Tommy Brough

2024 Tour d’ Italia is looking for Ham Radio volunteers on 6/15. Sign up HERE

Field Day 2020 is in the books.  We operated as 3A this year, with the addition of a dedicated digital station.  We ended up with 150 CW contacts, 96 SSB, and 305 digital.  No GOTA station was operated this year since we figured not many, if any, of the general public would wander in and potentially operate the station.  Turns out we were correct.  We hope the numbers will be revised upward due to the ARRL allowing home stations (D) to operate for points for the Club as long as the Club is listed on their submission forms.  This is allowed this year only, and you must list the Club as SOUTHWEST DALLAS COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB (yes, in all caps) on your submission form for the Club to receive proper credit.  In fact, non-Members can list the Club!  Attendance and participation was down this year, and it is no surprise; COVID-19 has wreaked havoc and a lot of Members just simply didn’t want to take the risk and gather with others, even for a fun event like Field Day.  For those that did make it, especially those that helped with getting antennas and radios set up: thank you.  We had a great time.  We also had a gentleman sit for and pass both the Technician and the General license examinations.  It is always exciting to be involved in adding to the fold!  Field Day 2021 will be June 26-27, so mark your calendars and make it a priority to support SWDCARC by attending and participating.

After having to cancel the March, April, and May General Meetings due to COVID-19, it sure was good to see some familiar faces at our June meeting! It was a bit strange seeing everyone in masks, but the company was still great, and we had a great time finalizing plans for Field Day 2020. Speaking of that, it is a GO, beginning at 1:00pm on June 27 until 4:00pm on June 28 (we usually wrap things up a bit early due to fatigue, though!). FD2020 will be held at the DeSoto Fire Training Center on Wintergreen Rd. in DeSoto, and we hope to see everyone out! More details about FD2020 can be found under Activities & Programs.

By Jerry Keltner (KB6OJE), Membership Director:

This year’s Field Day is behind us.  It was on the weekend of 22-23 June at the DeSoto Fire Training Center.  The crew started setting up the antennas about 8:30am and the effort and help of those that came out to assist is greatly appreciated.  There was a Delta Loop antenna for the SSB station for 10-40 meters, another Delta Loop antenna for the GOTA station for 10-40 meters, a long wire antenna for the SSB station for 10-40 meters, a long wire antenna for the CW station, a 2 meter/440 antenna for the satellite station, a 6 meter antenna for the 6 meter station and an antenna for the Digital (FT8) station.  The attendance this year “in my opinion” was less by members but greater than last year by non-members attending.  Mark your calendars now for next year’s Field Day which is on the fourth full weekend in June.  Start planning now to attend.  It was great seeing several former members, like Bernie, Fred, Bennett, and I feel I’m forgetting someone.  The food this year again was plentiful and those attending seemed to enjoy themselves and the fellowship during dinner.  A special thanks to Lester, K5ITO, for providing the hamburgers and hot dogs.  Also, a big thanks to all the others who brought food.  The July general membership meeting program was a Field Day recap presented by Rick, KJ5UY.  As usual, it was a funny and light-hearted, and was very entertaining.  Hope to see you all next year!

By Tommy Brough (K6TB), President:

Our final Field Day 2019 score was 2,070, which was an improvement on our 2018 score! We made 81 CW contacts, 108 SSB contacts, and 82 digital contacts. In addition, there were 16 contacts made at our Get On The Air (GOTA) station. A lot of hard work went into making the day enjoyable and successful, and thank you to all who helped and participated!

A great time was had by all as we gathered for a 2-meter J-pole antenna construction project. As you can see from the pictures, many hands made light work, and it was great to see the involvement, teamwork, and learning going on. The antennas were made from 450-ohm ladder line, and there were several soldering stations set up to get everything done up just right! An added surprise was everyone ended up with an antenna that would work on not only 2m, but 70cm as well. On top of that, the Club had two folks submit membership applications. An overall fantastic night – thanks to all who attended and participated! Hope you enjoy the snapshots of the evening, and we’ll see you at the next General Meeting on May 21.