FIELD DAY 1996
Historic Great Lakes Steamship
Location of our Inaugural Event:
 
The skies were blue each day, the sun shone warmly, the seas were always calm and the company
was more than pleasant. That pretty well describes the inaugural event of the Great Lakes
Amateur Radio Rovers when we—through the courtesy of the Lake Michigan Carferry
Service—participated in the American Radio Relay League's annual Field Day exercise aboard
the S.S. Badger.
The Badger holds a special place in maritime history for being the last coal-fired steamship still
in operation on the Great Lakes. The Badger is a 410 foot long carferry which travels between the
ports of Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In the summer months the vessel makes
two round trip sailings, per day, across Lake Michigan. GLARR members made a total of six lake
crossings while aboard.
Other pertinent statistics about the Badger are that she: was commissioned in 1953, has a
beam of 59 and a half feet, draws 18 and a half feet of water, displaces 4,244 tons, carries 620
passengers, 180 automobiles and a crew of 50 to 60. She is powered by two Skinner 4 cylinder
Uniflow engines which produce 7,000 horsepower to spin two solid, four bladed, cast steel props
which weigh 15,400 pounds each. She travels at a top speed of twenty four miles per hour and
cruises at fifteen miles per hour.
According to G.O. Smith, N8MMF, President of GLARR, Field Day is the annual "shakedown
run" for the ARRL's national Field Organization. Smith was further quoted in a newspaper feature
article about the event as saying, "Field Day gives hams a chance to have fun while honing their
skills as communicators under simulated conditions requiring the use of emergency power and
hastily erected antennas. The idea is to put together a self-sufficient, working, station quickly and
to enjoy the spirit of friendly competition."
The ARRL Field Organization has been effective in establishing emergency communications
nets during tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and other major disasters. Members
of formal emergency organizations such as the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and
the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (RACES) regularly participate. The League
estimates that more than 35,000 hams participate in Field Day every year.
GLARR's Field Day activities aboard the S.S. Badger began by setting up equipment on
Saturday morning June, 22 and continued with on-the-air operations through Sunday afternoon
June, 23. The public was invited to view the station at work, and to send Radiograms, during the
Badger's passages.
The station was set up in the Upper Deck Lounge which has a beautiful view of the water. The
lounge had the additional benefit of being easily accessed by the passengers and crew—who both
found the operation interesting to watch—as well as being only a short trip for the operators to
reach the Upper Deck Cafe.
A literature table made informational pamphlets available for the
taking. One GLARR member at a time was assigned to relate the operation to the public. That
practice proved to be so successful that it has been made a standard operating procedure for all
of our events.
A G5RV wire antenna was erected in an inverted "V" configuration from the rails of the highest
deck astern to the top of the rear range mast. Considerable assistance was given by Ed Halin who is
employed as an electronics technician by the ship's owners. Ed attached a pulley to the mast that
made raising and lowering the antenna a quick and simple process.
GLARR was provided with two adjoining staterooms for the voyage. Off-duty operators toured
the ship and made use of her many interesting features. In addition to accommodations, the
Badger offers entertainment in the lounges, a gift shop, a museum recounting the one hundred
year history of the Lake Michigan carferries and a staff assembled from some of the nicest people
on the planet. The only negative to the event was that it was a tough act to follow.
 Check this link to learn more about the one hundred year history of the Carferries of Ludington.
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