Your story sounds very familiar. As for our club, we let it be known that
our Field Day was in a Public Park for a reason. No Alcohol Allowed. When
they Show Up Drunk we tell them that we have Kids and Family present and
ask them to leave. Anyone who can't respect that does not need to be in our
club. As for being so far from the Mainland, I personally worked 4 KH6
stations on phone this time. All had decent signals. We were 3A and I
worked them on 20 meters with an 126 foot Multi band Dipole with Ladder
Line feed and 100 Watts. ( Not really a Great Antenna for that purpose )
... We were however a Big Signal on 75/80 and 40 Meters. When it came time
to eat there was a surprise this year. Ever heard of the saying " Sing for
your supper " Our rule was that if you eat, you must make at least one
contact. Several observed the rule, a few procrastinated, but for the most
part the rule was followed. This rule will be in effect at next years Field
Day also. Some in our club have Disabilities but, for the most part almost
as many were there for the tear down and clean up as there were for the set
up and operation. A Field Day FIRST for us. Guess we got lucky this year.
For the first time in the history of our club, since 1976, Phone beat CW in
total contacts. Several of our best CW ops became SK this year. We do have
young folks in the club however, who are on fire with CW and with a bit of
experience this year, will be whipping the Phone operators next year again
for sure.
73 and Best Wishes from
Tennessee de Wade/KJ4WS
On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 3:03 PM, Ken Brown <ken.d.brown@hawaiiantel.net>wrote:
> Here is the way Field Day works around these parts, which is the Hilo
> side of the Big Island of Hawaii.
>
> 1) At a club meeting a month or two before the event, the subject of
> Field day is brought up. There is lots of enthusiasm, at least
> vocalized. A small core group of hams, perhaps three to five, coalesces
> and starts making plans. They figure out whose houses have the antennas
> stored under them and when to go get them. They come to some consensus
> about what category the club will enter the contest in. (Yes it IS a
> CONTEST, it wouldn't have SCORING and POINTS if it were not.) The
> conclusion is always that there must be at least two stations.
>
> The reason there must always be at least two stations is that the fone
> ops are always wanting one station in fone mode, If there is just one
> station on CW the op is constantly being bothered to switch over to fone.
>
> Decisions are made about antennas to be put up, locations, support
> arrangements, filters and stubs. Decisions are made about logging
> methods, computers or paper, networked or stand alone computers. Some of
> the tasks are delegated to individuals who have skills, resources and
> preferences in those directions.
>
> There is/are another group or two of hams who are working on the lunch
> that will be served at Field Day, and the public relations aspect
> involving elected officials, local news, etcetera. I don't know much
> about what this group does, since it is not the part I find interesting.
> I am sure they put in a lot of effort. They usually do a real good job.
>
> 2) These groups make preparations and plans during their off work hours
> in the few weeks before the contest.
>
> 3) The big day arrives. The core group collects all the pieces from the
> various places they have been stored and brings it all to the FD site.
> Antennas are erected, stations are set up and the core group gets on the
> air. This group has been planing and preparing for days or weeks, and
> have been driving around collecting gear, and have just finished setting
> up antennas, so they tire of operating pretty soon. By this time some
> other operators have shown up. The core group operators try to show the
> new arrivals how the radios and the logging system works (whether it be
> computer or paper with a dupe sheet), and explain what at Field Day QSO
> is. Most likely both stations get switched to fone mode about now. The
> newly arrived operators struggle to make a few QSOs, but mostly just
> look at the radios and drink sodas. Some of the core group operators
> have rested enough to get on the air again. Sometimes these operator
> resist the urge to put both stations back on CW where QSOs can be made.
> Fone is pretty hopeless 2500 miles or more from North America.
>
> 4) Several hours after the contest has started more hams show up with
> antennas and radios and start setting up. The core group wonders where
> these guys were when the plans and preparations were being made, and how
> the unexpected stations are going prevent making duplicate QSOs, since
> they have not prepared to coordinate with the logging system that has
> been set up. There are also questions about interference with the
> planned stations, since the new arrivals don't have filters and have not
> considered antenna spacing and polarization to prevent interference. It
> doesn't really matter though, since mostly these stations will just be
> looked at, or used to listen around the bands, not necessarily the ham
> bands.
>
> 5) By now the real operators have rested and are back at the keys. As
> band conditions change and they start to make QSOs at a good rate, the
> excitement is contagious and the onlookers want to change to fone. The
> real operators let one station switch to fone and help get it going. A
> few QSOs are made, and mostly because of the ineffectiveness of fone,
> the new operator quickly gets discouraged and goes to get a soda. The
> station sits idle.
>
> 6) Lunch time. A whole bunch of food and a whole bunch of people show
> up. Clearly a lot of effort has gone into the planning and preparation
> of this meal, and it is not going to go to waste. The operator at the CW
> station is pestered to come and eat. The fone station is idle.
>
> 7) After lunch most of the people disappear, leaving the core group
> operators and a few people who are really interested in operating fone.
> The familiar cycle repeats. Even if the fone operators have learned how
> to operate the radio, make a QSO and log it, the mode is just so
> ineffective they become discouraged quickly. This is a 100 watt station
> trying to be heard 2500 miles away in the most crowded band conditions
> of the year.
>
> 8) Later in the evening several drunks show up. This is no surprise. We
> see the same guys every year. These guys actually have Amateur Radio
> licenses, but the real operators have to keep one eye on them to be sure
> one of the uncoordinated stations in not operating on 11 meters.
>
> 9) Finally morning comes and the contest period is over. The core group
> starts shutting down and packing up. Some of the people who were trying
> to make fone QSOs and helped with food and PR show up again to help
> dismantle the stations. They sometimes bring dough nuts and coffee with
> them. The logs, or log files are collected. Maybe they will be submitted
> to the ARRL before the deadline, maybe not.
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