This document describes the equipment that will be provided to teams for WRTC2014.

All competitors will be located in the same geographical region with similar topography. Competitor locations will be separated by a minimum of 500 meters.

WRTC2014 will be a Field Day style competition. Equipment that will be installed by the organizers at each site:

• 40-foot (approx 12m) tower with an antenna rotator and control unit.
• 20/15/10 m Cycle 24 TX38 tri-bander with one feed line (150 feet of Times LMR400DB) and PL-259 male connector. Antenna details: http://www.cycle-24.com/antennas/tx38-triband-yagi/
• 40 m Inverted-V dipole with feed line (150 feet of Times LMR240) and PL-259 male connector.
• 80 m Inverted-V dipole with feed line (150 feet of Times LMR240)  and PL-259 male connector.
• WRTC2014 Two-channel Power Monitor
  The power monitor acts on forward power only, which may be greater than the actual transmitted power when the SWR > 1:1. In order to transmit 100 Watts to an antenna off the resonant frequency, an external tuner may be used to bring the SWR down and avoid premature triggering of the power monitor.
• 2 x 3-foot (1 meter) RG8X jumpers, PL259 on each end for connecting Power Monitor.
• Tent 13 feet x 10 feet (approx 4 m x 3 m)
• 2 x 36″ x 36″ (91 x 91 cm) wood panel to go under chair
• 2 KW Power Generator with power cable going to the tent.
• No Uninterruptable Power Supplies, 12 V accumulator batteries or similar power sources are allowed for power backup. Exception: built-in batteries in portable computers, audio recorder, or other peripherals. CMOS memory backup batteries are allowed.
• 8 gallons of gasoline for generator
• Ground wire connected to ground rod driven near cable entrance to tent.
• 2 x 6-outlet 115VAC power outlet strips (more details about AC power)*
• 2 electric lamps*
• 2 electric fans*
  No additional electric cooling devices are allowed such as air conditioners or refrigerators. Additional fans may be used, but be aware of the power consumption of the generator.
• 3 folding tables 34 x 34 inches (approx 86 x 86 cm)
• 3 folding chairs*
• WC cabin with hand wash facilities
• 4 gallons (32 L) of drinking water*
• Food and snacks*

Competitors are not allowed to substitute any equipment except for those items marked by an asterisk.

Since this is a field day style operation each team will have a generator which has to be filled with gasoline. To avoid team members spending their time re-filling the generator, the organizers will provide dedicated volunteers at every location to ensure the generator is kept running during the contest period.

Triplexer

It is highly recommended, but not required, that each team provide a “triplexer” device for the triband antenna. The function of the triplexer is to provide discrete band ouputs using one coaxial feed. This allows operation of the tri-band antenna on two bands simultaneously.

It is up to the team to provide such a device, but it must not amplify the signal in any way.

There are several commercial manufacturers of triplexers. Typical connection diagrams are available here.

For details on building your own triplexer, refer to June 2010 QST “HF Yagi Triplexer Especially for ARRL Field Day”. By K6KV

Typical SWR vs. frequency curves for TX-38 tri-band antenna

TX-38 SWR 20 meters


TX-38 SWR 15 meters


TX-38 SWR 10 meters

SWR Curve for 40M Inverted Vee

SWR for 80M Inverted Vee in CW

SWR for 80M Inverted Vee in SSB