookup?
• 7.3.10. Educational activity bonus
  • demonstration of HF modes (SSB, psk31, SSTV)
  • demonstration of VHF directional antennas (fox hunt principles)
  • knot tying class
• 7.3.12. Site Visitation by a representative of an agency:
• ??? 7.3.11 Site visitation by elected governmental official: SGA or outside?
• 7.3.13. GOTA Bonus. Class A and F stations operating a GOTA station may earn NATE HAS ACCEPTED GOTA OPERATOR
  • 7.3.13.1. When a GOTA operator successfully completes 20 QSOs
  • 7.3.13.1.1. Additional GOTA operators may earn the GOTA bonus points
  • 7.3.13.2. If a GOTA station is supervised full-time by a GOTA Coach, the
• 7.3.14. Web submission: A 50-point bonus may be claimed by a group submitting their Field
• 7.3.15.1. Under 18 Operators

[edit] logistics

Satellite views of antenna orientation showing principal lobes from the inverted V and B&W antennas.

memory mall

[edit] improvements to consider

• collective Super Wallmart trip?
• SHADE TARPS!
• more diligence with the log book
• need more pulleys for towers?
• get more water proof boxes
• small water proof box for promo material?
• audio adapters!
  • mono to stereo
  • 1/4" to 1/8" (kg4ydw)
  • 1/8" to 1/4"
• get more practice / learn
  • digital modes
  • NTS message (Brent)
  • satellite contacts
• better setup for radio / computer interfaces
  • serial
  • audio
• large style ratcheting C clamps (for holding tarps, etc.)
• logger
• S hooks for ground side of guy wires
• reduce club cable collection
  • terminate single ended cables
  • etc...
• Temporary plastic covers for radios, and or better tents (sealed roof sections between tents)
  • for morning hours when there is dew, but no lightning or rain to make us go inside
  • loose enough to cover radios when they are in operation and allow fans/heat sinking to work properly
  • keep people dry
• build a solar frier?
• logging software (Jeff)
• contact physical plant week before (sprinklers off)

[edit] Planning

• Have power turned on (physical plant)
• have sprinklers turned off (environmental services)
• no staking, sandbags only
• get copy of rule sheet

[edit] field day targets

4 seats (2A?)

• 2 HF stations
• 1 Sat
• 1 GOTA
• 1 VHF

[edit] field day rules

• http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/fd-2009-rules.pdf