ANNOUNCEMENT - 6/6/23
(Read the updates for more information.)
Hello,
The 2023 RRARS Field Day operation at the Bray Conservation Area on Saturday-Sunday, June 24-25 is slowly taking shape. The Bray Conservation Area is out Bridge School Road just outside of Rolla, address 14220 County Road 7000, Rolla, MO. Here is a link to the Google Map location.
We will be operating class 3A with three transmitters at 100 Watts or less.
We plan to have three HF stations, one for dedicated CW operations and two others for SSB (and perhaps some digital operations).
Food and drink will be on an On-Your-Own basis. Bring your coolers !
Three things that I would suggest are:
- Take time to review US and Canadian callsign structure to make copying callsigns easier.
- Learn the standard alphabet phonetics.
- Familiarize yourself with the US and Canada section list.
Setup will start as early as you want to on Saturday. I will be there no later than 830 AM. The park will be closed to the public as preparations for the Lions Club Carnival will be underway.
That being said, we may be able to spread out a little. We have exclusive limited access to the building and grounds at the Bray Conservation Area.
The actual Field Day event starts at 1 PM Saturday June 25 and and concludes at 1 PM Sunday afternoon, June 26.
***We will need operators to man the premises for security reasons during the overnight hours.
***Most important - if you haven't already, please let me know NOW whether you will participate (or not) and to what extent.
We need operators, especially overnight through Sunday afternoon!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Dave Bates, KFØXQ
kf0xq1@gmail.com
573.465.0715
UPDATE - 6/11/23
Field Day 2023 is JUST around the corner!
Please read the entire announcement, and then get back to me with your replies...
The club will be setting up starting about 9 am on Saturday, June 24th and will begin operations starting at 1 pm local time and operate until 1:00 pm on Sunday, June 25th at 1:00 pm when we'll begin tear down.
Location: This year we'll be at the Bray Conservation Area located off of Bridge School Road three miles southwest of the Rolla city limits.
We plan on operating 3 full time stations on HF and all 3 will be operating indoors in air-conditioned comfort. We will initially start out running three different modes - CW, SSB, and Digital.
I have three individuals volunteering to bring radios for this event. Gary KFØTW - CW - Yaesu FT450, Dave KFØXQ -SSB - Icom 738 with MFJ tuner, Joe KB7AVT - Digital - Icom 7300.
And I believe each of us will have a Windows laptop loaded with a logging program to use.
Please understand that if you volunteer to bring a radio station, you must be willing to allow others to operate it.
In turn, If you are using borrowed equipment that's not yours, you are expected to operate it with a high degree of responsibility and care.
I will provide a 40 meter Delta loop for the CW station. I believe Joe is bringing his own antenna. Joe, please confirm what you will bring. I will provide whatever antenna everyone wants for multiband ops on SSB, like another Delta, Dipole, Bazooka, whatever. At this point, let's agree to one antenna per station.
I believe emergency power sources are covered. I will bring solar panels and battery, Louis will furnish panels and batteries. Joe will bring his own power source.
Even though the ARRL says it's not a contest, it's a contest :). We'd like to score better than other 3A groups in the state and score well among other regional and nationwide 3A stations.
Soooo, I am also looking for some operators to make some contacts, especially during late night and early morning hours. If you want to get in on the action and help rack up the score, email me with the time frame you can attend.
At this point, food and drink is an "On Your Own" affair. If there is anyone in the group that'd like to help set up a meal Saturday evening, please let us know as well and perhaps we can grill on site, or send out for carry out.
73,
Dave Bates, KFØXQ
UPDATE - 6/21/23
We're less than three days away from the start of FD2023!!
We will use the club call WØGS as a 3 transmitter operation 3A from the Missouri section MO.
Decisions on what equipment and antennas to use have been made. There will be a CW station, a voice station, and a digital station. All 3 stations will be using N3FJP logging software networked together. All three stations will be using emergency power.
At this point in time, we have MORE THAN ENOUGH help with setup and tear down, Setup will take place Saturday AM. If you have not been contacted already regarding setup, you do not have to be there until midday Saturday.
Field Day is a 24 hour event starting at 1 PM Saturday and concluding at 1 PM Sunday.
This year, thanks to the efforts of Herb, KEØPXJ and the through the cooperation of the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, the WØGS FD operation will be held at the Bray Conservation Area on County Road 7000 about 1.5 miles past the dog food pant. This will be an indoor, air-conditioned venue with kitchen and restroom facilities at our disposal.
The real challenge has always been to have continuous operations at all stations throughout the 24 hour period . Operators willing to operate anytime between 10PM Saturday and 5 AM Sunday are highly encouraged to come on out. Sunday morning operators are also encouraged to volunteer.
Use of headphones is HIGHLY recommended, so bring them if you have them. We use a Bencher BY-1 paddle at the CW station, so if you prefer something else, you might want to bring your own.
Food and Drink are on a "Bring your Own" basis.
No alcohol is permitted on the grounds. Also, no smoking is allowed in the building.
Hope you can make it this weekend,
Dave Bates, KFØXQ
Interim President/FD Chairman, RRARS
