KE3JP Field Day Is Coming Soon Lets Go Date And Time Period: Field Day Is Always The Fourth Full Weekend Of June, Beginning At 1800 UTC Saturday And Ending At 2100 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2007 Will Be Held June 23-24, 2007. The Public Is Welcome To See How Emergency Communication's Can Help In Many Ways , Please Tell A Friend And Come And Visit Use Map Below Field Day Will Be Held At Michael L Mowery KE3JP 6 Mud College Road Greenville , Pa 16125 Link To Field Day Site View Map If You Are Planning on Coming Or Need More Information Please Contact Adam KB3EIF Email Here Is Some Information About Field day And What It Is below WHAT IS FIELD DAY? According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), "It is the most popular amateur radio event in the US and Canada. During the fourth full weekend in June, the eyes of the amateur radio community turn towards the annual Field Day operating event. From its beginning back in the 1930's as an event to test the field preparedness and emergency communications abilities of the amateur radio community, Field Day has evolved into the largest on-the-air operation during the year. In the year 2000, contest logs were submitted by almost 2,100 clubs, groups and individuals across the US and Canada to the ARRL Contest Branch. These logs showed participation by over 31,000 individuals. Over 1.4 million contacts were reported during the brief 24-hours of the contest. "Field Day is officially an operating event rather than a contest. The purpose remains today, as it did in the beginning, to demonstrate the communications ability of the amateur radio community in simulated emergency situations. Groups across the continent use Field Day as a literal "show and tell" exhibition. At sites from the tundra of Alaska to the sandy beaches of Puerto Rico, amateur radio brings together its resources to show officials in government and various agencies what 'amateur radio can do.' " Those of us at the Ellwood City Amateur Radio Assoc., Inc. who participate in Field Day, look forward to it with anticipation each year. Though the contest officially begins on Saturday afternoon and continues continuously until Sunday afternoon, we begin our Field Day each year on Friday. We set up our tents and campers and in the evening we have a covered dish dinner and lots of fun and fellowship. The families of participants join us to enjoy an evening of sharing some great food and just spending some time with each other. We usually have a bon fire at night where we sit around and talk, and rest up for the coming two-day event. On Saturday morning, the activities turn to setting up antennas and generators. Although it is a fun event for us, it is also a challenge to set up our stations as if it were an emergency situation and we must operate in conditions were there is no power. In past years we have hung our antennas from trees as well as rigging temporary towers. This year, our site is located in a field behind the Franklin Township Municipal Building. There are no trees. So it is going to be more of a challenge than ever to find ways to put our antennas into the air. Each station is responsible for its own equipment and antennas. By noon you will see radios set up on tables and in screen tents all around the field, and you'll hear the hum of several generators supplying power not only to the equipment, but also to campers. Around 2:00 PM the contest begins, and you will hear many voices saying, "CQ Field Day, CQ Field Day, this is N3EC 6-Alpha Western Pennsylvania." "CQ Field Day" puts out our call and asks for others out there on the frequency to respond. "This is N3EC" tells everyone our club call sign. "6-Alpha" tells them we are operating 6 stations by non-commercial power. "Western Pennsylvania" identifies which ARRL section we are in or basically telling them our location. As other stations begin answering our call with their own information, we begin logging. We use lap-top computers loaded with a logging program. It records all of the information above, plus the date and time of the contact. This goes on for a 24-hour period. Teams of two - one making contacts and one logging - go as long as they can and then turn the station over to another team while they rest. That's what Field Day is all about. It's long hours and very tiring, but it's also lots of fun. We love to have visitors come and watch and see what we are doing. You don't have to be an amateur radio operator to appreciate the fact that if a major disaster occurred such as a nuclear accident, tornado, severe winter storms, etc., we would be ready to operate in a serious, well organized manner because of the practice and experience we gain through these Field Day events. KE3JP Michael L Mowery 6 Mud College Road Greenville ,Pa 16125 |
