2022 ARRL Field Day report

What is 2022 ARRL Field Day?

I wrote a post about “What is ARRL Field Day?” in 2020 if you want to read it and then return to this post. Basically it’s the American Radio Relay League’s 1 weekend a year to showcase what amateur radio is all about to the public, have a simulated emergency operating drill, and come together for socialization.

Make Field Day Great Again

I think there’s a need for changes to make more progress on the goals of the event. These are my criticisms and suggestions. Currently there are too many things focused on just one weekend a year.

Split up the open house, showcase, and public interaction parts from the contest drill emergency simulation. Asking folks to be serious about operating in a simulated drill which is being scored for points and at the same time serving as welcoming ambassadors for amatuer radio is less than ideal.

Let groups showcase amateur radio using all weather comfortable public locations. Some demonstrations and displays as well as learning and testing opportunities. Have the GOTA station ready for use with no pressure for operation with points as a consideration. No reason this can’t be on the same day everywhere as the emphasis on outdoors as been removed.

The simulated emergency drill operations should be at a different time and the use of off grid power should highly rewarded via points. The use of a home, EOC, or portable field based location should remain options.

Stations that are established EOCs, homes, cars, and portable stations using non-grid power would originate traffic.(Call CQ) They would play the part of passing traffic from an affected area to the normal areas outside the emergency.

Stations using grid power would be limited to answering these stations and play the part of stations outside the emergency area and take the traffic for relay via conventional channels. It wouldn’t matter if you operated from home, only your power level and power source would matter.

I think it’s important to simulate disaster comms in a realistic way where many would operate from their home or cars and not necessarily from a field or other public location. Separating the exercise from the showcase allows for this. I also think the current date is a poor time of year for many with weather that is too hot to spend 24 hours outside without air conditioning. I also don’t think building fuel burning generator powered AC campsites is the solution and is a resource distraction away from improving core radio skills.

Many would rather socialize than setup and operate. Having two events a year instead of just one also gives them more of what they like to do even if it’s cook and eat food while visiting with other amateur radio operators and interested parties.

My strategy for 2022 ARRL Field Day

I dislike the sound of gas powered generators and so far I have not attended a Field Day event that uses them. I have built my solar capability to be able to run radios off grid.

I don’t like distraction of side conversations and background noise when I’m contesting that the showcase and socialization aspects of the current Field Day structure. I’ve always operated alone for this event. The times I’ve done contesting on a team have been limited to those when I knew I could get along with everyone on the contest team.

I value awards like Worked All States (WAS) and VHF UHF Century Club (VUCC) more than a high Field Day score. The Field Day scoring system offers so many points earning opportunities for groups that it’s never been a consideration of mine to try and get a high score compared to others. I instead look for ways to operate that will hopefully help me accumulate QSLs in LoTW that let me make progress on awards.

I have freedom with my sleep wake cycle and free time. I can nap during the daytime and then operate in the middle of the night if I want. I suspected that being able to operate on 80m all night was going to be a good option. I also like not committing to doing something and then having the option to cancel at the last minute.

Operating by myself from the comfort of AC at home was my strategy. I wanted to focus on 80m and 6m where I have less contacts but check 15m for Alaska which is the last state I need for WAS on that band. I didn’t care about the points bonus for QRP or off grid power, and felt that would work against my strategy of adding to award credit contacts.

Preparation for 2022 ARRL Field Day

I had already tuned the lengths of my 6m whips as part of the recently held VHF contest and didn’t collapse them when I stored them. There are web pages with formulas that will calculate the lengths required to make a dipole for a given frequency.

I reviewed the 2022 rules and figured out which class and station type fit the weather and my goals the best. That was 1 D. I have more radios but the mental capacity to monitor multiple bands, and the time to take down multiple antennas should weather move in.

I tested my logging software and radio control software ahead of time and was well rested and ready to setup when the contest began on Saturday.

6m horizontal dipole antenna

6m horizontal dipole antenna

I constructed this antenna using two long Buddipole whips screwed into a Buddipole Versatee. At the feedpoint a Buddipole 1:1 Balun with pigtail leads to BNC connector was used to connect a 50 foot long length of coax. The Versatee was mounted on top a 31 foot painter’s pole using a Buddipole adapter.

Two of the three painter’s pole sections were extended and the pole was attached to a wooden structure behind my house using bungee cords. Estimated height was 25 feet and time to setup was about 10 minutes if the whips are already tuned to the right length.

SWR plot for 6m horizontal dipole

The SWR (Red line on graph) on this was nice and low especially in the bottom of the band as it was adjusted. I could easily operate it without having to use an antenna tuner. 23 6m digital contacts made during the contest. So far I’ve seen 3 new grids confirmed towards the VUCC award.

Operations Saturday afternoon

I put up the 6m horizontal dipole antenna in just a few minutes and started working stations using FT8 and FT4 digital modes. I was seeing stations located in the ARRL sections of Florida which are NFL, WCF, and SFL.

I think I may have gotten 1 new grid towards the VUCC award during the contest. This is highly dependant on how the sporadic E sets up and I don’t think it’s a strategy fail.

It took a little while but after a couple hours I was seeing only worked before stations. I then went outside with my antenna analyzer and tried a number of different antenna parts combinations looking for something I could build for use on 80m

80m vertical coil loaded antenna

Since I have owned my Chameleon MPAS 1.0 I have known that you needed to use a length of wire as the radiating element for an 80m configuration. The size of my backyard makes this difficult and I had been thinking about how to do this using a less efficient coil loaded vertical configuration.

80m vertical coil loaded antenna

I bought a Super Antenna 80m coil and tried it with a handful of combinations with the other various antenna parts I own. The combination of a Chameleon MPAS 2.0 Mil Ext plus the coil, plus a MPAS 1.0 Mil Ext would tune at the bottom of 80m where the FT modes I was going to use are found.

tripod mounted 80m vertical antenna

The tripod is a Buddipole one that’s got the mount at about chest level. You can’t see it in the picture but I used the Buddipole guying kit to provide additional stabilization.

The coax used was a 50 length from Chameleon Antenna that has an RFI choke made into one end.

I should point out that the Unaun transformer I used is not the 100 watt capacity version included in the MPAS 1.0 kit but a larger higher capacity version they sell. The reason for this is that I have found that when operating digital modes at a full 100 watts, sometimes the smaller Unaun would get heat soaked and then SWRs would then rise high enough to force operations to halt until it cooled off again. Going to the larger capacity Unaun and making sure the antenna is tuned for the lowest SWR possible has made that a non-issue for me. I’ve never had an issue with the small Unaun and QRP operation.

I used a single 25 foot counter poise wire attached to the bottom of the Unaun than ran off in the opposite direction from the coax run and was elevated 2 to 3 feet above the ground. I did not try and tune the length of this for best results due to time considerations.

Super Antenna coil and Chameleon Mil-Ext 1.0 and Mil-Ext 2.0

Here are the two different Chameleon Antenna Mil Exts and the Super Antenna coil after I removed them Sunday morning. The version 2.0 Mil Ext is longer than the version 1.0

SWR plot for 80m vertical coil loaded antenna

The SWR dip was lower in frequency than the start of the band, so I’ll still try and see if maybe I can shorten the length of the antenna on my next attempt at this to move the dip up. I’ll swap a Buddipole long whip in for one of the Mil-Exts.

I found that I could use my built in tuner and operate this at 100 watts in digital contest mode without an rising SWR issues. 1.52 is OK and yes using a coil AND a Unaun transformer is not nearly as efficient as a dipole or some long wire.

Operating Saturday over night into Sunday

I made contacts on 80m from shortly after it got dark here in Florida for about 2 hours and then I took a nap for about three hours. I woke up in the middle of the night and continued to work on 80m until shortly after sunrise.

I really wanted something easy to put up and take down in case I saw lightning headed this way. I ended up being very pleased with how well it worked and how many contacts I made overnight. 65 digital contacts from sundown Saturday until Sunrise Sunday.

I think this validates my strategy and have seen 19 new state confirmations for 80m WAS come in since the time the contest ended. I saw some DX during the contest but they weren’t sending the FD exchange. I want to try and work some 80m DX in the future with my second attempt at setting up on 80m

Chameleon MPAS antenna

Sunday morning after sunrise I went outside while it was still cool and removed the two Mil Extensions and the Super Antenna Coil from the top of the Unaun.

I replaced them with just the Military Whip from the MPAS 1.0 and then went back inside to shift my operation to the higher in frequency bands as the layers in the ionosphere began to change due to sunlight..

Chameleon MPAS 1.0 antenna
40 meters
MPAS 1.0 40m SWR plot

In this configuration with only the MPAS Milwhip installed, the SWR on 40m is not great at about 3.0 and may be more than what some internal ATUs can match. Even if they match it the efficiency isn’t going to be the best. The Mil Ext sold by Chameleon is another section of shock cord connected pieces that can be installed between the transformer at the base and the bottom of the Milwhip assembly. This will lengthen the overall antenna and provide for better function on the 40m band. I skipped using it since I didn’t think I would spend much time on 40m and the antenna works better on the higher bands without it. Only 8 40m digital contacts made Sunday morning.

As part of my strategy I didn’t spend much time on 40 meters as I already have the digital WAS for this band.

At some point I’ll circle back and take some more SWR charts for the MPAS 1.0 with the Mil-Ext installed. It takes about 5 minutes to swap it in or out of the configuration.

20 Meters
MPAS 1.0 20m SWR plot

The SWR for the MPAS 1.0 on 20m is low enough at about 1.5 to use without a tuner but you might want to use one of you have one. Sometimes you pick a compromise antenna to allow for multiband operations with less antennas. The matching transformer used in the MPAS allows for this at the expense of some loss of efficiency in signal transfer. Only 7 20m digital contacts made Sunday morning.

As part of my strategy I didn’t spend much time on 20 meters as I already have the digital WAS for this band.

15 meters
MPAS 1.0 15m SWR plot

The SWR for the MPAS 1.0 on 15m is low enough to use without a tuner but you might want to use one of you have one. 17 15m digital contacts made Sunday.

I never saw any decodes from Alaska but I was looking for them per my strategy.

10 meters
MPAS 1.0 10m SWR plot

The MPAS SWR 1.0 is low enough across the 10m band to use without a tuner. 16 10m digital contacts made Sunday. None have been new states for WAS credit so far.

6 meters
MPAS 1.0 6m SWR plot

The MPAS 1.0 also covers 6m and I could compare it against the horizontal 6m dipole by switching between ANT 1 and ANT2 on my Flex 6600. The ATU in the Flex could match this antenna without issues but the horizontal dipole was better. If I were using this in the field for 6m I’d try adjusting the length of the counterpoise on the MPAS to see if I could lower the SWR or make sure I had an antenna tuner.

For contesting or QRP work where every little bit helps, using a resonant antenna with a lower SWR is going to be what you want to do. In this case I used the horizontal 6m dipole.

Sunday operations until contest end

I started operations on the Chameleon MPAS 1.0 after I set it up Sunday morning and would simply work my way through the bands in the contest checking for FT8 and FT4 activity.

Per my strategy I spent very little time on 40m and 20m and instead was on 15m, 10m, and 6m. I noticed things slowed down a lot after noon on Sunday and I made very few contacts in the last hours.

Preliminary Results

I had an issue with duplicates and I think it was from other stations missing the RR73 in our exchange and me reclicking to send it again. I also spotted a couple stations that worked on the same band using both FT4 and then FT8.

My final summary report looked like this.

Call Used: W4POT     GOTA Station Call: (NONE)     ARRL/RAC Section: NFL     Class: 1D

Participants: 1     Club/Group Name: (none)

Power Source(s): Commercial

Power Multiplier: 2X

Preliminary Total Score: 594

Bonus Points:
  Entry submitted via web                          50
Total bonus points                                 50

Score Summary: (Cabrillo log/dupe sheet file: FDLOG.txt)
                  CW  Digital  Phone  Total
   Total QSOs      0    136       0
 Total Points      0    272       0    272   Claimed Score = (QSO points x power mult) = 544



Band/Mode QSO Breakdown:
               CW          Digital      Phone
            QSOs Pwr(W)  QSOs Pwr(W)  QSOs Pwr(W)
      160m                                       
       80m                 65   100             
       40m                  8   100             
       20m                  7   100             
       15m                 17   100             
       10m                 16   100             
        6m                 23   100             
        2m                                       
       222                                       
       432                                       
     Other                                       
 Satellite                                       
      GOTA                                       
     TOTAL     0          136            0

Thoughts about how my strategy worked and next year

I was pleased with the combination I found would work on 80m digital and I look forward to improving it in the future.

Next time I’ll remember to capture PSKREPORTER maps of signal reach before data expires 24 hours later. By the time I thought about doing it for this blog post the data was gone.

I’ve seen a lot of comments about crowded FT8 3 kHz segments and should point out it was almost never an issue finding room on FT4 AND the exchange rate was so much faster with good signals.

Confusion about the FD exchange was noticed at the start of the contest and also some confusion about when QSO is complete Things change in contest mode and I think that throws people for a loop who are always expecting a 73 at the end.

I’d like to try my solar power and portable operations maybe next time asi I think that’s a better drill for an emergency. Given the hot weather this time of year in Florida, Winter Field Day is a much more comfortable time to try that out.

I could add more radios but I only have 1 brain. When the band conditions are good, I have more than enough things to keep me busy. During the slow times I could possibly handle a VHF and UHF station in addition to HF.

I liked the new 100 watt limit. Not as many ugly wide signals bleeding on the waterfall. Antenna gain will be an advantage to exploit if this is a permanent rule change . I should build a 2 element beam for 6m next time.

Propagation did not seem that great this year. Of course that’s often a matter of luck and location.

The weather was hot but good. Very thankful that lightning storms were not in my area during the contest.

I didn’t check for other digital modes but do many people even try RTTY or PSK31 anymore?

I could try extending my painters pole slightly higher and shorten whips slightly to move SWR dip higher into the 6m band.

My First Amateur Radio QRP Operation

Is Amateur Radio the same as ham radio?

Yes. Licensed operators in the Amateur Radio Service are commonly called “hams” and the service is sometimes called “ham radio”. I passed my first amateur radio operator examination in August of 2017 and was assigned a callsign by the Federal Communications Commission soon afterwards.

Park Gazebo in Pearl Mississippi

By international treaties a license is a requirement to transmit a signal within the many frequency bands allocated to the amateur radio service. I purchased Yaesu FT-817ND which is a small portable radio and antenna as my first station capable of operation on the HF bands. Yaesu has since released the 818 as an updated model.

What is QRP?

QRP is the prosign used for “lowering power”. Prosigns are a way to abbreviate things. To say you are operating QRP typically means you are using only 5 watts or so of output power. This is going to effect the strength and distance of your signal to some degree.

Yaesu FT-817ND and LDG Z-817
Yaesu FT-817ND and LDG Z-817

QRP radios tend to be smaller and light weight compared to radios capable of higher outputs and have more modest power requirements. They are great for use outdoors and other places where you must carry them and your other radio gear to the location of operation. The power outputs of amateur radios commonly found in cars and homes is typically from 40 to 100 watts if no external amplifier is in use.

My Chameleon Antenna MPAS was setup in the park and I also had a LDG Z-817 antenna tuner to help with matching as the FT-817ND does not have an internal tuner. Chameleon Antenna has since released the MPAS 2.0 as an updated product.

Why are you in a park?

I was in a park because it’s nice to get outside and appreciate nature, get some sunshine, and get away from sources of man made noise like electrical appliances and other radio transmitters.

QRP radio station

I also didn’t have an easy way to setup my antenna outside of my hotel room in Pearl, Mississippi and it seemed like a good thing to do after spending all of the previous day driving up from my home in Florida.

Why were you in Mississippi?

I was located in Mississippi on September 11th, 2017 due to a hurricane threatening the part of Florida I lived in. I had packed up some belongings and evacuated ahead of the hurricane to an area that was expected to be unaffected.

City of Pearl MS City Park
City of Pearl MS City Park

Thankfully it was a nice day and I was able to use my new radio and antenna to make my first ham radio contacts on HF.

My first transmission was to check in with a net I heard on the 20 meter band. The net control was located 520 miles away in Colorado and I was using SSB voice and 5 watts.

My next contact was to a station in New Mexico 1808 miles distant that was operating as a special event station for the Route 66 celebration. My third contact was to another Route 66 special event station in Arizona which was a little closer at 1281 miles.

I changed my radio to use the 17m band and my fourth and last contact of the day was the longest one so far at 1941 miles away with a station in Washington state.

First QRP Log
First QRP Log

We use the UTC time for logging in amateur radio since radio waves can go all over the place where the local times are different and there’s a need for everyone to use a single time. Grid squares are also used as a way to describe one’s location in the world.

This was my only day of operating from Mississippi as I soon returned home and made my first contacts from my home state of Florida, including my first international ham radio contact on September 14th. I’ve got over two thousand logged contacts in my logbook now almost five years later.

2020 CQ WW VHF Contest notes

This past weekend the CQ magazine World Wide VHF Contest was held and I participated. These are some notes and thoughts about the event.

Normally I like to participate in any VHF contest as a rover, a station that moves between two or more locations in different grid squares but due to the human malware issue I decided to operate from my home as a fixed station this year.

I setup my Chameleon Antenna MPAS 1.0 antenna in my backyard using the Mil extension and the Mil whip for a 17 foot tall vertical radiating element, and the counterpoise kit for 4 counterpoise wires laid upon the ground.

Although the contest allows for operation on both the 6 meter and 2 meter bands, I operated solely on 6 meters. Contacts on 6 meters were worth a single point and it didn’t matter which mode you used, you only worked each station once per band.

I setup my Flex Radio 6600 to use 3 slices. Slice A was for SSB phone mode, Slice B was used by an instance of WSJT-X running FT-8 mode, and Slice C was used by a second instance of WSJT-X running FT-4 mode. This allowed me to see all three of the band segments with pan-adapter waterfall displays, and also listen to them simultaneously.

I would tune Slice A using the Flex Control and have the audio play through my PC speakers, while the other two were controlled by their respective WSJT-X instances and the audio was routed via Flex DAX channels for them to decode.

I had the N1MM+ logging software running and tied to Slice A for logging any of my voice contacts by hand, and keeping my contest log. It also could be used for dupe checking and sending my score in near real time to the Online Contest Scoreboard.

Each copy of WSJT-X was not only keeping a contest log but had a copy of JT-Alert running which would both alert me to new countries and states I needed confirmations for on the band, but also broadcast my newly completed QSOs on my network connection. This allowed N1MM+ which was listening for these broadcasts to add those to the contest log it was keeping.

This contest allows for assisted operation so some of the additional programs I use with my Flex 6600 were also sending spotting information to the radio for display on it’s pan-adapters.

Over the course of the contest I saw times when only local stations were seen on the weak signal digital modes, and other times when distant stations were seen on both modes. I ended the contest with 36 contacts in total. About 4 of them were using SSB voice, 2 using FT-4 digital, and the rest using FT-8 digital. The majority of the time the band was not open to distant contacts or voice communication for my station. Only one of those contacts was with a Rover station.

I made some contacts with stations in the NE US, SE US, Texas, and Haiti. No contacts with the west coast, South America, Asia, or Europe.

One of the nice things about using computers for logging is that at the conclusion of the contest it’s a pretty simple and quick process to double check your log and score calculation, and then upload a log file as your contest entry, as well as upload to the ARRL’s Logbook of the World site for QSO matching and award crediting. 15 minutes after each contest I’m able to close the books on it, so to speak with all of my housekeeping completed.

I hope to be back roving again for the next VHF contest with any luck and will be thinking about any different antenna or station configurations I might want to try out.