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Field Day 1986
<br />v
<br />How
<br />about
<br />using mosquito bites as a
<br />multiplier? That would
<br />easily
<br />push
<br />us over the 1-million-point
<br />mark.—N7HTF
<br />By Michael B. Kaczynski, W 1 OD and
<br />Contest Manager, ARRL HQ
<br />hen taken slightly out of context,
<br />N7HTF's comments pretty well
<br />sum up Field Day 1986. Many
<br />more amateurs were bitten by the FD "bug"
<br />in 1986, with participation up by more than
<br />200 entries from the 1985 event. This year,
<br />a total of 1697 entries were received as a result
<br />of the hottest activity in Amateur Radio.
<br />Let's look at some numbers. A total of
<br />25,449 participants were logged in by the
<br />ARRL Contest Desk. Over one million con-
<br />tacts were reported (1,146,881, to be exact)
<br />during the 27-hour FD period. The amateur
<br />fraternity scored very well in FD '86, to the
<br />tune of over 4 million pointsl Not bad for a
<br />"fun" time, ch?
<br />Category 2.A was again the most popular,
<br />with 5IS, or 30% of all entries. Battery power
<br />was utilized by 273 (16%) of the participants.
<br />'^ all, 1243 groups, over 73016 used genera-
<br />ar power. Only 166 groups relied on com-
<br />anercial power for their operations.
<br />This year's WIAW Field Day bulletin an-
<br />nounced bonus points for making 10 QSOs
<br />on 24 MHz. This proved to be a very produc-
<br />tive bonus for many entrants, upping the
<br />bonus point total of this year's activity to
<br />678,120.
<br />We have listed comments from several
<br />groups below. Which category does your
<br />club's Field Day effort fall into? Your club
<br />didn't participate? Why not give it a try next
<br />year, on June 27-28? All you'll have is fun!
<br />SOAPBOX
<br />NRIR, lA Battery
<br />Enclosed you will find the entry from NROR.
<br />Over the past few years, this same team has
<br />operated Field Day under the call sign WORCZ.
<br />As usual, there was another "operator"
<br />present that never seems to appear in the log,
<br />mainly because he doesn't have a license, Mr
<br />Murphy (he brought along all of his laws of
<br />physics). Murph did more operating at times
<br />than the licensed operators. Like when he
<br />"operated" by doing a little surgery on the belt
<br />for our only generator. Of course Murphy said
<br />"If anything can go wrong, it will, and it will
<br />lio wrong in the worst possible way." The belt
<br />broke at 0900 UTC Sunday morning. Then there
<br />rat the tribander that decided to go on the fritz
<br />just as things were heating up on Saturday
<br />afternoon. We also can't forget the display on
<br />the CRT monitor for the computer logger that
<br />ranted to jump up and down more than the
<br />S•meter did on 80 meters.
<br />Some things did go well during the normal
<br />Course of events: The barbequed chicken was the
<br />best thing that have hit these taste buds in quite
<br />some time. The rainmaker passed over and left
<br />Billy Lunt, KR1R
<br />Assistant Contest Manager, ARRL HQ
<br />N6EXC at the packet keyboard of K6QEH
<br />the HFEA ARC (3A).
<br />Table 1
<br />Entries Per
<br />FO Class
<br />1 A-249
<br />11 A— 2
<br />1 C— 24
<br />2A-515
<br />12A— 2
<br />2C — 1
<br />3A-292
<br />1 ?.A— 1
<br />1 D —106
<br />4A-127
<br />15A— 1
<br />2D — 9
<br />6A— 66
<br />19A— 1
<br />3D — 1
<br />6A— 26
<br />23A— 2
<br />AD — 1
<br />7A— 16
<br />1B1— 71
<br />1E — 56
<br />8A— 11
<br />1 B2— 60
<br />2E — 8
<br />9A— 4
<br />2B2— 21
<br />3E — 5
<br />10A— 2
<br />4E — 2
<br />things fairly livable overall. And, last, but
<br />certainly not least, we must pay tribute to our
<br />midnight visitors that climbed to the top of the
<br />lookout tower that supports our antennas. The
<br />cduple, after being heard making unusual noises
<br />from atop the tower, were caught underneath a
<br />blanket enjoying the stars (both real and
<br />imagined, as it were).
<br />It was a very satisfying Field Day for all
<br />involved. Thanks to those that took the time to
<br />pull out our 1-watt signal.
<br />W6WJ, 2A
<br />This was a lust -time effort for the I-ce De
<br />Forest Radio Club of Hemet, California. It was
<br />funl Our 2A operation was on 40/75 meter SSB,
<br />20-meter CW and 2-meter packet. Our Novice
<br />station operated on 10 meters.
<br />We used a double zepp on 40, which was
<br />converted to a dipole on 75. A tuner was used
<br />on both bands. The 20-m antenna was a half -
<br />wave vertical. Packet used a pole -mounted ringo.
<br />We used a three -clement beam on 10.
<br />Individual power generators were used on each
<br />setup. In addition, the packet station was run
<br />off a heavy equipment battery that was charged
<br />from one of the generators.
<br />Shelters consisted of a motor home at each of
<br />the operating positions. Awnings were extended,
<br />refrigerators were full, and facilities were
<br />immediately available. We were located in a
<br />county park with plenty of space available for
<br />antenna construction. Our site was accessible to
<br />the public and we had several cur;ous visitors.
<br />The only glitch in the whole operation was an
<br />inadvertent simulated rain shower from the park
<br />lawn sprinkler system which halted the 40-m
<br />operation for a time very early Sunday morning.
<br />We also found out how bad a perfectly good CW
<br />fist can get after a long layoff. Wait 'til next yearl
<br />K5Q11K IA
<br />This was a landmark for Amateur Radio in
<br />Snyder. Texas, as the 1986 Field Day was the first
<br />one to be held locally in about 25 years. The club
<br />had been inactive until October 1985, when we
<br />(re)organized. Although we didn't make a large
<br />number of contacts, we had very good partici-
<br />pation from 7541!0 of the active members. We
<br />tried just about all modes, and made contacts
<br />on all but satellite.
<br />The neat thing about our Field Day operation
<br />was the location. We set up on an old 300-foot
<br />tower site near the small town of Fluvanna. From
<br />the tower, we hung two wire "v" beams that
<br />were primarily designed for 20 m, but were
<br />tunable to any band. The legs of the northwest
<br />beam were 397 feet long. Another beam was
<br />aimed at the East Coast. A trapped sloper was
<br />also set up. The beasts really worked! On packet,
<br />a four -element beam and rutatcr were mounted
<br />50 fat up the tower.
<br />In our minds, our FD operation was a great
<br />success. The public relations that we received
<br />from our local radio station, ASNY, and our
<br />newspaper, the Snyder Daily News, made the
<br />town more aware of Amateur Radio and its use.
<br />Thanks and keep up the good work!
<br />N4BUH, IA
<br />Ttus Field Day effort was a rather impromptu,
<br />last minute, last ditch procrastinator's delight.
<br />At our last dub meeting, it was unanimously
<br />decided that there would be no Field Day effort
<br />if, year. But there are always a few restless souls
<br />who won't let a sleeping dog lie. So as Dave,
<br />KA40EY and I were laying final plans on our
<br />local 2-m repeater, we managed to draw a small
<br />crowd.
<br />Dave located the spot, a campground in the
<br />middle of the "Great dismal swamp of
<br />November 1986 73
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