I’ve eagerly awaited Field Day 2020 since we packed up BOB In January from Winter Field Day. I was hoping The Nashua Area Radio Society would be able to meet as a group as Field Day is a social event almost as much as it is an emergency preparedness event, but COVID-19 has necessitated a retooling of field day into something different from what we are used to.
I will be operating from my home station from commercial power in Kingston. I will be running my Icom 746 barefoot to a G5RV up about 30-35 feet and a newly constructed homebrew fountain antenna as seen in the May issue of QST. I have high hopes for this antenna to cover bands that the G5RV doesn’t do particularly well. I have radiating elements cut for 80, 40, 20, 10, and 6 meters but it’s 80 and to a lesser extent 40 meters that I’m really interested in. The rest I can do with the G5RV.
I plan to spend most of my time on SSB but I plan to give the digital modes some time as well.
ARRL Field Day 2020 takes place this weekend from 2:00 pm Eastern time on Saturday, June 27th through 2:00pm Eastern time on Sunday, June 28th. Nashua Area Radio Society members plan to operate Field Day while Social Distancing.
Nashua Telegraph Field Day Article
Many members of the Nashua Area Radio Society are planning to operate in Field Day. Our plans have been publicized in the Nashua Telegraph online edition. (Note that if you don’t have a Nashua Telegraph subscription, you will need to enter your zip code to view the article).
Member W1YCZ Field Day Article
Several of our members have written about their operating plans:
These articles have been pushed to Facebook and Twitter.
If you are operating for Field Day, there is still time to post an article with your plans. If you have never posted before, see the video from our mini-tech night on How to Post on n1fd.org, which is on our Tech Night page. Scroll down to see the video.
The Nashua Area Radio Society will be providing several activities for our members during Field Day, including:
Messaging net
Remote operating opportunities for our Youth Contest competitors
Virtual Elected Official and Agency Representative site visit
If you are interested in participating in these activities, please contact Anita, AB1QB at [email protected].
We encourage members who are operating Field Day to include Nashua Area Radio Society as their Club when submitting their logs.
As a new ham, I have been eagerly anticipating the ARRL Field Day 2020 and the opportunity to learn from my fellow club members. While plans have changed due to social distancing measures surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the challenge of planning the logistics of my first Field Day at home has me just as excited. I plan to divide my time between my home station, and a small park in my neighborhood (weather permitting). The following is what I am planning for W1YCZ’s first Field Day.
Home Station on Emergency Power
W1YCZ Home Station Operating Position
I will be operating from my home station for most of the Field Day period. I will be using an Icom IC-7300 Transceiver at up to 100W. The antenna is a MyAntennas End Fed Half Wave Antenna, mounted about 40 feet up from the roofline of my house into the tree line across my yard. With this setup, I can reasonably cover 80m through 10m with the 100W of power provided by my transceiver. I have had great success with this station so far. While operating from my home, I will be operating SSB and will spend a fair of time in the FT8 and FT4 digital modes.
Primary Antenna – MyAntennas End Fed Half Wave Antenna (EFHW8010) covering 80m through 10m
The emergency power source for my station will be an 8kW portable generator connected via a transfer switch. The generator will provide power for all essential circuits in the home for the duration of my Field Day operation.
Portable Station on Battery Power
Typical Portable Station setup for W1YCZ | Icom IC7300, Chalemeon F-Loop 2.0, 15Ah Bioenno LiFePo Battery
Depending on the weather, I may spend some time operating at a small park down the street from my home. When operating away from home I bring my Icom IC-7300, a portable antenna, and a battery pack. My antenna is the Chameleon F-Loop 2.0, which covers 80m through 10m. The antenna admittedly has relatively low power limits (10W full duty-cycle, 25W SSB). Though I would love to run a full 100 watts when operating in the field, operating QRP is a fun challenge. I will primarily operate SSB with this setup.
15Ah Bioenno LiFePo Battery mounted in a mini ammo box
Power for my portable station is provided by a 15Ah Bioenno Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. I recently built an enclosure for the battery using a mini ammo box. I mounted the battery inside the box and added a bank of Anderson Powerpole connectors to the top of the box. The box is light, only takes up a small amount of space at my operating position, and protects the battery from the elements.
More Information about W1YCZ
If you are interested in more information about me, please visit my QRZ webpage at http://www.truland.net.
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