Contributed Article

My First Field Day: An Essay

August 1, 2016 by JD Toony

… aaand that’s pretty much how I felt at my first field day! I was totally the new kid at school. Before, I only THOUGT I had a lot to learn. Now, after field day, I KNOW I have a lot to learn. From Jerry’s (KB6OJE) most patient tutelage at the GOTA station to Larry’s (KY5S) dizzying and encyclopedic knowledge of antennas, I was kept in a constant state of wide-eyed wonderment. I felt like the dog in the movie UP, seeing squirrels around every corner, or the crow in The Secret of Nimh constantly distracted by the next shiny object and dropping the one already in hand. I couldn’t decide which part of field day I wanted to play in the most, so I started splitting my time between them all. What can I say, I like to have AND eat my cake (never did understand that saying).

My main spot was at the GOTA (G.et O.n T.he A.ir) station. Jerry (KB6OJE) was the main man at that station, and after 5 minutes I knew why. The man seems to have an infinite level of patience, and he really knows how to teach the basics of ham radio without you feeling like you’ve been taught. From kids to adults, non-hams to long absent hams, he treated everyone with the same level of care and personal attention. When I sat at his station, I never felt rushed or pressured in any way. It was my first contesting experience and was so much fun, due largely to Jerry. What a joy!

However, I am about to throw him a little ways under the bus. When he and I were getting set up and testing the radio prior to the official start, we could hear some one doing their own contest out of Estonia on the 20 meter band. We could hear him just fine, but we just weren’t getting through to him. Jerry said it was due to us only being on 100 watts where everyone else was pushing 1500 or so, but we persisted and tried and tried again. After some time of this, I hazarded out that maybe he couldn’t hear us even if there was no body else interfering. Jerry just calmly repeated that it was due to stronger signals prevailing. Hey, I’m a newbie, so I nodded sagely and respectfully concurred with him. After a time we gave up trying to get this particular QSO and I went to see what the CW folks were doing. When I got back, Jerry paused, looked at me deadpan, and said that I was right, Estonia couldn’t hear us. Not a little bit surprised that I was correct about anything ham, I enquired how he knew this. He then pointed at the floor in the corner of the room and said “Because our 20 meter antenna is right there.” Sure enough, coiled smugly in the corner was our antenna.

I do so love hams who can laugh at themselves. Gives me hope for the enjoyment of my own inevitable mistakes.

Yukking it up with the offending antenna in hand.

I did eventually make a contact but didn’t want to hog the station so stepped off and then never managed to get back as I had to leave and couldn’t get back on Sunday. C’est la vie, life happens but I’m so very looking forward to next year’s Field Day. I’m determined to be proficient enough in Morse to man the CW station next year. Now THOSE guys take their fun seriously! Or maybe the serious faces were just due to the concentration needed to listen to the CW signals.

Either way, that part really intrigues me, so that’s where you’ll find me next go-round. Steve (KF5RYI), warned me that if I listened to the CW station long enough, I’d be hearing code for days afterward. Sure enough, that night when I was going to sleep, I could’ve sworn my air conditioner was trying to speak to me in Morse Code.

Honestly, so much went into Field Day that, a month later, I’m still processing everything I saw and heard. All the men and women of the club worked tirelessly throughout the whole weekend, and made the whole thing a very special event. Hats off to everyone who came and worked it. It really hit home that I’ve picked a great hobby to get involved with. I mean really, without the ham community, who would we have to speak to on the radio?

To all new hams like me, welcome home! To all old hams (I use the term loosely), thank you for events like this and for keeping this wonderful craft alive!

My First Experience on a Fox Hunt

July 18, 2016 by Steve Parks

Murphy’s Law isn’t just some metaphysical clap trap. As scientifically minded as we hams are, there comes a time when you have to throw it all out the window, close your eyes and point. And whatever choice you go with, just know – it’s gonna be wrong. Never mind that the odds *should be* 50/50. Trust me, kiddo, they ain’t.

The BIG loop — author Allison Hollier, KG5BHY, Floyd Rodgers KC5QBC, and Jerry Keltner KB6OJE

Such was the case one early June morning when I was standing around the Acapulco Diner parking lot with a group of hams from SWDCARC. We were trying to choose an initial direction to head for our fox hunt. Jerry Keltner, KB6OJE, pulled all kinds of wondrous looking techy-type ham gear out of his SUV and under his watchful eye, we constructed a gynormous PVC framed, wire-loop antenna. At the predetermined time, the fox began transmitting “VVV VVV DE W5WB FOX HUNT “and the hunt was afoot. Slowly we twisted that behemoth antenna around, listening closely for the signal null.

On a completely unrelated note, at the time I was also studying for the Extra exam. I remember some questions about that wonderful loop antenna of Jerry’s. Their major advantage of loop antennas is: They are great for direction finding because they give really good signal nulls. The major disadvantage is: They have a bi-directional pattern. Meaning when you receive a good strong signal the origination point could be straight ahead of you or directly behind. Which brings us right back to “choice” and Murphy’s Law.

But let me back up a minute and tell you how I got to be in that parking lot to begin with.

Be Prepared!

July 2, 2016 by Justin Long

This cautionary tale is not from our own Field Day but from our neighbors to the south, the Ellis County Amateur Radio Club. My buddy John Denson (AI6A) was in charge of their PSK31 station. He was ably assisted by his grandson, Taylor (KG5AOD) and Jerry Pomeroy’s grandson, Ryan.

It was Saturday morning and they were setting up in Getzendaner Park. John had a spot picked out on the east side of the restrooms. (Yes, this is Texas, so there were two restrooms, unambiguously marked Men and Women.) They had put up their table with equipment, erected the antenna and marked the guy wires so that nobody would trip over them. And everything tested well, so there was nothing to do but relax until the start time of 1 PM.

All of sudden, almost out of nowhere, a tractor with a backhoe bore down on them at full speed. It tore right between their station and antenna. It must have been somebody with the parks department — I can’t imagine anyone else driving a tractor in the park. I asked John if the guy had done it maliciously and he didn’t know. They had had to dive out of the way and it took a couple of minutes for them to regain their composure.

They were very glad that neither the station nor the antenna had been damaged. But when they ran another test it was nothing doing. A check of the SWR revealed that something was bad wrong. They looked at the coax on the ground and found it in six different pieces.

I asked what they did about it. They set up again, this time on the west side of the restrooms where the kamikaze tractor driver was less likely to go. And yes, John was prepared with extra cable like I would not have been. They were back on the air before 1 o’clock.

So next year when you head out for Field Day you might want to take an extra 100 feet of coax. You never can tell when your cable might be sliced by a backhoe!

Head for the Hills 2016, in Review

May 25, 2016 by Judy Vergara

The 2016 Cedar Hill Head for the Hills Bike Rally crossed the finished line as another winner! The approximate count of cyclists participating in the rally was 1200 but a final count is still pending. Age groups were widely varied from children to senior citizens and anywhere in between. Just as varied were the styles of bikes – even a few tandems and recumbents were seen. Net Control logged in approximately 170 entries to support 11 SAG operators (I just learned that SAG stands for Support and Gear), 11 Ham operators stationed at each of the 5 rest stops, 1 Shadow operator, 1 APRS monitor, and 2 folks monitoring weather conditions for the rally.

The SAG operators kept Net Control busy with just over 51% of the transmissions followed by rest stop operators at 24%. Approximately 19 cyclists were transported by SAG operators back to the starting base – due to bike damage or rider exhaustion – no serious injuries were incurred. Net Control initiated approximately 8% of the communications and the remaining stats were filled by bike repair volunteers, weather updates, and Shadow transmissions. Many thanks go to all the volunteers that helped to make this day a great success and special thanks to Jerry Keltner, KB6OJE, for all his efforts in coordinating all the logistical assignments and for those setting up our antenna and equipment before the sunrise – Rick Ellis (KJ5UY), Jerry Keltner (KB6OJE), and Justin Lentz (KF5IVJ).

73,

Judy

WA5EDD

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Head for the Hills Amateur Radio Support

May 15, 2016 by Judy Vergara

My first experience with the Cedar Hill Bike Rally was as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member in 2015. In 2016, this will be the tenth year of the Rally. For the newcomers to the club, or for those of you that don’t know, here’s a little background on the Rally. Each year, the Cedar Hill Rotary Club partners with the Cedar Hill State Park, and various sponsors, not limited to the City of Cedar Hill and the Cedar Hill Recreation Center, to provide bike riders with an exciting experience while riding through rolling hills and flowering farm meadows from Cedar Hill to Ellis County. Participants in the Rally are comprised of local and out of state residents. This year, riders may choose to ride a 20, 40, or 60-mile route.
The essence of Rotary International’s theme is “Service Above Self.” The Cedar Hill Rotary Club uses the net proceeds from the Rally to support worthy causes – locally and internationally. Donations help maintain youth programs, contribute to the Cedar Hill Food Pantry, and provide school supplies for low-income families.
We had a CERT tent set up at the first rest stop. Working alongside me was Steve Clem – another CERT member but, also a Ham radio operator from the Southwest Dallas County Amateur Radio Club (SWDCARC). Throughout the day, I listened with fascination to radio communications between Net Control and the Rally volunteers as well as updates on weather conditions. With so many riders, it takes approximately 170 volunteers’ help to make this event a safe and successful one. SWDCARC members contribute by helping the volunteers stay connected – making the Cedar Hill Bike Rally one of the safest bike ride events around. It was the involvement in CERT that first sparked my interest in Ham radio. Since then, I obtained a Technician’s license and am currently studying for the General. This year, I look forward to learning about and participating in Net Control operations.

73,
Judy
WA5EDD