Tar River Amateur Radio Club
W4DCG
Field Day 2006 Is almost here are you ready June 23, 24, and 25 are the days to mark off on your calendar. Once again, we will operate 2A (two stations, powered from emergency power), a GOTA Station (GOTA), and demonstrations of alternate modes of communication.
It is the fourth FULL weekend in June, when Amateur Radio Operators from all over the country descend upon various locations and, in the course of 24 hours, turn them into communications sites, utilizing temporary antennas, emergency generators as well as the practical amenities needed for personnel to function.
In these days of cell phones and beepers, we often take for granted the existence of a reliable communications system. However, in times of severe weather or catastrophic occurrences there is always the possibility that the normal commercial communications services will be unavailable. It is here that Amateur Radio can and does play an important role and it is this aspect that Field Day addresses. By combining the social aspect of a club function with the exposure to training for operating under emergency conditions, Field Day provides a way to see how to quickly put up towers and antennas, how to layout power cabling and, most importantly, how to troubleshoot and fix anything that may break.
For those who have not been to a Tar River Amateur Radio Club (TRARC) Field Day before, the following is a summary of how we do it:
At 7:30 am the next morning, we finalize our setup. The networked computers will be installed and all other small items will be taken care of to ensure that we begin operations at 2:00 pm.
We will have lunch at 12:00 PM. After lunch, your coordinators will have a quick meeting to ensure we have everything ready to go to begin official Field Day operations at 2:00 pm. Operations continue for 24 consecutive hours, with the stations being filled by personnel around the clock.
At 5:30 pm, we will have great dinner as a group. This year, dinner will be a hot dog and hamburger cook-out. This is a great time to fellowship with your fellow amateur radio friends and our many quests. Last year we had over 40 in attendance!
On Sunday, breakfast is being cooked by Marty, W4MY. We really appreciate Marty getting up at Oh dark thirty and look forward to eating the wonderful waffles. At 2:00 PM operating ceases, final log files are exchanged to allow for a total. The process of Friday and Saturday is reversed, and all equipment is dismantled and removed from the site. THIS IS THE TIME WHERE WE NEED AS MANY VOLUNTEERS AS POSSIBLE. Most of the people who have been at the site all weekend are exhausted, and reinforcements are needed to help with the tear down.
What/who should I bring? What should I wear? What should I do?
Bring:
Wear:
Do:
As always, we welcome volunteers, whether for an hour, a day or the whole weekend there is something for everyone
For more info, please contact Robin Keller at WA4WPD@TarRiverARC.org or at 252-937-2800.
Tar River Amateur
Radio Club
PO
Box 7202
Rocky Mount, NC 27804-7202
Last updated: May 27, 2006