Field Day 2020

Field Day this year was very different from its predecessors, Covid-19 demanded that groups not happen and so most clubs opted to operate in a dispersed fashion with the members operating out of their homes. Our club being quite small decided to gather in the traditional way but rather than find a public location we operated out of a private yard. Club member Eric has a large yard area with surrounding trees that was ideal for a small field set up. So, we decided to set up at his home and operate for a few hours.

Club President Jim arrived early at Eric’s and together they strung a 40m OCF antenna between a tree and a mast supported by a truck. Getting the 30-foot mast in the air took a few more members but when up it worked out very well. For power Jay loaned his Honda generator and Kosta his 500 watt amp with K3S. This became our 20m SSB station. Nearby Ralph setup his Buddipole and IC-7000 to operate CW on 15m. Eric next set up his 2m SOTA kit to snag a few stations on VHF. We got off to a good start and by the time we had enough fun for the day we had logged close to 100 contacts.

Tearing down the site went quickly and soon we were all off for a lazy after noon in the warm weather. A few members then went home to continue operating. It was a fun gathering and we all maintained our distance in light of the virus.