DELARANEWS
Field Day
Our ARC workday has produced some antenna upgrades which should come in handy for Field Day! Here, again, are the plans. WE NEED YOU!! This has traditionally been DELARA”s biggest event, and it’s for everyone in the club! You don’t even have to operate to come and have a lot of fun! Please put FD weekend on your calendar now! Item 1: We’re thinking digital this year, using a 7300 in Canned Ham on FT8. Digital connections for FD have increased significantly. They’re easy (anyone who can type) and they count two points like a CW contact so they’re productive. This will mean reducing a SSB/phone station but there are some advantages in addition to the increase in points. Contacts are faster. Power is low so the potential for interfering other stations is reduced somewhat. This opens up to more operators who will be able to handle this after only a few minutes’ indoctrination. Item 2: A new GOTA antenna. We’re considering using an end-fed for GOTA… to show the performance of the antenna that many club members have just built. In addition, Mike will bring his DX Commander vertical antenna. (This isn’t limited to GOTA but worked well last year.) Item 3: “Run what you Brung”. While we have (thanks to President Mike!!) a complete stock of Icom 7300 radios (two in the station and MIke’s portable designated for the GOTA station). But it’s uncomfortable even for the seasoned ham to sit down at a new radio. So here’s a plan: we are considering a position where you can bring your own radio, set it up on one of our antennas, and work a shift. That may be in Craig’s secy “Camo Ham” trailer or inside the building at the GOTA location. In fact, Craig is suggesting that this super-high-class, highly- recognized-and-celebrated operation (they even have T-shirts so they must be good) actually become the station for our new members (those with less that two years in DELARA) to operate on their own! Select a Captain and go for it. If you were in last year’s boot camp, or in the antenna project this year, we’re talking to you ! This can be used for phone contacts on 20, 40, and 75 meters. Remember 40 phone is “bread and butter” daytime, and 75 is busy most all night. And don’t forget that monster FLEX rig sitting on the desk. No, we can’t run it from home (operators and equipment must be within a 1000 ft. circle) but it can be operated from the PC at that desk. So if you’ve always wanted a FLEX, here may be a chance for you to try. All of the above hinge on not contributing to the inter-station interference situation. And we still need EVERYONE!! This is a big deal. It’s fun. It’s rewarding, It is a great weekend.
DELARANews
Field Day
Our ARC workday has produced some antenna upgrades which should come in handy for Field Day! Here, again, are the plans. WE NEED YOU!! This has traditionally been DELARA”s biggest event, and it’s for everyone in the club! You don’t even have to operate to come and have a lot of fun! Please put FD weekend on your calendar now! Item 1: We’re thinking digital this year, using a 7300 in Canned Ham on FT8. Digital connections for FD have increased significantly. They’re easy (anyone who can type) and they count two points like a CW contact so they’re productive. This will mean reducing a SSB/phone station but there are some advantages in addition to the increase in points. Contacts are faster. Power is low so the potential for interfering other stations is reduced somewhat. This opens up to more operators who will be able to handle this after only a few minutes’ indoctrination. Item 2: A new GOTA antenna. We’re considering using an end-fed for GOTA… to show the performance of the antenna that many club members have just built. In addition, Mike will bring his DX Commander vertical antenna. (This isn’t limited to GOTA but worked well last year.) Item 3: “Run what you Brung”. While we have (thanks to President Mike!!) a complete stock of Icom 7300 radios (two in the station and MIke’s portable designated for the GOTA station). But it’s uncomfortable even for the seasoned ham to sit down at a new radio. So here’s a plan: we are considering a position where you can bring your own radio, set it up on one of our antennas, and work a shift. That may be in Craig’s secy “Camo Ham” trailer or inside the building at the GOTA location. In fact, Craig is suggesting that this super-high-class, highly- recognized-and-celebrated operation (they even have T-shirts so they must be good) actually become the station for our new members (those with less that two years in DELARA) to operate on their own! Select a Captain and go for it. If you were in last year’s boot camp, or in the antenna project this year, we’re talking to you ! This can be used for phone contacts on 20, 40, and 75 meters. Remember 40 phone is “bread and butter” daytime, and 75 is busy most all night. And don’t forget that monster FLEX rig sitting on the desk. No, we can’t run it from home (operators and equipment must be within a 1000 ft. circle) but it can be operated from the PC at that desk. So if you’ve always wanted a FLEX, here may be a chance for you to try. All of the above hinge on not contributing to the inter-station interference situation. And we still need EVERYONE!! This is a big deal. It’s fun. It’s rewarding, It is a great weekend.
