[CTSARA] NOT Field Day, But Even Better

[Jon Perelstein]

In a small and little known contest held on June 15, SARA was the tie
winner of the CT NVIS Challenge that was organized by Doug Sharafanowich
(WA1SFH).   The purpose of the challenge was to establish HF communications
across the state in simulated emergency conditions.  The antennas were
limited to no more than about 15 ft above ground.

We used a standard Buddipole mounted as a horizontal dipole with wire
extensions (simply 32 feet of #16 wire attached to each end of the
Buddipole), and the Buddipole was 9 feet off the ground at its highest.  We
put up the Buddipole about 30 minutes before the Challenge started, and we
were operating from a location that would make it easy to maintain
communications with the EOC.  We were operating on 75 meters (60 meters
would have been better, but a lot of the participants didn't have 60 meter
capability).

I can neither confirm nor deny that we operated in the NVIS Challenge from
the Sterling Farms golf course, but when I told that reporter yesterday
that SARA has worked with the City to identify some trees at Sterling Farms
that would be good for setting up emergency antennas, I wasn't joking.

Interestingly, there had been a solar storm a few days before and HF
communications on 75 and 40 were pretty bad for standard up-in-the-air
antennas.  The CT HF net (evenings at 6pm) was having particular troubles
in the days just before and just after the Challenge, but the people in the
Challenge were mostly communicating at signal to noise ratios that made it
easy to pass traffic.

73s
Jon, WB2RYV


P.S.  Someone seems to have mislaid one of the computers that was used for
Field Day logging, so we're a little behind in getting our preliminary
numbers out to the club.  The computer is not missing - we know where it
is.  The problem is getting at it.