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Author Topic: Field Day Preparation Check List  (Read 408 times)

WA9AFM

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Field Day Preparation Check List
« on: April 16, 2021, 12:40:52 PM »

A gentleman in our club has volunteered to chair Field Day 2021.  He is new to the hobby, so he's jumping in with both feet.

Is anyone aware of a good Field Day preparation check list he could follow?  The ARRL website has check lists for PIO's and Safety Officers, but can't find one for the Chair.
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W9IQ

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WA9AFM

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2021, 01:14:28 PM »

Thanks.  I've seen that one.  Looking for something more detailed.
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N8AUC

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2021, 07:49:39 AM »

A gentleman in our club has volunteered to chair Field Day 2021.  He is new to the hobby, so he's jumping in with both feet.

Is anyone aware of a good Field Day preparation check list he could follow?  The ARRL website has check lists for PIO's and Safety Officers, but can't find one for the Chair.

You probably won't find a checklist like that. That's because every club does it differently. And note that there is not any right or wrong way to put on a club Field Day operation. Just ways that people like better than others. And what people tend to like depends on the nature of the group. If your club has done Field Day before, consult with the prior Field Day chairman to find out how it was done in the past, and follow his lead if possible. Why? Because you will ruffle a lot fewer feathers that way. If it's your first time as a group, then hopefully the guidance that follows will be helpful.

Some clubs are very competitive and insist on going for the highest possible contest score. Some clubs (like ours), treats Field Day as a fun thing. A social gathering, with food, camaraderie, a bit of camping out, and trying to play radio all night, with a little bit of training and education thrown in for flavor. Some clubs/groups like to treat Field Day as an Emergency Preparedness exercise, which at its core is what Field Day really is. How you proceed, and whether you are viewed as a successful Field Day chairman will depend on knowing what kind of group you're working with.

Having been a Field Day Chairman for 2 different clubs over the past 25+ years, here's a high level outline of how I do it.

1. Site selection: This is absolutely critical. Be mindful of terrain, and avoid flood plains or low spots. HF can overcome terrain challenges, VHF and UHF not so much. Public parks are good choices, but if the site you like doesn't normally allow an overnight stay, then you'll probably have to apply for and pay for a permit to allow that. You could also use private property, but that has scoring ramifications. The rules say that for a class A operation, all stations and antennas have to be within a 1000' diameter circle. Make sure your site is big enough to allow that. And most importantly, remember the unwritten rule of Field Day ethics: Never take another club's Field Day site. Trust me you will be tempted to violate this, but DON'T DO IT!!!

2. Decide what class operation you want to have. Check the Field Day rules for your options. Except for last year, we've always done class A. Make sure you know the limitations of the class you choose, and adhere to them.

3. Plan for logging options: There are a few ways you can handle this. The simplest (up front) is to use paper logging. If you choose that, then someone (most likely the chairman) has to collect the logs, and compile them by hand to generate the summary report that gets submitted to ARRL. Computer logging is an option, and there are two ways to do that. One is by using a separate computer and wi-fi router to act as a makeshift database server. This causes some logistical challenges up front, but makes the job of creating the summary report easier. The other is for everyone to log independently, using whatever software they choose. This avoids the logistical problem up front, but the chairman still has to collect the data to produce the summary report.

4. Station Equipment: If your club has a trailer full of gear they use for Field Day, you'll just use that. Most don't. In our case, everyone who plans to operate brings their own gear, including power source, lighting, shelter, and antennas.

5. Power: If you use a gas generator, make sure it's properly serviced well before Field Day. Change the oil, air filter and spark plug, and test it in advance. Make sure you have plenty of fuel on hand, because you WILL need it. We use 3 generators, supplied by club members. One gets designated for powering the field kitchen. The other two are used for powering computers and/or radios for those who don't have a solar charged battery setup.

6. Food: This can make or break a Field Day operation, and there are a few ways you can address this. Check to see how your group has handled it in the past and stick to that. If there is no prior history, then do what you think best for the group. You have to plan for 4 meals, and make sure you have enough to feed the entire group very well. Our club provides simple lunches on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday dinner is a pot luck where people bring a covered dish to share. The club does provide hot dogs and hamburgers in addition. Sunday breakfast is where we go over the top a bit. Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast, and if the cooks feel ambitious, sausage gravy as well. We eat very well at Field Day, and I've never had anyone complain about the food. Most club members rave about how good the food is at Field Day.

7. Beverages: What you can and cannot do in this area will be governed by your site selection. Many public parks do not allow public consumption of alcohol. DO NOT VIOLATE PARK RULES ON THIS!!! We provide lots of bottled water, hot coffee, and iced tea throughout the event. We keep a 30 cup coffee urn running and full for the entire event. Anything beyond that, we tell the participants to bring their own. Make sure everyone stays hydrated. No one wants to have to call 911 for a dehydration case. If you're on private property, you can do whatever you want, within reason. The last thing you want though, is for Bubba to get out of hand because he's had a few too many 807s. Another thing to consider, if you setup towers, climbing and alcohol consumption do not mix.

8. Shelter: At our site, we have a picnic pavilion we use as a field kitchen. Every operator brings their own tents and pop-up canopies. You have to be able to keep things covered and dry in the event of rain. Especially your radios and field kitchen. RVs, Campers, and Trailers are another option for this, but not everyone has these.

9. Toilet facilities: Some people adhere to the old joke that "a bear goes in the woods and you can too". Depending on where you are, that's probably not the best option these days. If your site doesn't have public restrooms, you'll need to rent a couple of porta-potties. When I choose a site, the availability of public restrooms is a primary consideration. Remember that for all the input you provide in items 6 and 7 above, there is also going to be output that has to be dealt with. Make sure to bring extra toilet paper in your Field Day supplies, especially if there are females in the group. Just sayin'....

10. First aid supplies: Make absolutely sure you have a couple of well stocked first aid kits on hand, and someone who knows how to use them.

I may have missed a few things in the above list. But that's generally what I plan for when planning a club Field Day event. As always, your mileage may vary, because your group may be different than ours. I hope you find this information useful. Have fun on Field Day, and I hope to see you in our logs!

73 de N8AUC
Eric

« Last Edit: April 17, 2021, 08:07:21 AM by N8AUC »
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N8AUC

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2021, 08:53:34 AM »

http://www.arrl.org/toward-a-perfect-field-day

www.n5crp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/FD-Prep-List.pdf

- Glenn W9IQ

On that second link, interesting to note the credit at the bottom of the checklist. I knew John, WD8IQJ for many years. He is a silent key now, but he was a good guy, and definitely knew what he was doing, especially in the area of Field Day planning and organization.

That particular checklist is an excellent reference for individual station operators within a group operation.




« Last Edit: April 17, 2021, 08:56:05 AM by N8AUC »
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WB6BYU

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2021, 10:00:55 AM »

Eric has lots of good points, so I'll just elaborate on some of them...


Quote from: N8AUC

Some clubs are very competitive and insist on going for the highest possible contest score. Some clubs (like ours), treats Field Day as a fun thing...




This is very important - you have to gauge the expectations the club
has with regards to Field Day and what it is like.  It gets particularly
messy then you have a mix of expectations:  some hams focusing on
making as many contacts as possible.

When Field Day is a more casual social event, the focus may be more
on food and sitting around shooting the breeze, with a bit of radio
thrown in.

For competitive types, the site selection, antennas, stations, band
selection, scheduling, etc. may all need to be optimized.  And you
will have a lot more log sheets to deal with, although it probably
will all be computerized with a LAN connecting the stations.

For a casual operation, one thing I've found helpful is to set some
sort of a goal, like making 100 contacts, or seeing how many states
you can work.


Quote


1. Site selection: This is absolutely critical. Be mindful of terrain...



This also depends on where you are in the country.

If you are East of the Mississippi, you'll probably have lots of
stations at relatively short distances, so height (to cover longer
distances on HF) won't be as much of an issue. 

Here in Oregon, the bulk of the stations are further away.  Sure,
we get a lot of stations from BC, WA, and California, and out to
Colorado and Texas, but, if we are being more than casual, we
need to make more contacts in the 1000 to 2500 mile range, which
will require lower angles of radiation (at least for horizontal
polarization).   To facilitate that, I look for a spot on a hill that
slopes down to the East, and put the antennas at the edge of
the slope, or even a little ways down it.

Operating from Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, or other more distant
location requires a lot more care in site selection and planning.


Oh, and pay attention to poison oak/ivy, snakes, and other hazards.



Quote

3. Plan for logging options: ...



Also, plan to spend some time training your operators how to
log.  I've seen lots of paper logs with illegible callsigns, no
indicator of who the operator was, incomplete sections ("NY"
isn't good enough), data entered in the wrong columns, etc.
If you have a new operator, have someone help them with
the logging.

For computer systems, make sure all operators know how to
use it, how to handle problems, and what the backup system
is when it crashes.

One approach we have used is to have a folder with log sheets
for each band/mode:  that helps to prevent all your stations
switching to 20m SSB when that is the only band open.  If
there are more physical stations set up than you are planning
for your entry class, you can use some sort of tokens to limit
the number of simultaneous stations in use.  (Yes, all of these
have been problems at one time or another.)



Quote

4. Station Equipment: If your club has a trailer full of gear they use for Field Day, you'll just use that. Most don't. In our case, everyone who plans to operate brings their own gear, including power source, lighting, shelter, and antennas.



One good solution here is to decide what stations you want
to have (even if they aren't all on the air at the same time)
and appoint a Captain for each, who is in charge of recruiting
equipment, planning antennas, shelters, etc.   

Visit the site ahead of time to see where the antennas can go,
and what sort of trees or other supports are available.  Then
decide ahead of time which station and antennas goes where.
Otherwise you can have multiple stations expecting to use the
same tree as a support.

I've been at sites where everyone brings their own equipment,
sets it up in their own RV, and operates it by themselves:  that
results in a lot of duplication of effort and doesn't give other
operators as much experience from watching.  (But some folks
are more comfortable that way.)

There are two general ways that operating is divided up between
stations:  by band or by mode.  Dividing by band requires fewer
antennas - just one for each band (or a multiband antenna for
each station).  For 3 stations, we typically would have one on
20m the whole time, one on 80/15, and one on 40/10m, and
the mode would be up to the individual operator.

If you have CW operators, it may work better to dedicate one
station to CW, and then divide up the other bands among the
SSB stations.  Same with digital.  That means multiple antennas
for each band (plus the GOTA station, of course).  The Station
Captains need to know what bands / modes their station will
be assigned to plan antennas and equipment.


Also, make sure that the radios used "play well with others",
both in being less susceptible to overload, and not generating
phase noise that wipes out multiple bands.




Quote

5. Power: If you use a gas generator, ... test it in advance...



Specifically test it for RF noise. 

One Field Day we went through about 5 generators before
we found one that would run reliably and not wipe out
the HF bands with noise.  We had a couple stations running
on a small Honda, but the rest of the stations missed about
4 hours of operating.

AC2EU

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2021, 07:19:28 AM »

I'm from the "teach a man to fish" school rather than giving him the fish.

Here is my contribution to the question:

Ask yourself how do I plan for anything? Ie; grocery shopping, vacations, day trips , etc?

There are basic necessities so you take physical and mental inventory of those needs and write them down.

Visualize yourself at field Day. Maybe it's hot, maybe rainy. Are you thirsty? What do you like drink?
What food would you like there with you?
Now think about being in the tent. Oh, yeah, a tent! That tent needs a table, light and chair(s) too.
What do you need to operate a contest? A logging computer? What modes? What bands? Antennas? How are you going to power this up?

In summary, imagine what would the perfect field day for you, and you should be able to come up with a list of "must haves" with no problem at all.   ;D

N8AUC

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2021, 08:18:57 AM »

I'm from the "teach a man to fish" school rather than giving him the fish.

Here is my contribution to the question:

Ask yourself how do I plan for anything? Ie; grocery shopping, vacations, day trips , etc?

There are basic necessities so you take physical and mental inventory of those needs and write them down.

Visualize yourself at field Day. Maybe it's hot, maybe rainy. Are you thirsty? What do you like drink?
What food would you like there with you?
Now think about being in the tent. Oh, yeah, a tent! That tent needs a table, light and chair(s) too.
What do you need to operate a contest? A logging computer? What modes? What bands? Antennas? How are you going to power this up?

In summary, imagine what would the perfect field day for you, and you should be able to come up with a list of "must haves" with no problem at all.   ;D

In theory I agree with what you said. And what you said is perfect for an individual. Planning for a group is a bit more complex than that. And the bigger the group, the more complex it gets.

Do note however, that the OP was about a fairly new ham, who has likely never done Field Day before, jumping into the role of Field Day coordinator for a group, not an individual. That's a pretty big leap to take. So far, everything in the thread has been along the lines of "teaching a man how to fish". He's going to have to take the guidance provided, and figure out how to make that work with his unique group. No one is doing the actual work for him, or offering to do the work. At the end of the day, he will quite literally "eat what he catches".


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AC2EU

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2021, 09:26:12 AM »

Quote
No one is doing the actual work for him, or offering to do the work. At the end of the day, he will quite literally "eat what he catches".

I didn't where he said that specifically. What kind of club is that where no one will pitch in for their club field day?
I can't imagine that being the case unless it's a club of disabled people.
Surely SOMEONE can mentor him on what is required from past experience?

Yes a club field is the same task as an individual multiplied by the number of stations at the event, and the number of overall attendees. Been there, done that on a committee.

The important thing is knowing what kind of event you want. Is it serious or more like a party, or a little of both?
You will have to delegate tasks to members, such as tents, antennas, radios, power, etc, etc.

IMO,There is no way you can set up a multi station event completely by yourself unless you are in very good physical shape have nothing else to do. Even then, it's a lot for one person!

N8AUC

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2021, 03:59:41 PM »

Quote
No one is doing the actual work for him, or offering to do the work. At the end of the day, he will quite literally "eat what he catches".

I didn't where he said that specifically. What kind of club is that where no one will pitch in for their club field day?
I can't imagine that being the case unless it's a club of disabled people.
Surely SOMEONE can mentor him on what is required from past experience?

Yes a club field is the same task as an individual multiplied by the number of stations at the event, and the number of overall attendees. Been there, done that on a committee.

The important thing is knowing what kind of event you want. Is it serious or more like a party, or a little of both?
You will have to delegate tasks to members, such as tents, antennas, radios, power, etc, etc.

IMO,There is no way you can set up a multi station event completely by yourself unless you are in very good physical shape have nothing else to do. Even then, it's a lot for one person!

Agreed. The "work" he has to do, is the planning and direction part. And yes, part of that is recruiting help.
Because you're 100% right. No one person could setup a multi-station site by themselves.
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AE0Q

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2021, 04:02:28 PM »

www.n5crp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/FD-Prep-List.pdf

Thanks.  I've seen that one.  Looking for something more detailed.

It's hard to imagine a more detailed list than that one.  But obviously not every group will have the same equipment or antenna needs.

The pdf converted easily to an XLSX file with this free online site, and any FD leader could edit it for their exact use with free OpenOffice:

https://www.pdftoexcelconverter.net/

Glenn AE0Q
« Last Edit: April 24, 2021, 04:04:55 PM by AE0Q »
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N5CM

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #11 on: April 30, 2021, 06:17:31 AM »

If your group will be using a public park or recreation area, don't forget about cleaning the area after the event.  There is more to do than dismantling antennas and storing radios.  The area should be cleaned at least to the extent that it was when your group arrived.  This is easily the least exciting aspect of Field Day, especially if you're sleep deprived from operating all night.





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W9IQ

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2021, 06:31:18 AM »

+1

- Glenn W9IQ
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- Glenn W9IQ

God runs electromagnetics on Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the wave theory and the devil runs it on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday by the Quantum theory.

N8AUC

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2021, 02:52:58 PM »

If your group will be using a public park or recreation area, don't forget about cleaning the area after the event.  There is more to do than dismantling antennas and storing radios.  The area should be cleaned at least to the extent that it was when your group arrived.  This is easily the least exciting aspect of Field Day, especially if you're sleep deprived from operating all night.

Absolutely spot on.
When you have departed, it should look like you were never there.
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KC4YDY

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Re: Field Day Preparation Check List
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2021, 01:11:19 PM »

I've worked almost every Field Day since the early 90's.  For many years, it was just about the only time I played HAM radio.

The one thing that I have to add to this thread is, remember that Field Day is NOT a contest.  It is a demonstration of emergency preparedness.  The contest aspect is just thrown in to make it interesting for the operators.  Read that part again.  I've seen more than one Field Day event that turned completely into a private little gangbang for points, ignoring what the true reason for FD is.

You MUST have someone designated as your Public Information Officer.  They are in charge of making sure you have a table with any and every bit of information you can find on Amateur Radio, Public Service, supported clients (town council, police department, hospitals, 911 services, search & rescue, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc).  You need to show the public (and any "officials" who may stop by (INVITE them!)) that Amateur Radio is not an old greybeard hobby, that it has the capability of assisting with emergency communications at any time.  Any time, any where.  When people aren't operating, they should be greeting guests, public officials, dogs, cats, squirrels, lions, tigers, oh my! 

I have seen nothing worse than to hear a local small-town mayor comment that he wanted to know more but nobody could be bothered to stop operating and answer his questions.  I dropped out of being on the bottom of a 6m pileup to take the time to answer his questions.  Yeah, I lost a lot of points in the "contest" but I made more points with the mayor.  The next day (Sunday) he was back with more public peeps.  And remember, you get points for them showing up, too!  Make sure that you demonstrate to them the idea that when cell phones and internet service fail, Amateur Radio won't.

All of the comments on the physical planning are great, and there's a couple I had never thought of, but remember the abstract.  Demonstrate emergency preparedness, not just sit around trying to rack up points.

73!
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