[Elecraft] THE EFFORT OF FIELD DAY

[Howard Hoyt]

Hi Kent,

Funny you should mention this idea of minimizing effort, our crew had 
discussed this exact issue this year...of course we blamed it on the 
90+° and humidity, but it is true, we should all be aware of our 
limitations as we age....bring on the youngsters!

Cheers & 73,

Howie - WA4PSC


On 6/27/2016 4:20 PM, KENT TRIMBLE wrote:
> I can only shake my head in awe of Howie's 8-transmitter FD, as well 
> as other double-digit multi-transmitter operations .  My hat's off to 
> that kind of effort, believe me.
>
> We used to do that, too.
>
> But several years ago the Mid-MO Amateur Radio Club (NØSS) of 
> Jefferson City, Missouri, decided on wire-only Field Days.  We did so 
> for several reasons . . . (1) those doing the work are aging;  (2) 
> those doing the work have no business being in the sun very long;  (3) 
> those doing the work are usually those doing the operating;  (4) 
> Missouri weather always throws 90-degrees and 100% humidity at us;  
> and (5) none of us enjoy the labor of putting metal things together 
> only to take them apart again.
>
> Aside from Qs and scores, the goal for me (at 71)  is getting the darn 
> things up as fast as possible on Friday evening, seeing them stay up 
> for the duration, and getting the heck out of there when it's over.  
> To that end, erection of three OCF dipoles on 30-foot masts aligned 
> end-to-end with 50-feet of separation took 45 minutes.  Tear-down and 
> site clean-up took exactly 33-minutes.
>
> /THOSE/ are the reasons our 25-man crew happily stays at 2A!
>
> Equipment-wise, we use nothing but K3s (one each for CW, SSB, GOTA, 
> VHF).  The CW and SSB rigs were often on the same bands at the same 
> time with no interference, no phase noise, and no activation of 
> carrier-operated relays.  Both HF stations stayed busy all weekend.
>
> Again, my salute to the big clubs, the big antenna farms, and the big 
> scores.
>
> But I suspect our level of fun was the same, with a whale of a lot 
> /less/ effort.
>
> 73,
>
> Kent Trimble, K9ZTV
> Jefferson City, Missouri
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> On 6/27/2016 1:35 PM, Howard Hoyt wrote:
>> This Field Day I operated once again with W4EZ the Orange County 
>> Radio Amateurs in Hillsborough, NC in an 8A effort.  It was a lot of 
>> work setting up 6 towers and many wire antennas in mid-90° heat and 
>> high humidity but the end result was a lot of fun and Qs.
>>
>> Despite our best efforts at eliminating cross-interference between 
>> stations beforehand by antenna placement, we suffered quite a bit of 
>> in-band phase noise interference.  All three CW stations and one SSB 
>> station were using K3s, and no K3 station ever interfered with anyone 
>> else or with each other.  Much credit is due to Elecraft for the 
>> transmit purity and receive performance of this superb rig. However, 
>> we experienced some pretty severe in-band phase noise interference 
>> ranging from S3-4 on 40 and 20M from various YaeComWood rigs, to an 
>> ear-shattering received S8-9 from a TS-570 running SSB on 15M when 
>> the noise floor was S0.  Granted, with relatively close antenna 
>> spacing Field Day is a torture test for transmit purity, but 
>> sometimes it was difficult to tolerate...or operate.
>>
>> Many of us now agree we would optimally be an all K3 Field Day next 
>> year but that is most likely out of the question.  I am a big fan of 
>> the KX3, although for Field Day purposes it would be great if its 
>> phase noise was 10-20 dB less; more in line with that of the K3. That 
>> being said, a KX3 running digi caused less interference than just 
>> about all the non-Elecraft rigs.
>>
>> One problem solving this scenario is the political issue of trying to 
>> tell someone they cannot bring their rig to the party.   We did 
>> discuss holding a testing session next year to evaluate phase noise 
>> beforehand and accept or deny use of the rig based on performance, 
>> and maybe this will be viewed as being more impartial.  After 
>> witnessing the problem first-hand, at least one op said he was 
>> intending to get an Elecraft rig. Elecraft owners are in the minority 
>> overall, so instead of Field Day being an inclusive club event, 
>> telling people it will be K3 only would achieve the opposite.
>>
>> Other than the phase noise issue, FD was once again a lot of fun and 
>> camaraderie!
>>
>> Cheers & 73,
>> Howie - WA4PSC
>> ______________________________________________________________
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