ARRL Field Day!
Our other passion is Field Day! We hope you enjoy the pictures!
Check out the Throw Back page! See the drop down menu under Field Day above.
(Scroll down for previous years)
Check out the Throw Back page! See the drop down menu under Field Day above.
(Scroll down for previous years)
Field Day 2023
June 25 - 27, 2023: Put it on your calendar NOW!!
June 25 - 27, 2023: Put it on your calendar NOW!!
Field Day 2022
June 25 – 26, 2022. An absolutely outstanding Field Day! Early reports are that CW contacts were up, Phone contacts were up and total QSO points were up. we beat last year’s score which was one of our best!
Set up went as usual! Everything went up smoothly in spite of the necessity to move the brackets for the beam. The maple tree is always growing. Last year we couldn’t aim it properly without the elements being in the branches. Moving the brackets a few feet further down the eves, pulled the beam well clear of the tree!
We set up our 1a station in Randy’s camper, using John’s K3, the TH33Jr tri-bander and the Cobra for 40 & 80. Because the ARES team was using the EMA generator, we used Tom’s Honda 5500 watt generator. Very quiet and plenty of power. This year we tried using the digital recording feature of the K3 on both CW and phone. A touch of the F-keys sent call sign, exchange, etc. It appears that the phone operators benefitted the most, seeing a significant increase in phone contacts! Unfortunately, we lost a couple hundred bonus points when our elected official stood us up. Also, the ambulance service (a potential served agency) apparently got a call and was unable to drop by. Even 200 points short, we still had a very respectable score!
2022 operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Jordyn Mann, W1KXJ; Joey Murphy, W1MXJ; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; John Tarbox, WA1KLI; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. It was good to have Jordyn and Joey back with us again this year! Visitors included Ruth Gauvin, KB1SBZ, Norm Clanton, KA1SG, and Rick Alderette, KB1ASM, and his wife Linda. Rick was there taking video footage for a spot on a public TV outlet. He visited several FD sites around southern Maine. Looking forward to seeing your work Rick! (see below) Many thanks to Ruth for volunteering to take care of soda and water for the event!
Scores and points aside, we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend! Two almost perfect days – mid to upper 70’s just enough breeze to keep the air moving, great food, and awesome company!
Results will be published in the December QST. Good Luck to our friends at the Franklin County ARES station and others around the state! We hope everybody had as much fun as we did!
Thanks all!! 73
Check us out on the Daily Bulldog!
Also check out Rick's video here. Click on the link, scroll down, and press play.
(KY1C pics)
June 25 – 26, 2022. An absolutely outstanding Field Day! Early reports are that CW contacts were up, Phone contacts were up and total QSO points were up. we beat last year’s score which was one of our best!
Set up went as usual! Everything went up smoothly in spite of the necessity to move the brackets for the beam. The maple tree is always growing. Last year we couldn’t aim it properly without the elements being in the branches. Moving the brackets a few feet further down the eves, pulled the beam well clear of the tree!
We set up our 1a station in Randy’s camper, using John’s K3, the TH33Jr tri-bander and the Cobra for 40 & 80. Because the ARES team was using the EMA generator, we used Tom’s Honda 5500 watt generator. Very quiet and plenty of power. This year we tried using the digital recording feature of the K3 on both CW and phone. A touch of the F-keys sent call sign, exchange, etc. It appears that the phone operators benefitted the most, seeing a significant increase in phone contacts! Unfortunately, we lost a couple hundred bonus points when our elected official stood us up. Also, the ambulance service (a potential served agency) apparently got a call and was unable to drop by. Even 200 points short, we still had a very respectable score!
2022 operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Jordyn Mann, W1KXJ; Joey Murphy, W1MXJ; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; John Tarbox, WA1KLI; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. It was good to have Jordyn and Joey back with us again this year! Visitors included Ruth Gauvin, KB1SBZ, Norm Clanton, KA1SG, and Rick Alderette, KB1ASM, and his wife Linda. Rick was there taking video footage for a spot on a public TV outlet. He visited several FD sites around southern Maine. Looking forward to seeing your work Rick! (see below) Many thanks to Ruth for volunteering to take care of soda and water for the event!
Scores and points aside, we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend! Two almost perfect days – mid to upper 70’s just enough breeze to keep the air moving, great food, and awesome company!
Results will be published in the December QST. Good Luck to our friends at the Franklin County ARES station and others around the state! We hope everybody had as much fun as we did!
Thanks all!! 73
Check us out on the Daily Bulldog!
Also check out Rick's video here. Click on the link, scroll down, and press play.
(KY1C pics)
Field Day 2021
June 25 - 27, 2021: Things were much more normal for BHRG & Friends this year!! Not a mask in sight and all participants were fully vaccinated!! Made it much easier for the best part of Field Day: Having Fun!
Set-up began at just 9:00 am Saturday morning with the assembly of the tri-band beam which was put up without incident. The Cobra followed, then coax runs, generator set up, extension cord run followed that, and Tom set up the operating station. We were set up well before noon time, giving John, WA1KLI, time to familiarize himself with the digital set-up and to test the systems.
We stuck with our time-tested formula: Operating 1a with Tom's K3, the tri-bander up about 25 feet and the Cobra for 40 & 80. Rusty’s, KY1E, untested generator opened the event and performed perfectly. We eventually changed to the little EMA generator because it is much quieter for the neighborhood during the overnight hours! Randy’s homebrew camper again provided the operating position.
While we missed the served agency representative visit, we made all the other bonus points we planned to. It was great to have Wilton Selectman Tom Saviello and State Senator Russell Black drop by. They stayed about an hour talking with us about the importance of emergency communications and the role that Amateur Radio plays in EmComms. After lunch John, K1ESE, made a presentation on “Using Remote Web SDRs” to the group.
2021 operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Jordyn Mann, W1KXJ; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; John Tarbox, WA1KLI; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Welcome aboard to John, WA1KLI, who brings his experience with digital modes to our effort. We also welcomed an unexpected new operator. Jeff Jenks, K1OK, joined the line-up on Sunday morning contributing a bunch of CW contacts to the effort. And thanks to Steve, KB1TUR, for maintaining our Facebook page and Rusty for offering his generator to the effort!
Once again, many, many thanks to Michelle for the marvelous meals throughout Field Day!
We heard several comments throughout the weekend about how much fun folks were having. Conditions were good, we were making contacts, the weather cooperated, and we ended up with the best raw scores we have had in recorded history! (OUR recorded history that is!) And, our little group is growing! There is talk about 2a in the future!!??!! We will look forward to the December QST and the Field Day Report. Until then we know we had a memorable Field Day!
November 10, 2021
Bass Hill Repeater Group Field Day 2021 Results:
Points 3,330
Results for 1A All Classifications
Maine #1 Maine #6 of 59 entries
New England #2 New England #29 of 630 entries
All #17 0f 137 entries All #460 0f 10200 entries
Great Job, Gang!! See you at FD 22!
(Click for a larger image - KY1C pictures)
Field Day 2020
June 26 - 28, 2020: Well, this was anything but a "routine" Field Day for BHRG and Friends! Social distancing, face coverings, and boxed meals caused by COVID19 made for an interesting weekend! For most of us this was the first in-person social event we have attended since March! In addition to our usual email exchanges, we used Zoom for three planning sessions. The real purpose of these sessions was to discuss the safety challenges we were facing and making everyone feel comfortable so Field Day would be a safe and fun event.
We started set-up around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and were finished before noon. The operation and equipment were pretty much the same as past years: Operating 1a with Tom's K3, the tri-bander up about 24 feet and the Cobra for 40 & 80. The EMA generator provided power except for the bonus point contacts made using the battery that was solar charged. A big change this year was the operating station! Pinky was sold soon after Field Day last year! Fortunately, Randy has been building a custom camper made from a box trailer. It is pretty much done, but still hasn't been set up for camping. It was, however, perfect for the operating station. A simple table/chair set-up in an otherwise empty room provided plenty of space, ventilation, and comfort. Great addition, Randy, thanks!!
You will also note from the pictures below that we had another "toy" on site! MIchelle has become a Drone owner and took several videos and a bunch of pictures.
We made most of our bonus points, but conditions didn't seem to be very good. Contacts were tough to come by, especially on phone. We are hoping the CW and digital contacts can make up the difference.
Operators were John Huffman, K1ESE; Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Many, many thanks to Michelle who went above and beyond to provide great meals in less than optimal conditions (masks, gloves, UGH!). And thanks to others who brought snacks to share!
So we look to next year to hopefully be back to "normal." What didn't change are the friendships and fun we had - to that end we were successful. Look for the fall update when the scores come out!
Check us out on the Daily Bulldog!
73 all!
November 11, 2020:
The scores are IN! We won again!! (this is getting old! :-) )
Bass Hill Repeater Group - W1KX
1st in 1A for Maine
14th in 1A all stations, USA and Canada
2nd in Maine for all categories (except home stations on commercial power)
Congratulations all!! See you in June 21!
(Click for a larger image - WM1C & KY1C pictures)
June 26 - 28, 2020: Well, this was anything but a "routine" Field Day for BHRG and Friends! Social distancing, face coverings, and boxed meals caused by COVID19 made for an interesting weekend! For most of us this was the first in-person social event we have attended since March! In addition to our usual email exchanges, we used Zoom for three planning sessions. The real purpose of these sessions was to discuss the safety challenges we were facing and making everyone feel comfortable so Field Day would be a safe and fun event.
We started set-up around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and were finished before noon. The operation and equipment were pretty much the same as past years: Operating 1a with Tom's K3, the tri-bander up about 24 feet and the Cobra for 40 & 80. The EMA generator provided power except for the bonus point contacts made using the battery that was solar charged. A big change this year was the operating station! Pinky was sold soon after Field Day last year! Fortunately, Randy has been building a custom camper made from a box trailer. It is pretty much done, but still hasn't been set up for camping. It was, however, perfect for the operating station. A simple table/chair set-up in an otherwise empty room provided plenty of space, ventilation, and comfort. Great addition, Randy, thanks!!
You will also note from the pictures below that we had another "toy" on site! MIchelle has become a Drone owner and took several videos and a bunch of pictures.
We made most of our bonus points, but conditions didn't seem to be very good. Contacts were tough to come by, especially on phone. We are hoping the CW and digital contacts can make up the difference.
Operators were John Huffman, K1ESE; Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Many, many thanks to Michelle who went above and beyond to provide great meals in less than optimal conditions (masks, gloves, UGH!). And thanks to others who brought snacks to share!
So we look to next year to hopefully be back to "normal." What didn't change are the friendships and fun we had - to that end we were successful. Look for the fall update when the scores come out!
Check us out on the Daily Bulldog!
73 all!
November 11, 2020:
The scores are IN! We won again!! (this is getting old! :-) )
Bass Hill Repeater Group - W1KX
1st in 1A for Maine
14th in 1A all stations, USA and Canada
2nd in Maine for all categories (except home stations on commercial power)
Congratulations all!! See you in June 21!
(Click for a larger image - WM1C & KY1C pictures)
Field Day 2019
June 21 - 23, 2019: It was another routine Field Day for Bass Hill Repeater Group and friends! The operation was pretty much the same as past years... We did have a great weekend weatherwise. That combined with good friends and great food made this year special!
Set up went as normal. We were ready to go by noon on Saturday with all the equipment operating and tested out! As usual we operated 1a, with Tom's K3, the tri-bander up about 25 feet and the Cobra for 40 & 80. We did fix some mistakes we made last year. We double checked the equipment lists (made sure we had the balun for the Cobra and that the Winkeyer was working correctly). We also squeezed out more bonus points (Natural Power and Social Media, new for this year!) and got the ones we missed last year. Thanks to Steve, KB1TUR, who headed up our Social Media blitz, and added 100 new bonus points! And to Tom, AA1SM, who charged a battery from solar panels that brought in another 100 new bonus points! All this along with better conditions (apparently!) our score improved significantly!
Operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Jordyn Mann, W1KXJ; Joey Murphy, W1MXJ; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; George Szadis, K1GDI; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. In addition to Steve, KB1TUR, who dropped in a couple times both physically and digitally (!) Jerry, K1WTX, dropped by to wish us well. We were all please to have a visit from our old friend Rusty, KY1E, a long time FD operator with BHRG and friends.
And a special thanks as always to Michelle for the wonderful and abundant meals throughout the weekend!
Check us out in the Daily Bulldog!
NOTE: Sadly we learned, a couple days after Field Day, that Pinky will not return next year. She was sold to a young couple who plan to actually go camping in her! Good Luck!
UPDATE November 9, 2019:
From John, K1ESE:
RESULTS ARE IN!!! WE WON AGAIN!!!
W1KX - #1 1A in Maine
W1KX - #4 all classes in Maine
W1KX - #14 of 142 1A all Participants!!!!!!!
Top 10%
Not a bad showing for our little group!! Congrats to all!!
(Click for a larger image - KY1C pictures)
June 21 - 23, 2019: It was another routine Field Day for Bass Hill Repeater Group and friends! The operation was pretty much the same as past years... We did have a great weekend weatherwise. That combined with good friends and great food made this year special!
Set up went as normal. We were ready to go by noon on Saturday with all the equipment operating and tested out! As usual we operated 1a, with Tom's K3, the tri-bander up about 25 feet and the Cobra for 40 & 80. We did fix some mistakes we made last year. We double checked the equipment lists (made sure we had the balun for the Cobra and that the Winkeyer was working correctly). We also squeezed out more bonus points (Natural Power and Social Media, new for this year!) and got the ones we missed last year. Thanks to Steve, KB1TUR, who headed up our Social Media blitz, and added 100 new bonus points! And to Tom, AA1SM, who charged a battery from solar panels that brought in another 100 new bonus points! All this along with better conditions (apparently!) our score improved significantly!
Operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; Jordyn Mann, W1KXJ; Joey Murphy, W1MXJ; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; George Szadis, K1GDI; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. In addition to Steve, KB1TUR, who dropped in a couple times both physically and digitally (!) Jerry, K1WTX, dropped by to wish us well. We were all please to have a visit from our old friend Rusty, KY1E, a long time FD operator with BHRG and friends.
And a special thanks as always to Michelle for the wonderful and abundant meals throughout the weekend!
Check us out in the Daily Bulldog!
NOTE: Sadly we learned, a couple days after Field Day, that Pinky will not return next year. She was sold to a young couple who plan to actually go camping in her! Good Luck!
UPDATE November 9, 2019:
From John, K1ESE:
RESULTS ARE IN!!! WE WON AGAIN!!!
W1KX - #1 1A in Maine
W1KX - #4 all classes in Maine
W1KX - #14 of 142 1A all Participants!!!!!!!
Top 10%
Not a bad showing for our little group!! Congrats to all!!
(Click for a larger image - KY1C pictures)
Field Day 2018
June 22 - 24, 2018: Field Day 2018 is in the books! The weather was not great and the conditions were lousy, but we still had a great time! Set-up started around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning when Randy arrived. George arrived with Pinky. We put the beam together and put up the Cobra dipole. Jack, W1JHS, and Don, W1MAP, showed up to lend a hand and some moral support! Tom and John arrived in time to help with putting the beam up on the 30’ mast… and we were IN the air…
Tom and John set up the station and got everything hooked up. We ran power from the EMA generator. Thanks again to Tim and EMA for the loan of the generator! We were ON the air!
Once again, we ran 1a (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s K3, Bill’s tri-bander, and the Cobra dipole. We accumulated most of the normal bonus points, but missed some we should have gotten. Better planning next year. We did have a novel educational presentation by John on the importance of safety around the Field Day site and of appointing a Safety Officer (George, K1GDI). This was held prior to the start of the exercise and was attended by all participants.
SO, we didn’t do as well this year as in the past mostly due to conditions! Fewer QSO points, both phone and CW, and fewer bonus points. We will have to wait till the fall to see the results from the League to see if everyone was effected by the conditions.
Operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; George Szadis, K1GDI; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. In addition to Jack and Don, Steve, KB1TUR, and Dave, WB1BXM, and his wife Liz dropped by to wish us well.
And a special thanks as always to Michelle for an excellent Chicken BBQ dinner Saturday evening.
Check us out in the Daily Bulldog!
UPDATE (Nov. 18) We won again! We beat all Maine 1a FD operations north of Biddeford!! (yes, yes, we did get beaten by a bunch of N.E.R.D.s in Kennebunk but they had 14 operators for crying out loud! And they didn’t beat us by THAT much!) Anyway, we are still right in the first column and, with the exception of the NERDS group, we beat all other 1a operations in New England! Not bad gang!
(Click for a larger image - W1KX, K1GDI, KY1C pictures)
June 22 - 24, 2018: Field Day 2018 is in the books! The weather was not great and the conditions were lousy, but we still had a great time! Set-up started around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning when Randy arrived. George arrived with Pinky. We put the beam together and put up the Cobra dipole. Jack, W1JHS, and Don, W1MAP, showed up to lend a hand and some moral support! Tom and John arrived in time to help with putting the beam up on the 30’ mast… and we were IN the air…
Tom and John set up the station and got everything hooked up. We ran power from the EMA generator. Thanks again to Tim and EMA for the loan of the generator! We were ON the air!
Once again, we ran 1a (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s K3, Bill’s tri-bander, and the Cobra dipole. We accumulated most of the normal bonus points, but missed some we should have gotten. Better planning next year. We did have a novel educational presentation by John on the importance of safety around the Field Day site and of appointing a Safety Officer (George, K1GDI). This was held prior to the start of the exercise and was attended by all participants.
SO, we didn’t do as well this year as in the past mostly due to conditions! Fewer QSO points, both phone and CW, and fewer bonus points. We will have to wait till the fall to see the results from the League to see if everyone was effected by the conditions.
Operators were Bill Mann, W1KX; Michelle Mann, WM1C; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; George Szadis, K1GDI; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. In addition to Jack and Don, Steve, KB1TUR, and Dave, WB1BXM, and his wife Liz dropped by to wish us well.
And a special thanks as always to Michelle for an excellent Chicken BBQ dinner Saturday evening.
Check us out in the Daily Bulldog!
UPDATE (Nov. 18) We won again! We beat all Maine 1a FD operations north of Biddeford!! (yes, yes, we did get beaten by a bunch of N.E.R.D.s in Kennebunk but they had 14 operators for crying out loud! And they didn’t beat us by THAT much!) Anyway, we are still right in the first column and, with the exception of the NERDS group, we beat all other 1a operations in New England! Not bad gang!
(Click for a larger image - W1KX, K1GDI, KY1C pictures)
Field Day 2017
June 23 - 25, 2017: What a beautiful weekend we had to visit with good friends and play radio! With the exception of a little rain early Saturday morning, the skies were clear and bright and the temperatures mild and comfortable thru Sunday afternoon! Bill and Paul had the beam put together and the Cobra in the air when other members of the Field Day crew arrived mid-morning Saturday. Tom and Al helped Bill get the Beam on the mast and in the air and none too soon... George arrived with "Pinky," the operating station for the weekend.
As in past years, our little group stayed with 1a (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s K3, Bill’s tri-bander, and the Cobra dipole. The EMA 2KW generator provided power for the operation. Thanks to Tim and the Franklin County EMA for the generator and the fuel!
Early estimates are that we made a couple hundred more contacts than last year in both CW and phone. We added bonus points for the ARRL Field Day message, SM message origination, formal traffic handling (10 messages), educational activity, and media publicity. Tom discussed the uses of the raspberry pi mini computer in amateur radio and other applications. He also introduced the group to the latest repeater for BHRG: a Motorola UHF DMR repeater that will end up on Mosher Hill later this summer.
Operators were Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; and Jordyn, W1KXJ, Mann; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Al McDaniel, KE5ISO, dropped by to help with setup and came back Sunday morning to operate for a bit. Rita Hale, W1UZR, rode over with George Szadis, K1GDI. They also assisted with setup. And a special thanks to Michelle for an excellent Chicken BBQ dinner Saturday evening.
(Click on the photos below for a larger image - KY1C photos)
June 23 - 25, 2017: What a beautiful weekend we had to visit with good friends and play radio! With the exception of a little rain early Saturday morning, the skies were clear and bright and the temperatures mild and comfortable thru Sunday afternoon! Bill and Paul had the beam put together and the Cobra in the air when other members of the Field Day crew arrived mid-morning Saturday. Tom and Al helped Bill get the Beam on the mast and in the air and none too soon... George arrived with "Pinky," the operating station for the weekend.
As in past years, our little group stayed with 1a (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s K3, Bill’s tri-bander, and the Cobra dipole. The EMA 2KW generator provided power for the operation. Thanks to Tim and the Franklin County EMA for the generator and the fuel!
Early estimates are that we made a couple hundred more contacts than last year in both CW and phone. We added bonus points for the ARRL Field Day message, SM message origination, formal traffic handling (10 messages), educational activity, and media publicity. Tom discussed the uses of the raspberry pi mini computer in amateur radio and other applications. He also introduced the group to the latest repeater for BHRG: a Motorola UHF DMR repeater that will end up on Mosher Hill later this summer.
Operators were Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; and Jordyn, W1KXJ, Mann; John Huffman, K1ESE; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Al McDaniel, KE5ISO, dropped by to help with setup and came back Sunday morning to operate for a bit. Rita Hale, W1UZR, rode over with George Szadis, K1GDI. They also assisted with setup. And a special thanks to Michelle for an excellent Chicken BBQ dinner Saturday evening.
(Click on the photos below for a larger image - KY1C photos)
Field Day 2016
(posted May 2017!)
WOW! Here it is, time to plan FD 2017 and I am just getting last year posted. It has been so long that I have forgotten much of the details, so I will just mention some changes... First, George brought his trailer, Pinky! (See the pictures below!) Not a bad little rig and it worked out fine business! The other big change was the wire antenna. Instead of putting up a 40M and an 80M dipoles OR the 40/80 we used a couple times, we used a Cobra multi-band antenna. Everything apparently went well, one of our higher scores!
Operators included Bill, W1KX, Michelle, WM1C, and Jordyn, W1KXJ, Mann; Randy Gauvin, KB1RDG; Tom Marshall, AA1SM; John Huffman, K1ESE; George Szadis, K1GDI; Rita Hale, W1UZR; and Paul Gooch, KY1C. Steve Ewing, KB1TUR, assisted with set-up.
None-the-less, we did OK! We "won" Maine (AGAIN!) with the highest score for 1a in the Maine section (and a few other sections too!)
(Click on the photos below for a larger image - K1ESE, AA1SM, and KY1C photos)
Field Day 2015
It has been several weeks since Field Day 2015. A beautiful summer and busy lives have not kept our fearless statistician from compiling and submitting the results! Thanks Bill (or Michelle?)!!
As in past years, we were back at Bill's camp and back in Paul's old camper! Friday afternoon, Russ, KA1FKC, and Gerry, N4FGP, dropped by to help Bill & Paul with antennas. We put the tri-bander together and put it up in leisurely fashion, spending the rest of the sunny afternoon sitting around and talking radio!
Saturday morning Randy and Tom arrived to put up the 40/80 dipole and set up the station. This year we substituted Tom’s new K3 for the FT-2000. Power was supplied by the EMA/ARES 2KW generator. Thanks to Tim and Franklin County EMA for providing the fuel. Again, things went very well and we were ready to go before noontime. A leisurely lunch and we were on the air. New bonus point features for BHRG this year included "youth participation" (20 pts), "message origination" (100 pts), and "educational activities" (100 pts).
Joe Kozak, W1AO, joined us again this year and John Huffman, K1ESE, spent the weekend with BHRG for the first time. Both contributed many valuable CW contacts! Thanks to them and all participants: Michelle, WM1C; Jordyn, KC1CFX; Bill, W1KX; Randy, KB1RDG, Tom, AA1SM; Paul, KY1C. Thanks also to Russ and Gerry for the help with set-up on Friday.
Our submitted score was a bit lower than last year, but better than other past years. There was talk that conditions were not as good this year… No matter! We all had a good time, with good food (thanks Michelle!), and great company! Thanks again all and we’ll see you next year!
NOTE: Jordyn, W1KXJ, is now an Extra Class operator! Congratulations!!
UPDATE: We won again!!!! There we were right there in the first column in QST. Two Rhode Island operations were the only New England stations that scored higher than we did. No Maine 1a stations; no Massachussetts 1a stations; no New Hampshire 1a stations; Vermont? Nope! SO i declare us winners! Congratulations all!!
(Click on the photos below for a larger image - WM1C and KY1C photos)
Field Day 2014
Another Field Day is in the books! Field Day was a relatively leisurely event! We were back at Bill's camp and back in Paul's old camper! Randy, KB1RDG, and Steve, KB1TUR, joined Bill, W1KX, and Paul, KY1C on Friday afternoon to set up antenna. By 4:30 we had both the dipoles and the beam up and we were on the Seagull Net at 5:00.
This year we used the ARES 2kw generator. It was quiet and very fuel efficient, using less than 5 gallons of gasoline. We operated in class 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s FT-2000, Bill’s tri-bander, and the 40/80 dipole. Joe Kozak, W1AO, joined us this year. We invited him at the last minute (actually Saturday morning!) and he was able to drop by for a couple hours in the late afternoon. He was a great addition to our CW operation!
Also, Jordyn Mann, traveled to a VE session in Poland, ME, and passed her Technician license test on Saturday morning! Sunday morning, she made her first Field Day contact, five altogether!
Operators included Tom, AA1SM;; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; Jordyn (now KC1CFX); George, K1GDI, Joe Kozak, W1AO; and Paul, KY1C. Thanks to Randy and Steve for help with antennas. Special thanks to Michelle for the great meals!!
UPDATE: Jordyn received her ticket a couple weeks after Field Day (KC1CFX) and on July 18th, she attended a test session in Portland and passed her General test! She is now studying for her Extra! Good Luck Jordyn!
(Click on the photo for a larger image - ky1c pics)
Field Day 2013
Field Day 2013 is over, but still fresh in our minds! Some new stuff this year... we used a different camper for an operating station. George, K1GDI, brought his pop-up camper - quite a bit bigger, plenty of room to visit & chat while Bill operates CW! Also, we slung the 40M dipole under the 80 allowing us to get it a bit higher and eliminating a coax run. Randy and Bill Colwell managed to get the north end of the dipoles about 100 feet in the air using Randy's slingshot launcher. Again this year we did all the set-up on Saturday morning and we were ready easily in time for the 2:00 p.m. start time.
EMA director Tim Hardy, KB1SBT, stopped in on Sunday morning for moral support and giving us 100 bonus points. Thanks Tim and thanks for the fuel to run the generator and for the back-up generator. Unfortunately, our elected officials stood up up!
Once again, we operated in class 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s FT-2000, Bill’s tri-bander, and the 40/80 dipole. This year we used Randy's 5.6 KW generator and the ARES 2KW Honda generator as back-up. Randy was pleased that his generator ran the whole 24 hours - non stop - on less than 10 gallons of gasoline. Once again, we were set up at Bill’s camp in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; George, K1GDI, and Paul, KY1C; and to Bill, KB1UBT, for set up assistance; and to Jordyn for helping her mother with logging. Special thanks to Michelle for the great meals!!
UPDATE: Once again, WE WON!!! Well, we had the highest score of non QRP 1A stations in Maine!!! Not to mention we were way ahead of DOZENS of other 1A stations all over the country! Not bad for our small group!!
(Click on the photo for a larger image - ky1c pics)
EMA director Tim Hardy, KB1SBT, stopped in on Sunday morning for moral support and giving us 100 bonus points. Thanks Tim and thanks for the fuel to run the generator and for the back-up generator. Unfortunately, our elected officials stood up up!
Once again, we operated in class 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s FT-2000, Bill’s tri-bander, and the 40/80 dipole. This year we used Randy's 5.6 KW generator and the ARES 2KW Honda generator as back-up. Randy was pleased that his generator ran the whole 24 hours - non stop - on less than 10 gallons of gasoline. Once again, we were set up at Bill’s camp in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; George, K1GDI, and Paul, KY1C; and to Bill, KB1UBT, for set up assistance; and to Jordyn for helping her mother with logging. Special thanks to Michelle for the great meals!!
UPDATE: Once again, WE WON!!! Well, we had the highest score of non QRP 1A stations in Maine!!! Not to mention we were way ahead of DOZENS of other 1A stations all over the country! Not bad for our small group!!
(Click on the photo for a larger image - ky1c pics)
Field Day 2012
Field Day 2012 was an interesting experience. Set up on Friday was in blistering heat. Saturday morning was more of the same. Nonetheless, we were set up and ready to go almost an hour early. Bill opened on 20 meter CW at 2:00 p.m. on the dot… by 4:00, thunder storms had set in and we had to shut down for a little over an hour. Once back on the air, we stayed up for the remainder of the event.
Saturday afternoon, EMA director, Tim Hardy stopped by and Sunday morning, Representative Russell Black and Senator Tom Saviello dropped in. Thanks to them for providing us with a total of 200 bonus points.
We operated in class 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s FT-2000, Bill’s tri-bander, our 40 & 80 dipoles, Paul’s old camper. This year we used Tom’s 5.5 KW Honda generator. We also tested the ARES 2KW Honda generator. Both worked flawlessly and both were pleasantly quiet! Once again, we were set up at Bill’s camp in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Ruth, KB1SBZ; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; George, K1GDI, and Paul, KY1C; and to Rusty, KY1E, for set up assistance.
Saturday afternoon, EMA director, Tim Hardy stopped by and Sunday morning, Representative Russell Black and Senator Tom Saviello dropped in. Thanks to them for providing us with a total of 200 bonus points.
We operated in class 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts) with Tom’s FT-2000, Bill’s tri-bander, our 40 & 80 dipoles, Paul’s old camper. This year we used Tom’s 5.5 KW Honda generator. We also tested the ARES 2KW Honda generator. Both worked flawlessly and both were pleasantly quiet! Once again, we were set up at Bill’s camp in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Ruth, KB1SBZ; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; George, K1GDI, and Paul, KY1C; and to Rusty, KY1E, for set up assistance.
Here are the long awaited pictures of 2012 - click on the pictures for a better view (KY1C pics)
More FD 2012 from Ruth, KB1SBZ
Field Day 2011
BHRG had to forgo Field Day 2011. Busy schedules took a toll on our small group and Field Day took the back seat!
Field Day 2010
Field Day 2010 is now in the books!! We had a GREAT Field Day... In spite of a slow start (generator issues) our QSO score was better than last year! In addition we had 260 bonus points that we didn't get last year. Special thanks to EMA Director Tim Hardy and to State Representative Tom Saviello for visiting our Field Day site. We made fewer phone and digital contacts this year but more than made up for it in CW (Morse code) contacts.
Our station was pretty much the same as last year: 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts), Tom's FT-2000, tri-band beam, dipoles on 40 & 80, and Bill's generator in Paul's camper at Bill's camp on Round Pond in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; Rusty, KY1E; and Paul, KY1C; and to loggers Jordyn and Thomas.
Final results will be published in the November QST magazine. Check us out on the Daily Bulldog here.
UPDATE: We WON! Well, everything is relative! We were the highest scoring 1A group in Maine, we beat last year's score, and we had FUN!
(click on the pictures below for the story of Field Day 2010)
Our station was pretty much the same as last year: 1A (Club/Non-club portable: One transmitter using emergency power, transmitting less than 150 watts), Tom's FT-2000, tri-band beam, dipoles on 40 & 80, and Bill's generator in Paul's camper at Bill's camp on Round Pond in Livermore.
Thanks to operators Tom, AA1SM; Randy, KB1RDG; Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; Rusty, KY1E; and Paul, KY1C; and to loggers Jordyn and Thomas.
Final results will be published in the November QST magazine. Check us out on the Daily Bulldog here.
UPDATE: We WON! Well, everything is relative! We were the highest scoring 1A group in Maine, we beat last year's score, and we had FUN!
(click on the pictures below for the story of Field Day 2010)
Field Day 2009
Field Day '09 was held at Bills Camp on Round Pond, Livermore. We ran a 1A station using Tom's FT-2000, a tri-band beam, dipoles on 40M and 80M, and Bill's generator. The old camper used as the operating station was purchased by Paul, KY1C, mostly for use at Field Day and Hamfests! Operators included Bill, W1KX; Michelle, WM1C; Tom, AA1SM; Al, KE5ISO; Rusty, KY1E; and Paul, KY1C. (KY1C Photos)