ARRL Field Day
Call: K7IA
Operator(s): K7IA
Station: K7IA
Class: 1E LP
QTH: NM
Operating Time (hrs): 10:51
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80: 7
40: 170
20: 342
15: 47
10:
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 566 0 0 Total Score = 2,264
Club:
Comments:
I worked this one from the home station, which is off grid and on
"emergency power" 24/7 (no unplanned outages since homebrew large
solar system went live in 1998!). Every year, Erin and I beat the heat by
spending Field Day week in high elevation (8500 feet) in the tall pines (wire
antenna heaven) of Catron County, New Mexico. But this year, two events dashed
our plans for a getaway--a commando raid on an eyelid cancer five weeks ago, and
a major forest fire, called the Silver Fire, started by a lightning stroke on a
little peak five miles from our QTH. To begin with, I wasn't too keen to pack
up the gear into the camper and drive to "our" FD spot 120 miles away
with only one eye working (lids sutured shut in Commando Eye). The clincher on
any remaining travel idea was the fire, which began burning both northward and
southward, towards us. Our packing consisted of relocating irreplacable
"stuff" to some neighbors' houses six miles downhill, near the
Mimbres River.
The first really comforting news about the fire progress came from the Forest
Service on Friday evening's community meeting, while hundreds of Field Day
station teams were setting up antennas and equipment. The news was so good
that we decided to retrieve some "stuff" on Saturday AM, even if it
meant a late FD start at noon local. Fundamentally, the news was that it would
take an unimaginable event to cause the fire to migrate southward again, even
though the fire is continued to expand northward into the Aldo Leopold
Wilderness until it either rains or it emerges from the Wilderness into country
having access roads.
We indeed moved some of the stuff, and I indeed got a late start, but it was
only 26 minutes. As in Catron County, where I always work FD as QRP, I began
by pushing my 5 watts of 15m CW through 600 feet of LMR600 to the 4 el
tribander at 60 feet. Man, no one could hear me! Had I reassembled the
station correctly? (Yep, the station was some of the irreplacable stuff!). I
began increasing power, just to see how much (or little) was needed to S&P
and work a few. Fifty watts was the answer, but the band was sparse of
activity, and I was already committed to low power, so I increased to just
below the max, about 145 watts and went to 20m.
Working FD from home and with LP really disappointed me, and my heart just
wasn't in it this year. But I wanted some action--action different than
looking at the fire's smoke, searching the internet for news, and
packing/moving stuff. I took a lot of breaks from operating, owing to tiring
band conditions on Saturday afternoon and noisy low bands during most of
Saturday evening. 40 and 80m quieted down at about 0500Z, just when I was
thinking about hitting the sack, so I stayed up and enjoyed some nice runs and
some challenges from obvious QRP stations (I'll do anything for a QRPer!). I
hung it up at 0300 local and deliberately didn't set an alarm--sleep has been
sparse lately. I got going again with about 3.5 hours of my 24 hour time limit
left, and good Sunday AM conditions put scores of Qs into the log. At noon
local, the 24 hour op period for chaps who began on time expired, and the P3
display immediately emptied, leaving me with 26 minutes to spend hunting,
hunting, hunting.
I noticed a few things during this Field Day. Perhaps they were present all
along in recent years, when I was busy pounding brass in the camper in the tall
pines, too busy to notice.
First, I noticed what seemed like an abundance of Class D and E stations this
year. Is this still Field Day, or is it Home Day, I wondered. I decided to
examine my logs for the past 10 years to see what percentage of the unique
callsigns I've worked each year were Class D and E stations. My sample space
is small, of course, ranging from about 200 Qs 10 years ago to a peak of 700
more recently. Roughly half of the total are unique callsigns. For those with
access to the entire annual databases, and broader analysis would be
interesting. My data show 10 percent of unique callsigns I worked in 2003 were
home stations. Annually thereafter, the percentage gradually rises and levels
off at about 25% beginning in 2008. This year it is 23.4%.
I don't think there is any systematic bias in my raw data--I work both S&P
and Running Modes in all contests, and I work everyone I hear, conditions and
operating skills allowing. Yes, home stations usually have better antennas,
and many may use high power, making home stations easier to work, etc. That
may skew the data somewhat, but it doesn't explain the obvious trend in the
growth of the fraction of operators who choose to stay at home.
Those of us who have been amateurs for a while know that ours is a graying
hobby, and my theory is that more and more of us are looking at Field Day in
the field as a chore that has crossed the line between what was fun and
challenging as a youth to simply a challenge more easily met by staying at
home. In my own case, I think I had two very good excuses for not going to the
outback this year and putting up wire Moxons into the tall blankity-blank Pines
(conditions are always windy on Fridays, no?). Erin enjoyed her weekend this
year--she played with her own hobbies instead of killing a Saturday while I was
pounding brass. She (and I) especially enjoyed NOT having to take down
antennas, pack up, and drive home today. But I didn't really experience Field
Day this year. I just operated the radio from time to time and "handed
out points" to those who made the real commitment. I'm already determined
not to repeat this weekend next year!
The other thing I noticed, and I'll be very blunt here, is the quality of the
operators who work Field Day. Frankly, I think it's slipping, and I'm saddened
to see it. I worked CW exclusively, so I have no comment about the phone or
digi ops. This year, I spent more time than ever in the Extra Class portions
of the CW bands, and many of the callsigns there were 1x2 and 2x1
calls--obvious Extra Class ops. Most of those were multi transmitter stations,
suggesting host ops with quick callsigns and a cadre of other ops, which had to
include "junior" ops, new ops, and ops not experienced with
contesting.
An aside: The official party line about Field Day says it is not a contest,
and I agree with that. There are no multipliers or other influences on
producing operating strategies beyond staying in the saddle and making QSOs.
There are no plaques, certificates, or other recognitions, other than to have
simply participated. The only thing officially suggestive of competition is
the way the results are published in December's QST--each entry Class is
presented in ladder format. Nevertheless, there is competition functionally.
Field Day is populated by many North American (and other) contesters, and
contesting and competition are in their blood. They don't need awards to build
the fires to compete. Who doesn't want to at least better last year's score?
Why do single ops stay in their chairs (or uncomfortable RV bench seats or
worse) for the full 24 hours? Why do multi-ops never leave an op chair vacant
for more time than it takes to swap operators? Why, during the rest of the
year, do Field Day ops add more portable antennas and improve the existing
ones? For competition, that's why. Competition is good. It stimulates growth
and improves skills.
I was barely 12 years old when I saw my first amateur radio station. It
belonged to a college student who was the son of one of my Mom's bridge gang of
ladies. It was 1955, and he had, among other things, a Viking Kilowatt (plus
desk). I knew he was something special. He Elmered me in building a one tube
radio. He was roped into the deal, of course, but he did it anyway. My next
experience with amateur radio was the Field Day setup of the Los Alamos Radio
Club. I knew about Field Day, and I wanted to see it, so my Mom drove me to
the setup, which was several hundred yards beyond the Los Alamos West Gate, in
tall pines of the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, just off NM Route 4. Los
Alamos was a "closed city" then--every entrance to the spacious
reservation had a gate, and no one was allowed in without a security pass or
badge.
In those days, every ham was an Elmer, or at least had the Elmer's attitude.
When those Los Alamos guys saw a kid coming, they just couldn't wait to immerse
him into radio and Field Day. That FD, and the one in the following year, set
the hook into me, and I set my sights on becoming a ham and having my own
station. At the time, little did I know that I would ultimately spend summers
at the Laboratory in '72 and '73, when I was a graduate student, and little did
I know that I would join the LARC in their FD operations--this time as an
operator (they had moved to a better site by the early 70's (read: taller
trees, cooler temps, but one still passed the old West Gate building to get
there).
Now to the ultimate question: where are the Elmers today? Who is helping or
coaching younger or less experienced operators in multi-op setups to understand
the differences between casual ragchewing and what really amounts to a 24 hour
contest? Just take a look at the Field Day Rules:
"2. Object: to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur
bands...and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than
optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the
challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public
with the capabilities of Amateur Radio."
To work "as many stations as possible" within 24-27 hours requires
speed and accuracy, neither of which tend to be part of casual ragchewing. In
my own case, I didn't become an avid contester because I enjoyed contests--I
actually hated contests, because they always occurred on weekends, when I had
the time to play radio, and in the pre-WARC days, there were no "escape
bands" to get away from the clog and the din of contesters. Rather, I was
led into contesting by my interest in Field Day operations, which began in 1976
(the lead took 25 years, but I never claimed to be the first to jump ship!).
I suggest there are a number of ops who are enthusiastic about doing some
operating stints in Field Day, and I also think they would be very enthusiastic
about learning how to improve speed and accuracy, too. But they need to be
Elmered to make it happen.
As we grow older and grayer and become more and more likely to stay at home in
late June, we are missing opportunities to do what we ought to be doing in our
hobby--replacing ourselves in our hobby. And as a CW contester, I view any and
every amateur who attempts to make a CW QSO as a pre-contester who should be
encouraged to meet the challenges of speedy and accurate info exchanges, CW
speed improvements and skills (includes sending as well as copying), operating
courtesies, and more. You get the idea.
If you've read this far, I'll share some ideas that you can teach your juniors
(of any age) about making contesting-style QSOs. This has application to
non-contesting ops, like, of course, Field Day, and DXing. Some ideas are
stated as DO's and DON'T's. There's just no other way...
1. DO know the difference between Running Mode and Search And Pounce (S&P)
Mode. The Running Op stays on one frequency and calls CQ. The S&P op
searches for Running ops and "Pounces" on them (after the CQ call is
completed) to make a QSO. Neither can make an event happen without the other.
They must coordinate their timing and sequence to make "as many QSOs as
possible" within the event's period. The Running op ALWAYS sends the
event exchange first. If the S&P op sends his exchange out of this order,
he only slows things down by breaking the rhythm.
The vast majority of Running ops are excellent. I'll wager that they spent
their early days of contesting as S&P ops before they took the plunge into
Running mode. I certainly did it that way, and I studied every Running op I
encountered to learn what they did to make things go efficiently (or
otherwise). I have only two suggestions for Running Ops:
a) You've heard the old adage: "What is an empty frequency?"
Answer: your next Run frequency! Just make certain the frequency is empty
first! Listen to it (you know what the DXers say: listen, listen, listen),
and if you have a P3 or other panadaptor, watch it's waterfall to verify your
next Run freq is really an empty hole.
b) Consider every S&P caller who sends CW at a grindingly slow speed to be
a pre-contester, like you were once. Help him make the QSO in a way that will
put a smile onto his face, giving him whatever encouragement you might have
needed when you were in his shoes. At a minimum, take the long view, and slow
down for him! If he needs repeats, give them and slow down even more if
needed. Just remember, we Old Timers took our exams in front of the FCC, and
the exams included CW receiving and SENDING tests. A growing majority of
licensees have never had a receiving test, much less a sending test. At the
Runner's end, we can do noting about bad fists (many bug ops have them too, not
to mention old chaps who have had illnesses or strokes and who just cannot live
without CW). But we can be patient with callers who want to work us.
Most of contesting skills that need to be learned and practiced fall into the
laps of S&P ops. Here are some thoughts:
1. Listen, listen, listen to the Running op before you make your call. If he
is working someone else, observe his rhythm. Copy his exchange, especially if
his sending speed is faster than you can copy easily. If he is working a
pileup of other stations, observe how he does it: does his CQ calls and
exchanges have a pattern? (all good Runners do, because everything they need
to send to make an exchange is programmed into their computers' macro buttons).
Does he identify himself after every QSO (good contesters do, but a lot of
DXpeditions don't). Does the Running op respond to S&P calls that are made
immediately after he completes his CQ call, or does he respond to what sounds
like a straggler (also known as a delayed call)?
2. When you're ready to make your call to initiate your QSO with the Runner,
if you've followed Step 1, you'll know WHEN to make it. When you make your
call, DO send only your callsign, and DO send it ONLY ONCE. DO NOT send the
Running op's callsign--he already knows who he is! And you should already know
who he is and something about his operating habits if you do the things in Step
1. If you send your callsign more than once, or, worse, if you send his
callsign, you only QRM the other callers (if there are any), and you slow
things down for the Running op whether or not there are other callers. The
Running op wants to know only your callsign, and he wants to get it accurately
into his log. Don't worry, if he is unsure of your callsign, he will ask you
to repeat it (by sending something like "CL" or "CALL").
3. Unless you have a booming signal, chances are the Running op will respond
to someone else's call instead of yours, if there are other callers. The
Runner may respond in two basic ways: either he has copied a complete callsign,
or he has copied only a portion of a callsign (like the first or last couple of
letters plus/minus numeral). If he has copied a complete callsign that is not
yours, or if he has copied a partial callsign that in no way resembles yours,
than you MUST remain SILENT--the Runner is not trying to work you. If you send
your callsign anyway, you only QRM the frequency and slow things down for
everyone, including yourself. You may even irritate the Runner to the point
where he will not work you (many DX ops "blackball" inconsiderate
callers).
A word about "delayed calls:" They can be very useful, but they take
considerable skill and timing, so it is best to stay away from them if you're
new to S&P. Get some experience first, and even then use them with
caution. You really need to become intimately familiar with the rhythm of
making contest exchanges, and you need to be able to discern who the Runner is
and who the callers are and what they are saying, or trying to say, to each
other. If you cannot copy CW in your head, then at least identify who's who by
their CW tones, sending speeds, and op's fists. Learning that takes time and
practice and employs the skills discussed in Step 1. If you're using a code
reader to do your brain's work for you, then if you wish to be a contester (or
a successful DXer), you'll show your commitment by abandoning your code reader
as does a chap with a broken leg ultimately discards his crutch.
[The items discussed in Step 3 are the issues prompting me to write this post]
4. OK, you've made your call, and the Runner answers you. You already have an
idea about what he's going to send to you, especially in Field Day, where the
exchange never changes (as it does when contest serial numbers are sent). The
Runner is going to send to you only what is required by the Rules (plus perhaps
a "TU"), and good Runners will proceed it with your callsign. Please
pay attention to the callsign he sends along with the exchange. Never assume
the Runner has copied your callsign correctly--he makes fat-fingered flubs,
too. If he sends your callsign incorrectly, then correct it right away. The
best time to correct his take on your callsign is before you send your
exchange--that's when you have his full attention, and that's the only time you
have any control over the Runner. Make sense? When you correct his error with
your callsign, you will save him some penalty points in a contest (see below).
He will be grateful to you, and you will show yourself to be a wide-awake and
considerate operator.
Make certain you copy his exchange correctly, especially if you haven't heard a
particular Runner send his exchange before, because once the entire exchanges
are made, the QSO is finished, and it's inconsiderate to go back later (or to
work him again). If you don't get the exchange correctly, or if you make a
fat-fingered flub on your computer keyboard, ask for a repeat--he'll be glad to
oblige (send "AGN" or a simple question mark). If it's a long
exchange, and you need only a piece of it (as in CW Sweepstakes), then send the
abbreviation for what you need, like "CK" for Check, etc.)
5. Once you copy his exchange, THEN send your exchange. Worth repeating:
NEVER send your exchange before he sends his! Once you send your exchange,
your job is NOT finished. You MUST stay on the Runner's frequency and listen
for him to "roger" for your exchange in some way. The good Runners
will make it clear by sending "TU" or "R" or even
"QSL" (but "QSL takes more time, and Runners want to make as
many QSOs per hour as is possible, so they aren't likely to slow themselves
down by sending more than they need to. This last point seems so simple that
you may wonder why I'm bothering to mention it, but it's simply stunning how
many S&Pers move off frequency without bothering to see if the Runner got
their exchanges. This happened to me this weekend about a dozen times, and you
can bet that I didn't log those QSOs (I don't log any QSO in any contest
(including Field Day) unless I'm absolutely certain I have the callsign and the
exchange correct. Why? Because errors in contest exchanges are penalized--it
"costs" more points to log a QSO containing an error than to simply
delete the QSO. I don't know what Field Day's policy is these days, since ARRL
began accepting Cabrillo formatted logs from participants--it isn't a contest,
so there may be no penalties. But my policy is "if it isn't accurate,
then it isn't a QSO." Remember the FD objective: emergency
preparedness--in an emergency, the info exchanges must be accurate.
There's a lot of info and tips here, and as in anything else, there's even more
here and there. If you're an Elmer (or a pre-Elmer), it's an outline to get you
started as you replace yourself with one or more ops. If you're new to
contesting, or if this weekend's Field Day bug as bitten you as it did me years
ago, or if you see part of yourself in the above discussion, then look around
for an Elmer. Chances are some of the guys who organized the Field Day event
are experienced along these lines, or they may even be Big Gun contesters.
Take a copy of this to them and get their take on it, and maybe you will find
an Elmer. If you reach a dead end, then drop me a note with a specific
question or two--I've Elmered a few chaps I've never met by email. You won't
find me at the top of big event ladders--I took up contesting too late in life
to be able to do the things the Big Dogs can do. But I like to teach, and I'm
committed to sharing the things I've learned.
And now, if you've gotten this far, please indulge my typos and misspellings,
etc. It's late, I'm tired, and tomorrow is another big day near forest fire
central.
73, dan
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