[Elecraft] Field Day Antennas

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/24/2004 3:03:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time, aa0ni at yahoo.com writes:

> I'm closing on my first house today.

YAAAY! Congrats!!!

> None of these antennas exist at the house.

There's *nothing* ham-radio-related set up at the house, right?

> If I set them all up in a temporary sort of way in > the backyard and take them
> down after Field Day is done, can I still be 
> considered 1B (especially if I
> decide to log with a laptop plugged into
> commercial mains, and maybe drag the
> K2 inside when it gets too hot outside)? 

Yes, with one big "if". Here's why:

First off, your license probably still shows your old address. Therefore, the new house isn't your permanent station location - yet.

Second, there are no ham radio facilities at the new house, so there's no use of existing stuff like an antenna put up a year ago.

Third, to qualify for "independence of mains", only the actual radio needs to be on battery/solar/generator power. The computer, lights, cooking facilities, etc., can be anything, as long as the *radio* is not powered by the mains.

And you don't have to take the stuff down after FD. 

There's one small *if*.

The rules technically require that you not set anything up for FD more than 24 hours before FD starts. In the eastern time zone where I am, that works out to 2 PM Friday. You probably won't be done closing by then so it's a moot point. 

If you run less than 5 W output, *and* don't use fossil-fuel-powered generators to power the radio, you qualify for the QRP/battery multiplier - x5. A battery that was charged off the mains is OK to use, but you can't have the mains-powered charger hooked up to it while you're operating.

Good luck!

73 de Jim, N2EY