Field Day 2015

[N1GNV]

Hi Friends:

I’d like to share some thoughts with you on our Field Day operation.

I think all in all, things went very well. We had enough help for setup and, most important, teardown. In fact, I was about the last one out of the building and that was at 2:55 – certainly a new record for us!
Thanks to all who came out to support the effort. It was great to see four out of five club officers pitching in to help. Our President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Station Activities Manager all made valuable contributions to the effort.

A few things to consider --

I think the firehouse worked very well for us. Yes, we need to work out a few issues, some of which I’ll discuss. I think we should continue doing FD as class 2F from the EOC.

First, keep in mind that the primary focus and purpose of Field Day is emergency communications. In the event that the Town calls on us, we’ll be expected to operate from the EOC, not from a park.
And from a practical standpoint, it makes things much easier. Equipment needs to be moved a few feet, not a few miles. No tents to erect, no real worries about weather. Food and drink, and restrooms, close by for everyone.
Many of us have great memories from Field Days at Godek’s Farm, and nearly all of us from Marcus Cooke Park. But 20 years ago, I was 20 years younger, and I’ll bet you were too!
So maybe it’s time to move on, and write new chapters – and get practical experience in the type of emergency communications we’ll be expected to provide.

If you were there, you know that we did run into interference issues, both RF and AF. I think both are solvable without too much expense or effort.

Let’s start with AF (audio frequencies). With four stations in the garage bays – HF-CW, VHF, GOTA, and Infra-Red, plus socializing, schmoozing, and lie-swapping, it’s no wonder each one is tempted to turn up their own volume.
So the others turn up theirs, and the cycle repeats. The answer, I think, is headphones for the operators and loggers of the three radio stations. To that end, I’ve ordered one of these –
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H...oCP3Xw_wcB

It’s a headphone distribution amp that allows up to 4 sets of phones, each with its own volume control, for about $25. I don’t see any reason why one of the outputs can’t be hooked to a speaker so observers can hear what’s going on, too.
I’ll make it available for testing by the appropriate folks, but I think it may fill the bill and eliminate the AF interference problem.

On to the RF interference issue! Thanks to Station Activities Manager Rob, KC1ACN, a small problem with the Dunestar filter was resolved. Alas, that was on Sunday morning, so we suffered with interstation interference for most of Field Day.
This is an issue that many multi-transmitter stations have resolved, and we can too. To that end, I’ve ordered three copies of this book:
http://www.inrad.net/product.php?product...148&page=1
George Cutsogeorge, W2VJN (SK) was an accomplished contester and wrote the book “Managing Interstation Interference”. I will give one copy to our President, one to our Station Activities Manager, and keep one for myself.
It is my hope that all three of us will read it and come up with an effective strategy. It may well be that some properly designed coax stubs will prove helpful, and I’m willing to supply help and materials for them.

I know we can find a good solution, but the time to start thinking about it is now, not next June.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Once again, thanks to all who provided help and support. I hope to see more of you at Field Day next year!

73, John Bee, N1GNV