Phil Kane wrote on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:13:38 EDT:

On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:27:32 EDT, AF6AY wrote:

If "Field Day" were an ACTUAL Readiness Exercise I would
consider joining in once I had some portable equipment.

And what training and qualification of proficiency do you have to slip
into the seat at a disaster EOC/ICP or field position and be an
effective communicator, such as familiarity with the operation and the
communication needs of the site and served agency or even the message
protocols and formats in use and where and how they are to be passed?

I did not target ANY specific "EOC/ICP" organization. My diatribe
was directed towards the ARRL and the old-timers who've
mouthed all those legendary rationales about FIELD DAY being a
"readiness exercise."

I used the word CONSIDER in my sentence you quoted. I've
never claimed to know every procedure and protocol used by
each and every "EOC/ICP" in existance. I've considered lots of
things in my life.

Well, I'll have to rescind my consideration. I am so unworthy.
Besides, I don't reside in Oregon, not even close to it. If I were to
CONSIDER any REAL emergency preparedness group it would
be the Los Angeles Auxilliary Communications service. One of
their base stations is loaned to the ARRL VEC as a site for US
amateur radio license examinations. So far, nobody at "Old
Firehouse Number 77" has snarled at me for any reason.

I don't consider myself knowledgeable or trained enough to
"slip into the seat of an "EOC/ICP" position and "push traffic
through." I HAVE been good enough - without training - to
assist in communications of utility companies during a real
emergency on 17 January 1994. But, I don't claim that is
good enough to "slip into any [emergency comms] seat"
and do what is Right and Proper. I have been trained in the
military to do very portable communications under simulated
explosions and automatic gunfire common to combat
conditions. But that doesn't count towards being able to
push traffic according to protocol and procedure of any
particular civilian volunteer group.

In an emergency or disaster situation, we need TRAINED "message
passers", far more than untrained drop-in volunteers. We are always
ready to train folks before anything happens, but we really don't have
the time or resources to train folks when the stuff is flowing.

Now what have I been saying elesewhere about training? OF
COURSE there needs to be training, drills, observation of
effectiveness and revision of plans if that seems necessary.
That does go on down here and did before 17 January 1994.
it works. I've seen it work. In a real emergency.

And our Team does run Field Day as a Readiness Exercise, complete with
call-outs and dispersal assignments.

Well, good on "your Team." However, the ARRL-sponsored Field
Day is a Contest in its basic form. Will "your Team" get a good
score in that contest with everyone trained and motivated for
emergencies? Isn't a good score the epitome of any Field
Day outing?

Does "your Team" do its drilling and training and whatever on
NON-Field Day weekends? I hope they do. Readiness isn't a
holiday-sort of thing and exercises shouldn't planned months in
advance, advertised in national magazines. Real emergencies
can strike without any advance warning. QST won't know
about it until well after the fact.

Do real emergencies allow perfect protocol and procedure
to work? I'm not sure about that. Can everyone keep their
cool when a sudden aftershock trembles everything around
them? Some real emergencies can actually destroy some
comm nodes or the personnel to man them.

Hey, I apologize for ruffling feathers of other organizations
by directing my comments to the ARRL. So much so that
I don't think it is worthwhile to comment much on anything
any more in this newsgroup. Too many get all upset at
contrary-to-established-ideas. :-(

AF6AY

Jim N2EY wrote:
Folks,

What are people doing for Field Day this year?

73 de Jim, N2EY

I'm joining with the Machias Radio Group near Snohomish, WA:
http://www.geocities.com/bswadener/fd2007/. We'll be running in 2A + VHF/UHF
(7 ops). I understand several other hams (and non-hams) may cruise by for
short visits

One HF station will be using Zepps and a 2 element wire quad for 40m. Power
will be from gas engine-driven generator. The other station will be using my
40' homebrew tiltup/rotatable mast w/ a "Crushcraft" A3S for 20/15/10m yagi
on top. The top guyset will be 80 & 40m inverted vees. The 80m antenna
will be a 4 wire cage -- 400KHz BW -- no tuner needed! Power will be from
4 x Group27 batteries in parallel w/ a homebrew DC-DC boost regulator to get
13.8V to the radio. The logging PC will have it's own homebrew DC-DC boost
converter.

Vy 73,
Bryan WA7PRC

"AF6AY" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 18, 6:50?pm, wrote:
Folks,

What are people doing for Field Day this year?

The CONTEST called a "Readiness Exercise" is just another contest.
Always has been. If it's a Contest going on, there's little point in
listening to "the bands" (the HF ones) since there is very little
evidence of actual "Readiness" activity that is supposed to be a
hallmark of an outing in the park with buddies.

If "Field Day" were an ACTUAL Readiness Exercise I would consider
joining in once I had some portable equipment. Since I don't and
since it isn't, I'll just stay in my air conditioned home and "work on
my code."

PIC programming code, that is... :-)

Y'all have fun, heah?

73, AF6AY


No need to have portable equipment. Many take down their base stations,
pack them up, take them out to the field day site, set them up and operate.
One guy brings out his full size Ten-Tec.

Dee, N8UZE

hi

our club runs a 7a field day setup at the farm of a member.

everyone is welcome to stop in and operate, log, have fun
and many stay overnight starting friday night.

we are running a GOTA station again this year, big success,
they scheduled groups of scouts (boy and girl), several chruch
youth groups, etc all stopped in and worked HF,
what a blast to see they young pups operate !

all our 7a stations have at least one extra class so anyone
can operate (club member or vistior) we just watch for third party
rules.

all our gear is fullsize base stations running off gensets
either the newer honda inverters (1.5 up to 10kw) or the generac types.

we also invite tv and elected officials to stop in and operate.

73 jimbo

On Jun 19, 2:50 am, wrote:
Folks,

What are people doing for Field Day this year?

73 de Jim, N2EY


N8NN and I will be on the grounds of his place near Moundsville, WV.
The Class 1B operation will be mostly CW. We've geared up to snag
some of the bonus points. We'll be operating with my call.

We have a promise from a WV State Senator to visit. We'll have a
sign, table with literature on amateur radio and a visitors log.
We'll copy the annual FD message and pass a message via NTS.

It is highly likely that we'll have some hamburger prepared using
emergency methods (on a propane grill). My wife and I will sleep in
simulated emergency conditions in Bert's motor home. In an actual
emergency, we'd have to fire up the motor home's 10 KW diesel
generator. Radio power will come from a little 2 KW Honda gasoline
generator.

We'll skip the extra hours of operation and put up our antennas this
afternoon.

73,

Dave K8MN

On Jun 18, 10:50?pm, wrote:

What are people doing for Field Day this year?

Thanks to all who answered my question - and good luck to all who
participate in FD 2007.

This year I'll be going out with a club group, running 3A. This FD is
part readiness-exercise, part training, part publicity, part contest,
and part social event. The first 100 points are already in the log.

If my count is right, this will be FD number 40 for me. Haven't missed
one since I was a Novice. Doesn't seem like four decades since those
days. Been lucky enough to do FD with big clubs, small clubs, small
nonclub groups of a couple hams, and even single-handed. Even had an
FD story in QST some years back. Always a lot of fun.

73 es GL de Jim, N2EY

Hi everyone:
"Mike Andrews" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:50:50 EDT, wrote in
.com:
Folks,

What are people doing for Field Day this year?

Staying home. The local club has talked the talk two years running,
telling my wife and others that they were welcome to operate, but
failed to walk the walk and actually let them operate when they asked
to. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." The
crowning glory was the club president and the repeater trustee jumping
her at a meeting because she dared to bring up the problems with the
repeater during bad weather, precisely when the repeater is most
needed. I've been on the club repeater since then only to run my
weekly net, and that'll die when my dues and membership expire.

I'll be catching up on house maintenance. Y'all have fun.
This will undoubtedly be past tense by the time most people read this but I
worked Field Day from home BUT I did so with a twist.

What I did was take my webcam and point it at the display of my ICOM IC-706
MKII-G and put that out on the Internet (Complete with audio) as I worked
mainly 2 meter SSB (My only antenna was a 2m/440 Mhz. vertical mag mount
which was mounted outside on the patio railing and up 7 floors).

On Saturday Night, I also put together a little video describing what Ham
Radio is and some of the many facets of the hobby (I also made sure to
mention Field Day and its purpose too ). I plan to make this a streaming
video in Windows Media format and made available via video podcast as well.

On Saturday, I was in the chat room on my website, but everyone who logged
into the chat room just simply came and went, so I didn't even bother
logging on today.

From what I hear, there was LOTS of 6 meter activity, but alas, it would be
just my luck to NOT have a suitable antenna (Not even a 5/8 2 meter vertical
mag mount antenna) to work any of the stations on the band.

Oh well. There's always next year....

Who knows, I might even have something for 10 meters next year too.

Oh well....What I wished would've & could've been.....

Cheers & 73

Pat Cook, KB0OXD
Denver, Colorado
WEBSITE - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/
**NEW VIDEO SECTION - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/cybershacktv/

Hi everyone:
"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
6...
It's always a little interesting trying to talk the local pizza places
into delivering to a field outside of town. Sometimes they do, and
sometimes they won't.

Well that's because of (And in response to) what happened to that one pizza
delivery guy who wound up taking part in a bank robbery with a bomb strapped
to him. Remember that?

I wonder if they caught the mastermind moron responsible
for that...

Of course Field Day isn't for everyone.

Hey...Not all of us are in love with the gnats ya know! *LOL!*

Cheers & 73

Pat Cook, KB0OXD
Denver, Colorado
WEBSITE - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/
**NEW VIDEO SECTION - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/cybershacktv/

Hi everyone:
"Bryan" wrote in message
...
The logging PC will have it's own homebrew DC-DC boost converter.

Out of curiosity (Yes I know what it does to cats *LOL!*), why not just
simply use A LAPTOP? You can always replace the batteries in a laptop.

Again....Just out of curiosity (At the risk of feline death I might add
*LOL!*)

Cheers & 73

Pat Cook, KB0OXD
Denver, Colorado
WEBSITE - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/
**NEW VIDEO SECTION - http://www.qsl.net/kb0oxd/cybershacktv/

On Jun 24, 3:45?pm, "Pat Cook" wrote:

The logging PC will have it's own homebrew DC-DC
boost converter.

Out of curiosity
why not just
simply use A LAPTOP? You can always replace the
batteries in a laptop.

I think they are using a laptop, because I don't know any desktops
that run on 12 volts DC (though there are probably some). It sounds to
me like what they did was to use a laptop with a charging cord meant
to go into an auto accessory power socket. That way, the primary power
comes from the 12 volt power system they need for the rig, and the
laptop's internal battery is used for backup in case there is some
sort of power interruption.

FD lasts more than 24 hours, and I don't know any laptops whose
batteries will run that long. Using external power means no
interruptions.

73 de Jim, N2EY

just got back from FD