Quote:
Originally Posted by No Name
What did you do on Field Day?
My club, the Pahrump (NV) Amateur Radio Repeater Association (PARRA),
held its Field Day (FD) at the QTH of one of our members.
Pahrump is in the desert of southern Nevada about 60 miles west of Las
Vegas. The normal summer day-time temperature is 105 degrees F. The
last couple of years we set up in the desert outside of town. But
this year we decided that we were getting too old to stay out in all
that sun all day. So this year we operated as a class D station at
the member's QTH. His home station already had a tower with a
multi-band beam, plus a couple more towers between which we strung
wire antennas.
Our sole consession to FD conditions was to operate from the covered
patio behind the house instead of in his air-conditioned shack. One
member brought an evaporative cooler to cool the patio a bit.
Our host brought his HF rig from his indoor shack to the patio.
Another member brought his HF rig from his QTH. One rig was run
exclusively on SSB, while the other was used for both SSB abd CW,
We operated as class 2D.
About ten club members showed up during the event. We also had about
5 visitors who learned about the event from notices in our two local
newspapers and two local TV stations. The TV stations also aired
interviews with our host and me describing the event and inviting
visitors. Pahrump is a small town, about 35,000 population. The
local media really helps to publicize all kinds of local events. I
cannot imagine that we would get that kind of publicity in a large
city such as nearby Las Vegas.
Our FD's are laid-back affairs. We are there to have fun, chat and
joke with each other, and occassionally operate a radio. When the
hamburgers and franks were finished cooking, all operating ceased as
we ate dinner. I don't know what our final score is, and really I
don't care. I was there just to have fun with my friends.
What did you do on Field Day?
Dick Grady, AC7EL
To respond to me privately, email to:
My Call at My Call dot org
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Sounds like you had a really nice Field Days
I came to the conclusiion, after operating at my second year of Field Days that the purpose of Field Days is not to contest.
The purpose of Field Days is to expose the public to Amateur Radio.
The purpose of Field Days is also to teach new hams how to operate in field conditions and how to log and dupe.
The purpose of Field Days is also to put non hams on the air - hence make new hams out of regular old people.
And the purpose of Field Days is to bring people together, especially clubs, where people learns, that if we work together, we can accomplish something, and if we all go our own seperate ways and do not help each other, we are not effective communicators.
Most clubs uses Field Days as a excuse to have a party or their club picnic.
Those activities needs to be held at other times.
We end up attracting club members, who by nature of having a license and call sign, but doesn't operate, doesn't even own a HF radio or antenna's - just got a license to be a part of a gang. Only comes to eat and to hang out. It makes it hard to operate when you have people standing around that only wants to talk to each other and doesn't want to help or operate.
Field Days is unique - it gives points to people who operates a information booth, for people who puts on extra curricular activities such as a fox hunt or a antenna building class. It gives points for having a information officer and advertising in the local newspaper and for getting the media to attend the event and for getting public officials to attend and for getting local law enforcement to attend.