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Wireless Networking Hardware

2003 Amateur Radio Field Day 137

Posted by michael from the dit-dah-dit dept.
plcurechax writes "The 2003 ARRL Field Day is this weekend, June 28-29. Beginning 1800 UTC Saturday and ending at 2100 UTC Sunday. Originally started in 1933 as a test of portable amateur radio operating, it has become an annual event that is a mix of contest, emergency prepareness, and a public relations activity. Any geeks interested in learning more about amateur (ham) radio, should find out if there is a local club (in Canada)that will be particulating. Most clubs in USA and Canada will have a station on the air. Visitors welcome."
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2003 Amateur Radio Field Day More

2003 Amateur Radio Field Day

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  • Radio post! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pig Hogger ( 10379 ) <pig...hogger@@@gmail...com> on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:35PM (#6316949) Journal
    dit dit daw dit,
    dit dit,
    dit daw dit,
    dit dit dit,
    daw,
    daw dit dit dit daw,
    dit daw dit,
    dit daw,
    daw dit dit,
    dit dit,
    daw daw daw,
    daw dit dit dit daw,
    dit daw daw dit,
    daw daw daw,
    dit dit dit,
    daw,
    daw dit dit dit daw!

    (And now, here is some filler text to avoid the lameness filter. You really don't need to read this as this means nothing at all.)

  • Headline? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    "Particulating?" [reference.com] Another perfectly cromulent word, is it?

  • Amateur (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:38PM (#6316964)
    Amateur == anyone-thats-not-clearchannel

  • North Ottawa (Michigan) Field Day (Score:4, Informative)

    by SagSaw ( 219314 ) <slashdot AT mmoss DOT org> on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:39PM (#6316975)
    Anybody interested in amateur radio of field day in the Grand Haven/Spring Lake/Muskegon (Michigan) area can come visit the North Ottawa ARC field day site. It is located at Robbins township park (take 120th 1 mile north of M-45)

  • The FCC website for prospective hams (Score:5, Informative)

    by zubernerd ( 518077 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:40PM (#6316979)
    Over the past few years the FCC has changed some of the rules and have simplified the code requirements. Check it out at http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/ [fcc.gov].

  • K2VOA (Score:2)

    by vees ( 10844 )
    I'll be operating from K2VOA in Piscataway, NJ (usually on 20 meter phone) all weekend. If you happen to make a contact with us, ask if KC2AEI is the operator.

  • It's only a hobby, really there's no need to go falling to pieces!

  • Ham Radio (Score:5, Interesting)

    by brilinux ( 255400 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:46PM (#6317009) Journal
    Ham Radio is actually one of the origional
    forms of electronics hacking. It is a great
    way for geeks to get involved in the community
    and use some of their own expertice in a great
    service. All you have to do to get a license
    is pass a 35 question test, and you will get a
    callsign from the FCC. If you are not already
    involved, take a look!

    73, DE KG4QXK

    • Re:Ham Radio (Score:5, Funny)

      by poptones ( 653660 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @10:09PM (#6317107) Journal
      I just hasn't been the same since they started selling pre-made capacitors. Hell, you can hardly find galena and cat's whiskers anymore! Why, in my day we didn't even have coaxial cable; you licked your fingers and stuck'em in the spark gap to make an antenna, and that's the way we liked it!

      • Re:Ham Radio (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Ramadog ( 535075 )
        I just hasn't been the same since they started selling pre-made capacitors. Hell, you can hardly find galena and cat's whiskers anymore! Why, in my day we didn't even have coaxial cable; you licked your fingers and stuck'em in the spark gap to make an antenna, and that's the way we liked it!

        Maybe I missed something but how did this rate interesting? That sound more like a good way of getting rf burns. Even the low power used in 27MHz cb can be enough to give a painfull burn.

        Though in some cases making

        • Maybe I missed something but how did this rate interesting? That sound more like a good way of getting rf burns. Even the low power used in 27MHz cb can be enough to give a painfull burn.

          Maybe I missed something, but how on earth are you going to get a burn from a crystal radio set?

          I think the poster was making reference to an historical era, when transmission of signals via electromangetic spectrum was new, and amatures had to hack around marconi's patents.

  • HAM is fun (Score:5, Informative)

    by swimfastom ( 216375 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:50PM (#6317023) Homepage
    Ham radio can be a good time. I will be using my ICOM 28H this weekend in Youngstown, OH. If you are in the area my call sign is KC8UFF. I can always find a nearby repeater when my cell phone can't reach a tower!

    Many people have also used their ham radio's to contact the police when a tornado or other disaster wipes out other means of communication.

  • Near Philadelphia... (Score:5, Informative)

    by MaggieL ( 10193 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:51PM (#6317027)
    Press release

    Members of the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club will put their emergency communication skills to the test when they participate in "Field Day" June 28 and 29. The annual preparedness exercise brings together Amateur Radio operators from throughout North and South America who are committed to assisting their communities in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. Field Day is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio.

    "Amateur Radio is a lot of fun, but the serious side can't be stressed enough," says Maggie Leber, editor of the PMRC newsletter "The Blurb" and webmistress of the club website at www.phil-mont.org.

    "We can play a vital communications role during emergencies, and events such as Field Day ensure that we're ready to handle any type of disaster. We will provide our own electrical power and operate all kinds of radio communications, everything from Morse code to amateur television and amateur satellite radio. We'll be in direct digital communications with the Montgomerty County Emergency Operations center, and will be able to transmit e-mail and other text message through facilities located there."

    Field Day is designed to test operators' abilities to set up and operate stations in the field under emergency conditions, such as the loss of commercial electricity. During the weekend, radio operators try to contact as many other Field Day stations as possible, simulating the fast on-air skills needed to assist town officials and served agencies during an emergency. Approximately 35,000 Amateur Radio operators across the country participated in last year's event. The first Field Day was held in 1933.

    Ham radio operators typically help with communication during weather-related emergencies such as the devastating tornadoes in the Midwest earlier this spring. But, the need for their services doesn't stop there. A federal grant awarded for emergency communications training in 2002 emphasizes support for ham radio's role in homeland defense.

    PMRC will set up its Field Day stations in Lot #4 at Fort Washington State Park, and will be operating from 2pm Staurday until 2pm Sunday. "We hope that the public will come out and see firsthand what this event--and Amateur Radio--is all about," says Ms. Leber, whose amateur callsign is K3XS.

    Today there are nearly 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the United States and more than 2.5 million worldwide. Information on how to become involved in Amateur Radio is available from ARRL -- the national association for Amateur Radio, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111 or by calling 1-800-32-NEW HAM. Visit ARRL on the Web at www.arrl.org.
    • You actually called your radio club PMRC? That's hilarious.
      • Erm...yes. The club was founded in 1949. Google hits that FLA against "Proton Medical Research Center" "Parent's Music Resource Center" and "Powder Metallurgy Research Center". There's also a "Penn-Mar Radio Club" somewhere. I'd venture to guess we were the first to use "PMRC" among that crew.

        Get used to it: it's 2003, the TLA namespace was saturated long ago, and the four-letter acronym space is in danger too...including "For Unlawful Carnal Knowlege".

        I'm a programmer, was once married to a chemist who b

  • Kansas City... (Score:4, Informative)

    by RocketScientist ( 15198 ) * on Friday June 27, 2003 @09:55PM (#6317054)
    The Clay County club is doing field day near Liberty. Great location, lots of fun.

    Field day is a hoot. If you've got any interest at all in radio, find a local club. You may find a few other linux geeks there also. It's a fun technical hobby. Just ask, maybe GW4PTS sometime.

  • Open Source and Ham Radio. Two Great Tastes... (Score:5, Informative)

    by robdeadtech ( 232013 ) * on Friday June 27, 2003 @10:16PM (#6317131)
    There are some really great open source/LINUX projects going on in ham radio. Also, there are a LOT of Ham Radio antenna designers/suppliers with great prices on some pretty awesome 802.11x gear. Some sites worth checking out.

    CQiNet [sourceforge.net] - Open Source implementation of Voice over IP (VoIP) software specifically for Ham Radio. Currently there are three popular VoIP packages used by Ham Radio operators, IRLP, ILink and EchoLink. Since none of these packages are open source it is difficult to contribute to the their development and learn from them by studying their source code. Let's face it for many of us Ham Radio is more about playing with technology than it is about yacking on the radio or Internet. (Hmmm... maybe some folks on Slashdot could learn something....)

    Hamsoft [linux.org.au] - A great HAM/Linux database. (not to be confused with GNU/Linux)

    TAPR [tapr.org]! - These geeks will whoop yer ass in a second! A lot of them are commited to open source. They actually help fund HARDWARE projects (we could learn something). Check out their LINUX sig. [tapr.org]

    Flex-Radio [flex-radio.com] - An open source software defined radio!

    GnuRadio [comsec.com] - Signal Processing in oepn source software

    • TAPR! - These geeks will whoop yer ass in a second! A lot of them are commited to open source. They actually help fund HARDWARE projects (we could learn something). Check out their LINUX sig.

      Uh, no. One of the reasons I left the packet scene several years ago is that I couldn't find anybody who wanted to experiment with transfer rates 9600 baud or higher. Everyone was stuck at 1200 baud. Unlike computer modems, the jump to higher transfer rates often requires a substantial investment in hardware upgra
      • I disagree with you. TAPR is a GREAT organization that moset hams have heard of. They are also pretty innovative too. The reasons things seem to be stuck at slower speeds is a technical limitation that has not been overcome. the problem wih going faster is it increases the bandwidth of your signal. The faster you go, the wider your signal is. On 2m, 9600 is the limit right now until someone figures what will basically have to be a new mode or maybe a way to compress it all to actually simulate a great

  • High performance shortwave receiver *in software* (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    .
    For those who would like to expand their technical horizons, here is a high-performance shortwave receiver that is defined almost entirely in software!

    http://www.nitehawk.com/sm5bsz/linuxdsp/linroot. ht m

    No kidding, it runs under Linux, and it will outperform some of the most expensive shortwave receivers ever built, and it's FREE!
  • ...just have a field day with this stuff.

  • It is what you make of it (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ... a chance to learn how to push more buttons and operate more neat-looking equipment full of blinkenlights. A chance to learn how a lot of electronic circuits work. A chance to digitally communicate over thousands of miles with just 4 watts (which you're aware you could do with wires, but that would require the use of a lot more than 4 watts on a complex, expensive carrier network to accomplish the same result). Oh, and you also meet a lot of nice people (and the occaisional troll), and assist others, whe
    • I'm a 26-year-old Extra, which I'll admit is somewhat young for the hobby,

      While I'm a 28 year old general class (I think that's what that name is, if they haven't changed it), I haven't actually been active in ham radio for years. Because I got my license when I was 13. Now that was young! Unfortunately I just ended up losing interest to other hobbies, but I still keep my license current with the FCC, and I still have my old 2 meter handheld around here, which I turn on every now and then just to hit a

  • Morse Code is being elimanated. (Score:3, Informative)

    by n6jpa ( 595426 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @11:24PM (#6317481) Homepage
    Currently the World Radio Confernce is meeting in Europe and it is removing the morse code test requiremnet from the International Treaty.

    Hopefully in a few months there will be no morse code test at all for ham radio in America. Sadly Morse Code has hampered ham radio growth, almost 33% of todays USA ham radio operators are no code technicians that are restricted to VHF 50 MHz or higher frequencies. With the aboltion of morse code for HF radio tests there could be a increase of ham radio operators of up to 2 million.

    Ham radio isn't just about morse code and voice there are many interesting modes and sadly the FCC and ARRL have discouraged the ham radio hobby by requiring silly morse code tests.

    • I would avoid HF for the first few years after CW is gone. There will be many older hams that do not want to talk to people that did not have to pass a CW test. I avoid one repeater here in pittsburgh because there are people like that on it. Besides, I never really like HF much, that is why I did not go for the test. I took a CW class, I was doing well, in it, but I was not there because I wanted to be, I felt like I was being forced into the class by some of the hams, so I droped out and never took th
    • I was dubious when I read this, but a few minutes' searching confirmed the story [arrl.org].

      Of course, "Adoption of the Article 25.5 modification would not mean the immediate disappearance of the Morse requirement to operate on the amateur bands below 30 MHz. Each administration, including the FCC if it chooses to do so, would decide whether to drop the requirement from its domestic regulations." (quote from the arrl.org article) Theoretically, the FCC could decide to keep the existing 5 wpm Morse requirement...and

      • check this artical out over at qrz http://www.qrz.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST&f= 3&t=38156 it looks like Britain has alread killed cw.
        • Hmm...that's not how I read it. It looks like the Brits are drafting the legislation that will kill the Morse requirement for HF access, once the WRC has changed the international treaty to allow them to do so. Which means they'll likely be the first nation to drop the requirement, but they just can't do it yet, until the changes are approved (a couple weeks from now at most, if I read the other article correctly). That qrz.com posting also said that, in Australia, they might not be able to drop the requ
          • First, maybe I miss read it, you probably are right.

            Second I love your comparison at the end, the sad part is it is probably more heated then those.

            but for me I don't care either way, I have done some HF work at the club I am a member of (club has a extra class call, and there are usually extras there) I just did not enjoy HF work. For now I think I will stay on UHF/VHF for the most part. Now just watch the HF vs. UHF/VHF fight start here.
    • "With the aboltion of morse code for HF radio tests there could be a increase of ham radio operators of up to 2 million."

      Ain't that cool?

      Nope, it's not.

      Morse code is the one single thing in ham radio that makes it unique. Anything else, be it packet radio, Digital TV, VOIP etc. can be done without ham radio, if you are of the technically inclined mind.

      The constant whining of the no-code fraction in the end is just as lame as the windows whiners (who are in the majority) who want everything and anything
      • You can do CW over the net. and as for it being only about CW, no ham radio is not about only CW, it is a hobby, there are many areas one can play with in ham radio, CW is only one part. many people like just phone, others will play with ATV slow scan, packet (well that seams to be hard to find these days) For some thing to be just about one thing, that one thing must take up the majority of the hobby. Last I checked CW was not that big in ham radio, I admit many love it and a few will only do CW, but it
        • Last I checked CW was not that big in ham radio

          At least tonight it is ... just check out 40 meters. Wall to wall signals for 50 kHz. 40 CW is almost always hopping, as is 30 meters.

          CW and other digital modes will be of greater importance during the coming downturn in the solar cycle, when poor propogation makes SSB transmission difficult.
    • One of the reason to keep CW is that under conditions a CW signal will go father than a voice signal. Remember that part of the Amature service is to supply communication in a disaster or problem situation.

      And before some one says packet etc remember CW is simply keying a transmiter on and off and listing for a change in signal on the receiver end. Packet, tty requires a bit more in equipment that could go wrong or be unavaiable when really needed. Its one extra option of moving a message.
      And I wont get in
      • One of the reason to keep CW is that under conditions a CW signal will go father than a voice signal.

        Exactly why microwavelength experimenters/contesters use CW instead of voice. I can make a contact using CW easily when conditions are too poor for voice to get through. Rainscatter is very cool.

        More recently, computers have been used to work high speed meteor scatter contacts with CW. Although each meteor only leaves a brief ionised trail behind, the accumulated numbers of those trails makes reliable
    • While I might be inclined to agree, morse code really isn't that hard.

      I picked up 5 WPM code in about 2 days. It's so simple it's amazing. If anything, you can memorize the alphabet, just write down what you hear, and translate later... because it's just so slow.

      There are whole bands that are CW only, so unless the also relicense them for voice it would be silly to not require CW. CW is very effective when no voice signal can get through either. If you have a one watt transmitter and you're trapped in
    • The Morse requirement is not a serious impediment to growth in the ham ranks, as we know with the success of the no-code technician license. Furthermore, five words per minute is so simple to learn and pass that anyone who wants to can pass it. You can practically look it up as it's sent at that slow speed. Kids as young as seven and eight routinely pass the 5wpm test; I've even worked a 10-year-old Extra.

      True, ham radio isn't just about Morse, but when all else fails [arrl.org] (hey, that sounds familiar), you can

  • W0YC (Score:2)

    by SuperQ ( 431 ) *
    the University of Minnesota Ham club will be runing our field day on a 3000W generator we're borrowing from an ISP... we've got a 1500W amplifier for our HF rig, now all we need to do is find a nice big tent to tx from because weather reports say it's supposed to thunderstorm in the morning.. bleh!

    if you're in minnesota, check out our web page, http://w0yc.umn.edu

    -KC0NBY
    • Band Captains Please Note The Transmit output power at the input of the antenna connector shall not exceed 150 Watts when the transmitted un-modulated carrier is keyed in the CW mode for all mode operations.

      • Re:W0YC (Score:2)

        by SuperQ ( 431 ) *
        that is for low power stations..

        1.3. The total transmitter output power per band for any high power entry in any category for an ARRL Contest is either 1500 Watts PEP or the maximum allowable power level established by the national licensing authority of your country, whichever is lower.

        http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/rules -h f.html

  • fun (Score:2)

    by mpost4 ( 115369 ) *
    I am so looking forward to this years feild day, I will be going to the feild day of my old collage ham club, W3YI. we are going up to the mountins of western PA for it, that should give us some good propigation. I probably see if I can get some 2m FM contacts. I know what some of the others hams are saying 2M? well I like 2m and 70cm alot, and I feel that I can try it, there is no rules against it, I know I will not get my club many points, but we are not doing it just for the points, we are just doing i
  • I'm posting this from the Field Day site of the West Valley Amateur Radio Association [wvara.org]. We've set up about 12 radio stations on a ridgetop near the peak of Loma Prieta, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Visitors are welcome through the event, which ends Sunday at 11AM. See WVARA's web site for more info [wvara.org] and directions [wvara.org]. Or if you're on the air, we'll be using the club callsign W6PIY.

    Emergency coordinators may take an interest in one thing we've done. We use a single generator to power our entire site. Using

  • Anybody interested in amateur radio field day is welcome to join the Santa Clarita ARC in Valencia near Magic Mountain. It is located at the Castaic Lake Water District on Bouquet Cyn. For directions go to www.w6jw.org
    CUL OM de KC6WGR
  • Ah, ham radio. It hasn't been the same since the old guys retired their Vibroplexes. [vibroplex.com]
    • "Ah, ham radio. It hasn't been the same since the old guys retired their Vibroplexes."

      True. The old guys use Schurr paddles today.

      http://www.mtechnologies.com/schurr/
  • Just look at the number of comments on this thread. Nobody cares.

    The Internet killed amateur radio, it's that simple. You can more easily (no skill needed) talk to more people than were ever on the radio.

    Yes, I'm a ham (extra for more than 10 years) and I think the no-code technician license should give you full privileges (same as extra). In other words, I think there should only be one ham license class. That might save the hobby.

    And shut up all you old whiners about the degradation from n00bs, you
    • Just look at the number of comments on this thread. Nobody cares.

      The Internet killed amateur radio, it's that simple. You can more easily (no skill needed) talk to more people than were ever on the radio

      Killed amateur radio? Not hardly. New licensees are are increasing at a greater rate than SK's and non-renewals combined. At least that's what the FCC's numbers say, as well as Industry Canada and from what I saw in an RSGB item last year, the same in the U.K.

      Take a listen across those few HF bands that
    • The Internet killed amateur radio, it's that simple. You can more easily (no skill needed) talk to more people than were ever on the radio.

      Just talking to people isn't the point. You can punch a few buttons on your wireless phone and call any telephone in the world.

      Talking to people, with absolutely nothing between you and them, is what it's all about. With other modes, there is a massive infrastructure between you and the other person. With radio, it's you and your rig and antenna, and the other perso

  • Field Day in Ames, IA (Score:3, Informative)

    by matgyver ( 457619 ) on Saturday June 28, 2003 @08:54AM (#6319098) Homepage
    If you are in central Iowa, we are having Field Day at the Red Cross in downtown Ames, IA as a 3F station. This is a joint operation between the ISU radio club (CARC) and the Story county radio club (SCARC).

    Good luck!

    73's
  • The Plano Texas Amateur Radio club is having field day this weekend at Hoblitzelle park in Plano.

    There will be lots of interesting equipment and modes, including packet radio.

    There will also be barbeque. Come check it out. Details available at the PARK website [k5prk.org].

  • W5DDL (Score:2, Informative)

    by Subnirvana337 ( 572385 )
    If anyone on Slashdot is in the Lafayette/Rayne, Louisiana area, AARA (Lafayette amature radio club) will be celebrating field day in Rayne, at the Civic center. Directions can be found on www.w5ddl.org

    Myself, I'm going to work as many PSK31 contacts as possible, our mobile opperations van and 100 foot trailer tower will do just fine...although, i could get extra points for opperating QRP, 20 meters will be probably be pretty crowded...

    Happy Field day to all!

    Mike
    KD5UTQ

  • Pics (Score:2)

    by mpost4 ( 115369 ) *
    Pictures from my day at feild day http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3sxhy/FD2003/f ield_day_2003_for_w3yi.htm [bellatlantic.net]
    this is only the second year that we have done a field day. It was alot of fun, I wish I was still there but I had to work tonight so, I had to leave early.
  • And the other (harder and more geeky) contests/events are ignored.

    Here's a good one...
    http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/1 0 -ghz.htm l [10 GHz and up contest] - try doing THAT with your Pringles Can antenna (hint: Leave the pringles can at home in the garbage and get a real dish.)

    Or maybe a little more realistic...

    http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2003/june-vhf .h tml [June VHF QSO Party] - put a whole crapload of directional antennas up on bands that are supposed to be "local" communications band

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