I had a good time. Putting together the Amateur Radio Station In a Box (ARSIB) was a good learning experience. I now have a functional, portable system that I can take anywhere to operate. The actual operation and contacts during field day was very enjoyable. Other than the lighthouse activations and the W4M special event station for Memorial Day, I don’t do a lot of phone. So all the phone contacts were good experience. No big DX and no new states (still missing Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming for WAS).
I wish I had tried setting up my homebrew vertical dipole to see how it did against my end fed inverted vee.
I’d also like to get one of the Heil Traveler headphone/boom mike devices that has a PTT switch. I think it would make operating easier having a boom mike than constantly picking up and setting down a hand mike. I’d also like to try to integrate some type of control software between the radio, the laptop, and the logging program. I’m going to give FT-817 Commander a try. I know there are similar applications for my IC-706MKIIG,
I need to take advantage of some of the easy way to get more points….:
– Message Origination to Section Manager: 100 bonus points for origination of a National Traffic System (NTS) style formal message to the ARRL Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator.
– Satellite QSO: 100 bonus points for successfully completing at least one QSO via an amateur radio satellite during the Field Day period.
– W1AW Bulletin: 100 bonus points for copying the special Field Day bulletin transmitted by W1AW.
For next year I would like to try and operate away from the house. Maybe combine it with a summer vacation trip.
Although I’ve been a ham since 2001, I’ll consider this my first Field Day. Instead of participating in the local RACES field site or one of the local clubs, I decided I’d operate from home using emergency power. I spent the majority of the day completing my amateur-radio-station-in-a-box (ARSIB) project. The ARSIB is centered around an FT-817ND and is housed in a large dry box, the type normally used by outdoors folks and hunters. I built a shelf unit that slides into the box. Components are stacked vertically and secured to their own shelf. At the bottom I have an Alinco powers supply, very compact. Above the power supply is the FT-817ND. Above that is a 100W Tokyo HyPower amplifier for the FT-817ND (normally a 5W rig). Above the amp is an LDG Z-11PRO, great tuner. The tuner is also connected to the FT-817 ACC outlet for seamless tuning during band changes. Above the tuner is an SWR/power meter. The power cables run up the side of the box and feed into a small RigRunner that is mounted on the inside lid of the box. I spent just about all day putting everything together, to include two trips to ACE Hardware.
