Upcoming Events

The contest part is simply to contact as many other stations as possible and to learn to operate our radio gear in abnormal situations and less than optimal conditions.

We use these same skills when we volunteer to help with events such as marathons and bike-a-thons; fund-raisers such as walka-thons; celebrations such as parades; and exhibits at fairs, malls and museums — these are all large, preplanned, non-emergency activities that can benefit with radio communication!

Saturday morning is critical to have help setting up antennas and supplying power to all stations. Other key items to accomplish prior to the start of Field Day is to get on the air and perform a station check, send a few messages over the air to check your station and also listen for any interference issues so they can be addressed if needed.

Formal operation of field day begins at Saturday 12:00 PM Noon, and running through Sunday at 1:00 PM. It’s a great idea to have folks help take down stations after the event ends. Help with antennas, cables, ropes and general cleanup are always needed so we can leave the area cleaner than before we were on the site.

1. Have fun!
   • Come and get involved setting up and operate; learn how to set up a military mast and pole kit.
   • Learn how to help log QSO’s (station to station contacts).
   • Help your new ham Get On The Air (GOTA), Invite family friends to field day. Socialize and meet new friends!
   • Come on Sunday to help pack up and get the park cleaned up. If you brought something for field day, come by and pick it up prior to 3:00PM on Sunday.
     
     
2. Think of Field Day like camping!
   • You may not always have everything you need, but you need to be creative and flexible.
   • If you think you’ll need it, bring it with you. If you think we could use it bring it.
   • It may or may not go as planned, but it is fun when it all comes together.
   • Station captains will need tables, chairs, and tent.
   • If you are operating in the EMA tent it has air conditioning, and has power so you will not need a generator, but you may want a fan or may even a power strip and bring more coax because you are now in a central location so you may need longer runs.
   • If you are actually “camping”, bring bug spray, lights, etc. Take notes and keep track of lessons learned on what worked and what could have been better for next year.
     
     
3. Be safe!
   • Plan for bad weather such as wind and rain; stake things down as best as you can.
   • Have something to cover your equipment and secure it, like a Rubbermaid tote to put your radio, headset and computer in.
   • Think safety; mark the guy wires and stakes in the ground.
   • Listen to your club president/event leader if the need for any reason arises to shutdown operations.