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Field Day 2009: Report and Results

Go to Field Day Photos page
Results

Once again the club participated in the ARRL's annual Field Day event.  During a 24 hour period (2 p.m. Saturday June 27 to 2 p.m. Sunday June 28), hams in the US and Canada tried to make as many radio contacts as possible using radios running on emergency power (batteries, generators, solar panels, etc.). In addition, we used the event to promote ham radio participation to the general public, as well as our emergency support capabilities to the public, elected officials, and emergency response organizations, such as the Red Cross.

As in the past, we staffed two separate operating locations. Our main station was established in a field behind the Governor Livingston (GL) High School in Berkeley Heights at an elevation of 535 feet  atop the second Watchung Mountain.

A special "Class F" station was established at the Colonial Crossroads Chapter of the American Red Cross on Springfield Avenue in Summit.

At the GL site we ran 3 operating stations in portable shelters:

• 1 VHF station on 2 and 6 meters (single side band voice and Morse code)

• 2 HF stations on 15 through 80 meters (single side band voice, RTTY  and Morse code)

To make sure no one went hungry, a kitchen -- complete with gas grill -- was setup to provide cold beverages, meals, and snacks .

At the "Class F" Red Cross site, we set up an HF station on the side porch of the building and used a dipole antenna strung high between trees on the property.

With great weather -- cool and dry -- everyone had a great time, even though the bands were pretty quiet because of the sunspot minimum.

Go to Field Day Photos page

2009 Results:

N2XJ finished #1 for Class 2A in NJ  and #91 nationwide for Class 2A. Our station made 1208 QSO's and had a grand total of 4,338 points. We had a total of 27 operators who put N2XJ on the air.

K2MUN finished #4 for Class 1F nationwide and #2 in NJ. Our station of 15 operators made 562 QSOs and had a grand total 2,794 points

A. N2XJ Results:

Score Summary:

	CW	Digital	Phone	Total
Total QSOs	416	0	792	1208
Total Points	832	0	792	1624	Claimed QSO Score = 3,248    (QSOs x 2 multiplier)

B. Class F Station results

Score Summary:

	CW	Digital	Phone	Total
Total QSOs	309	91	162	562
Total Points	618	182	162	962	Claimed QSO Score = 1,924    (QSOs x 2 multiplier)

"This is a respectable result, especially given an inexperienced station manager and less than ideal band conditions, although not as good as in the past. 

Digital was a new addition this year and the experience was valuable both for the individual operators and as part of the overall Field Day operation.  We mined out the digital band  (20 meters was active, with only a few QSOs on 80 meters) more quickly than expected and next time we do this would probably suggest assigning less time to digital.

Overall, it was a great experience and I believe that all who operated at the 1F station enjoyed themselves and thanks go to all of them for making this happen!"