[TxHam] Campout/Winter Field Day
David J
kb5ylg at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 27 21:47:58 EST 2011
WC5C will be set up at LBJ Grasslands / Black Creek Lake
SPAR Announces Winter Field Day 2011:from SPAR WEb Site on January 22, 2011
Website: http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/index.php
View comments about this article!
Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio:
SPAR Announces Winter Field Day 2011
Not only during Field Day in June, do the bands come alive with improvised
signals proving the ability to respond to emergencies. Since emergencies and
natural disasters don't always happen in the summer, during Winter Field Day,
frigid winds, icy limbs and bitter cold replace the thunderstorms and blistering
heat of summer. In 2007 SPAR established a Winter Field Day event and invited
all Amateur Radio operators to participate. The event was repeated in 2008 and
was considered a success, so it was then designated an annual event to be held
the last full weekend each January. In 2007 - 2010 the event was enjoyed by
many, but it is time to issue the invitation for the Fifth Annual SPAR Winter
Field Day!
The 2011 Winter Field Day will be held from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday
January 29, 2011 through 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Sunday January 30, 2011. The
object of the event is familiar to most Amateur Radio operators: set up
emergency-style communications and make as many contacts as possible during the
24 hour period. The rules encourage as many contacts on as many bands and modes
as possible, because during a real emergency, the most important factor is the
ability to communicate, regardless of band, mode or distance.
The official rules can be found at the SPAR web site. The event is open to all
amateurs, although we encourage everyone to join in the discussions and other
activities sponsored by SPAR. Information about SPAR can be found on the SPAR
Home Page. Membership is free and open to all amateurs who want to encourage
technical and operating skills. You can register by going to the SPAR Forum and
registering, using your amateur callsign as your user name.
Please join with SPAR in promoting amateur radio and keeping our bands alive!
http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/
73 DE Charles, N5PVL
Member Comments:
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SPAR Announces Winter Field Day 2011: Reply
by KG4RUL on January 23, 2011 Mail this to a friend!
We will be operating a Winter FD station from North Charleston, SC, using
generator power. Look for K4AOC on 20M in the day, sliding down to 40M or 80M
through the night. Operators permitting, we will be on phone, cw and PSK31.
We will stave off the cold with heaters, chili and cornbread!
http://www.tridenthams.org/WinterFD.htm
________________________________
Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio
SPAR Announces Winter Field Day 2011
Not only during Field Day in June, do the bands come alive with improvised
signals proving the ability to respond to emergencies. Since emergencies and
natural disasters don't always happen in the summer, during Winter Field Day,
frigid winds, icy limbs and bitter cold replace the thunderstorms and blistering
heat of summer. In 2007 SPAR established a Winter Field Day event and invited
all Amateur Radio operators to participate. The event was repeated in 2008 and
was considered a success, so it was then designated an annual event to be held
the last full weekend each January. In 2007 - 2010 the event was enjoyed by
many, but it is time to issue the invitation for the Fifth Annual SPAR Winter
Field Day!
The 2011 Winter Field Day will be held from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday
January 29, 2011 through 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Sunday January 30, 2011. The
object of the event is familiar to most Amateur Radio operators: set up
emergency-style communications and make as many contacts as possible during the
24 hour period. The rules encourage as many contacts on as many bands and modes
as possible, because during a real emergency, the most important factor is the
ability to communicate, regardless of band, mode or distance.
The official rules can be found at the SPAR web site. The event is open to all
amateurs, although we encourage everyone to join in the discussions and other
activities sponsored by SPAR. Information about SPAR can be found on the SPAR
Home Page. Membership is free and open to all amateurs who want to encourage
technical and operating skills. You can register by going to the SPAR Forum and
registering, using your amateur callsign as your user name.
Please join with SPAR in promoting amateur radio and keeping our bands alive!
________________________________
Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio
The SPAR Winter Field DayPurpose: To encourage emergency operating preparedness
in the winter.
When: The contest runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in January each
year from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday to 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST)
Sunday. For 2011, the dates are January 29 and 30, 2011. Station set up may
begin no earlier than 1300 UCT (8:00 AM EST) on January 29, 2011.
Bands: All bands, except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters.
Modes: Any mode.
Categories:
* a) Number of operators: 1, 2, Multi
* b) Site: Indoor, Outdoor, Home
For example, 2 operators at a remote campground would be 2O, 1 person at home
would be 1H, 5 club members operating from a community center would be MI.
Exchange: Callsign, True RS/T (not all 599), Category, local outside temperature
(with F or C). For example 1 person from a campground where the temperature is
28 F might send "KX5XYZ 449 1O 28F" or "KX5XYZ 449 1O -2C"
QSO Points: 1 point per QSO, regardless of band and mode. The object is to be
able to communicate and in an emergency it doesn't matter what band and mode is
used. Busted exchanges will be penalized by 1 additional point for each missed
exchange or callsign. Duplicate contacts (same station, band and mode) will not
be counted, but will not be penalized.
Multiplier: Count 1 multiplier for each mode operated per band. For example,
operating CW and Phone on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters, CW and PSK31 on 20m, FM on
2meters and satellite on 1.2 GHz would be a total multiplier of 12.
Bonus: Count 1000 points if commercial power is not used, 1000 points if
outdoors and 1000 points if not at home. For example, operating outdoors in your
backyard without commercial power would be 1000 + 1000 = 2000 points (outdoors,
no commercial power), while operating from a campground tent using commercial
power would be 1000 + 1000 = 2000 points (outdoors and not home).
Final Score: QSO Points x Multiplier + Bonus Points.
Logs: Logs should be submitted to "winterfd at spar-hams.org" before March 1st to
be considered. All logs must be in Cabrillo format and should contain the
following information:
* Frequency (kHz)
* Mode (CW = CW, AM SSB FM = PH, Digital = DI, SSTV = TV, Satelite = SA)
* Date and time (UTC)
* Callsign, RS(T) and Exchange sent
* Callsign, RS(T) and Exchange received
The Cabrillo QSO template is as follows. Please enter BONUS points in the
Cabrillo Soapbox comments as shown.
SOAPBOX: BONUS 2000 --------info sent-------
-------info rcvd-------- QSO: freq mo date time call rst exch
call rst exch QSO: ***** ** yyyy-mm-dd nnnn ************* nnn ******
************* nnn ****** QSO: 3799 PH 1999-03-06 0711 W5ALT 59 1H35F
WB5XAC 59 MO13C
Results will be posted on the SPAR website and included in The Roundtable.
Pictures, description of operations and logistics are encouraged and welcome.
Definitions: Location - the place where an amateur station is setup for the
contest.
Home - operating from the place where an amateur station is normally
established. If the station used in the contest is setup before 8AM local time,
it is a home operation.
Indoor - operating from inside a building at a temporary location where amateur
radio is not normally available, including community centers, etc. If it has a
permanent roof and walls, it's indoors.
Outdoor - operating from remote locations with no permantent building, including
campgrounds, tents, RV's, etc.
Band - the normal amateur band allocations recognized by the ITU, i.e. 160, 80,
40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2 meters, plus the UHF bands. To be counted as a band, at
least 1 valid QSO must have taken place on the band during the contest. 75
meters counts as part of 80 meters.
Mode - CW, Phone (including SSB, AM, FM), Digital (including PSK, RTTY, and
soundcard modes), SSTV, satellite.
Operator - Any person that operates the radio, keyboard, microphone or CW key,
including logging assistance. This does not include non-operators, such as
someone who brings food, but does not participate in operating. Miscellaneous:
* - All rules governing amateur radio must be observed throughout.
* - The decisions of the SPAR BoD is final.
________________________________
Winter Field Day FAQ
When can we set up our WFD operation?
You can set up your operation at any time, however, if the station and antennas
are operational before 1300 UCT on Saturday, the station counts as a home
station.
What if we want to set up a tent in the backyard?
No problem! The station would count as a home station, but you would get the
1000 point bonus for being outdoors. If you use batteries or a generator to
power the radios, you would also get the 1000 point bonus for emergency power.
You can run an extension cord from the house to power the coffee pot!
I'll operate the station, but my (wife, son, friend, ...) will be there, too.
What operator category would I use?
No problem. If they don't operate the radios or do logging, you would still be a
single operator. You might be able to convince them to bring food!
What bands can be used for contacts?
Just about any, although contest operations are prohibited on the WARC bands. In
a real emergency, the ability to communicate on many different bands is a
definite advantage.
What modes can I use?
Just about any, since in a real emergency having flexibility in operating modes
is an advantage. For scoring purposes, the modes that count are CW, Voice,
Digital, SSTV, and satellite.
I want to work both SSB and FM on 2 meters. Can I do that?
Sure! Both SSB and FM would count as Voice, so you'd get only 1 multiplier, but
there's no prohibition from using repeaters, so have at it.
The exchange includes the temperature. Do I have to look at a thermometer for
every contact through the whole contest?
The temperature is just meant to be an exchange that can't be easily guessed or
looked up on the internet - something that you have to actually listen to to
copy correctly. Most of the participating stations chose the outdoor temperature
at the start of the contest or the start of setup operations and use that for
all the QSO's.
What logging software can I use for WFD?
Just about any normal contest logging software should work. SPAR will accept the
standard ARRL/CQ Cabrillo format for log submissions via email. There are 2
potential areas in some logging software to be aware of:
1) Modes for normal HF contests are CW, PH and RY for CW, Phone and RTTY. You
can use RY for all digital QSO's, but Satellite and SSTV modes don't seem to be
defined in the Cabrillo spec. You can use SA and TV for those modes or whatever
else makes sense. We'll sort it out.
2) The exchange in the standard ARRL/CQ Cabrillo format is 6 characters. If you
log the sent and received exchanges using a 2 character category and up to 4
characters for the temperature, there should be no problem. Just don't leave any
spaces in the exchanges.
If you want to make your own Cabrillo file or use a compatible logging program,
the Cabrillo QSO tempalte is as follows:
Cabrillo QSO template for WFD:
--------info sent------- -------info rcvd--------
QSO: freq mo date time call rst exch call rst exch
QSO: ***** ** yyyy-mm-dd nnnn ************* nnn ****** ************* nnn ******
QSO: 3799 PH 1999-03-06 0711 W5ALT 59 1H35F WB5XAC 59 MO13C
You can also use the MS Excel(TM) Spreadsheet available for download from
http://www.spar-hams.org/contests/winterfd/WFD-Logsheet.zip. To use the
spreadsheet, enter your information to the right of the logging area, being
careful not to overwrite any formulas. As you enter QSO data, it should keep
track of your score. (I suggest that you save the spreadsheet periodically to
avoid losing any QSO data!) At the end of the contest select Tools | Macro |
Macros and run the ExportToCabrillo macro to save the QSO data in Cabrillo
format. Note that you must have macros enabled in Excel for the spreadsheet to
work correctly.
My questions weren't answered here. Where can I get more information?
Please check the SPAR Forum where all planning and discussion of the Winter
Field Day will take place. Registration is free; just use your callsign as your
user name.
________________________________
Please join with SPAR in promoting amateur radio and keeping our bands alive!
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