[CTSARA] NOT Field Day, But Even Better

[Jonathan Solomon]

This was a great challenge and a good way to make operators aware of NVIS.  Can I suggest part of the September meeting is a summary of this event (and Field Day too!)

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 24, 2013, at 11:09 AM, Jon Perelstein <jon.perelstein at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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.
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