ARRL Field Day 2009

[elk2370bruce]

I would agree that Field Day is important to practice our set-up and operating skills for emergencies. It is also the time for the fellowship that amateur radio has been, is (or should be) known for. Every group or club has members with many decades of experience that they can share with you - even if you've been around a while. Newly minted hams, or those still toe-dipping on the periphery, can have a real opporunity to learn, GOTA, and earn their stripes. Listen, ask, and learn and you'll make great friends and find loads of Elmers. Members at the site where I operated demonstrated WINLINK, Satellite, IRLP, ECHOLINK, and showed us how to get those antennas up just right. We had everything but EME Bounce. Most groups know they are not gonna win it or place high(and don't care) - they just wanna be part of it. Nothing is better than getting a scout on the air and having that first QSO with a scout in a different state in front of mom and dad. Even better is getting a tech licensee with only repeater experience and watching them lose their hf virginity with a juicy dx station QSO under the guidance of a control operator. Fun, food, camping, and friendship...... all at bargain prices.

 

[newsphotog]

... Even better is getting a tech licensee with only repeater experience and watching them lose their hf virginity with a juicy dx station QSO under the guidance of a control operator. Fun, food, camping, and friendship...... all at bargain prices.

Couldn't have said it any better. I'm not in it for contesting, I'm just there to be around people with alike interests. I got my HF cherry popped last year during SKYWARN day. I didn't get a chance this year to stay at Field Day more than 6 hours, but hopefully next year I can.

Pictures: Field Day 2009 - a set on Flickr

Video: YouTube - DMRAA Field Day 2009

 

[KC0KM]

Here are a few Youtubes for our club K0GQ/KC0MO from Field Day in Raytown, Missouri. This was my first one, although I had contacted the TV stations, I am not on any of the videos. I did make a few QSL on GOTA, but also worked 6m for about 2 hours.


YouTube - 2009 ARRL Field Day Video of "K0GQ" With New Footage
YouTube - Fox 4 News Coverage of ARRL Field Day 2009 With "K0GQ" Raytown Missouri
YouTube - K0GQ Raytown Amateur Radio Club

 

[newsphotog]

Wow, Fox 4 gave you tons of coverage... congrats! Here in Des Moines we had a ton of news events going on that wiped out any chance of news coverage for Field Day. It was very disappointing, to be honest, especially considering we've had our best Field Day for a long, long time.

 

[tekshogun]

Fox News gave us some coverage for the Guilford ARES field day contingent as well.

Hey guys, this is a sad story, I just stumbled across this article from June 30, 2009 (and another article from July 1 from ARRL), just a few days after Field Day, about a key that went silent forever while working on a 60 foot tower at one of the event sites:

Amateur radio operator dies after tower collapses
ARRLWeb: ARRL Home Page

Truly sad, that one of the most fun events I have ever taken part in (for the past few years) could potentially turn tragic. This year I helped put up a 900ft long wire with a big thunderstorm approaching, multiple times I was easily the shortest path to ground. Sure, your chances are always slim, but all it takes is one chance. Stay safe people.

 

[APTN]

Field

I just experienced my first Field Day. I had a blast. I observed a contact to AK. (Talk about DXing.)

 

[tekshogun]

The furthest I got this year was Puerto Rico.

In 2007 I hit Alaska and in 2008 I got someone in Hawaii.