AC1FX Field Day – The Shack

My shack is more of a secretary desk of a shack-in- the-box. But it’s not the shack so much as the radio right. This is what I used for Field Day at AC1FX this year.

I have an Icom 7300 running 100W and I connected it to my laptop to log my contacts.

The Antenna

They say the antenna is the most important part of any setup. I’d go as far as maybe half along with the radio. My antenna is a 7 band Off Center Fed (OCF dipole). It’s only up 35 feet so it’s only a half-wave above the ground on 20M. 

Retrospect

I’m writing this after the fact so my hindsight is clearer. I had a great time this year.  Even though I think I made more contacts with the Club last year, being able to talk to other home class (1D) stations made up for it. I operated on in HF SSB mostly on 80 and 40 Saturday night and 10M on Sunday.  For me, 80 and 40 were open to Penn and New York, while Sunday 10M was more open to Ohio and Illinois. My original plan was to try to sit on a frequency and do a run. That seemed to work well for others but I found out they had higher power output and higher or more directional antennas. I sat on 28.460 around noon today and picked up 6 QSOs but they were relatively local. I then went on search and pounce and had so much fun seeing what was out there.  My most surprising contact was N3FJP of software fame. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was using N1MM+ for my logger. 

Improvements 

Just a few things I would like to do for next time : 

• If I could get my dipole up to 66 ft it would at least be a ½ wave over the ground on 40M. 
• Maybe put up my old Cushcraft R8 vertical and see how that goes. 
• Practice CW more. It seems like they were having fun at the bottom of the bands but the fast pace of a contest and my lack of speed were incompatible.  
• Do more digital. Although for me this year talking to people did seem fun. 

If you worked field day and are a NARS member don’t forget to add the full club name (Nashua Area Radio Society) in your entry.  See this link for details.

73,

Jeff, AC1FX 

This year because of the pandemic, I’ll be participating with my club for Field Day as an operator from my QTH.  I usually help the club with the setting up field day, but I’m not that strong at manning the positions.  So, this year, I can’t help in the setup, but, I’ll be able to support the club in the overall number of calls but at my own pace.  That’s because the ARRL has changed the rules this year to accommodate for social distancing.  I’ve always participated in Field Day and filed my contacts, but I’ve never had enough contacts to even make honorable mention, but this year I will be allowed to participate in Field Day and my points can go to my club’s overall points.

Field Day plans from Antrim NH, W1XMM

My QTH doesn’t have a large tower, but it doesn’t need to, I’m on top of a hill that looks out 270 degrees.  But along with that great view, I also get strong winds.  It’s not uncommon to get 47 MPH winds (at the top of the tower) as a front moves through.

W1XMM HAM Shack

“The Shack” consists of an Elecraft K3S Transceiver, a P3 pan adapter, a 500Watt Amplifier (not planning to use for field day), and a KAT500 Antenna Tuner.  For antennas, I have a Big SteppIR MK IV Vertical (40M-6M), and a Mosley Classic CL-33-M (20,15,10M) on a 20’ mast.  I also plan to put up an NVIS antenna for 40M and 80M for both Field Day and 13 Colonies.    For VHF/UHF I have a Kenwood TM-D700.  The antenna for this radio is a Create Log Periodic which is mounted on a rotor located in my attic, short cable run, no need to elevate, and not subjected to weather (high winds).  I’ll be using a laptop running N1MM+ to capture my contacts.

Emergency Power

For the duration of Field Day, I’ll be running on a generator.  It is an EM2500 watt Honda which will be enough for my station.

 Bonus Points

Bonus Points that I will be trying to obtain:

• Transmitting with less than 150 Watts.
• Working from Emergency Power 100% of the field day activities.
• Providing an article about my field day plans to meet the “Social Media” and “Web Submission”
• Participation in message handling
• Passing a message to the ARRL Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator.
• Coping the W1AW Bulletin.
• Participation in Zoom meeting with elected government official as well as local Emergency Management representative.

My points add to the club’s points so I’m trying to maximize what I can do for my club.

73,

Brian

W1XMM