Sterling Park Amateur Radio Club (SPARC)
2009 Field Day

Field Day 2009 for the Sterling Park ARC was a lot of fun.
Pictures by Kevin, , and Gordon, NQ4K. High resolution images may be obtained from Gordon, NQ4K, at [email protected].


 Antenna rope hanging occurs on Friday, the night before Field Day.
Ropes are hung over the light posts using the EZ Hang technique (sling shot, fishing line, etc.)
 Dick, W2YE, regained his title of "Dead-Eye" with success in hanging 3 of 4 ropes.
Russ, W3RST, relinquished the title with only 1 rope hung.

Russ, W3RST, making a shot.
Ray, KD4RSL, and Dick, W2YE, enthusitically declaring success.
Chuck, KI4IEO, looking up to see where the line went.
Barney, W5BSB, looking up to see where the line went.

Dick, W2YE, thinking "Did I make it?"
Russ, W3RST, "Got it this time."
Ray, KD4RSL, "There she goes."
Kevin, W4KLS, (on left) Barney, W5BSB,  Russ, W3RST, (in blue shirt) and Ray, KD4RSL (on right).
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Russ, W3RST, (getting ready to take a shot) and Gordon, NQ4K. 

Dick, W2YE, taking a shot, and Barney, W5BSB.
Bud, W4KSN, looking on as Russ, W3RST, resets the EZHang Slingshot.
Jim, KF4PQL, smiling (or having a good laugh).

Visitor helping out.
Bruce, KJ4MFF, and Eric, AJ4LN, at their first antenna hanging party.
Dick, W2YE, facing down the light pole.

Bud, W4KSN, (on left), Ray, KD4RSL, and Chuck, KE4IEO, attaching a rope to the fishing line.

Eric, AJ4LN, on the baseball field (on the other side of the fence) looking for a lost sinker.
Gordon, NQ4K, taking a picture, while, Dick, W2YE, looks at the antenna ropes.

Kevin, W4KLS, the good photographer.

The group still working and the clouds are moving in. Fortunately it did not rain or lightning so we contained to work.
Saturday morning at 1000, we started to set up. Four hours later we were finished and ready for operation.

Arriving for set-up. Bud (on left), and Don, K7CS, (in middle facing camera.

Kevin, W4KLS, setting up the CW Tent.
Russ, W3RST, settingup the generator.
Bud, W4KSN, and Bruce, KJ4MFF, helping set up the HF beam.

Don, K7CS, staying cool.
Jim, KF4PQL, walking over to the VHF tent.
The HF beam finally up.
Gordon, NQ4K, leaving his mug on his car.

The tents are up and radios partially installed.
The CW Tent is up, but no radios yet.
Bud, , car with a lot of stuff in it. Russ, W3RST, and visitor on the right.

Russ, W3RST, and visitor with his son. Looks like Mark, KI4OBT, on the right.

Gordon, NQ4K holding an antenna line.

Visitor helping out.
Another visitor stopping by.
Jim, AF4MO, pausing for a moment.

Bill, WF1L.
Bud, W4KSN, putting up sides on a tent.

Jim, AF4MO, looking at the HF phone radio, his companion for the night.

Kevin, , showing a visitor his RTTY rig.

Dick, W2YE, and Don, K7CS, setting up the logging computers.

Visitor holding an antenna pole over by the VHF tent.

Barney, W5BSB, holding the boom for the VHF antenna.,

Ray, KD4RSL, explaining how it will all come together.

The HF RTTY rig, which doubles as a CW and Phone station.
Dick, W2YE, and Jim, AF4MO, making sure the logging computer at the HF PHone station is working.
Bud, W4KSN, setting down at the GOTA station ready to be the GOTA coach.
The SPARC banner and the Field Day plan on the right. Its 13:28 and almost all is ready to go.

Jim, KF4PQL, making a final radio check.
Ray, KD4RSL, looking really happy.
A visitor by the VHF tent.
Its 13:51.  Chuck, KJ4GZY, is waiting for the start.


The SPARC Field Day site.
On the far left is the VHF/HF tent (two cars are parked immediately to the left of it).
The white things seemingly hanging in the air are white plastic bags tied to the antenna wires or guy lines as a safety measure.
In the middle is the generator mounted on a trailer. It has a red gas tank.
On the right are the HF tents. The left one houses the GOTA station and the primary HF SSB station along with the publicity table. Dick W2YE, is standing between the tents.  The right one houses the RTTY/CW/SSB station and the CW station (at which Don, K2CS is seated)).

Ray, KD4RSL, and Jim, KF4PQL, at the UHF/VHF tent.
Ray, KD4RSL, at the VHF/UHF tent.

The apex of the 80M Delta wire loop hanging from a light post.
Bruce, KJ4MFF, and Bill, WF1L, at the HF Phone station.

Stevens Miller, WA4LDA, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, on the right, signing the visitor log.

Jim, KF4PQL, (on left) and Stevens Miller, WA4LDA, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, (on right) standing by the SPARC banner.
Visitor operating the Phone station.
Forrest, N4UTY, working CW on the RTTY/CW/Phone station.

Forrest, N4UTY, working CW on the RTTY/CW/Phone station.
Things are slow at the VHF tent. Ray, KD4RSL, and Jim, KF4PQL.
Still slow at the VHF Tent. Visitor taking some pictures and Ray, KD4RSL, working his radio.
Night is coming.

Forrest, N4UTY, still working CW on the RTTY/CW/Phone station.
Night has arrived. Dick, W2YE, working the HF Phone station for a few before the night shift shows up.
It is really getting dark.
Again, it is getting dark.

Jim, KF4PQL, at the VHF tent.
Ray, KD4RSL, at the VHF tent.
Jim, AF4MO, has arrived for the night shift on the Phone station. He will stay until morning.
Don, K7CS, working the night shift on CW. He will stay until late morning on Sunday.

Gordon, NQ4K, on the RTTY/CW/SSB station working phone. He will stay until mid-morning on Sunday.
The SPARC banner on early Sunday morning.
The light is coming up on Sunday morning. The VHF operators have not yet arrived.
Red, N3GT, working the phone station Sunday morning.

Tom, WA2BCK, arrived to work the CW station.

Ray, KD4RSL, arrives to open the VHF tent.
Eric, AJ4LN, by the VHF tent.
Jim, KF4PQL, at the SSB radio.

Bill, WF1L, and Kevin, W4KLS, waiting for the end.
Bruce, KJ4MFF, waiting to help break down.
Dick, W2YE, and Jim, AF4MO, waiting for the end. 22 minutes to go.

Kevin, W4KLS, waiting for the end. 21 minutes to go.

Russ, W3RST, waiting for the end. 21 minutes to go.

Joe, WB2SAI, working contacts to the end. 21 minutes to go.
Barney, W5BSB, waiting until the end. 19 minutes to go.
Field Day is over. It is time to tear-down. Takes 4 hours to set up and 1 hour to take-down.

Turning off the computers and saving the logs. Dick, W2YE, at the keyboard.

Eric,  , Jim, AF4MO, and Bruce, KJ4MFF, waiting for the computers to be shut down so they can start taking thing down.

Russ, W3RST, and Dick, W2YE, still working on the computers.

Tom, WA2BCK. "Its over. I will be home soon."

The HF Beam comes down with the help of almost everyone.

Visitor and Jim, KF4PQL, waiting for all to leave. Jim will be the last to leave because he will lock the gate to the field.
And it is all over for another year.

Dick, W2YE, will submit the final report on our operation.
Early indications are we did exceptionally well.
All that is left to do is
the bragging when we next meet.

73,
SPARC



Made on 12 July 2009