Field Day tips
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Hi all,
Here are our annual tips for getting the most out of your Elecraft rig at field day: 1. QRP/BATTERY OPERATION: To conserve battery power, use 5.0 watts or less when running from a 12-V source, and 3.0 watts or less when running from an 8-10 V source (including internal batteries). To reduce supply current in receive mode, use headphones rather than the internal speaker, and if lighting conditions permit, turn off the LCD backlight. The KX3 automatically switches its 10-W power amplifier to a more efficient setting at reduced supply voltages. You can tell when this power-saving mode is in effect because of a decimal point after the 'W' in the power value (e.g., "5.0 W."). 2. ANTENNA SPACING: If you're using more than one transmitter, try to keep the antennas as far apart as possible, and/or perpendicular to each other. If two stations unavoidably have their antennas in each other's near fields, you can dig into a pretty deep bag of tricks at the receive end, including: reducing preamp gain (or turning the preamp off), turning on the attenuator, narrowing the filter bandwidth, turning the noise blanker off, and (in the case of the KX3) setting MENU:RX SHFT to 8.0 rather than NOR. All of these settings are per-band. 3. OSCILLATOR ISOLATION (KX3-specific): The KX3, like other radios with a quadrature direct-conversion architecture, uses a VFO (local oscillator) running at or very close to the operating frequency. If you have another radio on the same band as the KX3, and the antennas are close together, the other radio may be able to hear the KX3's oscillator when they're both tuned to the same frequency. To prevent this, the KX3 includes an isolation amplifier that keeps the oscillator from radiating back through the mixer. Normally this amplifier is turned off to save about 15 mA of receive-mode current drain. To turn on the isolation amp, set MENU:RX ISO to ON. This has no effect on receive performance. Above all, have fun! 73, Wayne N6KR ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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On 6/16/2014 8:36 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote:
> Here are our annual tips for getting the most out of your Elecraft rig at field day: I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB part time. 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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I agree with all of that, Jim. In 2000 Bob, K7ZB, and I set what was then the all time Field Day record for the 1B-2OP Battery category by following those exact same tips. Getting 10 points per QSO for QRP CW is an insurmountable advantage compared with SSB and higher power levels, and antennas make all the difference in the world. In our case, we had the luxury of being able to camp among the tall Ponderosa Pine trees on the Mogollon Rim of Arizona, using a sling shot to hoist support lines as much as 90 feet up. We used nine different antennas that year (built ahead of time and neatly coiled in boxes) ... all of them simply various wire configurations hung in the trees. They ranged from simple dipoles on the low bands to a stacked (phased) pair of 2-element wire yagis on 20m (wooden dowel spacers). We mostly ran RG-8 coax along the ground from the operating tent to a point near each antenna, and then RG-8X up to the feed points to minimize the weight. Antennas rule. Having antennas oriented in multiple directions was a huge plus ... we could work California off the back of our predominantly midwest/east coast oriented antennas, but being able to put a decent signal into Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia with the extra antennas was key for us. We made 970 QSOs that year (9,700 points) plus another 300 bonus points (solar power, etc) for an even 10,000 points. All QRP and all CW. We alternated roughly four hour shifts to cover the entire operating period, but the rig was only a TS-130V cranked back to 5 watts ... we would have dearly loved to have been able to use an Elecraft with better adjacent rejection. The only additional bit of advice I would offer is the same one that holds true for most contests. If you really want to make a lot of QSOs you need to be able to call CQ and run stations efficiently. Not exclusively, but mostly. Best of luck to all, Dave AB7E p.s. A Pennsylvania team beat our record two years later p.p.s. We had so much visible wire up in the air that we got a lot of gawkers stopping by on their way to their own camp site to ask us what we were doing. One lady asked us in all seriousness if we were setting snares for bears. On 6/16/2014 11:30 PM, Jim Brown wrote: > > I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP > Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same > group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB > part time. > > 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a > tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a > resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And > even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off > the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. > > 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only > putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. > > 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for > a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. > > 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably > competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a > struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the > Tee shirt. :) > > The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB > difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. > > And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field > Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. > > http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf > > 73, Jim K9YC > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10
About #1 below and the wire in the tree with radials off the ground...
I was instantly reminded about Al Brogdon W1AB and his "Killer Antenna". He wrote about it in 2006 in his ARRL book "Low Profile Amateur Radio" (Chapter 8 and also pages 44-48) and in QST-July1999. The "Killer Antenna" is something I've kept in mind ever since I bought the book seven years ago and is one of the reasons I bought a KX3, so I could try it out portable, something I cannot do on my postage-size lot. His portable results seemed impressive for an idea so simple; granted he was using a Kenwood TS-50. 73 Jerry KM3K -----Original Message----- From: Elecraft [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Jim Brown Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 2:30 AM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips On 6/16/2014 8:36 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: > Here are our annual tips for getting the most out of your Elecraft rig at field day: I'll add some more tips about QRP on Field Day. I've done three QRP Field Days, and one of them our group won for 1A battery. The same group came in second when we tried 2A with a second station on SSB part time. 1) Use the most efficient antennas that you can. A wire thrown over a tree and a radial laying on the ground will get you on the air, but a resonant dipole high in those trees can easily be 3-6 dB better. And even more radials with that wire in the tree, and picking them up off the ground, will add a few dB to your signal. 2) Use the most efficient feedline that you can. If you're only putting out 5W, don't burn 2W in RG58. Use RG8, RG11, RG213. 3) Get your antennas as high as you can. On 80M, 10 ft more height for a dipole is worth about 1 dB, 5 ft for a 40M dipole. 4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, burned the Tee shirt. :) The combination of #1, #2, and #3 can easily make a 10-15 dB difference in your signal. 13 dB is the difference between 5W and 100W. And here are some tips to help you avoid RF noise problems on Field Day. If you can't hear 'em, you can't work 'em. http://nccc.cc/pdf/CQP-RFI2013-2.pdf 73, Jim K9YC ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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In reply to this post by Jim Brown-10
On 6/16/14 at 11:30 PM, [hidden email] (Jim Brown) wrote:
>4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably >competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a >struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, >burned the Tee shirt. :) The last detailed QSO/mode/band I can find is from the West Valley Amateur Radio Association's in 2011. We were 7A (battery QRP). We had 3 HF CW stations, 3 HF SSB stations, an HF digital station, a GOTA station, a satellite station, and a VHF station. While our prime goal for field day is to have fun, we have fun by erecting the best antennas we can, trying to get as many people on the air as possible, and ending with a good score. We set the all-time record for 7A that year and have set a number of other records for various numbers of transmitters in other years. Call: K6EI GOTA Call: W6ZZZ Class: 7A QRP QTH: Mora Hill, CA Operating Time (hrs): 24 Summary: Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs 80: 119 84 0 40: 325 169 46 20: 639 195 87 15: 339 135 11 10: 0 41 0 6: 1 37 0 2: 0 16 0 222: 0 2 432: 0 5 1.2: 0 1 ---------------------- 1423 685 144 Total Score = 20,845 Comments: QSO Points x Power Mult = 19,095 GOTA Bonus Points = 1,750 Total QSO Points + Bonus Pts = 20,845 Note that while most of our points came from CW, significant number of points come from phone and digital. As you get into the larger number of transmitters, QRP digital and phone become an important part of the mix. QRP digital is always fun and gives good scores. QRP SSB is fun with good antennas and propagation. 73 Bill AE6JV ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | Airline peanut bag: "Produced | Periwinkle (408)356-8506 | in a facility that processes | 16345 Englewood Ave www.pwpconsult.com | peanuts and other nuts." - Duh | Los Gatos, CA 95032 ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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I concur with all of the tips except the saying “Don’t waste your time with SSB on FD”.
And I will add that anytime you go above Class 2A there should be at least ONE SSB station. You will note the quantity of SSB Q's by one SSB station vs. the two CW stations in the listing below. All the ops, both modes, were high level, very capable at their mode. The CW ops included high level contesters N2IC, WB0O, NI5L and N5IA. The case can be made that the SSB station performed at a higher level than the CW stations. This is all with solar powered 5 Watt level transmissions. The following is a listing of the stats for the national record set by the Eastern Arizona Amateur Radio Society (EAARS) operation from 2005. This record held for 8 years until broken by a New Mexico group this past year ('13). YEAR CALL LOCATION CLASS CW Q’s SSB Q’s N/T Q’s GOTA Q’s TOTAL Q’s BONUS SCORE PLACE 2005 K7EAR Clark Pk. 3A QRP 1,193 822 67 2,082 1,490 17,865 #1 national, 3A, and #6 national, all classes. The HF transceivers, including the GOTA, were all Elecraft K-2's. Photos of the operation can be viewed at http://www.eaars.org/05fieldday.html 73 de Milt, N5IA -----Original Message----- From: Bill Frantz Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 7:11 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Field Day tips On 6/16/14 at 11:30 PM, [hidden email] (Jim Brown) wrote: >4) Don't waste your time with SSB on FD. CW can be reasonably >competitive QRP, and a lot of fun. SSB only be described as a >struggle, and is definitely not fun. Been there, done that, >burned the Tee shirt. :) The last detailed QSO/mode/band I can find is from the West Valley Amateur Radio Association's in 2011. We were 7A (battery QRP). We had 3 HF CW stations, 3 HF SSB stations, an HF digital station, a GOTA station, a satellite station, and a VHF station. While our prime goal for field day is to have fun, we have fun by erecting the best antennas we can, trying to get as many people on the air as possible, and ending with a good score. We set the all-time record for 7A that year and have set a number of other records for various numbers of transmitters in other years. Call: K6EI GOTA Call: W6ZZZ Class: 7A QRP QTH: Mora Hill, CA Operating Time (hrs): 24 Summary: Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs 80: 119 84 0 40: 325 169 46 20: 639 195 87 15: 339 135 11 10: 0 41 0 6: 1 37 0 2: 0 16 0 222: 0 2 432: 0 5 1.2: 0 1 ---------------------- 1423 685 144 Total Score = 20,845 Comments: QSO Points x Power Mult = 19,095 GOTA Bonus Points = 1,750 Total QSO Points + Bonus Pts = 20,845 Note that while most of our points came from CW, significant number of points come from phone and digital. As you get into the larger number of transmitters, QRP digital and phone become an important part of the mix. QRP digital is always fun and gives good scores. QRP SSB is fun with good antennas and propagation. 73 Bill AE6JV ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2014.0.4592 / Virus Database: 3972/7696 - Release Date: 06/17/14 ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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>I concur with all of the tips except the saying “Don’t waste your time with >SSB on FD”. I know this borders on an executable offence by the Morse Inquisition Army, but I don't LIKE CW! I did fine last year on Field Day running strictly SSB with the battery powered KX3 and a couple portable antennas. No, I didn't set any records, but then again, this is not a hugely competitive contest. Maybe that's why it is so named. It's purpose is to exercise your, or your club's ability to set up and operate an emergency radio system. The contest part of the equation is simply to substitute some purpose for the lack of the need for any real emergency communications at that time. Burgers, beer and bugs are all part of the fun. 73, Charlie k3ICH ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [hidden email] |
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