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Winter Field Day 2025

 

Thanks to those that attended our monthly meeting last night! Winter Field Day is fast approaching. January 25th, 10am thru Sunday the 26th ending at 3:59pm. We'll be operating out of the communications trailer that will be set up in the parking lot at the EOC. We'll be operating 2 SSB stations simultaneously (hopefully) and Chris, KC0F will have a digital station set up. Below is a link with the sign-up schedule. To claim a slot, please reply to this message with the timeslots you'd like to operate and I'll update the spreadsheet. Chris will have his digital station running through 8pm, and I think it would be great if we could have two SSB stations operating with him that entire time. Additional time would be a bonus. I've signed up for several time slots... if you want one of those instead of something that's available, I'm very flexible. Just let me know. If you've never participated in a similar event or uneasy about doing so, you're not alone. Don't let that stop you. We'll make sure there is someone to help you get on the air. Winter Field Day is an emergency communications exercise. The intention is to set up in less than optimal conditions with non-fixed resources, similar to what might be done in an emergency. We will learn together!!
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Winter Field Day.... this Saturday. If you're interested in participating, please let me know!!! As of now, it looks like we'll be operating from 10am until 8pm Saturday unless someone wants to operate later than that! If you have any questions, please ask!
 

I have had a change of plans.? I will not be able to operate till 8pm Saturday. At this time, I am not sure how late I can operate Saturday afternoon.
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Sorry for any inconveniences this may cause.
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Chris Miller?
KC0F
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No problem, Chris. We’ll make do.
 

We ended up making 124 phone contacts and 8 digital contacts for a total of 130. We did achieve some bonus points. I uploaded our results but don't see them on the website yet. I'll follow up on that later.
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Had a great time and enjoyed getting to work out of the trailer. If you have comments or suggestions, please pass them along. I'm sure we'll be discussing it more at the next meeting.
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Eric
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Sierena and I had a great time with WFD. Good learning experience operating from the trailer. Here's a few thoughts that come to mind for continuing with the trailer remodeling:

  • Dry Erase Markers for the walls.
  • A basic Tool Kit for antenna deployments, working on the Generator/LP Tanks/Etc.
  • Abandon the electric heat and install a small Ventless LP Heater for better efficiency.
  • Let's keep an eye out for some used Office Chairs.
  • Could we use a Cork Board?
  • Maybe a couple of brackets on the outside to act as Mast/Pole Holders?
  • Let's get a Wired and Wireless LAN permanently installed and working.
  • It would be good to come up with a couple more PC's as well.
  • Hamclock or Ham Radio Dashboard or BOTH if we can acquire larger monitors for the project. The first one seems great for monitoring propagation and such. The latter would be nice for keeping track of weather.
  • Does anyone have thoughts on the need of a central Grounding System for the radios? How would this be deployed?
  • Are the existing batteries sufficient, or should we consider a supplemental Battery Bank to operate without the generator running continuously? I expect batteries to be more efficient (more cost-effective) than LP in the long run. AND less RFI without a generator running!
  • Implement a DC Power Distribution System. All the rigs run off of 12v anyway. Why run a generator or convert DC to AC and back to DC? This is a very inefficient method of powering radio gear.
  • With battery power, we can consider Solar Charging. Solar would be useful for longer-term deployments (emergency situations, etc), and also for keeping the batteries maintained during storage.
  • Swap out the old analog phone for a VOIP Phone (Hamshack Hotline).
That's all I have off the top of my head.

JJ

On Mon, Jan 27, 2025 at 10:06?AM Eric Presser - KD?CEN via <eric.presser=[email protected]> wrote:

We ended up making 124 phone contacts and 8 digital contacts for a total of 130. We did achieve some bonus points. I uploaded our results but don't see them on the website yet. I'll follow up on that later.
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Had a great time and enjoyed getting to work out of the trailer. If you have comments or suggestions, please pass them along. I'm sure we'll be discussing it more at the next meeting.
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Eric
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