FD - Some Comments about the Event
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FD - Some Comments about the Event
 
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I've been reading on the FD comments and would like to make a couple of points and post some opinion. FD is not a contest....it is an operating event. True! ARRL has said this for years. I don't think the League even likes to rank station that participate as to who made how many points. If FD allowed multipliers (rather than mode points) then we would have a contest. (I would like to see it run like NAQP...now that would be a fun contest!) FD rules are so loose you can change your class at anytime. FD is to test equipment is rather harsh conditions. I am sorry to hear that at least one K3 died. It would be interesting to know why. FD is to show off your new rig (read here K3). FD is about (for the most part) modest antennas and weak signals. (Unless you are me and decided that air conditioning and the lack of bugs were more important this year) It would be interesting to see how many vertical and dipole antennas were used this year. I know some clubs put up beams and towers, but in a "real" world situation, I found that a dipole hung on the local school's flag pole is about all you can do in the dark and it works fine. FD is about how to put several transmitters in a 1000 foot circle and making it all work. I've never been to a 22A, but I bet that is interesting on HF. FD is about bad or poor power. FD is about cooperation with other hams and learning from mistakes in the event of a "real" disaster. FD is about training (both in technical and operating) skills. FD is about bad or good food depending on who is catering the event. I've had both, and the K3 can't improve that at all. Hey Wayne and Eric, put a good MENU in the K3...would you? KC Strip Steak, baked potatoes, green beans, a nice slice of pie, and a "cold one" in the menus. That would be CONFIG>KC S>BP>GrnB>IR2>807 FD operation tests the "metal" of both rigs and operators. Final Thought: The hardest part of FD is unloading the vehicle when you get home and putting all the equipment away when your bone weary, bug bitten, sun burnt to a crisp, heartily hungry, and ticked off at all the operators who failed to learn anything. Then you realize you got to go to work tomorrow! Lee - K0WA In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply. If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it. If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense. Is Common Sense divine? _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In a message dated 6/29/08 8:00:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [hidden email]
writes: > FD is not a contest....it is an operating event. I would say "FD is not *just* a contest" or "Contesting is only one aspect of FD". Like Amateur Radio itself, there are many ways of doing FD, some of which are very different from others. Some groups take scoring very seriously, others don't think much of it and it's more of a social event. Some are very into the publicity angle, or the emergency-preparedness thing, or the training-less-experienced-hams part. I don't think the League even likes to rank > station that participate as to who made how many points. If you look up the scores database, that's how results are sorted (high score to low). Same in the QST report. >If FD allowed multipliers (rather than mode points) then we would have a contest. The FD multipliers are for power level. A QRP-battery QSO can be worth 5 times the points of a QRO QSO, or 2.5 times the points of a "low-power" QSO. >FD rules are so loose you can change your class at anytime. Only in a very limited way (number of transmitters), and only for specific reasons. For example, if a club started out with three transmitters (3A) but then somebody showed up with a fourth and lots of folks to put it on the air, they could reclass themselves as 4A. Or if they could not get one rig working at all, they could reclass themselves as 2A *if* they'd never had three rigs on the air at once. > It would be interesting to see how many vertical and dipole antennas were > used this year. We used a Windom and two G5RVs. Squalos and verticals for VHF/UHF. Yes there are better antennas but the resources needed to put them up and take them down are considerable. > FD is about training (both in technical and operating) skills. I would add "practical radio" to that as well. Theory is one thing, getting something to work in the real world is another. I was never a Boy Scout but I learned a heckuva lot about knots and handling lines on FD. Random comments: 1) Send in your entry, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Log entries are "votes" in a very real sense. 2) If there is something you want to see changed in the rules, suggest it in a specific way to ARRL. For example, you might want sections to count as multipliers on HF, grid squares on VHF/UHF. If so, *tell the ARRL contest folks*! 3) While the memory (and the bug bites, sunburn, poison ivy and aches/pains are still fresh, write down what you learned this year. What worked and what didn't, what you'd do the same and what you'd change. Put those notes in a folder marked "FD 2009". Trust me, it's a big help for next year! 73 de Jim, N2EY ************** Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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----- Original Message ----- From: <[hidden email]> > Random comments: > > 1) Send in your entry, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Log > entries > are "votes" in a very real sense. > And if you were QRP in FD, also send in your results to VA3JFF for the QRP-ARCI milliWatt Field Day. Information on this can be found at http://www.qrparci.org/content/view/6870/118/ 72 73 Hank K8DD ____________________________________________________________ Receive Notifications of Incoming Messages Easily monitor multiple email accounts & access them with a click. Visit http://www.inbox.com/notifier and check it out! _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
Field Day is like life. 1. You don't know if you are prepared. 2. You don't know if you have the right equipment. 3. You don't know if you are in the right spot. 4. You don't know what is going to happen. However, at the end of the day, if you didn't have fun................. You missed the whole point! 73, Neal WA6OCP |
Re: FD - Some Comments about the Event
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In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
Well, my daddy always told me, "Son, if it walks like a duck and
quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck." That being the case, if it's not a contest, then why award points. FD is a slightly different kind of duck than most contests, but if points are involved, then it's a contest. I pretty much agree with all your other points and would add one of my own. Field Day is about camaraderie. Events like this help hams who already know one another to get to know one another better and to meet new hams (and potential hams) who may come to visit. 73! Dan KB6NU ---------------------------------------------------------- CW Geek and MI Affiliated Club Coordinator Read my ham radio blog at http://www.kb6nu.com LET'S REALLY MAKE THE ARRL THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR HAM RADIO On Jun 29, 2008, at 7:59 PM, Lee Buller wrote: > I've been reading on the FD comments and would like to make a couple > of points and post some opinion. > > FD is not a contest....it is an operating event. True! ARRL has > said this for years. I don't think the League even likes to rank > station that participate as to who made how many points. If FD > allowed multipliers (rather than mode points) then we would have a > contest. (I would like to see it run like NAQP...now that would be > a fun contest!) > > FD rules are so loose you can change your class at anytime. > > FD is to test equipment is rather harsh conditions. I am sorry to > hear that at least one K3 died. It would be interesting to know why. > > FD is to show off your new rig (read here K3). > > FD is about (for the most part) modest antennas and weak signals. > (Unless you are me and decided that air conditioning and the lack of > bugs were more important this year) It would be interesting to see > how many vertical and dipole antennas were used this year. I know > some clubs put up beams and towers, but in a "real" world situation, > I found that a dipole hung on the local school's flag pole is about > all you can do in the dark and it works fine. > > FD is about how to put several transmitters in a 1000 foot circle > and making it all work. I've never been to a 22A, but I bet that is > interesting on HF. > > FD is about bad or poor power. > > FD is about cooperation with other hams and learning from mistakes > in the event of a "real" disaster. > > FD is about training (both in technical and operating) skills. > > FD is about bad or good food depending on who is catering the > event. I've had both, and the K3 can't improve that at all. Hey > Wayne and Eric, put a good MENU in the K3...would you? KC Strip > Steak, baked potatoes, green beans, a nice slice of pie, and a "cold > one" in the menus. That would be CONFIG>KC S>BP>GrnB>IR2>807 > > FD operation tests the "metal" of both rigs and operators. > > Final Thought: The hardest part of FD is unloading the vehicle when > you get home and putting all the equipment away when your bone > weary, bug bitten, sun burnt to a crisp, heartily hungry, and ticked > off at all the operators who failed to learn anything. Then you > realize you got to go to work tomorrow! > > Lee - K0WA Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: FD - Some Comments about the Event
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In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
Lee and others:
A few thoughts based on our past weekend's 2F operation at KS1R/N1TRC. See below. 73, Steve Kercel AA4AK At 07:59 PM 6/29/2008, Lee Buller wrote: >I've been reading on the FD comments and would like to make a couple >of points and post some opinion. > >FD is not a contest....it is an operating event. True! ARRL has >said this for years. I don't think the League even likes to rank >station that participate as to who made how many points. If FD >allowed multipliers (rather than mode points) then we would have a >contest. (I would like to see it run like NAQP...now that would be >a fun contest!) ********** ARRL lists FD in the contest section and publish the scores in QST. As Worf the mighty Klingon warrior says, if winning does not matter why keep score? Oddly, even though the event does not have multipliers, many of our contacts were very grateful our giving them the somewhat hard to work state of Maine. With the GOTA, public information, extra points for training class, visiting politicians and so on, it is primarily an educational activity. I do note that you mention that below. ********** >FD rules are so loose you can change your class at anytime. **************** Only in the sense of increasing the number of rigs. If you ever had three (non GOTA non extra VHF) rigs transmitting simultaneously, you cannot later shut one down and go from a class 3 to a class 2 event. (Well, I suppose you could if you do not report the QSOs you make with the rig that got shut down.) **************** >FD is to test equipment is rather harsh conditions. I am sorry to >hear that at least one K3 died. It would be interesting to know why. *************** Certainly *************** >FD is to show off your new rig (read here K3). > >FD is about (for the most part) modest antennas and weak >signals. (Unless you are me and decided that air conditioning and >the lack of bugs were more important this year) It would be >interesting to see how many vertical and dipole antennas were used >this year. I know some clubs put up beams and towers, but in a >"real" world situation, I found that a dipole hung on the local >school's flag pole is about all you can do in the dark and it works fine. **************** Wire antennas are fully adequate **************** >FD is about how to put several transmitters in a 1000 foot circle >and making it all work. I've never been to a 22A, but I bet that is >interesting on HF. ********************* How do they do that? ********************* >FD is about bad or poor power. > >FD is about cooperation with other hams and learning from mistakes >in the event of a "real" disaster. ************* Amen! This is the third year in a row that we've run a 2F operation from the local Red Cross Chapter House. It is amazing how much more cohesive the team is now than it was 2 years ago. As many things go wrong as ever, but we deal with them much more efficiently now. ************* >FD is about training (both in technical and operating) skills. *************** and enlightening the public, politicians and served agency officials. *************** >FD is about bad or good food depending on who is catering the >event. I've had both, and the K3 can't improve that at all. Hey >Wayne and Eric, put a good MENU in the K3...would you? KC Strip >Steak, baked potatoes, green beans, a nice slice of pie, and a "cold >one" in the menus. That would be CONFIG>KC S>BP>GrnB>IR2>807 ************* Our club President is an outstanding BBQ chef. ************* >FD operation tests the "metal" of both rigs and operators. > >Final Thought: The hardest part of FD is unloading the vehicle when >you get home and putting all the equipment away when your bone >weary, bug bitten, sun burnt to a crisp, heartily hungry, and ticked >off at all the operators who failed to learn anything. Then you >realize you got to go to work tomorrow! *************** I noticed much the same except that all our ops learned something. *************** >Lee - K0WA > > > > > > >In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short >supply. If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense >and use it. If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from >somebody who has some Common Sense. Is Common Sense divine? >_______________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Post to: [hidden email] >You must be a subscriber to post to the list. >Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm >Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: FD - Some Comments about the Event
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On Mon, 2008-06-30 at 07:32, Stephen W. Kercel wrote:
> >FD is about how to put several transmitters in a 1000 foot circle > >and making it all work. I've never been to a 22A, but I bet that is > >interesting on HF. > > ********************* > How do they do that? > ********************* 1. Transceivers with low phase noise and broadband transmit noise. 2. Narrow-band filters between transceivers and antennas. 3. Antennas placed as far apart as possible. 4. Antennas oriented for minimum coupling. Murphys' Maurauders used to (still does?) run that kind of operation. One "secret weapon" they had was a set of helical resonators for the HF bands. As I recall, the 20 meter version was about a foot in diameter. They were narrow-band enough to allow simultaneous CW and phone operation on the same band while maintaining reasonably low insertion loss. The problem is that, even if one transceiver is "perfect" (for example, a K3 :=), if the other transceiver has excessive phase noise, then BOTH stations will experience interference. The only cure is to use a narrow-band filter on the "dirty" transceiver. For FD stations located near the east or west coast, one effective technique is to locate all CW antennas on the north end of the site and all phone on the south end (or vice versa). Since the main interference problem is between phone and CW stations on the same band, that gets the antennas as far apart as possible and orients them so the interference is off the side of the antenna, where most antennas have minimum pickup. Al N1AL _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: FD - Some Comments about the Event
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In reply to this post by Stephen W. Kercel
>>FD is about how to put several transmitters in a 1000 foot circle
>>and making it all work. I've never been to a 22A, but I bet that is >>interesting on HF. > >********************* >How do they do that? >********************* For an excellent documentary about the Conejo Valley AD6T Field Day operation that ran 22 QRP stations (22-Alpha) at a single site, see Gorden West's Field Day video. It might still be available through the publisher of CQ magazine. 73, John, no8v If time permits, I will show Gordon West's excellent video about the Conejo Valley AD6T Field Day operation that ran 22 QRP stations (22-Alpha) at a single site. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: FD - Some Comments about the Event
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Hello All:
We did it with filters, filters and position. 40 phone antenna was across the ridge to 40 cw with neiter antenna coupling into each other. It did take a bit of planning and walking it off to get to 27A the one year CVARC took the point lead. Jeff (AD6T) really did a GREAT job. Fun but definitly more managble at 9a as the club did this year. Also 5 watts helped. 73's Bob Paull KK6UE k3 #681 --- On Tue, 7/1/08, John H Gibson <[hidden email]> wrote: > From: John H Gibson <[hidden email]> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] FD - Some Comments about the Event > To: "Stephen W. Kercel" <[hidden email]>, "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]> > Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 5:10 AM > >>FD is about how to put several transmitters in a > 1000 foot circle > >>and making it all work. I've never been to a > 22A, but I bet that is > >>interesting on HF. > > > >********************* > >How do they do that? > >********************* > > For an excellent documentary about the Conejo Valley AD6T > Field Day operation > that ran 22 QRP stations (22-Alpha) at a single site, see > Gorden West's Field > Day video. It might still be available through the > publisher of CQ magazine. > > 73, > John, no8v > > > If time permits, I will show Gordon West's excellent > video about the Conejo > Valley AD6T Field Day operation that ran 22 QRP stations > (22-Alpha) at a single > site. > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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