Emergency Preparedness practiced at the ARRL Field Day

Field Day Stuff for Members

(Centered on the Welcome and GOTA Tents)

The ARRL Field Day, is conducted by the ARRL the fourth full weekend every June. In 2007, this is June 23rd and 24th. Field Day encourages the use of radio equipment outside of permanent buildings and using electricity other than conventional mains. Field Day has several purposes:

                 - Emergency preparedness
                 - Recruitment and training of new radio amateurs
                 - Displaying ham radio to the general public

Unlike other contests, Field Day is rarely a single-man operation. In fact, Field Day is frequently used to highlight to the public, the virtues and utility of ham radio in an emergency situation. Some clubs demonstrate a wide range of technologies, including single sideband voice, Morse code, and a number of digital modes including APRS, packet radio, as well as satellite communications.

First and foremost, ARRL Field Day stresses emergency preparedness. During this exercise, entire radio clubs get involved, and take "Field" Day literally, erecting numerous radio masts and towers, each bearing several antennas, in a field, parking lot or in a major park. Most Field Day operations use generators to provide power to ham radio transceivers.

The goal of ARRL Field Day is to work, or contact, as many stations as possible throughout the 24-hour duration of Field Day. The Field Day exchange is one's callsign, along with the number of stations in simultaneous operation, followed by a letter (A-F) designating the method in which the stations are being powered, such as by generator, solar power, or conventional mains AC.

Since the early days of our club, the Motor City Radio Club, W8MRM, has made Field Day its premier annual operating event. We take Field Day seriously, sharpening our emergency preparedness, logistics exercising and operating skills, training new hams and sharing in the camaraderie of good friends and mentors.

Location of Field Day for the Motor City Radio Club changes from time to time. Over the years, some of the past locations included Bald Mountain near Pontiac, Garden City, Dearborn, South Rockwood, Grosse Ile and for the past two years, Heritage Park in Taylor, Michigan.

The equipment has changed since the early days, but the one thing that hasn't changed is our zest for the annual operating event and the anticipation and excitement of operating, cooking up steaks on the barbecue and rag chewing with friends, family and newcomers alike. Everyone is welcome to stop by, operate and join in on the fun that is Field Day.

Field Day is not only about operating, but also antenna and tower logistics. We have to be able to get on the air somehow and antennas are us. We start every Field Day on Friday at noon. At this time, members of our club as well as anyone wishing to join us, gather at a favorite eatery for the pre-setup lunch. After a hearty lunch, we head over to the Field Day site, to begin setup at 2pm.

In accordance with the ARRL Field Day Rules, we begin setup promptly ay 2pm (1800UTC). Antennas are delivered to their perspective positions within a 1000-foot area and several teams of people go to work, assembling antennas, towers, tents and anything else needed for the big event, 24 hours later. After a hard day of working on antenna and operating position setups, we partake in a long-standing club tradition of a steak dinner, cooked up to one' s own liking on the barbeque. Steaks are $5 apiece, pre-order only. Contact WA8FRD or KC8PKY soon!

We have been using the club's callsign, W8MRM, for this event since the earliest days of the club. This year, to celebrate our club's 75th Anniversary, we decided to get a second callsign. After some research, Stan, K8SB, suggested we acquire the callsign of the Motor City Radio Club's first president, Alex Doran, W8GTZ, as that call was not being used. In May, the FCC granted us W8GTZ as a Vanity call. We will be using it for the first time at the 2007 Field Day at our GOTA station.

The Motor City Radio Club traditionally sets up in the "2A" category, meaning two transmitter on HF (Shortwave) frequencies), and "A" meaning emergency power. Each operating position, or "tent" as we call them, has its own set of antennas. The Phone tent operators usually set up a Mosley TA-33M beam on top of a 40-foot tower. Also part of their arsenal is an 80 Meter loop. The CW tent usually gets a 40-Meter diamond antenna as well as an 80 Meter loop. Oriented correctly, both antennas offer excellent performance. In the CW tent, we use a battery charged entirely by solar power to make several contacts.

The VHF/UHF tent is well equipped with antennas for 6 Meters, as well as circularly polarized beams for 2 Meters and 70cm. This provides us with terrestrial as well as satellite communications. The VHF/UHF tent always has a few surprises. Sometimes its a different band or two, while other times, its a new mode of communication.

Throughout the weekend, we are the focus of much attention of the local government. Local law enforcement agencies, who regularly patrol the area, are alerted to our operation and provide us with additional protection.

Saturday's events start at 10am, with a Volunteer Exam session. This provides a peaceful morning outdoor atmosphere for FCC amateur radio license testing amongst gently swaying antennas, beckoning and waiting to come alive. After the test session, the examinees are all invited to join us for Field Day operating, which begins shortly afterward.

From 1800 UTC Saturday till 1800 UTC Sunday, all four tents are fully staffed and fully operational.

VHF/UHF, which uses higher frequencies, satellites and a few annual surprise modes.

At 1800 UTC on Sunday, all operating stops, total numbers of contacts are tallied and recorded, and the antennas are taken down and put away for the next operating event. But the fun doesn't stop, as plans and improvements for next year's Field Day are formulated and discussed.

Field Day 2007 starts Saturday June 23rd at 1800 UTC (2:00PM EDT) and ends Sunday June 24th at 1800 UTC (2:00PM EDT).

The Motor City Radio Club's Field Day operation is going to be at Heritage Park in the city of Taylor, Michigan. It's guaranteed to be lots of fun with multiple stations setup. For those who have never talked over ham radio or the newly licensed hams, we have the G.O.T.A station (Get On The Air). This station allows unlicensed or inactive people to get on the air and give ham radio a try. So, come out an see what all the fuss about amateur radio and Field Day are all about, Saturday June 23 and Sunday June 24, 2007 at Heritage Park in Taylor. You don't have to be a ham radio operator to participate! Stop by our Welcome Tent, or any of the other stations and see what amateur radio has to offer.