KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

Field Day

ICQPodcast Episode 479 – Baofeng UV-5R Mini

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ICQ Podcast logo.In this episode, I join Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news, including:

Colin, M6BOY, also reports on the following:

This month’s feature is a report on the new Baofeng UV-5R Mini.

Videos: QRP FT-8 Transceiver, vintage FD video, QSO with SV8ANW

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DX FT8: A QRPp, five-band, standalone transceiver

I recently swapped some email with a fellow who purchased a quantity of Tech study guides for a class he’s teaching (only $11/copy!). In addition to talking about the study guides, we got to talking about microcontroller projects. He wrote, “I assume you’ve seen the microcontroller based, standalone FT8 transceiver already, but if not it’s worth a peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b2WOxESAVU.”

Well, I hadn’t heard of it, so I did give it a peek. The DX FT8  looks like a very cool project. If I didn’t already have a dozen half-finished projects already, I might give this one a go.

Vintage Field Day 1962

This video reminds me of the home movies that my dad used to take back in the 1960s. Instead of Christmas and birthday parties, however, these show hams setting up and operating on Field Day 1962. Like the video says, there are “lots of vintage ham radio equipment, antennas, portable generators (look at the size of that thing at the 6:00 mark!), baked beans, and radio fun.

Couple observations:

  • The participants seem to be, on average, younger than today’s FD participants.
  • Note that there are two hams per station, one operating and one logging on paper. We do this by computer now.
  • There was probably more cigarette smoking and beer drinking than you’d find at today’s Field Day operations.

KB6NU de SV8ANW

Shortly after working Dimitris (Jim), SV8ANW, he sent me an email with a link to a YouTube video of our contact. Notice that he has a very nice bug fist.

Amateur radio in the news: Halifax ARC Field Day featured on community TV, teaching a new generation, NASA interns

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Halifax ARC Field Day featured on community TV

Teaching a new generation: Amateur radio group holds summer class

The Paducah Amateur Radio Association is working toward getting the younger generation interested in ham radio operation with its new summer class.

The ham radio class has met since July 8 and will last through July 29, with lessons from 2-5 p.m. every Saturday.

There are a total of 10 participants in the class, including students aged 5-14 and their parents. The class is covering basic knowledge of ham radio, etiquette on the radio, and basic knowledge of electronics.

…read more

Meet the NASA Interns Advancing Space Communications & Navigation

This news article features an intern who is also a radio amateur. At the end of the piece, there is information on how you or someone you know can apply for this program….Dan

This summer, NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Internship Project (SIP) is hosting several students across the agency at NASA Headquarters in Washington; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. SCaN oversees the operations and advancement of NASA’s two primary communications networks – the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network – which enables spacecraft to send data to and from Earth. SCaN’s interns contribute to the development of network enhancing technologies.

Over a ten-week session, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students work with mentors to complete a summer project that furthers the agency’s capabilities while also gaining professional development experience. Interns leverage backgrounds in engineering, computer science, mathematics, marketing, writing, project management, and more to contribute to NASA’s mission and vision in a meaningful way. Three of NASA SCaN’s 80 interns are highlighted below. These students join NASA with diverse backgrounds and work on different projects – demonstrating the breadth of opportunities available through NASA internships.

…read more

Amateur radio in the news: 2023 Field Day edition

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There seemed to be more stories about Field Day in the news this year. Here are a dozen links:

When everyone pitches in, Field Day is a lot more fun

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Everyone was welcome at ARROW Field Day 2023.

I had a blast at Field Day again this year. And, it was a heck of a lot more fun because it was a club event, and we had lots of people pitch in and help. This includes:

  • Dave, N8SBE, who was the chief cat herder,
  • everyone who helped set up the antennas on Friday evening,
  • the folks who brought out tents and trailers.
  • the folks who brought out their radios,
  • Maryanne, W8VWY, who arranged for all the food,
  • Dinesh, AB3DC, and Ryan, W8RSM, who wrangled the computers,
  • everyone who operated the radios,
  • everyone who worked on getting the bonus points, and
  • the crew that did the tear down on Sunday.

Once again, we (ARROW, that is) were class 4A, with two CW stations, one phone station, one combination phone/digital station, and a GOTA station. We’re blessed with several good CW operators, so we were actually able to keep the CW stations busy for most of the 24 hours. We’re also blessed with other hams who were anxious to operate the other stations, and we managed to keep them busy, too. As you can see from the chart below, we had 24 operators total, and that’s not counting the people who operated the GOTA station.

Here’s a look at our stats:

Personally, I made the most contacts ever on Field Day—501 contacts all on CW. As you can see most of my contacts were on 40-meter CW. Part of the reason for this is that I was called on to start operating right at the start. I had expected someone else to do the honors, while I got the GOTA station going. When 2:00 pm rolled around, however, I was the only one available to work the station. Fortunately, one of my “assistant” GOTA coaches—Mike, KE8PWV—was available to take over, while I ran the CW station.

Yours truly, cranking ’em out on 40m CW.

Also, fortunately, the stars—or I should say the ionosphere—were in perfect alignment for me. The band was in really good shape, and there were lots of stations to contact. I found a frequency to set up on, and ran pretty much continuously for the next several hours. I don’t know how many contacts I managed to make, but it was a boatload.

Getting with GOTA

Another highlight for me was coaching the GOTA station. I really enjoy helping new hams get some experience with HF. This year, we had a rush of GOTA operators Saturday afternoon, but that petered out kind of fast. Picking up the slack, though, was the Hoffman family: Matthew KE8UEE, his mother Suzanne KE8TYK, and Matthew’s younger sister, Anna.

Matthew was our “GOTA star” last year, racking up quite a few contacts for us. This year, Matthew, now armed with an Extra Class license, was a coach himself, helping both his mother and sister make contacts.

From GOTA star to GOTA coach: Last year’s top GOTA operator, Matthew, KE8UEE, coached his younger sister, Anna, at the GOTA station this year.

As I usually do, I left the site around 9:00 pm, went home, showered, and hit the sack for a bit. I got up at 3:30 am and got back around 4:00 am. That was perfect timing, as Arun, W8ARU, who had been working the midnight shift on the 80-meter CW station, was just about ready to quit. Arun complained that there were no new stations to be worked, but I managed to scratch out 74 contacts over the next two hours. Not great, but not bad, either.

As the sky turned from gray to orange, I switched back to the 40-meter CW station. I didn’t keep track of exactly how many contacts I made, but I think my rate was a bit higher than what I was doing on 80 meters. I think that was partly due to the number of 1D stations that got on the air Sunday morning. I did manage to find some Class A stations, though.

As the contacts became fewer and farther between, I started to tire of listening to the computer pound out “CQ W8RP FD,” so did some search-and-pounce. I had some success with that, and I would switch back and forth between searching and pouncing and running a frequency.

Going for 500

At some point, I decided to quit. I got up and wandered over to the information tent, where a bunch of people had congregated. The information tent featured a big display that was displaying some real-time date, including the number of contacts made by each operator. When I saw that I had 487 contacts, I said, “Nuts. I guess I have to get back on the air and hit 500.”

I actually had to make more than just 13 to hit 500, as that 487 figure included a number of dupes. I decided early on that instead of telling the other station that the contact was a dupe, that I’d just work them, and let the software sort it out. N1MM, the logging software that we were using, does give you a figure that already takes into account those dupes, so I used that number instead. I think that I needed another 20 or so. I was able to make those in another hour or so, and at that point, quit.

For the rest of the time, I just hung out. Our county clerk came by—giving us the elected official bonus—and since I knew him, I gave him a tour of our setup. I even got him to sit down and make a contact at the GOTA station!

Demographics problem?

Finally, I’m happy to say that we had a real good mix of people—not just a bunch of old guys—at this year’s Field Day. In addition to Matthew and his sister, we had at least one teenager show up and make a contact at the GOTA station. In addition, we had a number of 20-somethings show up. So, while the average age of the attendees was probably greater than that of the general population, all is not lost, at least not as far as ARROW is concerned.

The ARRL PR Committee wants to help you publicized your Field Day

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Field Day is just two weeks away. So, if you haven’t already done so, get your PR machine in gear. To help you do that, here’s a message from the ARRL’s PR Committee….Dan

Hello,

The ARRL Public Relations Committee is excited to share a video with helpful tips for maximizing Field Day PR and Publicity. With a few weeks left before Field Day, there’s a great opportunity to garner attention, press, and social exposure for your club’s event.

The video is available via this link as an unlisted upload on our ARRLHQ YouTube channel. In it, you’ll learn some best practices that have worked well in other ham clubs. The ARRL Field Day
web page has a lot of resources you might find helpful, as well.

ARRL is planning a livestream from W1AW, The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, on Field Day to help generate excitement and social traction during the event. Look for more information on that soon.

As always, we are grateful for your support in the effort to advance amateur radio! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if any of us at HQ may be of service.

Keep up the great work!

73,
Sierra Harrop

Sierra Harrop, W5DX
she/her/hers
Public Relations and Outreach Manager

Amateur radio in the news: Post Field Day 2022 edition

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It’s nice to see so many clubs get publicity for their Field Day operations. Here are links to a bunch of them that have passed through my inbox.

Is Field Day still relevant?

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I always enjoy Field Day, and this year was no exception.But, as I sat there, punching call signs into N1MM and watching my log and the logs of the other networked stations, it occurred to me that there were an awful lot of 1B, 1D, and 1E stations. I’m guessing that the majority of these stations were one-person operations operating from their back porch.

I know that Covid is still an issue, and some hams are just anti-social, but I think that these folks are really missing out. I mean, it’s nice to try something new once in a while, and the first year was fun. I operated completely QRP and battery-powered. The second year, however, was completely unsatisfying, even though we did manage to cobble together a small group.

Is Field Day still relevant?

This year was a lot better. Our club was 3A, but even so, attendance was way down. Noting that, and noting all the single-operator stations, I’m beginning to wonder if Field Day is still relevant. I’ve always described Field Day as a combination club social event, emergency preparedness exercise, and public relations event. With so many single-operator stations, it’s certainly not much of a club event, and I doubt that the 1B, 1D, and 1E ops are doing much public relations.

I suppose that the 1B and 1E stations are exercising some of their emergency communications capabilities, but a lot of training is now required to really take part in emergency communications. I’m not sure that knowing that your generator is working and how to start it would be all that valuable in a real emergency situation.

Even with all the 1B, 1D, and 1E stations on the air, it seemed to me that participation was down. At least it was down on CW. After searching and pounding a bit, I had no problem at all finding a clear frequency on which to start calling CQ.

Should Field Day encourage more VHF/UHF operation?

Another reason that makes me wonder about the relevance of Field Day is that  operation mostly takes place on HF. Sure, some clubs have VHF/UHF stations, but I’d say that those are the exception rather than the rule. And, since the majority of licensed hams are Techs, how appealing is it for them to come out and participate in Field Day?

Also, most emergency communications now take place on VHF, UHF, and above. How is making rapid-fire CW contacts on 80 meters training people to be better at emergency communications?

I mentioned this to my friend Mark, W8MP, who happened to wander into the CW station while I was pondering this idea. He said, “Well, at least this is getting people on the air.” That’s true, I guess, but there are all manner of contests and operating events that get people on the air.

I’m not exactly sure what we can do to increase Field Day participation, but here are a couple of ideas:

  • Give more points to VHF/UHF and up QSOs to encourage more operation on those bands.
  • Require every club operation to have a GOTA station, or give more points to GOTA contacts. It seems to me that GOTA stations are one of the really good things about Field Day and it should be promoted more.
  • Give points for activities specifically directed at Tech licensees. I’m not sure what that would be, though.

I’m certainly interested in hearing what you think about this? Am I off base here? If not, how would you make Field Day more relevant to the situation that amateur radio finds itself in these days.

ARROW heads back to the field for Field Day

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2020 and 2021 were pretty bleak years for Field Day. Since it’s just as much a social or group event as it is an amateur radio event, the Covid pandemic really put a damper on things. This year, however, ARROW, our club here in Ann Arbor, MI, figured that while Covid may still be an issue, we could safely set up outside and have a real Field Day.

Even so, participation was significantly less than 2019. People are either still cautious about gathering in groups or have gotten out of the habit of meeting in groups. Whatever the reason, we were only able to muster enough equipment for three HF stations, plus a Get on the Air (GOTA) station this year. In years past, we ran four stations, plus a GOTA station.

I again served as “head coach” for the GOTA station and as one of the CW operators. I do enjoy making contacts, but being the GOTA coach is a lot of fun, and it’s really my main focus during Field Day. I’m glad that I got to do both this year.

Our club members took a lot of pictures this year. Below is a selection of photos, each with their own story.

The weather cooperated this year. There were plenty of blue skies, and it wasn’t as hot as in years past. Even so, it was important to keep hydrated
This is Joe, AC8ES, at the phone station. This station was set up in a trailer brought out by James, KC8BGJ, our club president.
In this photo, Arun, W8ARU, is operating one of the CW stations. Arun pulls the night shift every year. This station was set up in an RV owned by Dave, N8SBE. That’s Dave’s K3S that Arun is operating.
Every year, we have one new operator who distinguishes themselves at the GOTA station. This year it was Matthew, KE8UEE, the 11-year-old fellow in the blue shirt. He made about 100 contacts over the weekend, and learned quite a bit about operating HF, and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? On Sunday, for example, I caught him adjusting the bandpass filter, so that he could copy stations more easily.
Matthew wasn’t the only youngster at Field Day. Here, Max, Charles W8HAX’s son, makes a contact at the GOTA station.
This little guy also visited us at the GOTA station, climbing up a table leg and making himself right at home. Some quick googling by Mary Anne, W8VWY, confirmed that our little friend is a fox snake and isn’t poisonous. Somehow, I managed to take this guy home with me. As I was unloading my car, I found him wedged between two boxes. Now, he has a new home in my backyard.
Jay, WB8TKL, was in charge of the public information table. He also brought out the trailer-mounted tower that you can see in the background.
Les, W8MSP, Michigan Section Manager, also paid us a visit. This photo shows him and Ralph, AA8RK, the Michigan Public Information Coordinator (left) proudly displaying Governor Whitmer’s proclamation of Amateur Radio Week.
One highlight of the weekend was the plane ride that I got to take. Four of us went up with Mark, W8MP, who’s a professional pilot. Our FD site is just north of Ann Arbor airport. Mark did a few turns aorund the site, and Dinesh, AB3DC took this photo.
From left to right, our motley flight crew consisted of Dinesh AB3DC, Dan KB6NU (rear), Matthew KE8UEE, and Mark W8MP. Matthew brought a handheld along and made his first aeronautical mobile contact!

Get bonus points for writing a press release for Field Day

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Yikes! I just read the rules for Field Day 2022, and the rule about getting publicity for  your Field Day operation has changed. In years past, you scored bonus points if you just submitted a press release. This year, however, you must actually get some publicity. The Field Day 2022 FAQ page says:

In order to claim the media bonus, you must obtain publicity with the media. This is a rule change for 2022. Proof of the publicity must be provided in order to claim the bonus points.

I know time is short, but can still do it. Here are som examples of publicity that other clubs have already obtained:

And, finally, here’s a PDF of the press release that I have submitted to our local media.