The 2010 Field Day Planning Committee met at the clubhouse on Saturday, 9 January at 3:00pm. Here are the major discussion points from this meeting:
- + No significant changes. We reviewed last year’s Field Day layout and decided to move the shelter containing the 10 and 15m phone and PSK stations to a different location. Over the next few months we will resolve the interference issue from the 20m PSK on the 40m phone station (and any other stations) which occurred last year.
+ 2009 Plan relatively unchanged in 2010. Other than relocating one shelter (three stations), our Field Day plan and schedule of events for 2010 will not differ much from last year’s plan.
+ VIP Invitations. We will mail out Field Day invitations to numerous VIPs early next month.
+ Field Day theme. The Committee decided not to have an overall theme for Field Day this year. Instead, our meal(s) will be “themed”. So if you like borscht with sour cream, cold lamb stew “la Parisenne”, or Bangkok style stuffed chicken beaks, then you are in for a real treat. Exact details will be published in the not-too-distant future.
+ Antennas. Depending on the availability of a Yagi for Field Day we are planning to use various wire antennas similar to last year. There was some discussion about building some additional Field Day antennas. We might even have a contest to design and build some “experimental” wire antennas for Field Day. More details when they become available.
+ Rest breaks. Assuming the weather and/or the temperatures won’t be as nice as last year but even if it is, we will take a 10-15 minute break every hour during set-up and take-down. There is no justification for dead heroes.
+ Sign making. We’ll need to make some new signs to place along the highways for the purpose of advertising Field Day. A sign building event will be scheduled in the next few months. Maybe we’ll combine it with one of our operating events.
+ Equipment. Most, if not all of the equipment we will require for our Field Day has been resourced. We still have a few odds and ends to track down but we don’t consider them to be “critical”.
+ Training opportunities. We will increase our training opportunities for Field Day participants. The training would cover mast assembly and raising and take-down techniques, use of the logging software, and use of the radios.
+ Low operating activity. A review of our log from year last reveals that we had several periods of relatively low numbers of contacts due in part to visitors, shutting down all the stations for dinner, and the normal overnight paucity of operators during which we had several periods where positions were unmanned for extended periods. We will work on ensuring we have sufficient (and well rested) operators during the overnight (Midnight – 8:00am). More info on this topic to follow.
Hot news:
- 2009 Field Day DVD available. We will be "burning" DVDs from last year's Field Day. The DVD will contain hundreds of pictures, the "infamous" Field Day commercials and other stuff. If you would like one of these DVDs send an e-mail so we can reserve one for you. The cost of this DVD will be limited to the cost of the DVD and either a DVD/CD envelope or a DVD/CD jewel case. In other words, the cost will probably be less than $2.00 per copy. Order yours now: fieldday@w3vpr.org
- The time to volunteer for Field Day is now. fieldday@w3vpr.org
- First Field Day training event is Saturday, 16 Jan at the AARC clubhouse. It's the North American QSO Party. It starts at 1:00pm is a "Phone only" contest. We've declared this a "Chili and Soup Contest" so bring your favorite chili or soup to share. We'll be operating a YL-only station as well as two manly phone stations for the guys. Spend an hour or all night. We don't care. By the way this contest ends at 1:00am.
- The official e-mail address to ask questions, make comments, and offer suggestions related to Field Day is: fieldday@w3vpr.org
The next meeting of the Field Day Planning Committee is scheduled for Saturday, 13 Feb, at the clubhouse following the monthly exam session.
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