[HCRA] FD Thoughts part 1

[Marc]

Hi all, 

Although I will be sending some thoughts about the
techinical aspects of our FD, I thought you might find
this interesting.  I could not have written anything
better.  


This is from Ward N0AX in the lastest issue of the
ARRL Contester Rate Sheet:

CONVERSATION

If It's Not a Contest, Then What Is It?

Ah, Field Day. It isn't supposed to be a contest, but
how many of us
got launched into this great sub-species of ham radio
called
"contesting" by learning at the elbow of a somewhat
intimidating
master operator in the (pick a band) meter tent
working (pick a
mode)?	Remember that feeling of terror and
exhilaration when after
hours of watching he handed you the mike, key, or
keyboard and said,
"Here, take it for a while"?  You...an instant band
master!

Field Day was originally envisioned as an emergency
test and training
opportunity. That aspect lives on in the sheer process
of collecting,
hauling, installing, and activating tons of radio
equipment and
antenna hardware. Recent years have seen more and more
class "E"
emergency power stations and this year we have the new
class "F" EOC
stations. I took the opportunity to get our local EOC
station (W7VMI)
on the air for the first time. It was as much work as
a "real" Field
Day, pulling cables through conduit, putting up
antennas, installing
connectors, wondering why the radio that worked fine
before didn't
work now (and figuring it out), and making a few QSOs
in the bargain.

What I like best, though, is that we're all equals at
Field Day. Do
you remember that first feeling of actually belonging
and getting the
hang of ham radio, even if just a little?  There's
nothing like that
first late night bull session with the unshaven older
guys drinking
that muddy coffee and telling the most amazing stories
while the
generators putter and throb in the night and the
lights in the radio
tents dim in sync with each dot, dash, and syllable.
In our sweaty
work duds through the day and then gathered around at
night under the
kitchen fly lantern wearing old camp jackets, the
distinctions
between OT and newcomer fray and dissolve.

This year I had a pleasant surprise that jogged me
into this little
reverie. While experiencing "the innate cussedness of
inanimate
objects" late in the afternoon, rassling yet another
connector onto
an obstinate cable, a young voice burst through the
2-meter rig's
squelch calling, "CQ Field Day" on 146.52. I was only
too happy to
put the connector down and called him back. The
contact was a little
stiff, with some coaching audible in the background.
At the end, the
young man added, "And you're my first contact!" 
Really, I said, your
very first?  And so it was, my connector forgotten, as
we chatted a
little while. What a treat for both of us!  Those are
rare moments.

As I look back through my own checkered ham career of
thirty two
years, starting with the high school club tearing
around in my back
yard, the Field Day memories are strong and numerous.
I remember
having to pound that vertical mounting pipe all the
way into the
ground because we couldn't pull it out and hoping my
dad wouldn't
catch us. Then there was freezing in the back of a
buddy's VW bug all
night and working unexpected DX on 40-meters. Watching
the tide come
in farther - a whole lot farther - than I expected and
slowly
covering up the bases of that fine 40-meter vertical
array. Running a
phone pileup with Mt. Rainier looming across the water
in the evening
sunset. I'm sure you have yours, too.

Yes, the very best thing about Field Day, useful
intentions aside, is
connecting with each other. To let new hams join our
tribe and for
the warriors to grow reacquainted once again. Life
moves at such a
fast pace these days, it's too easy to forget that we
need to make
contact, so to speak. Suddenly, six months are past
and we've only
chatted with the same dozen guys on the repeater or at
the meetings.
I really enjoy seeing a new face join in and pull on
that guy rope or
a familiar old face pop through the tent flap.

Sharing the work and the rewards does wonders for the
ham spirit. A
successful Field Day recharges our enthusiasm, widens
our circle of
friends, and enriches ham radio for us. It's not just
about QSOs.
Given the pastoral nature of the event's name, it
seems appropriate
to end this ramble with a quote from Thoreau, "Some
men fish their
entire lives without realizing it's not fish they're
after."  Field
Day, at least, gives us a hint.


73,
Marc


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