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Author Topic: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day  (Read 1538 times)

WB0CJB

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Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« on: July 31, 2019, 03:35:20 PM »

How many clubs opt to shut down early on Field Day weekend? And for any certain reason? Weather, lack of operators, poor band conditions?

Our club always shuts down much earlier than the 1 PM end. I've done FD with other clubs and have never shut down before 1 PM. Its disappointing to want to make a decent score in 24 hours then wind up only operating 15 hours.

If you're going to make a serious effort to participate in FD at least operate the full 24 hours (in my opinion).
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N8AUC

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2019, 05:20:50 PM »

Generally, I agree with you. Field Day is 24 hours for a reason.

But there are a number of reasons why a Field Day operation might tear down early.

Incoming bad weather for one. If you're setup in tents, and a line of storms is coming,
you might opt to tear down early to avoid having to pack up wet tents. Stowing wet
tents is a good way to have to purchase new ones. Wet tents will mildew quickly,
and once they do it's a real problem.

One year, we had a line of storms headed our way at about 6AM Sunday morning.
It didn't look too bad on radar, so we figured we'd ride it out and keep operating
after the storms passed. Didn't see that 60 knot straight line wind gust coming. And
although the antennas survived and the gear was protected, our tents got destroyed
by the high wind gusts. As soon as the rain subsided, we packed up early. Granted
if you were setup in an RV that might not have been a problem. But we did not have
RV's available for shelter.

Extreme heat is another reason. Would you rather tear down when the temperature
is 75-80F at 10AM, or wait until 2PM when it's likely to be 95F? Older guys just might
start tearing down before the heat sets in.

Lack of operators is another good reason. Competitive operations tend to schedule
people in shifts. If a few people don't show up as scheduled, fatigue on those
remaining might cause an early shut down.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are the ones that came to me first.

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WB0CJB

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2019, 05:52:20 PM »

The reason you give are the same reason our club has. Our site is a large shelter house that provides good protection during strong storms.

In Tennessee it does get pretty hot and humid when we shut down. At one time we set up on Friday afternoon , some spent the night playing radio, and by Sunday morning tempers were getting very short when we tore down. As FD coordinator I put an end to the Friday set up. Even if we set up on Saturday morning we still had a couple of hours waiting for the 1 PM start.

We're not getting any younger and its harder for us old farts to tolerate the heat.
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KS2G

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2019, 06:05:09 PM »

Field Day is 24 hours for a reason.

Field Day is 27 hours:

Field Day is ALWAYS the fourth full weekend, beginning at 1800 UTC Saturday and ending at 2059 UTC Sunday [emphasis added]
 
See: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Field-Day/2019/2019-Field-Day-Packet-Complete.pdf

 ;)
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WB0CJB

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2019, 06:21:00 PM »

Yes- 27 hours if you set up after 1800 Saturday. But before 1800 you can only operate 24 hours.

As far as setting up you can start setting up at 0000 Friday (Thursday evening) but are limited to 24 hour setup.

Every year I download the rules and study them, even if there aren't any significant changes.
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N8AUC

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2019, 08:13:46 PM »

The reason you give are the same reason our club has. Our site is a large shelter house that provides good protection during strong storms.

In Tennessee it does get pretty hot and humid when we shut down. At one time we set up on Friday afternoon , some spent the night playing radio, and by Sunday morning tempers were getting very short when we tore down. As FD coordinator I put an end to the Friday set up. Even if we set up on Saturday morning we still had a couple of hours waiting for the 1 PM start.

We're not getting any younger and its harder for us old farts to tolerate the heat.

Well, I'll start by saying we don't do Field Day to be competitive. We don't treat it as a contest.
If we end up somewhere in the middle of the pack then we feel we did pretty well.
We usually end up with 500-600 contacts, and we score almost all of the available bonus points.
For us, it's about training, fellowship, camaraderie, and having fun. The training is kept kind of
subtle, but the rest of it isn't. Because let's face it, if you asked everyone to come out to work
on a big disaster preparedness drill, most people would not show up. Same with doing a serious
contest operation. But when you emphasize the other aspects listed above, you end up with
plenty of people. Because everyone wants to have fun.

We usually start setup around 9AM on Saturday. We have to get permits from the local
park district for the overnight stay. And they won't issue a permit for more than one overnight
period at a time. Lots of people help with setup, and everything is all setup and ready to roll
by about lunch time. Then we have lunch. Cooked on site, of course. Because the food is one
of the reasons we get people to come out and do Field Day. We eat really well at Field Day,
by design. Anyways, once lunch is over, we have a brief meeting for all the operators to make
sure everyone knows what the correct exchange will be, then everyone heads for their rigs.

In fact, there is a certain park ranger who specifically requests being assigned to work second
shift on that weekend, probably because we feed him when he comes to visit. We've been using
this particular park location for the last three years. And we always end up with a visit from
the same park ranger every year. Go figure. He says he's just checking to make sure we're doing
OK, and he makes sure we have his personal cell phone number, "just in case". I figure it's kind
of like leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Everyone starts making contacts at exactly 2PM (1800Z), and away we go.

Breakfast on Sunday morning is worth staying up to play radio all night. It's that special.
Sausage and eggs, bacon, hash browns, and of course biscuits and sausage gravy are
the standard fare. All cooked outside, and not on a stove. My wife loves cooking
outdoors, and especially for a crowd. She'd prefer an open wood fire, but the parks don't
permit that. So she compromises and uses charcoal. She has lots of helpers. And then
there is Andy's famous chili. He usually makes up about a 7 gallon batch, and brings it
with him in a giant electric roasting pan. It as 4 different kinds of meat in it (Bacon,
Pork, ground beef, and venison), and 6 or 7 kinds of beans. It's best described as
"sweet heat", and there is very little left by Sunday. We dedicate one generator to
keeping the coffee urn and roasting pan going.

Although in the past the weather was kind of brutal, the weather has been pretty good
to us for the past few years. It rained quite a bit last year, but there was about an 8
hour break where it didn't rain, so the tents and canopies dried out well before we
packed everything up. The rain started up again around 3PM on Sunday, but by then
we were all back home so it didn't matter. This year the weather was simply gorgeous
though. The only problem was that it got pretty chilly overnight on Saturday night.
Down into the high 50s. I actually packed a heavy coat for the overnight hours.

When we're about to leave for home, the only universal comment from everyone is,
"It's a shame we only do this once a year." A good time is generally had by all. The
size of the group seems to grow every year. And people are already making plans to
do it again next June.



« Last Edit: July 31, 2019, 08:35:19 PM by N8AUC »
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KD9FRQ

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #6 on: August 03, 2019, 02:57:47 PM »

There are four local clubs in my area. One did not opt to do FD this year due to lack of interest.

Two the did do FD this year, did so but have never been worried about making contacts and keeping a list.

Some bring out a bit of fun, new gear to try and other's teach newer members, some just come to hang out.

I went and hung out for dinner (bringing dessert) and learned about Wires-X and few interesting antennas
that were strung about.

Severe weather impacted our area the entire weekend so there was a lot of unplugging antennas and sitting in cars
for a few hours until the storms passed. One dumped enough rain in an hour to nearly wash away the campsite.

I had hoped my club would do a partial FD on Saturday at a local park shelter and see what public interest was
created.  I plan on doing that next year even if I am the only operator.
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N8AUC

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2019, 08:44:42 PM »

Although it's nice to have a group to do Field Day with, it's  not an a absolute necessity.
And you don't have to go to the lengths we do, either to have fun.
All you need is a rig, a source of power, and some wire for an antenna.
You don't even have to setup in a public place, either. Although you get bonus
Points if you do. You can even participate from home as class D or E.

Just get on the radio and have fun working as many different stations
As you can.

But for me, Field Day combines two of my favorite things.
Camping out, and playing radio. It just doesn't get much better than that.

73 de N8AUC
Eric
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NN4RH

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RE: Early shut down and tear down at Field Day
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2019, 03:26:17 AM »

How many clubs opt to shut down early on Field Day weekend? And for any certain reason?


Could be with some clubs that after many hours together, people can start to get on each other's nerves. Better to pack it up and go their separate ways before that happens.
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