it’s sooner than you think, it’s not next month anymore, it’s here…less than a month till Field Day. Antennas, Operating, Logging, Eating (yes), Soldering, Programming, Learning, Advancing, just about anything you want it to be. Builders Group Education at
LARC Field Day is our premier annual operating event. Field Day 2017 is open to the general public. This live training session prepares amateur radio operators to be able to set up and operate a station during less than ideal conditions in an emergency. It is also a contest with points and awards for contacting other participants. The contest encourages all to participate, while the experience gained pays off when a real emergency occurs.
With the new and prospective amateur radio operators, an introduction to general operating procedures and the N3FJP software that we use to log contacts is in order. Training in operating procedures and just plain old FUN is the plan for LARC Field Day this year 2017.
LARC Field Day site will have several operating positions, each with a radio, antenna, power source and a logging computer. Our Field Day Captain will coordinate each position to operate on a specific band and mode to avoid interference with each other.
LARC leadership wants to encourage the general public and all licensed amateurs to come and get on the air.
Technician class licensees can also operate HF as General & Extra Class control operators will be at our Field Day site.
Each position is manned by a team of two, one does the operating and the other logs contacts on the computer. The team members can exchange roles and will appreciate occasional relief by other operators. To learn good communicating skills, observe a smooth operating team, then offer to help logging and/or operating.
Field Day Rules: Read the full Field Day rules. We may contact other stations once on phone, once on CW (Morse code) and once on one digital mode on each band. We must log the other station’s correct exchange information for the contact to be valid. This includes the station call sign, the number of transmitters at the site and class of operation, and the ARRL section.
Our exchange information will be our number of transmitters (to be determined when we start), our class is Alpha (A for portable station with 100% emergency power), and our ARRL section is Tango November (Tennessee). For example, if we have 4 transmitters, our exchange would be “Four Alpha Tango November” on voice or “4A TN” on CW and digital modes.
Here is an example of a typical Field Day phone exchange:
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Here is a typical Field Day CW or digital exchange:
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Learn and use the ITU phonetic alphabet when needed for clarity, and only ask for repeats of (or provide) information that was not copied correctly the first time. We would log the above contact exchange as “W1AW 5A CT”
Our software, the N3FJP ARRL Field Day Contest Log, networks the computers at all our positions, lists all the Field Day section multipliers (color coding those that have been worked), flags duplicate entries (contacts with stations on the same band and mode) and summarizes the activity for log submission. The Genesis ARC has posted this video tutorial of this software’s features. You will see how easy logging is when you see it at our Field Day.
Joining a Field Day event is a great way to get into operating a HF station with no stress and there are plenty of experienced people willing to help the beginner. It is fun, you get lots of fresh air and good food—with priority given to the operators.
73 and see you at LARC Field Day!
June the 24th and 25th 2017 @ The Boys and Girls Club on Hwy 92, Jefferson City, TN.
Email LARC thru the contact for for more info!
I recently acquired a new toy donated to me by the presentation giver at our last club meeting. The presentation was on our new builders group that our club is putting together. Thanks to Craig Thibodeaux (KM4YEC) and the help of Dale Knight (AB4DK), our club is learning to build the equipment that we have come to use and love. So during the meeting we had a few giveaways that consist of different electronic devices. It just so happened that my number was drawn out of the hat so to speak. I won a small bag of parts and components that create what is called a Pixie CW Transmitter. After getting it home and searching through the bag of resistors and capacitors I realized there are no instructions. What do I do now?
So with limited resources and no access to internet, I realized I have no knowledge of resistors and how to read the value of each one. A day or so went by and I managed to come up with a basic schematic for my little pixie 4.3. still with no knowledge of how to read the values of the resistors and capacitors it dawned on me that I have a handful of old ARRL handbooks that I acquired through a good friend Ed Bradley (W4VGI). I sat down and looked through them and found exactly what I needed. With my not so steady hand and a little solder I began the assembly process of my first radio build. An hour or so later viola! I had in fact created a full functioning radio. Now all that is left is to test it out. I went and grabbed the dummy load and a power supply as I proceeded to hook it up. Still with the satisfaction of assembly on my face, I flipped on the power and it worked! Or so I thought. I hooked up the key and it transmits just fine however there is no oscillation. Now all that is left for me to do is troubleshoot. So I conclude with this. When left with what to do now, stop and think about who or what might help you through your problem. Thanks to Craig for the chance to build something really cool.
KM4JSP
Jeremy Livesay
L.A.R.C. Club Director
