KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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What will you do to improve next years Field Day?

Posted: 29 Jun 2016 12:25 PM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email

Paul, KW1L, and Rick, KA8BMA, testing the IC-746PRO at our GOTA station
after getting it all set up on FD Saturday. Would a fancier rig helped or
hurt the GOTA operators?

Yesterday, John, W8TON, e-mailed our club mailing list that included a
number of ideas on how to improve next years Field Day. One of the ideas
was how to improve the GOTA station:

I have this really funny idea: we should devote the best and most efficient
antennas to the GOTA station. Why? So that a beginner, or, if not better, a
visitor, will get a response on the first or second call. This weekend, I
heard GOTA operators giving call after call before any answer. I suspect
that only the most motivated visitor will put up with repeated un-answered
calls. So, let’s make it easy for them. I think we need to think of a more
expansive set-up than a two-band inverted-vee. Just a thought…

He makes a good point about the GOTA station perhaps getting short shrift.
Heres how I replied:

Thanks, John, for starting this conversation. My first reaction is that the
inverted-V antenna is really not all that bad. Case in point, I was making
contact after contact before FD operation actually started at 2pm Saturday
using that very same antenna and getting good signal reports. I’ll also
point out that several of the GOTA station operators made contact on their
very first call, including 10-yo Sofi and the Webster Township treasurer.
I think the trouble that some operators seemed to be having had more to do
with their inexperience than the equipment. First of all, I’ve found that
new operators have a tough time tuning in and hearing stations, especially
in crowded band conditions.
Second, inexperienced ops tend to be too timid and speak too softly and not
directly into the microphone. This, of course, means that the stations
they’re calling cannot hear them, especially when they’re being called by
many other stations. I was constantly exhorting them to project into the
microphone and be assertive.Â*
That’s not to say that the antenna system couldn’t be improved. Thinking
about this a second, perhaps I could acquire a second set of masts and
build another 40m inverted-V and then set them up as a phased array, one
that could point E or NE during the day and W or SW at night.
Actually, what might be even cooler would be for us to get a better radio
than the clubs old IC-746PRO for the GOTA station. Perhaps next year,
someone will have acquired an IC-7300 that we could use. That real-time
spectrum scope would be a real “wowâ€� factor kind of thing.Â*

Im interested in what you all think about this? Have any of you tried
phasing inverted-Vs? We have lots of space at our Field Day site, so I
think this is very doable, but I only want to do this, if its going to make
a difference for the operators.
Im also wondering what kind of radios you used for your GOTA station. While
an IC-7300 might increase the WOW factor, Im now thinking that it might be
overwhelming for some of the operators, especially those who dont have an
amateur radio license. In some respects, simpler might be better.
When all is said and done, keep in mind that the goal is to improve the
experience for the GOTA station operators. What other ideas do you all have
for doing this?

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