ARRL Field Day 2014

W8MDE homebrew 10 meter rotatable dipole

Some notes from Field Day 2014

10 meters (The band I chose to operate this year) was in the dumps -Nearly a complete lack of propagation of 28 MHz signals.  That's the nature of the beast with the fluctuating solar radio flux we have been experiencing as of late.  I only made one contact all day Saturday and that was a potato farmer out in Oklahoma who was inside playing with radios while he waited for rain to stop so he could return to his harvesting.  

Our luck changed by Sunday morning when the band suddenly opened and we made half a dozen CW (Morse Code) contacts with stations in Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida.

When I first tested my 10 meter rotatable dipole on the air I made contact with New Zealand over 8000 miles from my location in Ohio.  Because that was only three weeks ago I figured I would be flooded with CQ FD callers during the event on 10 meters but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.

I spent some time tuning around the other bands and listened to my club mates making contacts on voice SSB or copied the digital back and forths on the laptop.  With our seven stations and antennas confined to a 1000 ft. diameter area they were easy to spot.  QSO counts were down for all the club members so I guess diminished propagation conditions affected all the bands to some degree.

Over all the weekend was a blast. Good food, friends and even the chance to explain and put on display our radio operating for a few of the local public that ventured out on Saturday.

Building an antenna specifically for the event is something that I have come to enjoy almost as much as Field Day itself.  Using my own workshop and materials easily sourced locally I find it very rewarding to craft the all important component of a radio circuit; the device that transforms a current in wire into a radiated electromagnetic wave.

I'm considering 80 meters for next year.

W8MDE 10 Meter Rotatable Dipole

I spent Father's Day finishing up my 10 meter rotatable dipole antenna project for this year's ARRL Field Day which is coming up in a couple weeks.  I wanted to change things up and try working a different band other than 40 meters where I have operated the past few Field Days.  The sun is putting out as many sunspots as it's going to during this solar cycle so it has the 10 meter band coming open usually every day for world wide communication.  So this and the fact that our club's field day location has a lack of trees for antenna supports I decided to focus on the shortest of the high frequency wavelengths.

This is the second homebrew antenna project I've built since becoming a radio amateur in 2008 and I had a great time with it.  A dipole is a most basic type of antenna and is easy to build.  Dipoles are usually made of wire and strung up between two supports but aluminum tubing can be used for the elements which is what I used so the antenna would be self supporting.

Materials I gathered from my spare parts bin and local hardware store.  I also used a new to me vendor; DX Engineering, to supply some high quality saddle clamps for the mast to Lexan plate connection and fiberglass tubing for the mast.  DX Engineering is located here in Ohio so I can consider all my antenna components for this project locally sourced.  The Lexan sheeting was a scrap piece from work and I fabricated a small aluminum angled bracket to mount the coaxial connector.  The antenna elements are made from anodized aluminum tubing I got at the hardware store.  

   

The jumper wires are #14 braided copper with crimped and soldered connectors.  The white PVC pipe acts as a support sleeve for the aluminum antenna elements.  I drilled a small hole on each side so a stainless steel sheet metal screw can provide secure electrical contact between the jumper wire and the aluminum tubing.  The feed line attaches at the bottom of the bracket.  In the picture the connector is wrapped with self vulcanizing tape and a cable tie to weather proof it.  Shortly after taking the picture I placed a blob of RTV 100% silicon on the top of the coax socket to further protect the exposed solder joint.  The ground side of the dipole attaches via a ring terminal connected to one of the socket mounting screws.

The cool thing about half wavelength dipoles is that the physical length can be approximated by a simple formula:  468(ft) / frequency (MHz).  I wanted my antenna to be resonant on 28.050 MHz so 468 divided by 28.050 equals 16.684 feet. That number should be close to the overall length of the antenna.

I designed the antenna elements using 6 ft sections of tubing with a smaller diameter 3 foot section that telescopes into the bigger piece.  This allows me to adjust the length of the element legs in or out to set the point of resonance of the antenna just where I want it.

With the help of my antenna analyzer I noted the SWR then extended the ends a couple inches at a time and rechecked the antenna with the meter.  After repeating this process a few times I observed the low point of the SWR curve move right into the area of frequency I plan to operate.  I locked the element tips down tight with a small hose clamp.
   

SWR Curve

27.062     1.5

27.303     1.4

27.573     1.3

27.955     1.2

27.968     1.1

28.197     1.1

28.208     1.2
28.622     1.3
28.902     1.4
29.180     1.5

I'm sure most hams would agree the most exciting part about making your own antennas is hooking up the rig and seeing if one can actually make a contact using the homebrew equipment.  It was late in the afternoon when testing was complete and I headed inside to my operating position to hook up the antenna to my transceiver.

Right away I heard signals coming in so that was a good sign.  I set my dial to 28.076 MHz and sent out some CQ calls using the digital mode JT-65.  After a few tries with no response I looked for a station who was calling.  Up popped a ZL prefix station on the decode screen which I recognized as one from New Zealand. It took two tries and on the second go ZL4AD received my signal and we completed the quick JT-65 contact spanning 8,811 miles between us.  

With that as a first contact I'm going to call this antenna project a success and I think the thing will work fine for making a few local stateside contacts during the Field Day event.

2013 ARRL Field Day

Last weekend I participated in my amateur radio club (W8BAE) Field Day event.  I can't believe this was my fourth outing with my local club celebrating one of North America's premier amateur radio operating events. Yet again we lucked out with great weather for the weekend although it was warm there seemed to be a near constant breeze that kept us comfortable.  This is our third year operating from a location on private land which works out ideally for us.  Previous Field Day posts can be accessed from the "ARRL Field Day" label located at the end of this post.

I've noticed from past events that we have visiting hams and general public from around the area making the rounds checking out the operating positions at our site.  Because the main purpose of Field Day is to showcase the hobby of amateur radio in a more public forum I decided to make up a simple sign to post on my tent so visitors can see who, what and where.

 Home away from home.

As a camping enthusiast the opportunity to combine these two hobbies in one is something I really look forward to.  Sure it's a bit of work dragging out all the camping gear and disassembling my radio station and carefully packing and transporting it to the site but once it's all set up and I'm on the air having fun its all worth it.

My Field Day station for high frequency digital and CW (Continuous Wave Morse Code radiotelegraphy) is the same as last year with the addition of my new laptop which I used for digital modes.  The second laptop on the right is for running logging software to keep track of contacts made.  Theoretically all digital station activities could be run on one machine but I'm not particularly computer savvy and to me it's just easier to have one person operate and another do the logging on a separate machine.

Leading up to Field Day I streamlined the portability of my station by utilizing the large Pelican case resting under the table in the photograph.  By careful arrangement I was able to fit all my ancillary gear such as power supply, keyers computer interface, other assorted cabling and test equipment into the heavy duty case.  

 Copying the mail.

In total I made 45 contacts during this years event. I've not spent much time on the air lately so my CW is a little rusty.  I made 13 QSO's using Morse Code and 32 QSO's using the digital mode PSK-31.  Each year it seems that digital becomes more popular during field day and I think that is a good thing.  Certainly from a bystanders point of view CW is an interesting thing to witness however if you don't know the code I think it would get boring pretty quick.  Digital modes on the other hand require only a pair of eyes and the ability to read the exchange in plain English off the computer screen.  The digital modes are a great way to show the effectiveness of ham radio to the public as well as the service's long standing tradition of advancing the radio art.

From this remote location in north central Ohio using my HF transceiver, home built vertical antenna and running off generator power I contacted other Field Day stations in these places:

Canada
Virginia
Pennsylvania
Illinois
New York
Alabama
Tennessee
New Jersey
Oklahoma
New Mexico
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Kentucky
Ohio
Kansas
Michigan
Georgia
Wisconsin

Here's a shot of me taking a photo of my vertical antenna with a nice sunset in the background.  That's the opening picture of this post.

As in previous years I believe our club's outing was a success combining in equal parts lots of ham radio fun, camaraderie and good food shared among friends.

Field Day 2012

Time sure flies! I can't believe another Field Day has come and gone.  This past weekend I participated in my third event with my club W8BAE (Crawford County Amateur Radio Club).  My son Wyatt is not a radio nut like me but he loves camping so he helped with the set up of our tent and antenna.  He secured permission from the landowner to go fishing and shooting with his pellet gun so he had fun while I was busy making contacts.



My 40 meter CW/Digital station



So what is Field Day?  FD is an annual event put on the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) with clubs and individual hams all over America and Canada participating.  Field day encompasses many aspects of amateur radio.  Experience is gained from setting up and operating a station in primitive conditions and sometimes harsh environments.  FD is a unique opportunity to showcase our hobby to the general public as well as a great way to learn about antennas and other technical aspects of radio.  Perhaps most importantly is the fellowship shared between club members both on the air and off as obstacles are overcome while good times and great food are enjoyed in the outdoors.  The other side of Field Day is the competitive side.  The operating event is like a contest with the goal being to work as many different stations as possible during designated time period.  Some clubs will put forth serious efforts to gain the top spots while others just enjoy the great outdoors, casual operation and camaraderie.

Here is a few of the antennas that were in operation this year at the W8BAE Field Day site:

20 meter inverted -V for operation at 14 MHz

80 meter horizontal loop (3.5 - 4 MHz)

My 40 meter top loaded vertical (7 MHz)

My homebrew vertical antenna worked great for FD netting me 60 contacts in 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia using CW (Morse Code radio telegraphy) and PSK-31 digital mode.  Of course I had fun showing off my handiwork and received many compliments on my antenna.

My only complaint is the high speeds of Morse Code used during the event.  Stations running at or below 20 words-per-minute are few and far between.  My copy skills at 30 wpm are far from adequate so I usually need to listen to a station work through a few exchanges to make sure I have copied all the info correctly before throwing in my callsign and making contact.

By Saturday evening my brain was fried from hours of high speed code so I switched over to digital operations.  This was my first time using PSK-31 during FD and I found I really enjoyed the keyboard digital mode.  The digital modes are slowly growing in popularity and more and more clubs are putting digital stations on the air for Field Day making this a viable option for operators looking for something different besides CW and Phone (side band voice).  I will still be on the air next year with Morse code but I also plan to dedicate some time and effort into PSK.

   

The above photograph I took Saturday night shows a small slice of spectrum around 7.070 MHz alive with PSK-31 signals.  The small window at the bottom of the screen is called the "waterfall" as the signals flow in real time from the top to the bottom.  The two small "prongs" appear at the beginning of a transmission and a single prong or tail shows when the transmission terminates.  Besides showing the exact frequency of a signal the graphic representation provided by the waterfall also shows signal strength with the strongest signals showing up bright yellow and the weaker ones ghosting to various degrees in the background.

While the planning and logistics for a Field Day operation can be a bit stressful once everything is up and running the event is loads of fun.  I might even venture to say that FD is my very favorite ham radio related activity.

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W3AO Field Day



Par End Fedz EF-40 at W8BAE

 Late Sunday morning I threw in the towel satisfied with my 102 contacts on CW for Field Day.  The very last entry in my log was amateur radio station W3AO operated by the Potomac Valley Radio Club located in Maryland.  What threw me for a loop was the part of the exchange that designates the station class.  I had to monitor the frequency and let W3AO run a couple stations to be sure I copied the "25 A" correctly.

The 25 is the number of individual operating positions working simultaneously under the club call sign.  The A designates a portable operation.  Most stations I worked during the Field Day event ranged between 1 and 8 participants under the same call.

Thanks to Jeff, KE9V at ke9v.net for posting a link to this club's Field Day page.  I thought the call seemed vaguely familiar and certainly the "25 A" rang a bell.  I checked my log and sure enough that was the station I worked.

Follow the link: W3AO Field Day Page to see a truly amazing display of logistics and good old ham radio enthusiasm.

ARRL Field Day 2011

This year's Field Day activities were some of the most fun I have had yet as an amateur radio operator.  Because of scheduling conflicts the site we used last year was unavailable so we had to scramble to find a place to set up.  In the end the club did find a great location on private property bordered by highway US 30 on one side and a CSX railroad line on the other.

The place looked like an average campground with the exception of each campsite having it's own working amateur radio station.  There was no electrical service on the property so we used a combination of generator and battery power for our operations.  Using the club callsign W8BAE (That's "Whiskey-8-Bacon-And-Eggs" for you phone guys) we covered 40 meters CW and SSB (single side band voice) , 20 meters PSK-31 and SSB, 15 meters SSB, 6 meters SSB and 2 meters SSB for VHF.  We even had a YL (female operator) gracing the airwaves with her voice on 15 meters.

Here is the 40 meter phone station of Roger WM8I and Wayne KB8ATE.  I love watching these two experienced hams at Field Day.  Besides making lots of contacts these guys are always swapping out equipment and trying different antennas.  This year they deployed a quarter wavelength vertical with a full compliment of ground radials.

I set up on the other corner of the pond where I had access to trees along the CSX right of way to hang my new Par End Fedz  EF-40.  I have no picture of this antenna because it is basically a 65 foot long piece of black wire that all but disappears when viewed against a background of foliage.  The heavy duty tripod is visible that I used to suspend the feed point/impedance matching box about 8 feet above the ground.  The wire then sloped up to a tree top 40 feet above the feed point.

  

A peek inside my spartan station.  I love the warm glow of a kerosene railroad lantern and with a LED light clipped to the bill of my hat I was able to work stations well into the wee hours.  When I finally heard one too many beeps of Morse code I got out my bed roll and caught a couple hours of shut eye with my head under the table.  Croaking bullfrogs and the rumble of passing freight trains definitely added a unique ambiance to the experience.

By late Sunday morning I had logged 102 contacts with various stations in 30 different states and 2 Canadian provinces.  This is my new benchmark being the most stations I have ever contacted in a single operating event.  A cool bonus from the Field Day rules states that cw contacts count as two points while phone contacts are worth one point.  My efforts proved a great contribution to the club's overall score and I got a huge workout copying fast code on a busy band.  Our main objective(s) was to have a great time, eat lots of good food and play radio.  I'm confident we succeeded on all fronts.     

Field Day 2010

According to the ARRL website over 35,000 US and Canadian radio amateurs gather with their clubs, friends or simply by themselves to operate.  ARRL Field Day is held the last weekend of June each year.  Like the amateur radio hobby there is many aspects to Field Day.  Hams bring their radio gear out to the countryside and operate under varied and adverse conditions.  This gives us a chance to demonstrate for the public and our elected officials the adaptability and usefulness of amateur radio.  Setting up and running our stations in the field is great practice should we be called upon to provide emergency communication in the event of a natural disaster or other calamity that disrupts normal communication channels.  Think hurricane Katrina a few years back.

The operating side of Field Day is like any other contest- make as many contacts with other participating stations as possible in the set time frame.  Food, fun and camaraderie are the other no less important ingredients of this annual event.  This was my first Field Day and I enjoyed observing how other hams operate and even contributed to our club's score with ten CW contacts.  I helped perform computer logging for one of the side band stations which was great fun and quite a learning experience.  Thanks to Mike K8ROX for letting me set in on some side band fun.  It really was like shooting fish in a barrel. 

Here is the 6 meter (50MHz) station operated by Keith N8LIS.  Keith is also a living history re-enactor.  Pictured is his 1750's French and Indian war era tent and shelter.  History and ham radio- two of my favorite things!

The compact yet effective 20 meter (14 MHz) station of our illustrious club president Rick KK8O.

Water droplets on the vinyl window of my tent from the inevitable rain showers that passed through Saturday afternoon.

I set up my 40 meter (7 MHz) CW station in the vestibule of my Cabella's Extreme Weather Tent.  When the rains came I just zipped down the front door and happily kept at it.  To get the full effect of Field Day my son and I brought cots and sleeping bags and camped out the whole weekend.

All five of our operating positions drew power from this generator owned by Roger WM8I who with his son worked 40 meter side band.  This piece of surplus US Air Force AGE (Aerospace Ground Equipment) is actually a mobile lighting platform that has two huge lights that attach to the top of the cart and was used to illuminate aircraft on the flight line for maintenance operations.  The diesel powered generator purred like a kitten all weekend long.  Two RVs and our five stations barely put a load on it.  I did four years in the USAF out of high school and I never thought I would see one of these again let alone use one.

Field Day 2010 was a blast and I am already looking forward to next year's event.  I was the only CW station at our club's site this year.  My goal is to increase my code skill and next year I will set up my full station and maybe even try computer logging.