Field Day 2019

Field Day 2019 runs from June 21 (setup) through June 23 at Glen Park, off Gilbert Barker Lane, in Portsmouth, RI.

Last Year Dave Brown, KC1GPA, put together an excellent video describing Field Day and GOTA in particular.  While the dates and leaders have changed this year, the information is still valid.  Likewise there was a powerpoint that was given at a club meeting last year that is also applicable with the understanding that the dates and leaders are different.

Some changes of note for 2019 from previous years:

  • All Times will be logged in UTC (no more local time)
  • The use of Electronic Logging will be encouraged in all tents (pre-configured laptops will be available at each operating station that can interface with the K3s to pick up time and frequency automatically)
  • Six Meter operation will use a high gain beam and digital modes like FT8 will be utilized as well
  • Depending on weather, the satellite station may attempt to work as many stations as possible (not just a single contact)

SIGN UP FOR DINNER & Activities! 

Every year our food crew (Ed W1NQH, Brian N1TBT, and Mary KC1NEB) are nice enough to feed all the hungry souls that help setup and operate our stations, as well as a full club dinner on Saturday night.  The food is wonderful, and we can pay it forward by letting Ed know who and how many will attend the dinner.

In addition many volunteers are needed to setup/takedown and operate various stations.

The easiest way to help us is to register for field day by clicking on the link below.

                             Please Click on This Link to Register

 

FD Setup – Friday June 21
Contact: Willy Maclean W1LY w1ly@cox.net
Setup Lead: Willy Maclean W1LY
Safety Officer: Bruce Manning NJ3K
Hours: 08:00 Local Time – Sundown

Many volunteers are needed all throughout this day. All tents, ranging from 6-person dome tents to large military shelters, will be set up. At least five large Rohn towers will be erected. Three of these towers will be topped by HF Yagi beam antennas, and a fourth will have VHF beams. All stations (except satellite) will be tested for operation on all bands by the end of this day. Some tasks require physical strength and/or heavy lifting. Some tasks, like running cables or helping with tent assembly, are less demanding.

Everyone must bring their own personal protective equipment on this day, including hard hat, work gloves and sun screen. Persons not wearing hard hats will be restricted from all areas where tower operations are underway – and this is virtually everywhere on Friday. Bring a hardhat!

Bring whatever hand tools you have available on this day – screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, ratchet and socket sets, pry bars, hammers, gas solder tools, pocket knife, tape, rope, etc. Anything you bring will probably be useful. There is no such thing as too many tools on this day.

We will break for lunch at mid-day. Potable water is available on site. Bring a water bottle or bottled water or your non-alcohol beverages of choice.

Safety is our most important mission throughout the Field Day weekend. The Safety Officer (Bruce Manning, NJ3K) always has the authority to halt any operation at his discretion. Our Safety Officer has a deep background in public safety and field operations. He has your safety in mind. Comply immediately with any and all orders from the Safety Officer.

FD Stations A total of five different Field Day stations will be on the air starting at 1800 UTC (2 PM local time) on Saturday June 22, and continuing through 1759 UTC (1:59 PM local time) on Sunday June 23.

Get On The Air (GOTA) Station – HF 10-80 meters – SSB voice
Contact: Paul Fredette K1YBE  k1ybe@yahoo.com
This station may be operated by anyone who has been licensed within the past year, and by non-licensed persons. An experienced General or Extra class operator will be present at all times to serve as control operator and coach. Operating style is relaxed. The GOTA coach will provide guidance as needed. This station offers newly licensed hams a great opportunity to experience HF operating. It also gives non-licensed visitors a hands-on demonstration of ham radio.

VHF Station – 6 meters SSB voice/CW/Digital – 2 meters optional
Contact:  Bill Corbin W3CJK  wcorbin@csalaw.com
This station may be operated by any licensed Amateur. Operators are needed and everyone is encouraged to take a turn at this station. Operation is generally relaxed, although contacts may be fast and furious during band openings on 6 meters.

Phone Station – HF 10-80 meters – SSB voice and sometimes CW & Digital
Contact: Willy Maclean W1LY  W1LY@cox.net
This station operates contest style, with rapid fire contacts on a fixed ‘run’ frequency. Operating shifts are pre-assigned in 4 hour blocks. This is an intense pressure-cooker operation. Operators should have previous experience in major voice or CW HF contests.

Main CW Station – HF 10-80 meters – CW only
Contact: Bruce Manning NJ3K  bmanning@zitomedia.net
This station operates contest style, with rapid fire contacts on a fixed ‘run’ frequency. Operating shifts are pre-assigned in 4 hour blocks. This is an intense pressure-cooker operation. Operators should have previous experience in major CW HF contests.

Satellite Station
Contact: Bob Beatty WB4SON  wb4son@gmail.com
This station operates part time, long enough to make at least one contact using an Amateur satellite. Operation is timed to coincide with satellite availability, and restricted to daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday.  Pass Prediction for all Linear and FM Satellites will be posted a few weeks before Field Day.  Green highlighted orbits will be the most viable.  Depending on weather conditions we may have a full Az/El system and attempt to maximize the number of satellite contacts.

The initial list of decent orbits heavily favors Saturday, with 16 contact windows from 2 PM until about 7:30.  There are only 6 contact windows on Sunday from 9:30 AM until 2 PM.  Here is the list of all orbits with a 10 degree minimum altitude during Field Day.

Note that only a single contact may be made on each of SO-50, AO-91, and AO-92 (FM birds).  AO-91 and AO-92 are only on Sunday.