Field Day Planning

[DaveK]

ARRL Field Day Overview

ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. Each year over 35,000 amateurs gather with their clubs, friends or simply by themselves to operate.

ARRL Field Day is not a fully adjudicated contest, which explains much of its popularity. It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, most groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to local elected community leaders, key individuals with the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar.

Objective:
To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries.


Planning:
For an effective Field Day event, we will need to secure several radio operators and a number of equipment items. This first post will be updated as volunteers step up, both for radio purposes and equipment as well. We will operate this year on the following bands: 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 and will need band captains for each. Equipment needs will include generators, tables, co-ax, chairs, pop-ups, extension cords, band pass filters and more.

Here is a start:

Band Captains (We will need 5 volunteers for 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10. Assignments to be made later):
Larry

Generators
Larry - 2000w

Band pass filters
Larry - 15, 20, 40
DaveK - 80 & 10

Extension cords
Larry - 2 x 50 ft
Cris - several

Power strips
Larry - 2 x 6 outlet each
DaveK - 1 x 6 outlet
Cris - several

Pop-up canopies / shade tarps
Tim
Bruce

Chairs
Larry - 1
DaveK - 2
Tim - 2-4

Tables
Larry - 6 foot
Bruce

Co-ax cables and connectors
Larry - Several 50-75' coax cables, a few short connecting cables, and a selection of female-female cable connectors
SteeevO -
Tim

Wire antennas
Larry - 15m, 20m, 40m
SteevO - 40 & 80 dipoles

Lights - for night time use (either lanterns or AC)
DaveK - 1 AC and 1 Coleman
Larry - ARB 12V Camping light and Colemen
Tim - Coleman lanterns x3

Portable heaters - for night time use
Larry - x2

Radios and power supply
Larry - Yaesu FT-450AT, Kenwood TS-690S, 2 power supplies
SteeevO - 746 pro w power supply
Jon - Yaesu FT857D w/ Power supply
Tim - Yaesu 857 w/ power supply

Headphones
Steven
Dave

2M/440 radios for monitoring repeaters
Larry - in vehicle 2M
DaveK - in vehicle with cross band - 2M and 440

Computers for logging contacts
Larry
DaveK
Hector
SteevO
Tim

Antenna masts
DaveK
Larry
Hector
Jon

General equipment
Hector - contact logging items, cheat sheets, script, pencils, paper

Let us know how you would like to participate.

[cruiserlarry]

Here's the equipment I'll have available to use for OAUSA Field Day:

Band Captains: I'm available for whatever is needed - with a preference for 40m

Generators: Honda 2000i Generator

Band pass filters: 15m, 20m, 40m

Extension cords: 2- 50ft 12g

Power strips: 2- 6 outlet

Pop-up canopies: 1 available IF someone else can transport it (no room in my rig)

Chairs: 1, but it'll b occupied by me

Tables: 1 6' folding table IF NEEDED (I don't have much room)

Co-ax cables and connectors: Several 50-75' coax cables, a few short connecting cables, and a selection of female-female cable connectors

Wire antennas: 15m, 20m, 40m

Lights - for night time use (either lanterns or AC): Are you kidding ???

Portable heaters - for night time use: 2 catalytic propane heaters

Radios and power supply: Yaesu FT-450AT, Kenwood TS-690S, 2 power supplies

2M radio for monitoring Keller: Mobile unit (in the FJ), several handhelds for camp

Computers for logging contacts: Panasonic Toughbook w/ logging software

Antenna masts: 1 military sectional mast, 30'

General equipment: I've never been a General, so not sure what he'd need

[SteeevO]

Ill bring my icom 746 pro w power supply, coax, and dipole for 80/40 as well as a small laptop for logging.

[cruiserlarry]

OK folks....time to get back to OAUSA Field Day planning...


Who's going, and what are you bringing ????

[DaveK]

OK folks. Here are the official rules for Field Day, including a list of "extra point" things we can do to boost our score. See: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Da ... 0Rules.pdf.

Take a look at the list and see what you can do to help. More on this later.

[DaveK]

According to the official ARRL rules, here are some of the ways we can earn additional points:

1. Use of emergency power (we have this one nailed as we are only using generators, which qualify as emergency power) which gets us an additional 100 points.

2. Media publicity: if we can get some publicity from local media we will qualify for 100 points.

3. Public Location: holding the event in a public location will qualify for 100 points.

4. Public information table: A table that offers information on the event and Ham radio will qualify for 100 points.

5. Satellite contacts: If we make just one contact, via a satellite, we will earn 100 points.

6. Alternate Power: If we make a minimum of 5 contacts using alternate power (solar, wind, methane, water, etc.) we will earn 100 points.

7. Educational activity: A very diverse educational activity (related to Amateur Radio) gets us 100 points.

8. Site visitation by an elected official earns us 100 points.

9. Site visitation by a representative of an agency, such as an agency served by ARES (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, local emergency management, or law enforcement) gets us 100 points.

10. Participation by anyone 18 or younger gets us up to 100 points.



So, if you can help out with any of these extra point categories, let us know.

There are other ways to earn points, and those who will be participating should check out the official rules, mentioned above in post number 5.

[cruiserlarry]

According to the official ARRL rules, here are some of the ways we can earn additional points:

1. Use of emergency power (we have this one nailed as we are only using generators, which qualify as emergency power) which gets us an additional 100 points. (DEFINITELY HAVE THIS ONE)

2. Media publicity: if we can get some publicity from local media we will qualify for 100 points. (LOCAL NEWSPAPER / ARRL WEBSITE ??)

3. Public Location: holding the event in a public location will qualify for 100 points. (DEFINITELY HAVE THIS ONE - MCGILL CAMPGROUND / MT PINOS)

4. Public information table: A table that offers information on the event and Ham radio will qualify for 100 points. (SHOULD HAVE THIS ONE - ARRL LITERATURE @ TESTING SESSION TABLES)

5. Satellite contacts: If we make just one contact, via a satellite, we will earn 100 points.

6. Alternate Power: If we make a minimum of 5 contacts using alternate power (solar, wind, methane, water, etc.) we will earn 100 points. (SHOULD HAVE THIS ONE - WE WILL HAVE A HOST OF SOLAR PANELS AVAILABLE - SHOULD BE ABLE TO EASILY RUN BATTERIES TO POWER THE RADIOS OFF THEM)

7. Educational activity: A very diverse educational activity (related to Amateur Radio) gets us 100 points. (ANYONE HAVE A BOY SCOUT TROOP TO VISIT ???)

8. Site visitation by an elected official earns us 100 points.

9. Site visitation by a representative of an agency, such as an agency served by ARES (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, local emergency management, or law enforcement) gets us 100 points. (MIGHT HAVE A CERT MEMBER THERE; AND HEY HECTOR, AREN'T YOU A SHERIFF ???)

10. Participation by anyone 18 or younger gets us up to 100 points.(ANY TEENS WITH LICENSES ???)

We should be able to earn at least 500-600 points, if not more, IMO...



So, if you can help out with any of these extra point categories, let us know.

There are other ways to earn points, and those who will be participating should check out the official rules, mentioned above in post number 5.

[hmfigueroa]

According to the official ARRL rules, here are some of the ways we can earn additional points:

1. Use of emergency power (we have this one nailed as we are only using generators, which qualify as emergency power) which gets us an additional 100 points. (DEFINITELY HAVE THIS ONE)

2. Media publicity: if we can get some publicity from local media we will qualify for 100 points. (LOCAL NEWSPAPER / ARRL WEBSITE ??) we will need a letter or invitation to a media outlet that will come out to the location or otherwise cover the story.

3. Public Location: holding the event in a public location will qualify for 100 points. (DEFINITELY HAVE THIS ONE - MCGILL CAMPGROUND / MT PINOS)

4. Public information table: A table that offers information on the event and Ham radio will qualify for 100 points. (SHOULD HAVE THIS ONE - ARRL LITERATURE @ TESTING SESSION TABLES)

5. Satellite contacts: If we make just one contact, via a satellite, we will earn 100 points.

6. Alternate Power: If we make a minimum of 5 contacts using alternate power (solar, wind, methane, water, etc.) we will earn 100 points. (SHOULD HAVE THIS ONE - WE WILL HAVE A HOST OF SOLAR PANELS AVAILABLE - SHOULD BE ABLE TO EASILY RUN BATTERIES TO POWER THE RADIOS OFF THEM)

7. Educational activity: A very diverse educational activity (related to Amateur Radio) gets us 100 points. (ANYONE HAVE A BOY SCOUT TROOP TO VISIT ???) This can be any radio related educational activity it can be a class for our membership.

8. Site visitation by an elected official earns us 100 points.

9. Site visitation by a representative of an agency, such as an agency served by ARES (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, local emergency management, or law enforcement) gets us 100 points. (MIGHT HAVE A CERT MEMBER THERE; AND HEY HECTOR, AREN'T YOU A SHERIFF ???) I work for a different County sorry

10. Participation by anyone 18 or younger gets us up to 100 points.(ANY TEENS WITH LICENSES ???). This does not require a license we can use third party rules (just be careful with DX as some will not have third party agreements with the United States)

We should be able to earn at least 500-600 points, if not more, IMO...



So, if you can help out with any of these extra point categories, let us know.

There are other ways to earn points, and those who will be participating should check out the official rules, mentioned above in post number 5.

[DaveK]

Here is the status of our current needs.

1. We will be operating on the following 4 bands 80, 40, 20 and 15. We need band captains - who wants what.

2. There has been talk about doing 160 and 10, but, depending on how many operators we get, this may be stretching us a little thin. Anyone interested in volunteering for these bands, make your case! If anyone wants to make a 160 station, we will need a bandpass filter.

3. We probably need one and possibly two additional generators. Hector??? Ollie???

4. We need more extension cords.

5. We need more power strips.

6. We need 3-4 pop-up canopies.

7. We need 2-4 tables and a bunch of chairs.

8. We need more co-ax and connectors.

9. We need more lights for night time operators (either lanterns of AC lights)

10. We will need at least one more radio for the main stations and more if we expand.

11. We need more headphones

12. We need more logging computers (1-3)

13. We need a volunteer to work on getting us extra points (see my posts above).

If we have left out anything, let us know.

[Crismateski]

I can bring some extensions cords and power strips. My Ezup did not survive borrego fest winds so I will not be able to bring that this year