Field Day 2019

Field day report for June 21st-23rd 2019 by Adam Kriz (VA7 KRZ)

Field day 2019 did fairly well as we pulled in about 425 QSOs compared to last year’s 242. We had 34 participants which was down from last year’s 53.

Band/Mode QSO Breakdown:
               CW          Digital      Phone
            QSOs Pwr(W)  QSOs Pwr(W)  QSOs Pwr(W)                   
       80m                              64   100
       40m                              28   100
       20m                             274   100                                    
      GOTA                              59   100
     TOTAL     0            0          425

Joe Higuchi and Peter Norris did a clear out of the weeds and overgrown bushes at the fire training hall a few days prior. They replaced the aircraft cable for the antenna trailer as it was getting frayed and tired looking.

The weather held up for the setup but overnight it got fairly windy. The mess tent was damaged in the winds and may not be usable anymore. Some of the velcro straps got torn off and some of the metal tubings got bent.

Thanks to Joe (VE7 JYH), for providing the VHF-1 and GOTA radios Kenwood TS590SG2M (HF and 6m), Yaesu FT857D (6m-2m-70cm). We used the clubs Icom IC-7300 and the Icom IC-718 as the HF-1 and HF-2 Radios.

Bonus Points:
  100% emergency power                            200
  Public location                                 100
  Public information table                        100 
  Natural power QSOs completed                    100 
  Safety officer                                  100
  GOTA Station                                     80
  Entry submitted via web                          50
Total bonus points                                730

The 400ah battery bank in my Toyota Tacoma was charged by the solar panel (350W) mounted on the roof which powered the radios for our bonus solar points.

The Antennas setup and design were coordinated by Peter Norris. We used a trailer to operate out of again. I picked up the 16ft trailer from BSRN holdings in Richmond that Sally (VA7 SMF) had arranged and brought it up to cypress for the Friday setup.

Nick Massey (VE7 NRM) and antenna setup crew used the clubs A600 antenna analyzer to make adjustments to the trap di-pole.

1.Tri-band 3-el Yagi for 20/15/10m,

2.  40m 2-el Wire Yagi,

3.  80m wire dipole (Inverted V?)  

4. 80m/40m trap dipole (fixed by John-W) 

With Joes 2m/70cm installed at the top of the tower for VHF station.

GOTA Bonus: GOTA Coach - Double Bonus Points
Name/Call      QSOs  Bonus Points
Erica, (NONE)    5         0
Kevin, VA7MWV   54        80

The GOTA station was operated out of the back of Joes hatchback with Erica and Kevin pulling in some bonus “Get On The Air” contacts.

On our way out we had some issues with the trailer light turn signals not working. It was a very frustrating troubleshooting process as there was voltage but no current!? We ended up pulling the entire wiring harness apart and re-crimping all connections and cleaning all the ground connections.

There was a slight delay in the unpacking process as NSARC crew had to wait for the smoke to clear from the burning vehicle the fire crews were training on at the fire training hall.

Call Used: VE7NSR     GOTA Station Call: VE7EMR     ARRL/RAC Section: BC     Class: 2A

Participants: 34     Club/Group Name: A

Power Source(s): Generator, Battery, Solar

Power Multiplier: 2X

Preliminary Total Score: 1,280