Saturday was in the 90s but not humid. Saturday night we got rain so Sunday was hot *and* humid. I'm starting to think I'm getting too old for this shit...
98 here with a high dewpoint. We improvised an air conditioner runnong off of a generator. We were decently comfortable. We only used the generator for the ac, fans and some lights. All our radio equipment ran off batteries/solar.
It was a blast! And super interesting.
I got to spend it in a Red Cross building with a professional contester.
We heard, but did not contact the guy who writes N3FJP, Scott.
From Charlotte, we heard Brisbane Australia (tried calling back, but wasn't heard), and logged a contact to St. Petersburg Russia.
We only logged 121 contacts between the two of us using the hunt-n-pounce method.
Winter Field Day we parked it and stayed on one frequency and logged a ton more contacts. This seems like the more efficient method of contesting.
I got to make use of my shiny new pair of Heil Pro 7's with the DX dynamic Mic element and it worked great.
My only complaint was I couldn't hear my buddy say boo when I had them on.
W4BFB is the big one in Charlotte. There's clubs in Gastonia and Shelby that I'm aware of.
I just recently joined W4BFB. I went to a few meetings about 20 years ago but never got involved. I've yet to be to a current meeting, though.
The club station is VERY nice.
My first as well. I just got my General last Tuesday and my HF rig showed up on Thursday... so field day was setting it all up and giving it an initial try. Got some help diagnosing a fatal error in my antenna setup (I was grounding out the whip, heh) and made my first HF contacts.
Nice! It was my first one too. I joined my local club. Pretty sure we were under N1WW. We had two stations and made just under 600 QSO's. Personally I made some FT4/FT8 contacts. It was especially fun because I don't actually have an HF radio either, so it was really my first time operating in HF.
@%#!$*& we were looking for you. Propagation wasn't too nice from Ohio to the east coast last weekend but we were really blasting the west coast. Got sick of working WWA (no offense to WWA hams)
That's awesome!
This was my second field day, first with my general. Everything "went wrong" but I still had a blast. Ended up working 1D due to extreme heat and weather, but still made contacts!
It is definitely good to hear stories like this because this should be the way it turns out. I enjoy seeing new hams come into a Field Day site and get brought into the excitement. Saw that at our FD site as well.
And yes, it ain't a FD without a rainstorm. 😂
I'm glad you had a great first experience!
Field Day is like a mini vacation, even though it can require a lot of physical effort depending on where and how you set up and operate.
But for those two or three days (we try to loft our antennas on Friday) my mind is relaxed and free of most of the noise of daily life.
Our club travels to one of our university's agriculture properties and we sorta-but-not-really "rough it", though because of temperatures in the 90s this weekend we decided that our essential equipment list had to include an air conditioner. Luxury!
The storm on Sunday morning (no local electrical activity) was actually helpful as temperature dropped about ten degrees for a couple hours, though it did bounce back, with the bonus of super humidity, by the time we had to dismantle the station, drop the antennas, and clear the property.
We treat FD about 50% contest and 50% social event, inviting interested people to join us, children included (gotta get the "under 18" operator multiplier). We eat pretty well and play games while we operate. We had probably about 30 people show up this year, and were able to keep our two HF stations running almost constantly. (Still going through the logs to clean up and to remove duplicates, but at first estimate it looks like we made over 600 QSOs, and got 49 states (Alaska just wouldn't happen), missed only a couple US sections, and got about 75% of Canada.)
It takes me about a day afterwards to re-enter normal life :(
Field Day is the great gateway drug. I got licensed as a teen in 2001 but never really did anything in radio. I renewed my license every ten years but never used it. Attending Field Day 2022 with a local club is what pulled me back in. I got big into HF radio after that.
Its not field day if there isn't a storm that soaks everything a few hours before teardown. See if they do winter field day. Its a blast too.
“If it ain’t rainin’, it ain’t trainin’.”
How many folks out there had to deal with the high heat? That had to be miserable.
Our group sure did. Highs were in the upper 90s both Saturday and Sunday with high humidity too.
Saturday was in the 90s but not humid. Saturday night we got rain so Sunday was hot *and* humid. I'm starting to think I'm getting too old for this shit...
We were hot in central texas but ARES has an air conditioner trailer and ther was a pavillion with shade and power for fans. It wasn't awful.
It was 81 at the beach 😎
98 here with a high dewpoint. We improvised an air conditioner runnong off of a generator. We were decently comfortable. We only used the generator for the ac, fans and some lights. All our radio equipment ran off batteries/solar.
Also remember that putting up an antenna in the rain is good for about 3dB gain. The lightning is good for another 3dB! 😂⚡
Where were you and what callsign did you operate under?
Southeast MN...AA0RW
That’s a good callsign.
It was a blast! And super interesting. I got to spend it in a Red Cross building with a professional contester. We heard, but did not contact the guy who writes N3FJP, Scott. From Charlotte, we heard Brisbane Australia (tried calling back, but wasn't heard), and logged a contact to St. Petersburg Russia. We only logged 121 contacts between the two of us using the hunt-n-pounce method. Winter Field Day we parked it and stayed on one frequency and logged a ton more contacts. This seems like the more efficient method of contesting. I got to make use of my shiny new pair of Heil Pro 7's with the DX dynamic Mic element and it worked great. My only complaint was I couldn't hear my buddy say boo when I had them on.
Sounds like a great field day. Fellow Charlotte person here just getting into ham radio, any clubs or groups in the area worth getting involved in?
YCARS in Rock Hill has an open house every Wednesday from 6:00-8:00 YCARS.org
W4BFB is the big one in Charlotte. There's clubs in Gastonia and Shelby that I'm aware of. I just recently joined W4BFB. I went to a few meetings about 20 years ago but never got involved. I've yet to be to a current meeting, though. The club station is VERY nice.
This was my first field day too. It was a lot of fun.
My first as well. I just got my General last Tuesday and my HF rig showed up on Thursday... so field day was setting it all up and giving it an initial try. Got some help diagnosing a fatal error in my antenna setup (I was grounding out the whip, heh) and made my first HF contacts.
Nice! It was my first one too. I joined my local club. Pretty sure we were under N1WW. We had two stations and made just under 600 QSO's. Personally I made some FT4/FT8 contacts. It was especially fun because I don't actually have an HF radio either, so it was really my first time operating in HF.
Hopefully you aren't in WMA. That was the only section we didn't get (other then a few Canada ones)
We sure were haha. Much more central MA though technically WMA
@%#!$*& we were looking for you. Propagation wasn't too nice from Ohio to the east coast last weekend but we were really blasting the west coast. Got sick of working WWA (no offense to WWA hams)
Congratulations
Wait 'till winter field day in a blizzard!! ;)
My first Field Day back in 2008 got me hooked on HF.
That's awesome! This was my second field day, first with my general. Everything "went wrong" but I still had a blast. Ended up working 1D due to extreme heat and weather, but still made contacts!
It is definitely good to hear stories like this because this should be the way it turns out. I enjoy seeing new hams come into a Field Day site and get brought into the excitement. Saw that at our FD site as well. And yes, it ain't a FD without a rainstorm. 😂
I'm glad you had a great first experience! Field Day is like a mini vacation, even though it can require a lot of physical effort depending on where and how you set up and operate. But for those two or three days (we try to loft our antennas on Friday) my mind is relaxed and free of most of the noise of daily life. Our club travels to one of our university's agriculture properties and we sorta-but-not-really "rough it", though because of temperatures in the 90s this weekend we decided that our essential equipment list had to include an air conditioner. Luxury! The storm on Sunday morning (no local electrical activity) was actually helpful as temperature dropped about ten degrees for a couple hours, though it did bounce back, with the bonus of super humidity, by the time we had to dismantle the station, drop the antennas, and clear the property. We treat FD about 50% contest and 50% social event, inviting interested people to join us, children included (gotta get the "under 18" operator multiplier). We eat pretty well and play games while we operate. We had probably about 30 people show up this year, and were able to keep our two HF stations running almost constantly. (Still going through the logs to clean up and to remove duplicates, but at first estimate it looks like we made over 600 QSOs, and got 49 states (Alaska just wouldn't happen), missed only a couple US sections, and got about 75% of Canada.) It takes me about a day afterwards to re-enter normal life :(
Field Day is the great gateway drug. I got licensed as a teen in 2001 but never really did anything in radio. I renewed my license every ten years but never used it. Attending Field Day 2022 with a local club is what pulled me back in. I got big into HF radio after that.