Bob Kenyon – K8LJ
Field
Day is almost upon us. It’s only a bit over two weeks away – June 23-24.
Today’s training tip addresses how participating in field day and in particular,
actually operating, is good training for future ARES activities.
What
is field day? Most of us likely have
some concept of what it is all about and many have participated in the past.
First, it is a contest. Many individuals and clubs/groups take this aspect
seriously and attempt to make as many contacts as possible and win the contest
for their particular class and section, or even at the national level. It is
also a social event where hams and friends grill hamburgers and hotdogs, eat
junk food, swap tall tales, soak up some rays and swat a mosquito or two. Don’t
forget your sunscreen and insect repellant.
However
the greatest value of Field Day is that it is an operating event designed to
test emergency preparedness in less than optimal conditions and that’s how it
relates to ARES. Most Field Day sites use some form of emergency power (usually
a generator), make-shift antennas, sometimes do not have the most comfortable
operating positions and the environment is unpredictable – heat, cold, thunderstorms,
mosquitoes, etc. Add to that the tremendous QRM because of the high activity
level and it becomes a challenge to pull call signs and exchanges out. It’s not
unlike FM communications in marginal conditions, however, and hence good
training.
That
gets us to the point of this training tip. Don’t be reluctant to operate.
Anyone can operate (licensed or not) on any band or mode as long as a duly
licensed control operator is present and that will always be the case. If you
show some courage and do operate, positive things will happen. Firstly, you
will have fun and enjoy it and gain valuable experience. Secondly, you will
give some welcome relief to those that consistently “pull the wagon” and
sometimes operate for hours on end, even into the wee hours of the night and
morning.
Another
important way to get involved is in logging. With today’s laptops and
sophisticated logging programs, it is quite easy compared to the pencil and
paper dupe checking of earlier years. Logging phone contacts is relatively
simple. But something you might want to consider is logging CW contacts, even
if you are not comfortable with 15-25 WPM exchanges. The control operator will
write down the exchange, which is quite simple for FD. I have had people log CW
contacts for me that did not know the code at all. They did just fine and it
was a big help. If you do know the code, but are not comfortable going that
fast, it is good experience and training.
The
bottom line is: get involved, especially in operating, even if it’s only briefly.
This year N8ARA will operate in the 3A category and also employ a Get On The
Air (GOTA) station, which encourages activity from those that might otherwise
be reluctant to get involved. The new rules offer additional points for each
new GOTA operator after 20 contacts instead of 50 as before. See page 98 of the
May QST for further information on Field Day 2007.