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Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club

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Home » Topics » Events » Field Day 2021

Field Day 2021

Tagged: 2021 RRVARC Field Day

  • This topic has 32 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 1 month ago by Jim Clark.
Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 33 total)
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  • June 16, 2021 at 1:40 pm #1551
    George Haneke
    Keymaster

    Have a safe trip. C U @ Field Day.

    June 16, 2021 at 8:03 pm #1552
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    Charles,

    The pre-meeting breakfast is generally at 0900 for regular meetings. Some prefer Denny’s on the loop and others prefer Aunt Mary’s. 0900 usually works well to give us a chance to have breakfast and then get on over to the Club meeting. In the case of FD Kathy and I will stage the RV and then probably head on over to AM’s. Trying to be back at the Pavilion at 1000 I guess the 0900 thing still works…

    Phillip

    June 17, 2021 at 7:14 pm #1553
    Charles Penry
    Participant

    I think Cindy and I will arrive at Aunt Mary’s no later than 8:30. I want to get an early start on the loop erection in case there are issues.

    June 19, 2021 at 10:33 am #1560
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    All,

    In an effort to give participants a one-stop-shop for Field Day material, while providing the option for people to participate to the degree they wish too, this forum post is intended to give the ability to brainstorm, trade notes and thoughts about Field Day 2021. The people who are currently listed below were perhaps on the list from 2019. It has been updated in some places but not in others. I will subscribe to this thread, but if you want to be added to and/or deleted from some portion of the list please email me and I will modify the list.

    73’s

    Phillip Beall (W5EBC)
    phillipbeall@beallz.net

    06/19/2021 Update 1: If you make a post you can modify the post for 15 minutes and then it is locked. This is to keep from having subsequent replies point to something that does not exist because the original poster deletes something. If it is an important update please reach out to me and as an administrator I can modify posts. An example is below. Charles Penry followed up and told me what was new and what was different from his participation notes for Field Day 2019. I used double-strike through font (Example: This is how I am showing a deleted item.) to remove items and used red to show new items. Please let me know if you have any questions. – Phillip

    06/19/2021 Update 2: OK, the editing tools are very limited and I cannot make updates as listed above. Please just scroll through the comments and then you will get to the newly revised original post. Rather than using double-strike through font I am going to just have to delete and will show that with a BOLD DELETED. It is also not easy to implement color fonts so I will use bold and italics. Hopefully that will make it an easy enough read for updates. Editing updates using the native tools is very labor intensive and time consuming so I will explore better editing options going forward. – Phillip

    RED RIVER VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB Field Day operations June 26-27, 2021

    Location: Pavilion North side of Love Civic Center
    (2025 S Collegiate Dr, Paris, TX 75460)

    **Exchange: WB5RDD 4A NTX will be explained at the June 26 pre-FD meeting.

    ALL bring your radio and antennas and try them out. We can help you set them up for operations or you can try the radios that are there.

    Time: Start set up 7AM June 26. Will have a short RRVARC meeting at 10 AM, start operations at 1 PM.
    Take down crew? 1PM June 27

    Send field day article to e-Paris – etc – KB7JZI Handling Paris News-

    Equipment:

    Lawn chairs, night lights, fans, water, insect repellent, and anything we may need – ALL

    Lunch on grill: hot dogs, sodas, water, potato salad, beans, table for food –

    **Grill ?

    Tables – NV7Z, N5DDS, KB5TMY, WA5VHU, W5EBC/W5WON
    Cook – KC5KOH
    Freezer – KC5KOH
    Tarps – N5KCH
    **Club banners, WA5KZA has 1, Others ????
    DELETED – WA5VHU
    Generator and Gas – W5EBC
    Power cable – W5EBC
    Ground rod driver, ground rod, and removal tool – W5EBC
    Extra outlets – N5KCH
    Radios + headphones – 2 – WA5VHU, 7300 – KF5ZMA, 1 – KC5KOH, 2+6-NV7Z, MARS – N5DDS
    DELETED – WA5VHU – Not bringing this however I am bringing individual bandpass filters for 160 thru 10 meters which should be connected between each stations’ transmitter and antenna.
    Alt power extra points solar+battery – WA5VHU – Yes, I am bringing a solar panel and battery so we can get our extra points.
    Antenna launchers -?
    Antennas + Coax – DELETED – WA5VHU, HF Vert – KC5KOH, 2 & 6 meter – NV7V, MARS – N5DDS
    DELETED – WA5VHU
    80, 40, 20-meter dipoles –WA5KZA
    Baseball and trout line for antenna launching – WA5KZA
    Log sheets, scratch pads, pencils, band plan, state list – WA5KZA
    Field day message – KB5TMY
    Copy ARRL Bulletin – KB5TMY
    Cones and warning ribbons for RF protection, Ribbon – KB5TMY, Cones – N5KCH, NV7Z, W5EBC/W5WON
    Pulley and rope for high lift truck. Rope – KC5KOH, Pulley – KB7JZI
    Need more information cards for hand outs W5EBC
    Food trucks, N5KCH
    KISS FM will do AD hot spots – N5KCH
    KYFM on site – KC5KOH
    Hot spot that can handle 8 channels at once – NV7Z, N5KCH, W5EBC/W5WON
    3 banners: “ham radio field day – LCC June 22-23” located at: First Federal at Lamar & Colligate, PD at Clarksville &
    Bring and install – T-posts W5EBC
    24-hour operators WA5VHU, KF5ZMA, W5EBC, W5WON, NV7Z, KC5KOH
    Other Items -?

    Field Day packet can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field-day go down the page to Field Day
    Entry/Results Submission Deadline

    *(A) Charles Penry WA5VHU will do 24 hr operation
    *(B) Chase Smallwood KF5ZMA will do 24 hr operations

    EOC Equipment manual URLs:
    TM-D710AE_IDM_R1 VHF/UHF manual
    http://www.w1npp.org/ares/radios/TM-D710AE_IDM_R1.pdf
    TM-V71 English O-M manual
    http://inform3.kenwoodusa.com/Manuals/TM-V71%20English%20O-M.pdf
    TS-480SAT HF manual
    http://images.kenwood.eu/files/images/products/product_id_258/file_category_10/TS-480HX-TS-480SAT_Instruction_Manual.pdf
    MFJ-993B tuner manual
    http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Downloads/MFJ-993B/MFJ-993B.pdf
    SCS PTC-II pro modem manual
    http://www.scs-ptc.com/downloads/ptc-ii-manual/releases/4.0/manual40.pdf

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Phillip Beall.
    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Phillip Beall.
    June 19, 2021 at 6:40 pm #1567
    Steven Smith
    Participant

    Glad to see the RRVARC shaking and Moving
    and that you all will be very active on ARRL FD.
    If you miss seeing me this year it was not because you blinked
    I took a lot of heat for not visiting any of the sites on our North Western Edge of the Section in 2019. Therefore my journey to Ten different sites this year covers a lot more miles on the road
    I will actually spend more time on the road in my truck than I will at all Ten of the sites I visit combined. 30 minutes at each site is planned 5 hours visiting and Eleven hours of Windshield time.
    You all have fun, be safe and if I have any energy left and get back in Delta County before noon on Sunday I will stop by.
    Please stay Hydrated, wear gloves while handling hardware that has been laying in the sun
    especially push-up poles!!!

    By the way, Love the new website !!!

    73 Steve
    KG5VK
    ARRL North Texas Section Manager

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Steven Smith.
    June 20, 2021 at 2:53 pm #1570
    Chris Teague
    Participant

    Is there a link for the field Day sign-up sheet for what band I’m on the boob find where to sign up what band and what times available. I am looking at possibly operating 20 m maybe from my car but I’d rather work inside pavilion the car will be hot and I don’t want to be sitting there running the engine because my air conditioner is not working all that great. 73‘s got a big surprise for everyone!!!

    June 20, 2021 at 6:28 pm #1572
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    Chris,

    Congratulations on getting authenticated and logged onto the site and thank you for making your post.

    There is not such a feature, but I think something like that might have merit going forward. I know that several members are comparing notes, the Penry’s have got a color coded system to identify what band and mode people are using, so the topic is one of interest. What you request is something I will further explore with an eye toward FD2022, as there is precious little time for anything but what we are currently doing.

    From your note I am not sure that you know the Pavilion is a cover, not inside. You will be able to work from the shade provided by the Pavilion at a table if you bring that gear with you. Or as at least one other person is doing from your car in the parking area. Under the Pavilion cover we will have generator power provided to run your gear, but all the rest you will need to provide. Table, chair, radio, antenna, etc.; you will need to figure out your kit and come prepared to dive in.

    Phillip

    June 21, 2021 at 10:11 am #1573
    Charles Penry
    Participant

    Chris we parked some of our cars under the pavillion last time. You might could park in the shade under the pavillion if you aren’t going to run your engine. If you are using your mobile antenna that would then be under the pavillion and might not work very well and put a lot of RF near the rest of us.

    June 21, 2021 at 11:19 am #1581
    Wyndell Ferguson
    Participant

    I plan on stopping by for a bit, looking forward to seeing others operate (esp the IC 7300). I should have my POTA stuff ready and could set it up for a bit.

    73 de Wyndell K5WJF

    June 22, 2021 at 7:33 am #1593
    Danial Beard
    Moderator

    Mornin’ folks. Just a posting test for confirmation of Login and access. Please be advised I will not likely be participating in the Field Day event. Life occurs.

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Danial Beard.
    June 22, 2021 at 12:18 pm #1596
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    All,

    Another detail is that the Club again secured W4W for our Event Call Sign for 2021. There will be a briefing at Field Day to explain the rules.

    Phillip

    W4W Confirmation

    June 25, 2021 at 9:13 pm #1598
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    All,

    OK the initial list that I have modified several times needs updating again based on feedback I have received. Next year I hope to have a reservation system implemented kind of like what we did with the quick attendance and food blast RSVP that Club member Erica Mueller sent to you via the Club email system. We have had pretty good results.

    About half the members clicked the RSVP link and told us if they planned to attend or not. Thirteen people indicated an interest in having food onsite so tonight Kelly ordered BBQ and one of us will run pick it up at 1300 tomorrow so as to have it in place for a 1400 lunch.

    Today George Haneke secured water and sodas and in the morning Kathy and I will be picking up donuts and some items for the coffee bar that will be available at about meeting start time. We will also have iced tea available all day.

    What do we need from you? Fans. We should have plenty of power and heavy-duty power cords distributed all over. And tables and chairs. Kathy and I are bringing tables and chairs, but not enough. People bringing radio gear should try to bring their own table if they can. If you have a radio but not a table we will share tables, but if you have one you can bring, please do. And again – fans. It is late June so it will be hot and humid. Thankfully we will be under the Pavilion cover, but we can’t have too many fans.

    That is it for tonight. We are really excited to see everyone this weekend. Let’s have a great Field Day 2021.

    Phillip

    June 25, 2021 at 9:34 pm #1599
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    One more thing…speaking of food. On Wednesday Kathy went to every food service truck in the city of Paris. Kathy is not normally comfortable making approaches like this, but for the Club she asked each one if they would be willing to take their truck to our Field Day event. All but one declined, each saying they did too well where they were. One declined saying that she would have, but she was going to be out of town for the weekend. Oh, and they all told her that Kelly has been asking them the same thing. LOL One gal said “That insurance man came by on June 5th.” LOL So yes, Kelly has been making the rounds too. Thank you Kathy and Kelly for taking the time and effort to try and get a food truck to our event.

    Looking forward I am pondering an approach to a food service truck operator in the next few months to see if maybe we could incentivize them to come and spend Saturday with us at Field Day 2022. Let’s talk about that some and see if the group agrees. But in the meantime, I wanted all of you to know that Kelly and Kathy both tried hard to make it happen for us this year. We will keep looking at options to enhance attendance and the experience for those that do attend. And if you have any ideas, this is the place to throw your thoughts into the mix. – Phillip

    June 28, 2021 at 7:26 pm #1604
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    All,

    Field Day 2021 was a success by any measure and so I wanted to do a quick initial update for the group.

    Of note, in addition to the various contacts made by our operators using the W4W call sign, two high-profile contacts were made: The USS Alabama and ARRL’s W1AW were both scored! Congratulations to Ronnie Rumsey (KA5LEK) and Charles Penry (WA5VHU), respectively, for those two scores! The logging software was successfully networked between stations and dupes were eliminated to the best of my knowledge.

    In general, we had good turnout. The weather was good if not better than good (a couple of early Sunday showers were a non-event). The Pavilion location again proved itself to be an excellent spot not only because of the cover provided from the elements, but also because the Chamber of Commerce has added at least one WiFi node right there at the Pavilion.

    The initial count is we had 25-30 total attendees from the beginning to the end of the event. Fifteen plus members had BBQ on Saturday afternoon, Dominos delivered the evening meal and Aunt Mary’s breakfast burritos were the fare for Sunday morning. Donuts and coffee were available throughout.

    The Paris News sent Kim Cox to do an interview and my impression is that they will perhaps do an article in the next few days. She called me earlier today (Monday) and we have played phone tag. If there is an article published we will let you all know.

    Club member Mel Toye (5KEY) brought a drone and took some good pictures. His are the first three I will try to insert. He also brought his 1955 Ford Thunderbird for those present to have a chance to admire. Gorgeous car! Thanks Mel!

    Again, I am going to post some pictures. With this new forum software I don’t know what the limitations might be but I will see if we can figure out a way to get up more rather than less. Update: It is painful, very painful, to upload pictures. I will explore options to make the forum features more feature rich and see if we have options for hosting pictures that won’t require a URL to another host site.

    Finally, with the lessons we have continued to learn I believe that next years Field Day 2022 will be the biggest and best one yet! In case I didn’t mention it in another post we secured W4W for FD2022. This years event participants all agreed that W4W rolled off the tongue much easier than WB5RDD when there was a big pile up. LOL

    73’s

    Phillip

    The new bicycle/skateboard park adjacent to the Pavilion.

    RV cooling station and generator support.

    Aerial view inside Pavilion during setup.

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Phillip Beall.
    • This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Phillip Beall.
    June 28, 2021 at 7:35 pm #1607
    Phillip Beall
    Participant

    More pictures over the next few days… – Phillip

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WB5RDD The Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club is an affiliate of the ARRL

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The Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club meets at Ramseur Baptist Church Community Center (3400 Lamar Ave, Paris, TX 75460) usually on the 4th Saturday of each month. Note: Special events like Field Day are excepted. Check the events calendar for those locations.

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