ARRL Field Day - 2020
Call: WD9EWK
Operator(s): WD9EWK
Station: WD9EWK
Class: 1B LP
QTH: Arizona
Operating Time (hrs): 8
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80:
40: 1
20: 5
15:
10:
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 0 32 0 Total Score = 614
Club:
Comments:
WD9EWK operated from the Kaibab National Forest day-use area at Cataract
Lake in Williams AZ on Saturday, 27 June 2020. I operated from this
location for Field Day 2019, and it was worth another visit. Picnic
tables are spread out, ensuring separation from other people.
Temperatures were around 86F/30C in the afternoon in this area around
7000' elevation, and nicer in the shade of the trees around the picnic
table. For HF, I used my Elecraft K3S with a Buddipole dipole on its
mast and tripod. For satellites, I had 3 radios - an Icom IC-2730A for
the FM satellites operating at 15W, and two Yaesu FT-817NDs for the SSB
satellites (one as a transmitter at 5W, the other as a receiver) - with
an Elk Antennas handheld 2m/70cm log periodic antenna. The satellite
station was set up next to the lake, away from the trees. Everything
operated on battery power: a jumpstart battery pack for the K3S and
IC-2730A, and internal battery packs for the FT-817NDs. I made the
drive to Cataract Lake early in the morning, arriving at the day-use
area around 8.30am (1530 UTC).
Before Field Day started, I first set up the satellite station. There
were some passes before 1800 UTC, and a couple of stations were hoping
to work me for a new grid locator in their log (DM35) before Field Day
started. I did that, using CAS-4A, CAS-4B, and XW-2A in the 1600-1700
UTC hour. Then I set up the HF station, and made a QSO on 20m SSB as a
test before Field Day.
HF wasn't productive for me this year. Either poor propagation, or the
increase of home stations with the rule change allowing class D
stations to work each other for QSO credit, made those bands tough. I
made a few QSOs with west-coast stations on 20m SSB, and one 40m SSB
QSO with a group in Utah, transmitting at 40W to ensure my jumpstart
battery pack could power the K3S and IC-2730A throughout the day. It is
still fun to get on the air and try to make QSOs, even if the number of
QSOs is small.
On the other hand, satellites were productive. I worked a total of 13
different satellite passes throughout the day, on 10 different
satellites. I had groups of passes every 60 to 90 minutes, and
generally tried not to work passes that had footprints covering the
eastern USA. I started Field Day making 3 SSB QSOs through the CAS-4A
satellite at the stroke of 1800 UTC. AO-91 and AO-92 were also passing
by around the same time, but the FM satellites would have been crazy at
the moment Field Day started. The CAS-4 satellites have passes that
move from west to east, allowing western stations a chance to make
contacts before the footprint reached the Midwest or east coast.
The 20-minute window around 1925 to 1945 UTC was the most productive I
had all day. Four satellites were passing by: first CAS-4B, then AO-91,
AO-92, and CAS-4A. On CAS-4B, I logged 7 SSB QSOs in about 3 minutes.
Then I had AO-91 passing by to the west, along with AO-92 also passing
to the west. AO-91 came up first, a few minutes before AO-92, and I
worked W6AAE in Nevada for my one QSO on this FM satellite. After
making the QSO, I heard another station calling me as I switched over
to AO-92. A quick QSO on AO-92 followed, with WB7VUF in Oregon, before
going back to the FT-817NDs for CAS-4A. Nine QSOs in about 6 minutes on
CAS-4A, with stations between the west coast and Indiana - the most
productive pass of the day. These 4 passes yielded a total of 18 QSOs.
Later in the day, I was able to make QSOs on two other FM satellites
(PO-101, SO-50), and four other SSB satellites (AO-7, AO-73, XW-2B,
XW-2F) before copying the W1AW Field Day bulletin on 20m SSB just
before 0200 UTC. After the bulletin transmission, I packed up my
equipment and drove home.
I logged a total of 32 QSOs this year in about 8 hours. More
satellite QSOs than most Field Days, but fewer HF QSOs. Even with the
unique circumstances this year, I still had fun getting out and
participating in Field Day. There were people walking by the lake, and
at one point through my site. We kept our distance, and I was able to
briefly talk about what I was doing.
73!
(26 of the 32 QSOs were made through 10 different satellites)
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