Tag: field day

It’s hard to believe another Field Day has come and gone already. This year’s outing was a wet one, but the lousy weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the Boschveldt QRP Club members. We had another great weekend of catching up with old friends and reminiscing about past Field Days. There was some radio involved, too.

Once again, a gracious friend allowed us to set up camp on his property. It’s a beautiful field with great elevation. It easily accommodated the three stations we set up this year. Our participants this year were: WB3GCK, NK1N, K3YTR, and K2AFO. We operated 3A here in eastern Pennsylvania, using our club callsign, W3BQC.

When I arrived midday on Friday, Glen NK1N was already on site and setting up a shelter for our food station. I gave him a hand with that and set about putting up my tent.

Since we were expecting rain all day Saturday, I set up my antenna and radio, too. As in previous years, I used my KX3 and a 53-foot inverted L antenna fed with a 9:1 unun. I also used my little Evolve netbook for logging, rig control, and CW keying. This was the third Field Day for this cheap little laptop, and it handled the workload with no issues.

NK1N camped out in his jeep and operated from a shelter attached to his jeep. Glen was running a KX2 to an 85-foot inverted L. He fed the antenna through a 4:1 unun with four radials. This antenna always works great for him.

When Ed K3YTR arrived, Glen and I helped put his G5RV Jr. up in the trees. Ed brought a couple of radios and planned to operate SSB this year. Unfortunately, a variety of equipment issues interfered with that plan. After everything was set up, we headed out to a local restaurant for dinner. 

Sadly, the weatherman’s forecast for Saturday was dead-on. As predicted, it started raining and continued on and off for the rest of the day. Although it was mostly light showers, it was just enough rain to be annoying. 

Glen set up a Wi-Fi hotspot in the food shelter so we could network our logging computers. We gave that a test, and I helped K3YTR get his computer configured for the network. To make sure my station was ready to go, I worked a couple of POTA activators. 

Andrew K2AFO arrived to spend the day with us. With some time to kill before Field Day kicked off, a few of us headed out for lunch. 

Once Field Day started, I ran CW on 40M, while Glen ran CW on 20M and 80M after dark. Andrew brought his Xiegu G90 and used Glen’s antenna to run SSB for the first few hours. Sadly, K3YTR could never get his station up and running. Glen and I both had a few contacts on 15M and 10M.

Early on, the band conditions weren’t great, with a lot of fading on the bands. The good thing about Field Day, however, there is always a station out there somewhere that will hear you. Thankfully, conditions improved later in the day. 

Glen had good success on 20M and then a great run on 80M late in the evening. He also copied the ARRL Field Day bulletin and fired off our Section Manager message using Winlink on HF. 

Given the rainy weather, we weren’t able to have a campfire this year. One of our Field Day traditions is roasting marshmallow PEEPS® over the fire. I like to call them crème brûlée on a stick. That’ll have to wait until next year, I guess.

Glen was up early and had a good run on 80M. After coffee and donuts, we got back on the air for a few more hours. 

Since Glen had a two-hour drive back to New Jersey, we started tearing down around 0900 (local). Although it had stopped raining, my tent was still wet. I just rolled it up and stashed it in the back of the truck to deal with back home. 

Unfortunately, K3YTR’s issues weren’t over yet. His car wouldn’t start, so I had to give him a jump-start. After that, we all headed out and arrived at our homes safely. 

We ended up with 223 QSOs this year, with the vast majority of those on CW. It was far from our best showing. Given the highly informal nature of our Field Day operations, it wasn’t too bad by our standards.

It’s unclear if we’ll be able to use this site again next year, so we might have to find another location. Wherever we end up, I hope the weather is better than this year.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Another Boschveldt QRP Club Field Day is in the books. This year’s outing was a little different for our little group. Besides operating with a skeleton crew, we had a few weather challenges. But that’s part of Field Day, I suppose.

Once again, a local business owner gave us permission to set up camp on his property for the weekend. We had some storms Thursday night and steady downpours on Friday morning, so I wasn’t sure what the condition of the field would be for the weekend. There have been some years when one end of the field became a swamp. It wasn’t as bad this year, but it was close.

When I arrived Friday afternoon. Ed K3YTR had already set up his teardrop camper. I headed down to a spot I usually use. The ground down there was a little soggy, but I decided to set up my tent there, anyway. That was a decision I would come to regret. 

In the process of setting up, my walking in and out of the tent turned the area into a mud pit. I briefly toyed with tearing it down and moving it across the field, but I didn’t have the energy at that point. We had more rain overnight, so the conditions around my tent only got worse. 

On Saturday morning, Andrew K2AFO arrived to spend the day operating with us. He was using a new Xiegu G90 and set about getting his end-fed halfwave up into a tree. In the process of doing that, his paracord got looped around a couple of branches and tied itself into a knot. It took a 28-foot Jackite pole, a tent stake, and some duct tape to free the paracord. Talk about some serious “MacGyvering!”

This year we operated as 2A EPA, using our club callsign, W3BQC. As you might expect for a QRP club, we ran QRP on battery power. I ran CW using my KX3 and a 29.5-foot vertical fed through a 9:1 unun. Ed K3YTR operated on 6M and 2M, while Andrew operated SSB using his new G90. 

On Saturday night, we headed out to a local restaurant for dinner (and some air conditioning). Andrew’s wife, Emily K2MLE, joined us for the evening. After enjoying a nice dinner (and some air conditioning), we headed back to our Field Day for a campfire. (Did I mention that Boschveldt Field Days are decidedly laid-back?) Observing a long-standing Boschveldt QRP tradition, we roasted marshmallow Peeps® over the campfire. 

We had yet another storm heading towards us, so Andrew and Emily packed up and headed home, while K3YTR and I headed into our respective shelters. I operated on and off through the night, but dealt with some heavy QRN on 80M and 40M. 

After getting some coffee and breakfast on Sunday, I had one last session on the radio. This time around, 40M was in much better shape. After that, Ed and I started tearing down and packing up. My tent and tarps were a real mess, so I just rolled everything up and shoved it in the truck. Needless to say, I have some gear to clean up this week. 

Each year, our Field Day outings are an adventure. Although this one had some minor challenges, it was fun. Plus, we have some more stories to tell at future get-togethers.

I hope your Field Day activities were successful.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Well, another Boschveldt QRP Club Field Day is in the books. We had a much smaller crew this year but a good time was had by all.

Once again, we were graciously hosted by a local businessman who allowed us to use his private property. Pennsylvania has had a lot of rain lately, so parts of our Field Day site were soggy, to say the least. (My poor truck needs a bath!) We adapted nicely, keeping our equipment on the higher parts of the property.

This year, we ran 2A (QRP and battery-powered) in the Eastern Pennsylvania section. We used the club’s callsign, W3BQC. A few of our regular attendees had other obligations this year. So, this was a scaled-back Field Day for us. The main participants were Ed K3YTR, Ed WA3WSJ and me. On Saturday, Paul KB3ZOH and Diane KC3AOA stopped by for a visit.

I operated CW on 40M and below from my tent. I was running my KX3 at 5 watts with a 53-foot inverted L antenna fed through a 9:1 unun. I used a tree to secure the far end of the horizontal part of the antenna. It only took me 3 tries to hit my target branch. That’s pretty good for me.

WA3WSJ operated CW on 20M and above using a minimalist set up under an umbrella. He was running his KX2 into a 50-foot inverted L. He also camped out in his hammock under a tarp.

K3YTR worked SSB on 6M, 2M and 440 from his car and slept in a slick little teardrop camper. We used the trailer’s rear kitchen for our cooking.

On the air, the bands were up and down. WA3WSJ and I both noted some deep fading on the HF bands. Nonetheless, we had no trouble making contacts. I had good luck on 40M, working stations all over the East Coast and out to the mid-West. WA3WSJ was working stations coast-to-coast, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. K3YTR, unfortunately, was plagued with equipment problems, so he didn’t have much luck on the VHF/UHF bands.

As always, the Boschveldt crew takes a lot of breaks for food and socializing. After dark, we gather around the campfire to roast marshmallow Peeps® and swap tall tales. We definitely are not hardcore contesters.

As always, no records were broken over the weekend. Still, it’s always a good time when our little band of QRPers gets together.

72, Craig WB3GCK