[Ccarc] Field Day 2007

Wed Jun 13 18:14:43 EDT 2007

CQ CQ CQ Everyone!!!! 

    Only a little over a week until our biggest operating activity of the year. Yes it's time for Field Day 2007 and as usual lots of people have been working some serious overtime to help ensure we all have a fun and successful time. 
    Don K9EQT for one is putting in some time in extra mowing, brush clearing, as well as phone calls to get the tall grass mowed and actually baled into hay for some local horses. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the field as I saw it if only for the purposes of a before/after the "invasion" look. I know I'm always impressed at our ability to turn a seemingly quiet patch of grassy real estate into a busy radio farm in short order. 
    Operations appear to be coming together as we can usually find enough equipment to make radio. As you all may know we are operating 2A again this year with the VHF station and GOTA station, putting the total transmitters at 4. At the request of folk, will be running "power" on the 40 meter station. Doing this brings up some interesting dynamics that we have to contend with that we don't normally have to deal with. Things such as filters to keep from getting into the other stations isn't something we normally deal with, nor is placement of certian parts to deal with the higher power. Extra safety measures will be EXTREMELY necessary as the higher power will cause some really nasty burns if the wrong thing is touched. I will say that the testing of the station, the amplifier things are going well. I even have to admit that amplifier use is something I've not done so testing has also been an experiment in comedy on my part. I finally determined that yes it is putting out power when the lights in the shack were dimming a little when I'd key and the cantenna dummy load would get kinda warm to the touch. At that point I figured out that I indeed DID have a "high power" watt meter in the tuner and could determine just how much power I was producing. Just for info it's in the 600 watt range. I'm sure we can do some tweaking and tuning to help that a little but that's pretty darned good the way it sits now. The other station is also looking pretty good and is set to be pretty much a "utility" station in as much as it will be able to operate in CW, PSK-31 and SSB if needed, on 20 or 80. I have had requests for the ability to do CW but have neglected to make accomodations for operating this mode in past years. I want the record to reflect that this year I did some serious planning in this area and am prepared. I haven't yet but I plan on having little cheat sheets so the settings can be changed easily and without having to call someone to do so unless needed. The VHF station is pretty much up to snuff as far as I'm aware. I've kept a "hands off" approach to this one but I have been involved with the rotor testing. I am proud to say that the new connectors on the rotor cables are all installed (thank you Anna KC9IDO). It's nice when we can use our professional expertice in our hobby to make something work and look good in the process. I am also happy to announce that BOTH yes BOTH rotor indicators are working properly. In testing Phil W9LVY found a burned resistor but it was difficult to tell what value. I got to work on the internet and found a manual and schematic and determined that the burned one is/was an 18 ohm resistor. To test my theory I temp installed two 10 ohm resistors in series and the indicator was lots closer than it was telling me this indeed was the problem. The proper resistor was ordered, installed and voila', working unit. In talking with folks I'm told that the VHF station this year should be able to have TWO Yaesu 847's. I'm not sure if Tom will be bringing his but having two satalite radios ready to go is a VERY cool asset. The GOTA station is something I thought about but forgot one important aspect of it. The actual radio and power supply! If anyone would like to donate the use of their HF rig and power supply for this worth cause, please let me know. I plan on using this on 15m and this is the one the kids and visitors will be using (with a coach of course). I have QSL cards for everyone that operates this station to remember their contact. I don't want folks to think this is a "freebie" station that doesn't get much traffic or work very hard. Remember, after trying for about 30 or 40 minutes, Bill WB9GOX got Hawaii last year with this station on 15m...at 11:30 at night!! This is also the station that Marisa KC9JFU (before she had a license) got over 75 contacts on 80m without really trying very hard or knowing what she was doing. It's also a big part of why she has her ticket now!  I would be seriously neglectful in my duties if I failed to mention Dave K9DVL in all this prep work. Dave has put in a great deal of time, gas and work helping get those little things in order that I'm forgetting, and can't do during the day due to work. Basically, Dave is doing a great job helping me look good. I'm confident when this all comes together it will do so in fine fashion. 
    Anna KC9IDO has been working very hard on the info table, scrap book getting pictures and such of our past exploits....errr I mean activities in order for all to see. The kids are usually a great help in those little details like the info table, raffle ticket sales and such so they are very much part of the team as well. I just hope Anna and or Marisa get the chance to operate some HF on 40. I have a feeling their voices will make the contacts come fast and furiously. Not to mention the amp will help push that voice out so it's heard all over. When they do operate, just make sure we have a GREAT logger with them hi. 
    Rae N9YFW has informed me that the prize and food drive is working as scheduled and donations are coming in so we can have a successful raffle. I do want to stop for a moment and remind everyone that our success and a great deal of our fun at Field Day is due to the many businesses and folks that donate to our cause every year. We all know as a club we give them a certificate in thanks for the donation but where we as a club can show our REAL thanks is by patronizing those businesses, showing our support to them with our dollars when we can. Another great idea is when we are out and about we can give one of the managers a personal thank you, identifying ourselves and the organization and thanking them for the donation as well as the continued support. This way we can hopefully "seed" our donation next year for more continued support. Trust me, the managers remember those little thank you's when it comes time to ask for donations again next year. 
    I'm working again on doing a Talk of the Town segment on Friday morning the 22nd. If someone would like to go with me I'd sure appreciate the help, just let me know beforehand. I plan on taking Marisa with me because yes exploiting the "cute" factor does help sometimes! hi Not to mention showing just how diverse our membership is might spark someone else's interest. 
    Ok, that's pretty much the big planning and I'll add a few more things making this already long email even longer!! The setup starts Friday at 2:00PM start time. We have many many things to do but thankfully most things are pretty much in order. I'd like to start gathering around noon Friday the 22nd so we're ready to go when it's time. Thankfully we will have the light for a longer period of time so we can get most if not all of the setup done. My personal goal (as usual) is to be DONE with setup on Friday evening so we ALL can be rested up and ready to go Saturday. I'd much rather be able to walk around waiting patiently until start time Saturday rather than rushing around trying to get things in order. I'm sure you all would too! If folks are available I may get a few things together Thursday evening, no setting up just gathering stuff to be in one place. If anyone would like to help out with that please let me know. As far as the club paying for meals, the only one we can count on for absolute sure is Saturday evening. IF by chance we find there is a donation of something for Friday setup or Saturday noon, so be it. Count it as an extra blessing but please please don't count on the club buying ANY meals other than Saturday evening. If you wish to have something plan on bringing it with you. It's much better to be safe than hungry! Speaking of refreshments, Water water water.......make sure you bring your own water or drinks for Friday setup. (non alcoholic please) From the way the long range forcast is looking we can count on a hot one. Be prepared with hydrating drinks
    Well that's all I can think of for now. As it gets even closer I'll give out a list of stuff to remind us all (mostly me) of the things we need to have with us to help make this Field Day a safe, memorable and FUN event! . 

73, 
Chuck Hendrickson N9PMW
President CCARC
http://www.culcom.net/~ccarcinc
ARRL Ham Radio's National Association
http://www.arrl.org
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