FIELD DAY 2008:

For the 2nd year, the Pine Valley Repeater Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the ARRL Field Day event. We would like for the tradition to continue. Like last year we will be setting up the FIELD DAY SITE on Orange St. (Hwy 14) in the lot between the Chamber of Commerce Caboose and the Richland Center Municipal Building. Field Day is open to all amateurs at any license class. We will be using the club's W9SSC Special Events call. So this is your chance to work all the amateur HF bands ... SSB, CW, PSK31, and the VHF/UHF 2 meter and 70 cm. bands. The objective is to work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.
Field Day is an annual Amateur Radio exercise that is always the fourth full weekend of June, beginning at Noon (1800 UTC) Saturday and ending at Noon (1800 UTC) Sunday. This year Field Day will be held June 28-29, 2008. This exercise is sponsored by various AMateur Radio organizations, and in the U.S., it is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the county with over 30,000+ ham radio operators participating each year.
This exercise also demonstrates the rapid deployment of radio communications equipment in environments ranging from operations under tents in remote areas to operations inside Emergency Operations Center (EOCs). W9SSC will use an alternative power source, a generator, since electricity and other public intrastructures are often among the first to fail during a natural disaster or severe weather.
W9SSC will operate for a continuous 24 hours, with operators on duty the entire time. Field Day is rather like a contest, with stations making as many contacts as they can during the 24-hour period, using as many modes as possible --- SSB, CW (Morse Code), VHF/UHF, and the digital PSK31.
Site setup will start on or before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday in the lot on South Orange St.
We will be running a 2A Field Day site placed in a location that is not one of our regular station locations. We will be using the club's W9SSC license on our Field Day entry to the ARRL. All our equipment, including antennas, must lie within a circle of less than 1000 feet (300 meters) in diameter. All our contacts must be made with transmitters and receivers operating independent of commercial power and use less than 150 watts of power.

How to Contest:

While Field Day is not strictly a contest, that is how the entrants are rated ... and why not? A contest is a great way to evaluate a stations performance. It is also a great way to simulate message handling which will be a big part of any response to an emergency.

How is Field Day like a contest? In a contest the objective is to make as many contacts in as many places as possible in a prescribed amount of time. For Field Day, the objective is simply to make as many contacts as possible in the 24 hours you are allotted. To make those contacts valid, you have to exchange a certain amount of information.

To make contacts during field day, you use the same procedure as in any other contact you make on the radio. Here is how it works:

If you are INITIATING a Field Day contact, it sounds like this:

CQ FIELD DAY CQ FIELD DAY THIS IS W9SSC WHISKEY NINE SIERRA SIERRA CHARLIE CALLING CQ AND LISTENING.

If someone hears your call, he/she will call back: W9SSC, THIS IS W6SOL, WHISKEY SIX SIERRA OSCAR LIMA, OVER.

Then: WHISKEY SIX SIERRA OSCAR LIMA, WE ARE TWO ALPHA IN RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, OVER. (2a is your entry class - number of transmitters) and your ARRL section.

W9SSC QSL THANK YOU. WE ARE SIX DELTA IN WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, OVER.

QSL THANK YOU, W6SOL. THIS IS W9SSC, WHISKEY NINE SIERRA SIERRA CHARLIE, QRZ? (QRZ means that anyone hearing our signal, please call.)

If you are ANSWERING a CQ, it sounds like this:

CQ CQ CQ DE W6SOL, WHISKEY SIX SIERRA OSCAR LIMA CALLING CQ AND LISTENING.

You call, W6S0L THIS IS W9SSC, WHISKEY NINE SIERRA SIERRA CHARLIE, OVER.

W9SSC, WE ARE SIX DELTA IN WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, OVER.

W6SOL QSL THANK YOU. WE ARE TWO ALPHA IN RICHLAND CENTER, WISCONSIN, OVER.

QSL THANK YOU W9SSC. THIS IS W6SOL, WHISKEY SIX SIERRA OSCAR LIMA, QRZ?

All that is left is to record the contact in your Field Day log and get ready for the next contact.

Don't forget --- we are making CONTACTS not establishing a QSO --- so, make your contact short and to the point.

Because of atmospherics and propagation, plus other factors, many contacts are not this neat and clean. This is especially true when there are "pileups" ... many people are trying to make contact with you. But, that is Field Day ... and contesting in general.

The payment for your hard work: invaluable knowledge from the Field Day experts. And you get to receive all the bragging rights (but only if we do well).

If you are planning to participate, it is essential that we know who you are so that you can get all the pertinent information. While it is possible to "just show up", it is much, much better to be part of the planning process and get information about what is going on before arriving at the FD site where everyone is very, very busy.

But, learning to deal with these conditions are part of the lure and purpose of Field Day. After all, we are preparing to communicate in an emergency from a site away from home.

GOOD LUCK! And, above all, have fun!

THE PHONETIC ALPHABET:

Phonetic Alphabet

A Alpha N November

B Bravo O Oscar

C Charlie P Papa

D Delta Q Quebec

E Echo R Romeo

F Foxtrot S Sierra

G Golf T Tango

H Hotel U Uniform

I India V Victor

J Juliet W Whiskey

K Kilo X X-ray

L Lima Y Yankee

M Mike Z Zulu

PVR Field Day Site Locator:

If you want to find the location of the PVR Field Day site, go here!

Type in W9SSC in the locator box and a map will come up showing our location on South Orange St. You can use the zoom to obtain a closeup of the map.
Field Day Schedule:

Saturday, June 28, 8:30 a.m.
Field Day 2007 site setup begins. We will need to transport all the equipment from the various locations to the Orange St. site. Setup begins at or before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. We will need an "all hands evolution" so that all equipment will be up and ready to go when the contest begins. We hope to have a schedule of times for each operator at each station.

Saturday June 28, Noon Field Day 2007 Operations Begin. Remember that the Star Spangled Celebration is also going on at the same time. Our Field Day operations will be a Special Events station in conjunction with SSC. We will use our W9SSC call.

Sunday June 29, Noon Field Day 2008 Operations End. Once the Field Day has been completed, the contact logs will be backed up several times and distributed to two other members for safe keeping. All the equipment will need to be taken down and made ready to transport back to their original locations. One last team needs to sweep the Field Day Site to make sure it is clean and all our stuff has been removed.

The Public Is Invited to Attend:

We hope you will encourage your family, relatives, and friends to visit the FD Site. The public is invited to visit at any time in order to learn more about Amateur Radio, operating procedures, how the equipment functions, and to be made aware of the fact that this is the kind of set up we would use during a large emergency.

You may obtain the 2008 ARRL FIELD DAY RULES & REGULATIONS here!

2008 Rule Changes:

GOTA (Get on the Air) stations are those stations set aside by Field Day teams designed to get non-hams or newly licensed hams on the air. Unlike in past years where GOTA stations were limited to only the HF bands, the 2008 rules state that these stations may operate on any authorized HF or VHF Field Day band. Keep in mind that only one signal may be transmitted from the GOTA station at any time. ARRL says that the eligibility for operating the GOTA station has changed slightly: Anyone who has been licensed since Field Day 2007 is eligible to operate the GOTA station, regardless of license class. For 2008, the Demonstration Mode Bonus category has been eliminated and replaced by an Educational Activity Bonus worth 100 points. This bonus is intended to encourage clubs and groups to do some more formal educational activity during their Field Day operation. If you have any questions concerning what activities might be appropriate for this bonus, you should submit them via email to the ARRL.

Popular Bands:

There are many bands that most Radio Amateurs will use during Field Day. The table below shows bands that are relatively common and how and when they are in use. Again your license will determine which bands and what portions you are eligible to use.

Band (meter) MHz Use*

HF 160 1.8 - 2.0 night

80 3.5 - 4.0 night and local day

40 7.0 - 7.3 night and local day

30 10.1 - 10.15 CW and digital

20 14.0 - 14.350 world wide day and night

17 18.068 - 18.168 world wide day and night

15 21.0 - 21.450 primarily a daytime band

12 24.890 - 24.990 primarily a daytime band

10 28.0 - 29.70 daytime during sunspot highs

VHF 6 50 - 54 local to world-wide

2 144 - 148 local and medium distance

UHF 70 cm 430 - 440 local

* As you know, band conditions vary for many reasons and thus all of these bands can at times take on the characteristics of others. This table should be considered a guideline for use during Field Day.
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Phonetic Alphabet
A	Alpha	N	November
B	Bravo	O	Oscar
C	Charlie	P	Papa
D	Delta	Q	Quebec
E	Echo	R	Romeo
F	Foxtrot	S	Sierra
G	Golf	T	Tango
H	Hotel	U	Uniform
I	India	V	Victor
J	Juliet	W	Whiskey
K	Kilo	X	X-ray
L	Lima	Y	Yankee
M	Mike	Z	Zulu

Saturday, June 28, 8:30 a.m.	Field Day 2007 site setup begins. We will need to transport all the equipment from the various locations to the Orange St. site. Setup begins at or before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. We will need an "all hands evolution" so that all equipment will be up and ready to go when the contest begins. We hope to have a schedule of times for each operator at each station.
Saturday June 28, Noon	Field Day 2007 Operations Begin. Remember that the Star Spangled Celebration is also going on at the same time. Our Field Day operations will be a Special Events station in conjunction with SSC. We will use our W9SSC call.
Sunday June 29, Noon	Field Day 2008 Operations End. Once the Field Day has been completed, the contact logs will be backed up several times and distributed to two other members for safe keeping. All the equipment will need to be taken down and made ready to transport back to their original locations. One last team needs to sweep the Field Day Site to make sure it is clean and all our stuff has been removed.

	Band (meter)	MHz	Use*
HF	160	1.8 - 2.0	night
	80	3.5 - 4.0	night and local day
	40	7.0 - 7.3	night and local day
	30	10.1 - 10.15	CW and digital
	20	14.0 - 14.350	world wide day and night
	17	18.068 - 18.168	world wide day and night
	15	21.0 - 21.450	primarily a daytime band
	12	24.890 - 24.990	primarily a daytime band
	10	28.0 - 29.70	daytime during sunspot highs
VHF	6	50 - 54	local to world-wide
VHF	2	144 - 148	local and medium distance
UHF	70 cm	430 - 440	local