Sadly we had to cancel the CW field days in 2020 and 2021 because of Corona. This year things look very promising, so we expect to be operating from the field again.

Since the last editions (2018, 2019) were so much fun, we hope for even more activity, as every year. DH3IKO has volunteered to organise the event and act as the point of contact again. A field day lives through its participants, of course — the more people join, the more we can try out and do.

Dates

By now it has become a tradition that we arrive on Thursday already, to make the most of the social get-together. That means we will be camping at the field day site from June 2nd to 5th, 2022.

So the preparations for this year’s CW field day are under way.

Schedule

  • May 10th: meeting of everyone interested for a briefing via meeting.dl0at.de (if you do not know the password, ask DH3IKO beforehand)
  • Weekend of May 21st: possible trial setup at the field day site
  • June 2nd: arrival at the field day site

Contact

If you are interested, get in touch with Heiko (DH3IKO). He has an e-mail address made of his callsign at DARC.de. Alternatively, reach out via Matrix chat.

For coordination we want to try the DARC’s new Matrix chat. The easiest way to get started:

  1. Install the Element app
  2. Open the app and select chat.darc.de as the homeserver when connecting.
  3. Log in with your DARC credentials.
  4. Open the link of the E13 Hamburg-Alstertal group and choose the desktop or mobile app.

This chat is convenient to use both on your phone and on your computer at home.

Note: If this is your first time using Matrix, stick to the steps above with the Element client on desktop or mobile — that is the easiest way. We noticed that the browser version can be troublesome on mobile.

Team

We are a relaxed, mixed team that, among other things, practises scoring a few points with distinctly slower signals. For us, having fun comes first.

But there is interest in the faster signals too. We have become considerably faster than in the early days.

And then there is that feeling of achievement: if you are not too timid, even the fastest station can often be talked into a bit of QRS operating. We have shown that in recent years, and it is always a joy to notice the other side digging out their straight key to work us.

Our advantage is that, being a portable station, we hand out a lot of points to others and therefore have quite good chances of getting through.

We hope to find more participants this year than last. The more participants, the more antennas.

Antennas

The following options are possible:

Inverted L or inverted V with ladder line

The simplest variant: an inverted V with about 60 m of total length at 13 metres height, or an inverted L with two anchor points.

These are fed via ladder line from the CG-3000 tuner — done. If we end up being a small team, this setup has served us well over the past years.

Spiderbeam with rotator

With 10 or more people we can set up the WRTC package.

4-square phased vertical array

Given enough interest we can build this dream:

Four vertical radiators combined with a phase shift produce a directional pattern. With four 20 m masts you can build an 80 m directional antenna this way.

Axel (DB1WA) has a controller, so we “only need the masts and a bit of cable” :)

Class

To stay flexible with the antenna setup we will enter in the class

  • Portable, multi operator, low power, assisted

Training

We can only recommend practising the contest procedures a little. Even if you only plan to press F keys, it helps to know the routine by heart.

To practise contest operation, Morse Runner by Alex (VE3NEA) is the ideal software. The user interface may look dated, but it simulates radio signals so well that it almost feels like a real contest.

We will configure the F key layout like in Morse Runner. At the field day itself, N1MM will be used as the logging software.

Accommodation

For those who are interested but for whom the prospect of sleeping in a tent means back pain rather than romance, we will surely find a solution. Just get in touch.

We typically have a few caravans on site, so nobody has to go without a proper bed.

tu 73 es hpe cuagn fd test de dh3iko

References