[HCARC] Field Day Thanks, and Welcome to New Club Members

[Gary J - N5BAA]

Welcome to new members Steve McAnally (Steve once licensed will apply for his father-in-laws call), Starr Center (KG5HHY), and Kraig Hayner (N8KJF).

Thanks to all who participated in the club Field Day planning session last night, to those who had participated earlier, to those that volunteered equipment and time, and especially to Chuck Hopkins (N5HOP) who volunteered to honcho the food for Field Day.  Please respond to Chucks requests that are sure to come about what you might bring for a potluck for Saturday evenings meal.

We will be getting some additional information out as to when we will start setting antennas on the Friday before Field Day begins and where we might meet for a meal before hand.  There will be plenty to do, plenty to learn as we will be assembling a Cushcraft A4S 4 element beam, a HexBeam and putting up 574 ft of wire for a 160-10 meter loop.  The link to the loop is here - http://n1su.com/loop.html.  In this link there are numerous lengths given with approx resonant frequencies.  Could someone figure out which length might be best for Field Day operations.  Just think – where else will you be able to try out so many “new to you” antennas.  That’s worth attending Field Day for, if for nothing else – surely cheaper than buying one of each to try.

AGAIN:  Please respond to Chucks requests that are sure to come about what you might bring for a potluck for Saturday evenings meal.  

If you have desires for specific operating times, we can put together a sign up sheet for times if it appears that it might be necessary (oh we should be so lucky!!!) to schedule operators and loggers.  For the past few years we have been doing mostly “Search and Pounce” vs calling CQ (also known as running I think).  If we are going to be calling CQ like we did at Winter Field Day, we will definitely need people to log for the operator as there just isn’t the time for the operator to do both.  For new people – running  a pile-up (calling CQ) while somewhat daunting to a new person who is learning to LISTEN on a radio is a blast – very quick paced if done right and there is nowhere a better time to learn than at Field Day.  Field Day is partly about new operators learning with all the attendant mistakes that will inevitably be made.  Just remember – everyone has made the same mistakes many times over – none either started nor are currently perfect!!!  You haven’t lived until you have keyed the mic and had your mind go blank – it’s gonna happen, more than once – get used to it.

I will be putting out another updated list of who is bringing what, as soon as my XYL (wife) brings me a new wireless keyboard – the dogs spun my desk chair and sent half a bottle of Diet Dew all over my current one and my poor fingers are too big for the laptop keyboard this is being typed on (the A key is way to close to the Caps lock key). 

Larry Altman – please give me a call about Publicity – 830-496-0102.  Jeff Lavender please call also.

Larry, Paula and Steve and other publicity minded folks – what would stop us from moving the club tower trailer inside the OLH Fence along Hwy 27 with something that looks like a beam antenna on it and using it to display a banner a couple of weeks before Field Day??  Paula is teaching me to think outside the box!!  Permission to use the space shouldn’t be hard to get from OLH.

Gary J
N5BAA