~~ Field Day 2008 page ~~
(28-29 June)
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Field Day 2008 Statistics: Stations contacted: ► 1105 points (unofficial, approximately 605 qso's) Extra credit: - Emergency power = 100 points - Media attendance = 100 points - Public location = 100 points - Site visit by officials = 100 points - Youth participation = 100 points Media coverage: - County web sites - Local newspaper articles (prior to and after Field Day, with pictures)
Distinguished visitors who came out to see our operation: ► Maryland State Delegate John Wood visited on Saturday morning ► Maryland State Senator Roy Dyson visited on Saturday afternoon ► St. Mary's County Director of Public Safety Dave Zylak visited on Saturday evening
Special displays at the site during the weekend: ► Our HF beam antenna was mounted atop a 100' Fire Department ladder truck ► American Red Cross support van ► St. Mary's County Sheriff's Department Communications and Hostage Negotiation Van ► National Guard 'Unified Command Suite' communications truck ► Naval Air Warfare Center CASPER truck ... and lots of folks who came out to see ham radio in action and take a spin at operating the radios |
| Unless noted separately, the following pictures were taken by Pete (WA3UMY) at the annual SMCARA Field Day site at the Hollywood Fire Station grounds in Hollywood, Maryland. We used the club callsign K3NHK and operated as a 3A (3 stations, emergency power for this event. |
Under the big top... all Field Day operating positions on the air
Everyone needs to own their own ladder truck HF antenna mast... 100' high in 2 minutes!
Close-up view of the HF beam antenna atop the 100' Fire Department ladder truck
Stairway to heaven... easy antenna maintenance as long as you aren't afraid to climb the ladder
Close-up view of the ladder
View of the fire department grounds
Eric (N3UH) cooks up a storm for the annual picnic
Socializing after the annual 6 PM family picnic event at Field Day
Does everyone use a $10,000 radio for Field Day?
The St. Mary's
County Sheriff's Department brought out their new
Hostage Negotiation Van for tours
(photo courtesy of Rick, KB3DQM)
Mike Zabko, CEO
of the Southern Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross,
brought the Red Cross Disaster Relief support van to visit our site
AJ3U brought
his most excellent 37' motor home for us to cool off in...
did I mention that it was AIR CONDITIONED!
(photo courtesy of Rick, KB3DQM)
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A fully-equipped National Guard 'Unified Command Suite' (UCS) van was on display courtesy of the Naval Air Warfare Center Special Communications Requirements Division. Operational use of these vehicles is shown in the chart (below).
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Some of the modern voice over IP (VoIP) equipment carried on board the vehicle
UCS patch panel makes it easy to connect the truck to the outside world
Specialized communications vans on display at the SMCARA Field Day site
| Here is a view of the Communications And Special Projects Emergency Response (CASPER) truck that can be deployed on a moment's notice to support an emergency response situation. This vehicle has over $2 million dollars worth of specialized communications gear on-board. |
Entrances to the CASPER truck
View of FD site from the 40' high mast-mounted video surveillance camera on the CASPER truck
Plasma displays in the rear conference room of the CASPER truck
Did you take pictures at our 2008 Field Day?
If so, please send high-resolution electronic file copies (GIF or JPEG format) to Pete (WA3UMY) and let's get them archived for the rest of the members to see! Thanks...
More pictures coming...
Copyright © 2008, St. Mary's County Amateur Radio Association All rights reserved - Permission granted to copy pictures as long as photo source is credited