ARRL Field Day - 2019
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: 6
20: 8
15:
10: 1
6:
2:
222:
432:
903:
1.2:
2.3:
3.4:
5.7:
10G:
24G:
----------------------------
Total: 0 19 3 Total Score = 500
Club:
Comments:
Hi!
WD9EWK operated from the Cataract Lake Day-Use Area in the Kaibab National
Forest, near Williams AZ. This was a one-day effort, only on Saturday (22 June
2019), and the day did not disappoint. Temperatures never exceeded 75F, the
coolest Field Day Saturday I have seen in northern Arizona in many years. I work
Field Day in a leisurely manner, making some contacts on 3 HF bands and 5
different satellites. The score includes 4 phone QSOs made via 4 different
satellites (AO-91, AO-92, PO-101, SO-50), 3 digital QSOs made via FalconSat-3,
and bonuses - 100% Emergency Power, Set-up in public place, W1AW Field Day
Message, Satellite QSO completed, and I submitted my entry using ARRL's Field
Day web app.
For HF, I used my Elecraft K3S at 50 watts, along with a Buddipole dipole on its
tripod and mast. Most of my HF time was spent on 20m and 40m, but checking
higher bands for any sign of activity throughout the day. This paid off late in
the day, with a single cross-country QSO on 10m SSB with W3AO. It took 2 or 3
minutes to get the information exchanged, but it was fun. That was my first
Field Day QSO on 10m in a few years. I never heard anything on 6m, not even the
FT8 activity I remember hearing last year.
On the satellites, I used two other radios - an Icom IC-2730 2m/70cm FM mobile
for the FM satellites, and a Kenwood TH-D72 for the FalconSat-3 satellite's
9600bps packet digipeater. I used my Elk Antennas handheld 2m/70cm log periodic
antenna for the satellite activity. My first Field Day QSO came a few minutes
into the event on the SO-50 FM satellite, a quick QSO with K8OU (operated by
John K8YSE, using his station in the Phoenix area). I also made QSOs on the
AO-92 FM satellite almost an hour later, using the L/V mode (uplink on the 1.2
GHz band, downlink on 2m). One of those AO-92 QSOs had a complete Field Day
exchange; thanks to Ryan AI6DO in southern California for that! I made other
QSOs in FM on the AO-91 and PO-101 (Diwata-2) satellites. The FM satellites were
generally busy, except for AO-92. Not many had the equipment to work AO-92's 1.2
GHz uplink, and I only heard 4 other stations on the pass I worked.
The FalconSat-3 satellite, originally built for the US Air Force Academy,
functions as an orbiting mailbox/BBS system and packet digipeater. Unlike the
digipeaters on the ISS and other satellites, FalconSat-3 is a cross-band
full-duplex system - uplink on 145.840 MHz, downlink around 435.103 MHz. Even
with the additional complexity, it can still be used to make Field Day QSOs
using APRS messages sent between stations. I worked 3 FalconSat-3 passes late in
the afternoon, logging at least one QSO on each pass. Other than the AO-92 pass
with limited activity in the L/V mode, working packet via satellite can be the
easiest way to log Field Day QSOs via satellite.
The final activity for this Field Day was copying the W1AW Field Day bulletin on
20m late in the day. After that transmission, it was time to pack up and drive
home. Once again, a fun day on the radio.
I posted pictures, along with audio from the satellite passes, in my Dropbox
space at http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ (look in folder "FD2019" for those
files).
Until next year... 73!
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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