This ARRL Field Day, Rick NZ2I of Panama City and I will operate from site C33 at Eastbank Campground in Georgia on the East side of Lake Seminole. We will use my callsign N4KGL. We will be a two-operator, two-transmitter Class B Battery entry. Last year, we had success running five-watt QRP. I operate CW, and Rick operates FT-8. Each contact is two points, with a 5X multiplier, yielding ten points per contact. We will use virtually the same setup as in past years. The campsite accommodates my Buddihex 20 through 6-meter hex beam. In addition, there is green space for a 130-foot 80-10 MyAntennas.com end-fed. We will share the Buddihex with a Low Band Systems Quadplexor that allows two transmitters on different bands for the same antenna. The Quadplexor requires bandpass filters on the inputs. On FT-8, we will use the Icom 7100, which is reduced to five watts, and on CW, the Icom 705. Both rigs are hooked to Panasonic Toughbooks running N1MM logging software networked with an Ethernet hub. For power, we have a Bioenno 40 amp-hour battery for each rig. There is a solar panel charging each battery. We will try a satellite contact with the Arrow Yagi and the Icom 9700 for bonus points. The S.A.T. box controls the rig for Doppler. The operating point will be a clamshell-type shelter. Linda and I will sleep in our trailer; Rick will rough it outside. I have posted our location on the ARRL Field Day Locator site. If you are in the area, please drop by. ARRL Field Day starts at 2 PM EDT on Saturday and goes for 24 hours. All we need is good weather and propagation. Can you get involved in this year's ARRL Field Day? Wiregrass ARC will operate in Dothan, Alabama, and the Panama City ARC/ Bay County ARES group in Panama City, Florida.
Linda and I should return to Dothan, AL, before the April 6th RaDAR Rally. So, I have decided on Falling Waters State Park, one hour South of Dothan near Chipley, FL. It is POTA US-1864. I used this venue for the Spring 2023 RaDAR Rally. Here are the blog and YouTube links.
We are underdogs on the band. This morning, we had a 20-meter POTA contact in Illinois and SKCC in TX while on Rosemont Drive. Then a 17-meter ragchew with K3PR in Texas while on Gardenia Drive. The rig is Elecraft's new KX1. It comes with a 46 inch whip and a 13 foot drag wire counterpoise. The KH1 is a five-watt CW rig 40-15 meters. I should get lots of use out of it since Suzy insists on a walk every morning. It comes with a paddle but I am using a straight key.
It was perfect weather for the Rally in Florida, with cool temps and sunshine. I was pleased to have RaDAR to RaDAR contacts Pat N5VMO once and Chris VA3ECO in his canoe twice. WE4BY in California was almost R to R, but I only got six digits of his grid square. Indeed, the POTA activity on 20 meters helped with thirteen Park to Park QSOs. I alternated between the Grand Lagoon Pier and the sand near Sandy Point, one kilometer to the East. I had the benefit of a light backpack and carried the Alexloop assembled. There was little time to set up at the fifth stop. So I talked a local Bob AB4OB into a 2-meter FM simplex contact. I had no problem making QSOs with the Chinese FX-4CR at twenty watts and the Alexloop magnetic loop. It never hurts to be near the saltwater.
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| St. Andrews S.P. Pier on Grand Lagoon |
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| Grand Lagoon near Sandy Point |
Bob KK4DIV and Scott K7DIA had great results in the same county here in Florida, and Ken KX4BT in Alabama. Of course, Chris had it good in his canoe in Ontario. I got reports from Bob LB4FH in Norway and Lucy M6ECG in England, who had to deal with stormy or rainy weather. I also appreciate a report from Eddie ZS6BNE in South Africa. There will be more reports and follow-ups. Thanks for all the participation across the globe.
Many R2R & 73,
Greg N4KGL
I plan to do the rally at St Andrews State Park near Panama City, Florida. I will walk between two spots, one at the marina area and the other at Sandy Point. Those are on the saltwater shore of Grand Lagoon to take advantage of the saltwater effect. I'll need five contacts at each stop to move to the next. The rig will be my FX-4CR, and the antenna will be the Alexloop magnetic loop. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT. Look for my spots on the RaDAR Spots page: https://www.radarrally.info/p/
Please read the rules httpwww.radarrally.info/
Review the roster for the registered RaDAR participants at https://www.radarrally.
Good luck and stay safe
Greg N4KGL
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RaDAR is Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio conceived by Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE. RaDAR encourages outdoor operating with a unique challenge: make five contacts and redeploy as fast as possible in four hours. The RaDAR Challenge has become the RaDAR Rally with some rule tweaks. Please take a look at the complete rules here. If you are interested, could you make your plans and register? Registration will facilitate RaDAR to RaDAR contacts. Email your registration info below to the RaDAR Rally POC, Greg Lane, at lanekg@gmail.com. I'll accept registrations through November 3rd UTC. If your plans change, send me an update. This is not a contest; it is just for fun! Check out this intro video and the Fall 2023 roster here.
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| This is our setup at campsite C-33. It has lots of bonus green space we used for antennas. |
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| The Buddipole Buddihex hex beam is a real winner for field day. |
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| A view of our two operating positions in the shelter. Rick was on the left on digital modes. I was on the right doing CW. |
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| I enjoyed a visit from Micky Baker, the ARRL Southeast Director. |
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| We look forward to Winter Field Day, likely from the same campsite. |
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| This is Campsite 33 we used for last Winter Field Day. It is just the ticket with bonus green space for antennas. We will be operating in the shelter next to the camper. Of course, the panels will be removed to help with the heat, |
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| I tested N1MM Logger + networking with two Toughbook laptops. The two laptops are tied together with an ethernet crossover cable. |
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| A nice satellite station, the Icom 9700, Arrow antenna, and CSN S.A.T box. |
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| What could be better than a view of the Buddihex at sunset over Lake Seminole? |
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| Rick, NZ2I |
Linda, Suzy and I camped at Frank Jackson State Park near Opp Alabama. We were joined by Bob KK4DIV and his wife Carla. Bob, Carla and I followed through on our plan to activate Memorial Island for the US Islands One Day Getaway on Saturday. I was pleased to do four POTA activations at Frank Jackson. I also drove over to Florala State Park K-1040 which was my 50th unique POTA activation.
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| The view of Memorial Island from our campsite |
It was good to exercise my gear including the Icom 705, Elecraft KXPA-100 amp. I used the N6BT V8 vertical for most of my campsite contacts. On the island and at Florala I used the Alexloop magnetic loop for portability. I mied the modes, SSB, FT8 and CW. Tom WD0HBR and Sandy dropped by on Saturday also. Tom cast a worm lure in the lake, but it was too weedy where we were..
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| Bob KK4DIV and Carla from Lynn Haven, Florida |
I'll take any excuse to go to Frank Jackson. I consider it very scenic. Bob and I plan to return for next year's One Day Getaway.
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| Lake Jackson at Florala, Alabama |
I have been doing Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio for a decade now. Thanks to Eddie ZS6BNE for coming up with the concept. It is portable amateur radio on steroids. I have introduced RaDAR Rally. This is just some fine-tuning of Eddie's RaDAR Challenge Rules. The RaDAR Rally is the first Saturday of April and November, but I revised the rules to allow the following Sunday as an alternative date.
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| This waterfall is the Falling Waters' namesake. |
On Sunday, April 2nd, Chris VA3ECO and I did the RaDAR Rally. Chris was in Ontario. I chose Falling Waters State Park in Northwest Florida. Choosing a park on the POTA list is very helpful for RaDAR. Falling Waters State Park is reference K-1864.
RaDAR Rally allows all bands and modes, including a digital mode FT-8. Chris and I tried out FT-8 at our first deployment at 10 am. We found each other right away. We used a trick Chris discovered using the TX-5 message to exchange an eight-digit grid square for making it a RaDAR to RaDAR contact.
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| Suzy is always game for RaDAR. |
My basset hound Suzy has been my companion on most of my RaDAR adventures. She loves to take to a trail on the transitions. She likes even more to meet and greet the parkgoers. After five contacts, we move to the next deployment. On foot, the required distance is one kilometer. This time I did four deployments and three transitions.
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| The HamPack packs up the Icom 705, Alexloop, and a laptop. |
I have used my Icom 705 and the Alexloop for my portable operations lately. All the gear fits into the HamPack backpack Alex PY1AHD bundles with the latest Alexloop. The magnetic loop deploys fast and can quickly change bands as needed. This time, all my contacts were in the 20 meters band.
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| This Alexloop is my go-to antenna for RaDAR and POTA. |
I used three different modes FT-8, SSB, and CW. I am a novice on FT-8, and the 20-meter band was congested. I spent over an hour making my five contacts. I had better luck at other times. At a second stop, I jumped on 20 meters SSB. I did hunt and pounce between POTA and Missouri QSO party stations. I had one reply to my CQ. I got five in ten minutes. At a third stop, I spotted myself on the POTA app; I had five contacts in six minutes. In the RaDAR Rally, you are working against the four-hour clock. After the third walk, I had a short time left. I got the last contact on SSB at the last minute. Even one contact at the last stop helps your score.
Contacts are one point except RaDAR to RaDAR which are three. Stop one was seven points with the RaDAR to RaDAR with Chris. Stop two was five, stop three was five, and stop four was one for eighteen total.. I did a total of four stops which is a multiplier. Therefore the score was seventy-two. I was surprised to learn Chris had the same score as I did.
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| Chris VA3ECO does RaDAR Rally in Ontario |
Suzy and I went home thinking what a great day we had at the park. Par for the course, as they say.
73,
Greg N4KGL
Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, or RaDAR, was conceived by Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE in South Africa. Eddie has promoted RaDAR for many years. Eddie still sees value in RaDAR but has terminated the RaDAR Challenge rules as of 2023. I am introducing the RaDAR Rally event on the first Saturday of April and November. Please see https://radarrally.blogspot.com/ for the rules. The first RaDAR Rally will be on April 1st, 2023
The following video was recorded during our March 20, 2023, Beginner's Academy Zoom meeting.
Background: Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, or RaDAR, was conceived by Eddie Leighton ZS6BNE in South Africa. Eddie has promoted RaDAR for many years. Eddie still sees value in RaDAR but has terminated the RaDAR Challenge rules as of 2023. I am introducing the RaDAR Rally event on the first Saturday of April and November. The RaDAR Rally rules streamline RaDAR contacts and minimize administrative effort.
I operated the two weekends of the Novice Rig Roundup. My rig was the Drake 2-NT transmitter on crystal control and the Drake 2-C receiver. The output power was about 30 watts to my 130-foot 80-10 end-fed about 35 feet up.
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| My Drake 2 Line |
I was pleased to work 26 other NRR stations among the 41 total QSOs. I enjoyed their chirp, and they heard mine. 15 Meters was the best with 22 contacts, 40 meters with 17 contacts, and 2 contacts on 80 meters. Those hams were all around the US, in 28 unique states.
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| The Nye Station Master key and some crystals |
CW is a fun mode still. At least 200 hams were nursing their novice rigs for the event. There were Drake, Heathkit, and Eico, among others. Most use tubes.
This year I enjoyed working friends Tom WD0HBR in Dothan and Bobby AK4JA in Georgia. Classic Exchange is another fun event where the multiplier depends on the age of your rigs,
73,
Greg N4KGL
Novice Rig Roundup is March 4-12 this year and is now underway. My Drake 2 Line, the 2-NT transmitter, and the 2-C receiver is my go-to novice rig. I used a Drake 2-C as a Novice Class ham in the late 60s. I get to recreate that novice experience using crystals for the 2-NT. It is challenging when you have a few choices of frequencies, and you can't move around with a VFO.
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| The Drake 2-NT transmitter and Drake 2-C receiver work smoothly together like a transceiver. |
Sadly I let my original Drake 2-C go, so I bought a replacement from eBay. Phil N4STC now SK did a partial recap for me when I got the receiver. However, a hum developed that I lived with, but eventually, it was overwhelming the audio. The usual suspect is electrolytic capacitors, which was the case this time.
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| This is the 12-volt DC power supply circuit board in the Drake 2-C. The large electrolytic caps were the issue. |
There is a sidebar to this story. I bought a digital storage oscilloscope for my birthday. The good news is you can get a lot of bang for your buck these days. I purchased a new Instek GDS1102B two-channel 100 MHz digital storage oscilloscope for less than $300. The scope is a great value considering we hams may spend $300 on an antenna analyzer.
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| The Instek 1102B. Note I had not compensated the probe. |
The scope came in handy. Sure enough, the 12-volt DC power supply in the 2-C had a six-volt 120 Hertz AC component. There were two 1000 uF capacitors to do the filtering. One failed open they both had a cracked case. I ordered replacement caps from Mouser, and they arrived the day before NRR started. So a little soldering and mechanical maneuvering did the job. Yet the scope still shows one volt of AC on the 12 volts DC. That causes a minor hum, and I choose to go with it and get on the air for NRR.
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| Before: This is a terrible output for a DC Supply. |
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| After: Replacing the caps improved it, but there still is about a volt of AC. |
Our WFD site was the Eastbank COE Campground in Southwest Georgia. Chris VA3ECO who is on a winter visit to Panama City, FL, joined me. We were a 2-transmitter outdoor Georgia (2O GA) entry. The camp site was adjacent to some green space that had room for both the Buddihex hex beam 20 - 6 meters and the MyAntennas.com 80-10-meter end-fed. A new wrinkle was using a Low Band Systems QuadPlexer to let both our transceivers use the same antenna at the same time, but different bands. We used a Quickset Clam Venture screen shelter for the operating hut. We closed it in with panels to keep warm. Chris spent Friday and Saturday in the shelter. Linda and I were in our trailer.
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| A drone view of the campsite. |
We were ready by show time at 2 pm EST on Saturday. There was a CAS-4b satellite pass just after 2 pm. We had an Icom 9700 ready with Chris' Arrow antenna. We used a CSN Sat box to track the pass and adjust the rig for doppler. Chris snagged W4R also in Georgia on the sat pass. That was a great start to Winter Field Day and qualifies for a bonus.
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| The Buddipole Buddihex hex beam at sunset |
Chris focused on PSK-31, and I focused on CW. We both did some phone. I had an unexpected run of 150 contacts on 20 meters SSB. 10 and 15 meters were open during the day. The Buddihex was outstanding. We used the end-fed for 80 and 40 meters. Eventually we got all band and mode combinations for 80 through 10. Then Chris tuned he end-fed on 160 and got a digital contact for a total multiplier of 16. Altogether we had just over 500 contacts.
Chris' Yaesu 857
It was not all operating, we ate at the Mexican Restaurant on Friday night, Chris cooked eggs each morning and Margot sent us some chili for supper on Saturday night. It was nice to hang out with Chris. He was a big help with the setup and operating. Pretty much this was a plan that came together and made for a great Winter Field Day experience. I hope to return to the same campsite for ARRL Field Day in June and have some more fun.
VA3ECO and N4KGL
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