The Perry County Amateur Radio Club participated in the ARRL Field Day event this year. Once again, members were welcomed to the home of N3RPM for the event. The club assembled at 0800 on the morning of Saturday, June 22nd to begin setup and equipment testing. A challenge for this event was adverse weather in the form of a heat wave that began a week prior and continued throughout the weekend. The high on Saturday was 98 degrees with a heat index greater than 100 degrees. Some relief was felt Sunday with highs of 93 degrees accompanied by cloudy weather and steady winds. N3RPM provided coolers with cold beverages, a temporary cold water shower station, and a cooling fan with a mist attachment for members outside of the communications trailer. An air conditioning unit was used for the first part of the day in the trailer but was unable to maintain adequate cooling while the trailer was in direct sunlight. At approximately 12:00 PM, the temperature in the trailer reached 93 degrees. The air conditioner was turned off until the evening hours and a large drum fan provided by WA3ENQ was used to cool the trailer.
The club operated under the club callsign of K3SRZ for the entire event. Three positions were assembled and operated simultaneously during the event. Position 1 utilized a brand-new IC-7300 and external AT-100ProII AutoTuner. The radio was connected to a Chameleon vertical antenna with an upgraded radial kit using the supplied coax from Chameleon. This position operated primarily 20 meters for the event. Position 2 consisted of an Icom IC-7000 paired with an LDG Z-100 AutoTuner. Position 2 was connected to a G5RV Jr. with LMR-400 coax. The antenna was assembled at a height of 30 ft with one end supported by a military fiberglass mast secured to a tree and the other end supported by a Rohn heavy duty steel push-up mast. This position operated primarily on 15 meters for the event, but also saw use on 40 meters. Position 3 employed the use of a Yaesu FTdx10. An MFJ-945E manual tuner was available for use at this position, but the FTdx10 internal tuner proved to be sufficient on the frequencies used. The radio was connected to a new Cushcraft R9 vertical antenna mounted at a height of 10 ft on a section of Rohn 25 tower. The antenna was fed by a length of ½” Heliax and a short jumper of LMR-400 carried the connection from the Heliax to Position 3 on the opposite side of the trailer. This position saw most of its activity on 40 meters, but also was operated on 80 and 15 meters. All positions used the appropriate bandpass filter for frequency of operation. This provided adequate isolation between receivers except for a brief period on Saturday evening when Position 3, while operating on 80 meters, was identified to be causing a significant amount of interference to Positon 2, operating on 15 meters. The bandpass filters were checked for damage and confirmed to be operating within designed specifications. Further investigation may be required. WA3ENQ noted that while the interference was occurring, there appeared to be spurious emissions on the spectrum analyzer during transmission. He also observed that the internal tuner was nearly at the edge of its usable frequency which may have contributed to the interference. The transmitter was operated well within the limits of the tuner for the duration of the event and no further interference was noted. KE4NAB, N3RPM, WA3ENQ, and KB3PSN contributed the above-mentioned equipment to the event.
Logging was completed using laptop computers and the N3FJP logging software. An Acer Aspire laptop contributed by KB3PSN was used as a host computer to store the logging file. Position 1 and 2 used ASUS Vivobook laptops contributed by KE4NAB and N3RPM. Position 3 used an older laptop provided by WA3ENQ. All laptops contained a Windows OS.
Power for the radios and computers was provided by solar energy generation. The club again used the 2x 100W solar panels provided by N3RPM. This year, N3RPM provided an upgraded battery system due to the limitations discovered last year which resulted in reduced transmitter power overnight. The upgraded battery is a 200ah LiFEPo4 battery manufactured by Renogy. It paired well with the solar panels and solar charge controller (also made by Renogy) and supplied power for all positions and computers throughout the entire event without limitation. The voltage maintained at 13.8 during the daytime with sunlight and did not drop below 13.0 V overnight.
A total of 194 contacts were made. This included 9 contacts on 80m, 72 contacts on 40m, 59 contacts on 20m, 53 contacts on 15m, and 1 contact on 2m. All contacts were made on SSB with a transmitter power of 100w except for the 2m contact which was completed on FM with a 5w TidRadio H3. No CW or digital contacts were made. The club received a power multiplier of 2. Bonus points included 300 points for 100% emergency power and 50 points for online log submission. The total preliminary score is 738 points.
N3RPM supplied a communications trailer as the primary operating structure. Additionally, a large outdoor event tent was supplied with tables and chairs for socializing and meals. A refrigerator was positioned in the corner of the tent to keep food cool. A smaller tent was supplied as an outdoor kitchen with shelves and an LP powered cook station. There was also a portable restroom and wash station available for attendees to use. All outdoor equipment was provided by N3RPM.
The club would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who contributed to making this year another success for our organization. We learn something new each year and become more proficient in our abilities, making us better operators and members of our community. We would also like to extend a special thanks to our host, N3RPM (Mark) for his heroic efforts and contributions to the club. His offerings of time, energy, material, food, property, and equipment are a large part of our success, and our Field Day would look very different without them. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do! Our club is blessed beyond measure by all the contributions of its members, and we can’t thank you all enough. We hope you had a great Field Day and look forward to seeing you next year!
Respectfully,
Matthew Morrison
KB3PSN
President, PCARC