|
|
Attention : All Operators and Staff Must Have An HT Tuned To 147.540 MHz Simplex. This is to provide Announcements and Notifications in case of approaching bad weather, meetings, etc.
|
|
Eligibility : 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 and may submit entries as check-logs.
Object : To work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15- and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
Object : To work as many stations as possible on the 160-, 80-, 40-, 20-, 15- and 10-Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less-than-optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
ARRL 2023 Field Day Rules.PDF
F4, Fun Facts From Field Day
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Field Day was held on the June 24th weekend this year, as always, the 4th weekend in June.
The ARRL shows they have received 3 entries from our Club to add to the Gloucester Co ARC totals this year, one from Club Life Member Howard Marder, WA2IBZ who operated from his home station under commercial power (1D), one from Club member Courtney Smith, KD2SPJ who operated from his home station on emergency power (class 1E), and a combined entry from W2MMD for all our stations that set up off-the-grid at our field day site, including something new for us this year, which was a Get On The Air station (GOTA) operated under the callsign K2ZA, set up and supervised by Club member John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA.
Thank you Tony Starr, K3TS, for being our field day chairman, and to everyone who supported the event in one way or another this year! It was quite a group effort! At the W2MMD site, it looks like we had over 60 participants on site this year. That includes everyone from operators, set up and tear down helpers, those involved with food through donations or as part of the food staff, and, of course, everyone, not just Club members, but also family and friends, served agency officials, and other ham and non-ham visitors that came out to the W2MMD site this year. That’s huge! Thank you everyone!
As for operating, W2MMD ran 7A with multiple radios covering multiple bands and modes from 80 meters up through 10 meters, plus dedicated stations for chasing 2 meter and Satellite contacts. Special thanks to our station chairs Sheldon Parker, K2MEN, Tony Starr, K3TS, Darrell Neron, AB2E, James Clark, KA2OSV, Herb Dyer, KT2Y, Karl Frank, W2KBF, John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA, and Jon Pearce, WB2MNF, who, along with me, got radios on the air from our field day site this year. Thank you also to everyone who came out and helped in setting them up, in helped in operating them, and who helped in tearing them down at the end of the event. Well done everyone!
In addition to making radio contacts, there were bonus activities we participated in this year. One of the bonus activities was having a staffed public information table. Here, representatives from our Club would greet and answer questions from guests and visitors that had purposefully come out to see what our field day was all about, in addition to those that were curious on their way to the wine fest next door. Special thanks to Lee Marino, N2LAM and Lee Hafele, WA2LH, and to everyone else who helped make the info table happen!
On Saturday afternoon, the bonus activities continued, with Jim Wright, N2GXJ and Marc Federici, WM2Y having an educational program on Radio Direction Finding that ended in a field hunt which the kids (and kids at heart) appreciated participating in. That same afternoon, Karl Frank, W2KBF was able to use a portable Winlink station that he had set up to send and receive messages via RF from our field day site. Thank you Karl! Meanwhile, Herb Dyer, KT2Y, who also served as our site’s safety officer, was making solar power contacts from the station he had set up after driving all the way up from Florida to join us on site. Great to see you, thanks for coming up Herb!
Bonus activities continued into Sunday, with Jon Pearce, WB2MNF scoring some early morning Satellite contacts. Later that morning John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA coached new Club members, and recent graduates from Chris Prioli, AD2CS’s license classes, Melissa Seidner, KE2BEK and Ethan Yost, KE2AVA, in making contacts from the GOTA station. By the way, Melissa and Ethan make a great “BBQ Crew”! Thank you for helping with the food prep too!
Some fun facts about our W2MMD field day contacts this year. When the logs were combined, did you know that?
Maybe there were not as many contacts on the higher HF bands as we’d expected, but 20 Meters and 40 meters came through strong. In the end, we won’t know officially how our efforts compared with those of other Clubs until the results are published by the ARRL in the December issue of QST magazine. Though we’ll have to wait until then for the final scores, we don’t have to wait until then to know one thing. And that is that we all learned some new things, while having fun!
Hope to see you all again next year. Until then, wishing everyone 73’s and good DX! Jim
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Field Day was held on the June 24th weekend this year, as always, the 4th weekend in June.
The ARRL shows they have received 3 entries from our Club to add to the Gloucester Co ARC totals this year, one from Club Life Member Howard Marder, WA2IBZ who operated from his home station under commercial power (1D), one from Club member Courtney Smith, KD2SPJ who operated from his home station on emergency power (class 1E), and a combined entry from W2MMD for all our stations that set up off-the-grid at our field day site, including something new for us this year, which was a Get On The Air station (GOTA) operated under the callsign K2ZA, set up and supervised by Club member John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA.
Thank you Tony Starr, K3TS, for being our field day chairman, and to everyone who supported the event in one way or another this year! It was quite a group effort! At the W2MMD site, it looks like we had over 60 participants on site this year. That includes everyone from operators, set up and tear down helpers, those involved with food through donations or as part of the food staff, and, of course, everyone, not just Club members, but also family and friends, served agency officials, and other ham and non-ham visitors that came out to the W2MMD site this year. That’s huge! Thank you everyone!
As for operating, W2MMD ran 7A with multiple radios covering multiple bands and modes from 80 meters up through 10 meters, plus dedicated stations for chasing 2 meter and Satellite contacts. Special thanks to our station chairs Sheldon Parker, K2MEN, Tony Starr, K3TS, Darrell Neron, AB2E, James Clark, KA2OSV, Herb Dyer, KT2Y, Karl Frank, W2KBF, John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA, and Jon Pearce, WB2MNF, who, along with me, got radios on the air from our field day site this year. Thank you also to everyone who came out and helped in setting them up, in helped in operating them, and who helped in tearing them down at the end of the event. Well done everyone!
In addition to making radio contacts, there were bonus activities we participated in this year. One of the bonus activities was having a staffed public information table. Here, representatives from our Club would greet and answer questions from guests and visitors that had purposefully come out to see what our field day was all about, in addition to those that were curious on their way to the wine fest next door. Special thanks to Lee Marino, N2LAM and Lee Hafele, WA2LH, and to everyone else who helped make the info table happen!
On Saturday afternoon, the bonus activities continued, with Jim Wright, N2GXJ and Marc Federici, WM2Y having an educational program on Radio Direction Finding that ended in a field hunt which the kids (and kids at heart) appreciated participating in. That same afternoon, Karl Frank, W2KBF was able to use a portable Winlink station that he had set up to send and receive messages via RF from our field day site. Thank you Karl! Meanwhile, Herb Dyer, KT2Y, who also served as our site’s safety officer, was making solar power contacts from the station he had set up after driving all the way up from Florida to join us on site. Great to see you, thanks for coming up Herb!
Bonus activities continued into Sunday, with Jon Pearce, WB2MNF scoring some early morning Satellite contacts. Later that morning John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA coached new Club members, and recent graduates from Chris Prioli, AD2CS’s license classes, Melissa Seidner, KE2BEK and Ethan Yost, KE2AVA, in making contacts from the GOTA station. By the way, Melissa and Ethan make a great “BBQ Crew”! Thank you for helping with the food prep too!
Some fun facts about our W2MMD field day contacts this year. When the logs were combined, did you know that?
- We had made over 2,500 radio contacts in just 1 day from our field day site!
- We had logged contacts with all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii!
- We had logged contacts with 29 different countries, including Australia and New Zealand!
Maybe there were not as many contacts on the higher HF bands as we’d expected, but 20 Meters and 40 meters came through strong. In the end, we won’t know officially how our efforts compared with those of other Clubs until the results are published by the ARRL in the December issue of QST magazine. Though we’ll have to wait until then for the final scores, we don’t have to wait until then to know one thing. And that is that we all learned some new things, while having fun!
Hope to see you all again next year. Until then, wishing everyone 73’s and good DX! Jim
Hanging Out @ Field Day This Year!
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
At Field Day this year, John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA will be setting up a Get On The Air Station (GOTA) for anyone who is either unlicensed, or is recently licensed since last year's Field Day, to come out and give it a try. It's a great no-pressure way to see what this Field Day thing is all about. If that's you, John sure could use your help! As the Get On The Air (GOTA) Coach, he's not allowed to operate that station. That station is just for you under his guidance. He needs you! John could get lonely if nobody pays him a visit. Please come out and pay him a visit!
GOTA is not all that's happening on Saturday. There's more! If you happen to be on site around 4pm Saturday, stop on by the air conditioned W2MMD Clubhouse for an active participation bonus training activity. Then afterwards, feel free to wander amongst the stations that people have set up in the fields to see what's going on. Around 5pm, Jim N2GXJ will have an open house at his 15 meter station Voice/Digital station. We plan on having a solar-powered station on site trying to make 2 meter bonus point contacts, and a portable satellite station too, that will be trying for a 100 point bonus if can make just one contact.
If you've not been to a Field Day before, you really should come out. If you haven't been out for a while, you also should plan to stop by. You never know what you're going to see. Operating off the grid in the field for 24 hours with temporary antennas and portable radios under less than ideal conditions can results in some creative solutions. Of course Murphy is bound to show up somewhere too (not everything will always go according to plan), which can make it a bit of a learning exercise too. But that is part of the challenge, and fun. Bring a lawn chair, hang out, and enjoy the day with your radio family. Stay as long as you like. Sunsets can be quite nice from the Clubhouse!
A rough timeline of what to expect :
Friday, June 23, 2023 :
Saturday, June 24, 2023 :
Sunday, June 25, 2023 :
What goes up on Saturday must come down on Sunday.
If you've got an hour available early Sunday afternoon, stations start tearing down between 1 and 2pm. We can always use help after to take down antennas, coil up electric wire, take down tents, and such. A few helping hands can really make a difference, and would be most appreciated.
Feel free to stop by anytime. If you do, be sure to say "hi" to me over at the 15 meter tent.
Hope to see you there!
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
At Field Day this year, John Zaruba Jr, K2ZA will be setting up a Get On The Air Station (GOTA) for anyone who is either unlicensed, or is recently licensed since last year's Field Day, to come out and give it a try. It's a great no-pressure way to see what this Field Day thing is all about. If that's you, John sure could use your help! As the Get On The Air (GOTA) Coach, he's not allowed to operate that station. That station is just for you under his guidance. He needs you! John could get lonely if nobody pays him a visit. Please come out and pay him a visit!
GOTA is not all that's happening on Saturday. There's more! If you happen to be on site around 4pm Saturday, stop on by the air conditioned W2MMD Clubhouse for an active participation bonus training activity. Then afterwards, feel free to wander amongst the stations that people have set up in the fields to see what's going on. Around 5pm, Jim N2GXJ will have an open house at his 15 meter station Voice/Digital station. We plan on having a solar-powered station on site trying to make 2 meter bonus point contacts, and a portable satellite station too, that will be trying for a 100 point bonus if can make just one contact.
If you've not been to a Field Day before, you really should come out. If you haven't been out for a while, you also should plan to stop by. You never know what you're going to see. Operating off the grid in the field for 24 hours with temporary antennas and portable radios under less than ideal conditions can results in some creative solutions. Of course Murphy is bound to show up somewhere too (not everything will always go according to plan), which can make it a bit of a learning exercise too. But that is part of the challenge, and fun. Bring a lawn chair, hang out, and enjoy the day with your radio family. Stay as long as you like. Sunsets can be quite nice from the Clubhouse!
A rough timeline of what to expect :
Friday, June 23, 2023 :
- 6pm : Some stations begin to set up early
- 8:30pm Sunset : Start of a two night camp out (for some)!
Saturday, June 24, 2023 :
- 10am : Most station setup has begun
- 12pm : Lunch for operators and staff
- 1pm : Final band chair briefing, determination of class (e.g 7A), station safety inspections
- 2pm : Stations go live on air!
- GOTA station open for anyone unlicensed or recently licensed to give it a try.
- All Club members welcome - stop by anytime during the afternoon and evening, stay as long as you like. Visitors welcome at all stations
- 4pm : Everyone who is on-site is welcome! Training session with group activity for bonus points in the air conditioned Clubhouse.
- 5pm : "Open House" at Jim's 15 meter station (after the training session).
- 6:30pm : Dinner for operators and staff
- 8:30pm twilight begins, high bands go long cross-country, low bands open up
- 10pm night crews settle in
Sunday, June 25, 2023 :
- 6:30am : Breakfast for operators and staff
- 7am : Stations run all morning at least to noon, some right up to 2pm
- 2pm : Last radios turned off, raw adif logs collected on thumb drive
- 3pm : Finish cleanup. Thank You To All Volunteers!
What goes up on Saturday must come down on Sunday.
If you've got an hour available early Sunday afternoon, stations start tearing down between 1 and 2pm. We can always use help after to take down antennas, coil up electric wire, take down tents, and such. A few helping hands can really make a difference, and would be most appreciated.
Feel free to stop by anytime. If you do, be sure to say "hi" to me over at the 15 meter tent.
Hope to see you there!
Field Day - June 24 - 25, 2023 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Band | Operator | Mode |
(Get On The Air) Station |
GOTA Coach |
100 Bonus Points |
Field Day Chairman - Tony Starr, K3TS tstarr1450(at)gmail(dot)com Chart updated as of May 14, 2023 |
Field Day - June 24 - 25, 2023 |
||
|---|---|---|
4-H Fairgrounds |
Points |
|
Checklist |
Points |
|
Table |
Points |
|
Support Staff |
||
Electronic Logs |
Points |
|
/Transmitter |
||
Generator |
/Transmitter |
|
Power |
Points |
|
Activity |
Points |
|
Participation |
100 Points Max |
|
Points |
||
Points |
||
To Section Manager |
Points |
|
Day Message |
Points |
|
Message Handling |
100 Points Max |
|
Elected Official |
Points |
|
Served Agency Official |
Points |
|
Points |
Field Day Chairman - Tony Starr, K3TS tstarr1450(at)gmail(dot)com Chart updated as of May 16, 2023 |
W2MMD Clubhouse
|
GPS Heading : 39.717000°, -75.209950°
A : Turn off of Route 77 ; B : Turn left into Clubhouse Field Site ; C : W2MMD Clubhouse