FARS - 2017 Field Day

2017 FARS Field Day [2016] [2017] [2018]

[160M Balloon Antenna]

[FARS Field Day 2009]

The Foothills Amateur Radio Society participated in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) 2017 Field Day event on Saturday June 24^th and Sunday June 25^th.

This event was open to the public and visitors were welcome from 11 AM until 9 PM on Saturday, June 24^th. Also on Sunday June 25^th from 7 AM until 11 AM. Field Day is an opportunity to see Amateur Radio in action and even participate. Learn about ham radio by participating.

You did not need an amateur radio license, you could register and sign up to operate our Get On The Air station, where our GOTA coach guided you to make your own contacts on air. This was a great way to experience amateur radio without having a license.

You can visit the ARRL's Field Day site.

Here's an Article on the FARS 2007 Field Day from "100 Watts Magazine" a Thai HAM radio magazine. Thanks Nimit, K6XOX.

John L. Gaffey, WS1EA has written a helpful primer for organizing your own Field Day event.

FARS operated in the 3A category, with three HF radio stations on emergency power at a temporary location. We planned a total of five operating radio stations:

HF station operated Single Sideband (SSB) voice on 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m;
HF station split between operating CW (Morse Code) and PSK31/RTTY (keyboard) on 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m;
HF station operating (SSB) voice on 80m and 160m;
VHF/satellite station (not counted in category number);
GOTA (Get On The Air) station (not counted in the category number);

Field Day Captains
KA6MZE	Phil, KA6MZE was our Radio Officer and Captain for Field Day. He was in charge of the overall activity.
AA6PZ	Paul, AA6PZ was the captain for the SSB HF station. This station operates SSB Voice on 20/15/10 meters during the day and 40/20 meters at night.
KI6FXY	Charlie, KI6FXY was the captain for the HF CW and digital station. This station operates HF CW and digital modes (PSK31/RTTY/etc) on 20/15/10 meters during the day and 40/20 meters at night.
K6TXD	Jerry, K6TXD was the captain for our VHF station. This station operates VHF/UHF voice on 6 meters, 2 meters, and 70cm.
KA6MZE	Phil, KA6MZE was the captain for our Low band HF station. This station operates 160/80 Voice and CW mostly at night. We put up a 5/8 wave 160M antenna lifted by a weather balloon. The antenna was raised around sunset, when the winds had died down.
W6VYC	Dave, W6VYC was the captain for our GOTA (Get On The Air) station. This station operates 20/15/10 meter bands under the watchful eye of our GOTA station captains. The GOTA station was available for anyone who does not have an amateur radio license, or has been an inactive amateur radio operatorto get on the air. Our coaches guided our guests as they operated a radio station and made contacts across north America and beyond.

Visitors

We welcomed visitors from the general public to visit our Amateur Radio Field Day between 11 AM until 9 PM on Saturday, June 24^th. Also on Sunday June 25^th from 7 AM until 11 AM.

You did not need a License or Previous Experience to Participate

You did not need a radio license to operate our Get On The Air (GOTA) station. This was a great opportunity to experience amateur radio by doing it. Our control operators guided our guests so that they can make their their own radio contacts. Those who have held an amateur radio license for less than a year were also eligible to operate the GOTA station.

Information for Participants

We used WriteLog logging software on all stations. The logging systems were networked together using a wireless LAN based on DD-WRT running on a set of WRT54G WiFi routers.

More information

FARS 2009 Field Day Pictures.
FARS 2008 Field Day Pictures.
FARS 2007 Field Day Pictures.
FARS 2005 Field Day Pictures.
FARS 2004 Field Day Report; pictures July 2004 Newsletter.
FARS 2003 Field Day Report; more pictures July 2003 Newsletter.
FARS 2002 Field Day Report.
Pictures from the 2001 FARS Field Day.
Pictures from the 2000 FARS Field Day.
Pictures from the 1999 FARS Field Day.
Pictures from the 1998 FARS Field Day.
Field Day information at the ARRL's web site.