Planning Session Field Day 2015

• “Field Day is always the fourth full weekend, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and

• ending at 2100 UTC Sunday. Field Day 2015 will be held June 27-28, 2015.”

• We have 2 more club planning meetings before Field Day, not counting today or the meeting the day before setup

26 March, 2015

Google “ARRL Field Day” for the complete rules

Highlights of Last Year’s Final Report

King George County Amateur Radio Operators’

2014 Field Day Report& Analysis

Sam Stello

KK4VR

August 28, 2014

Bonus Points Claimed 970

• 100% Emergency Power 400– 4 stations x 100

• Media Publicity 100• Set Up In Public Place 100• Information Booth 100• Site Visit by Invited Official 100• Site Visit by Served Official 100• GOTA Bonus 20• Submitted via Web 50

Evidence Submitted

• 100% Emergency Power Generators Picture

• Media Publicity Newspaper Clips (2)

• Set Up In Public Place KGRO Advertisement + Posters

• Information Booth Pictures (2)

• Site Visit by Invited Official Steve Dempsey Picture

• Site Visit by Served Official None

• GOTA Bonus Pictures of station

• Submitted via Web Yes

• Club attendance list List generated from club roster (we didn’t have a sign-in sheet)

QSOs Claimed Band CW Digital Phone

160m

80m 9

40m 79 61

20m 38 9

15m 36

10m

6m

2m

1.25

Other

Satellite

GOTA 44

TOTAL 153 0 123

TOTAL POINTS 612 0 246

CW multiplier was 2x; Digital 2x; Phone 1x

Each QSO Score multiplied by 2x for Power Multiplier (under 150 watts)

QSO Analysis• CW 55% Phone 45% Digital 0% • 160m 0%• 80m 3%• 40m 51%• 20m 17%• 15m 13%• 10m 0%

• 6m, 2m, 1.25m, satellite 0%

• GOTA QSOs 16% (all phone QSOs; reported separately from other contest QSOs)

Point Chasing Options(using our 2014 Field Day numbers as the baseline)

+1287 points Operating QRP (under 5 Watts using solar charged battery, solar power, wind power, water power, etc.) changes power

multiplier from 2x to 5x (2145 points vs 858) and changes club categoryNOTE: QRP ops using generator or commercial is still only 2x

+480 points Maximum allowed GOTA points is 500 (20 points awarded per set of 20 contacts for each operator); a dedicated

GOTA instructor doubles earned points

+384 pointsIncrease our CW/Digital QSO rate from 6 to 10 per hour over 24 hours by automated logging (reduce duplicates);

operating additional CW or digital station(s); providing a logging assistant; operating longer, operating in shifts to keep each station running for the entire contest, etc.

+246 points Switch from phone QSOs to digital or CW; those points would double to 492 points (from 246)

This would increase our total points 170% (from 1828 to 3115) !!

Was the GOTA station worth the effort it took to set up and operate? (I think it was very worthwhile, but for reasons other than points….)

If Point Chasing, don’t use phone modes if you are CW or Digital capable!

PERSPECTIVE ALERT:

The club averaged 10 points/hr operating phone, 25 points/hr operating CW

Point Chasing Options (2)(using our 2014 Field Day numbers as the baseline)

+100 pointsConduct formal educational activity during Field Day

+100 pointsChange entry class from 4A to 5A (this is not an advantage since other 5As also get the

extra 100 points)

+100 pointsSend one National Traffic Manager message to ARRL Section Manager

+100 pointsComplete at least one satellite QSO

+100 pointsMake 5 QSOs using “other than commercial power or petroleum based generators”

Easy! Make just five QSOs operating with batteries!

Easy!

Easy!

Point Chasing Options (3)(using our 2014 Field Day numbers as the baseline)

+100 points20 point bonus for each participant under 18 completing a QSO (up to 100 points total)

+100 pointsCopy W1AW Bulletin once during the contest

+10 points per message For every formal NTS message originated, handled or delivered

+10 pointsOperate phone QSOs for one more hour at our averaged QSO rate (increases points to

1838 from 1828 points)

+0 Points Points added for each additional operating band and/or mode

Easy, but we needed to keep a Log Book to claim the points!

Points are earned for QSOs, not bands or modes

Easy!

2015 Decisions To Be Made; Actions To Be Taken

FUNCTION RESPONSIBILITIES LEAD

Field Day Lead Coordination, Planning, Execution

Sam

Facilities Site Reservations, Antenna Construction and Installation, Station Setup, Power, Contact Logging Equipment, Vehicle Parking, Tear Down

Contesting Radio Operations, Band and Modes Management, Logging, Call Signs & Modes, Operators Management, Schedules

Training Radio Operators, Operator Helpers, Logging Ops, Formal Training during FD, Equipment Installation Training

GOTA station Setup and Ops, Logging, Pictures

FUNCTION RESPONSIBILITIES LEAD

Media Publicity Advertising & Signs

Public Officials Invitations and Attendance; Visitor Orientation, Pictures

Visitor Management Visitor Signs, Information Booth, Demos, Visitor Activities, Pictures, Attendance Logs, Visitor QSO Reports

FUNCTION RESPONSIBILITIES LEAD

Special Messaging ARRL Section Mngr Message, NTS messages, ARRL Bulletin copy, Satellite QSO

Meals Planning, Finances, Coordination, Food Prep, Prayer, Seating, Cooking, Cleanup

Report Generation Collection of Data, Report Generation, Report Submittal, Brief Out Results