ARRL Field Day
Call: K4AQ
Operator(s): K4AQ
Station: K4AQ
Class: 1E QRP
QTH: Smyrna (Atlanta), GA
Operating Time (hrs): 5.1
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
40: 41
20: 27
----------------------------
Total: 68 0 0 Total Score = 680
Club: South East Contest Club
Comments:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/rules-fd-2005.html
My third ARRL Field Day:
2005 2004 2002*
QSO/Sec** QSO/Sec** QSO/Sec**
------------------------------------------
80CW ---/--- 17/ 1 ---/---
80SSB ---/--- ---/--- ---/---
40CW 41/ 25 40/ 10 32/ 8
40SSB ---/--- 4/ 1 5/ 1
20CW 27/ 5 124/ 39 13/ 3
20SSB ---/--- 4/--- 8/ 5
15CW ---/--- 32/ 16 28/ 12
15SSB ---/--- 10/--- 15/ 8
10CW ---/--- ---/--- 12/ 2
10SSB ---/--- ---/--- 19/ 9
Totals 68/ 30 276/ 67 132/ 48
QSO Pts 136 534 217
Op Time 5.1 15.0 12.5
Score*** 680 2,640 1,085
------------------------------------------
*WB6BWZ
**Sections & Provinces
***exclude bonus points
(Did not participate in 2003; had to work.)
Best DX:
1. 260637z, 40cw, KP2AA, Virgin Islands
2. 260827z, 40cw, KP4ES, Puerto Rico
Best Rate (S&P):
2005: 23/hr, 20CW, Day1-1700z
2004: 27/hr, 40CW, Day2-1200z
2002: 13/hr, 15&10CW, Day2-1500z
13/hr, 15CW, Day2-1600z
This year I took a different approach for Field Day. My objective was to
experiment with field-type antennas away from home.
I simulated being on the "B" Emergency Response Team. I did not begin
disassembling the home stn until Field Day started (1800z) on Saturday.
What is this "A" Team and "B" Team all about? Circa late 70's, I was the
SEC in the Santa Barbara Section. I segregated ARES teams into "A," "B,"
etc.
The A-Team was the First Responder Team, usually mobiles because their
equipment is in their vehicle.
Criteria: Be operational on-site within 30 minutes of their ETA; must
be capable of being dispatched within an hour of notification. (This
means the A-Team member may use their mobile/portable rig and operate
away from their vehicle *if* they had an alternate non-commercial pwr
source.)
A more efficient portable antenna was highly recommended rather than
using the less-efficient mobile antenna but the "A-Team station" still
had to be on-the-air within 30 minutes upon arrival. Working from their
mobile was acceptable.
The A-Team stations were designated HF and/or VHF-capable.
The A-Team station had to be capable of operating on-site for up to 6
continuous hours.
The B-Team station had to be capable of operating as a portable or
mobile using emergency power (vehicle motor-power acceptable) within 4
hours of being notified (plus travel time to their assigned QTH).
Purpose is to relieve the A-Team and have a more efficient stn. Must be
able to operate self-sustained for up to 72 hrs.
My chosen FD site was 7 miles from home.
I originally considered using an end-fed 20m half square antenna but it
would favor NW-SE if attached to a six-foot wood fence I planned to use
with two 20-ft telescopic crappie fishing poles. This antenna would also
work on 40m and 80m end-fed with appropriate radials/counterpoises.
I changed my field antenna plan when I arrived at my "FD site." I went
with a bottom-fed 28-ga insulated wire 66-ft Inverted-L (up 25 feet)
with a 33-ft elevated counterpoise and the SGC SG-211 MiniTuner. The
antenna was measured approximately and built "in the field."
I atchd a Black Widow SD-20 telescopic crappie pole to the six-foot
wood fence. I used two reuse-able ty-wraps at the base of the top
section as wire guide (where the "L" bends).
A half-ounce weight (fishing sinker) was atchd to one end of a
28-gauge insulated wire and shot between the tree limbs about 23-ft AGL.
The horizontal wire sloped from 23 to 27 feet. The vertical wire sloped
about 15 deg from vertical; wire length about 25 feet.
The 33-ft counterpoise went from SG-211 to the top of a six-foot wood
fence opposite from the Inverted-L; delta height about 10 feet.
The rig worked fine with the SG-211 MiniTuner but RF (common-mode stuff)
kept killing my microHAM USB rig interface on 20m. A 16-ft counterpoise
may have cured the problem but I didn't want to mess with the antenna
system because I was able to operate on 40m during the night hours.
QSO 1-25: 40m, 260221z-260414z
My setup was interrupted earlier for a couple of hours in the afternoon
while I chatted about my field antenna and FD with some unexpected
visiting friends, hi.
I decided to install another field antenna for 20m, one that would work
on 40m too.
QSOs 26-68 were made on a sloping 5-sided 80-ft (wire length) horizontal
loop about five feet AGL made from 18-gauge insulated wire. The wire
went from the SG-211 to the top of the 6-ft wood fence, to shrubs and
small trees before looping back to the SG-211.
I installed this antenna after midnight during a drizzle during a 1.5
hr break. This is similar to the antenna concept I used for my first
NoGaQRP "Run For The Kudzu (RFTK)." (I used the same antenna wire.)
Note: QSL.net is very, very, very, very slow to deliver photo downloads.
<http://www.qsl.net/nogaqrp/activities/rftk2002/rftk2002.html>
<http://www.qsl.net/nogaqrp/activities/rftk2002/PA120023.jpg>
<http://www.qsl.net/nogaqrp/activities/rftk2002/PA120024.jpg>
How well did this very low horizontal loop work during FD? Virgin
Islands and Puerto Rico were my best DX on 40m. Several NH stns were
worked on 20m. It really amazes me how well a very low horizontal loop
works. Really great for a simple, quick deployment field antenna.
QSO 26-41: 40m, 260552z-260845z
QSO 42-68: 20m, 261656z-261852z
I operated CW only because of poor band condx (QRN, QSB, propagation),
40 & 20 meters only. Nothing heard on the other bands, FD-wise.
Yaesu FT-897D transceiver operated at 5 watts; antennas described above.
SGC SG-211 MiniTuner. WriteLog 10.53e. AGM battery-powered; after 10 hrs
use, the battery had 80 pct capacity remaining.
--
Matt Lee, K4AQ
Atlanta, GA USA
<K4AQ at arrl.net>
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