[SMCARA] Field Day

Tue May 31 12:56:55 EDT 2011

Hi Tom & Boz - and everyone else...

Dan (our reliable and hard-working FD coordinator) and I took a quick trip 
over to the fire station for a quick site survey.  There is a 30-Amp service 
there for Boz's trailer.  While there, Dan sketched out a plan to space out 
the antenna's a bit so the RF overload that we experienced last year should 
be minimized.  If you recall, a 40M inverted dipole was hung with its apex 
about 3 feet below the 3-band yagi.  I'm pretty sure it was the proximity of 
the antennae, rather than the IC-735 that was the problem.

I'll (AB3IC) will be providing the GOTA station (yes, a freebie), which 
includes a TS-50, two "ugly balun" (do a yahoo search) dipoles - cut to 
whatever band(s) is decided would be best for that station.  I have about 
100 ft. of coax, but may need some more, if anyone has a few extra feet to 
help, that would be appreciated.

I'm thinking (and this is my opinion only - your mileage may vary) that 3A 
would probably be a good number of stations.  That would give us 10/15/20 
during the day, 20&40 in the evening, and 40/80 in the late night/early 
morning, transitioning back to 15/20/40 as the morning approaches up to the 
time we shut everything down.  4A (or higher) would be appropriate if the 
filters could allow dual operations on a single band (say CW and Phone on 
20M).  Since we have a 1,000 ft. circumference to keep our equipment in, we 
could space the CW and Phone antennae up to 1,000 ft. apart (the only 
limitation being how much coax we have), which might help (in addition to 
the filters).  I'll re-state my idea of running our rigs at 50 watts or less 
during the contest, which might help with interference, while only giving us 
a 3 dB hit (reference to 100W PEP).

My 2-cent's worth...

Tom, AB3IC

-----Original Message----- 
From: Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 12:33 PM
To: KG3BOZ ; smcara at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [SMCARA] Field Day

Sorry I missed the meeting. Conferencing in Atlanta and recovering from
Dayton.

The filters are in hand and I will have short jumpers available to
connect to rigs.

Have we decided on how many stations we will operate ( 3A MD) ?  A GOTA
station doesn't count against the total as I recall.

Since the higher bands are getting better, maybe 4A this time.  10, 15,
20, and 40 daytime and 80, 40, 20 at night. 20 is usually the "money"
band, so we want to have a presence there.  We tend to get a bit sparse
at night, but I don't think it matters between 3A and 4A.

Wot u think?

What rigs are we expecting?  Do we need any from the museum/MARS
station? I'll bring the IC-751A from K3NAL. The IC-735 last year
collapsed anytime another station hit the air, so that one can stay
home! Pete, how about your 7000?

By the way, the infamous "sewer eruption" at Dayton this year occured at
the flea market spot right next to ours! We didn't have to move, but
several others had to make a hasty retreat!  Once the wind changed
direction, we decided to check out the inside displays at the Hara
Arena!  The venue has been deteriorating for years and I wouldn't be
surprised if they go elsewhere.  It is really a dump. Imagine 20,000
hams wandering around and all the bathrooms were secured.  Big lines at
all the porta potties in the flea market!

All said and done, it was still Dayton - a not to be missed adventure!
All hams need to make a "pilgrimage" there at least once in their ham
career.

73 Tom/W4OKW

-----Original Message-----
From: KG3BOZ [mailto:kg3boz at md.metrocast.net]
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 7:19 AM
To: Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS; smcara at mailman.qth.net
Subject: RE: [SMCARA] Field Day

That is FB Tom.

I will be unable to attend the club meeting next Thursday.

Gene tells me there is a 30 AMP service available to plug my trailer
into.

I plan to operate 10 meters digital and or SSB from the trailer - or 15
meters if no one is working there.

I can bring a fan for additional outside cooling if desired.

Please post a list of items needed on the reflector after the Meeting.

73 DE KG3BOZ (Boz)

-----Original Message-----
From: smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
On Behalf Of Clarke, Tom AIR4.0P NATOPS
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 10:06 AM
To: smcara at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [SMCARA] Field Day

The new filters for FD are on order. These filters are the Array
Solutions filters designed and manufactured by Ed Wetherhold, W3NQN and
have the best specs of those available. We will have coverage on 80, 40,
20, 15, and 10 meters.

It is important that all stations use the filter for the band they are
using. On transmit the bandpass filter will reduce (as much as 60db) any
out of band emissions.  On receive, the filter again reduces the amount
of "grunge" coming from other stations.  It is "double protection" so to
speak.

We also will have to pay attention to not driving our rigs too hard,
i.e., keep the ALC in the green, to reduce splatter, etc.

73 Tom/W4OKW
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