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W6HA Field Day 2019 Field Day Technologies – Planning – Preparedness May 7, 2019

W6HA Field Day 2019 Field Day Technologies – Planning – Preparedness May 7, 2019. Hughes Amateur Radio Club W6HA. April 18, 2017. Overview – Sharing Field Day Knowledge. Goal: Share knowledge about technologies and methods related to Field Day Topics: Power sources Dale WB6MMQ

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W6HA Field Day 2019 Field Day Technologies – Planning – Preparedness May 7, 2019

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  1. W6HA Field Day 2019 Field Day Technologies – Planning – PreparednessMay 7, 2019 Hughes Amateur Radio Club W6HA April 18, 2017

  2. Overview – Sharing Field Day Knowledge Goal: Share knowledge about technologies and methods related to Field Day Topics: Power sources Dale WB6MMQ Solar – panels, regulators, Generators – sine wave, fuel use, start, refueling Batteries – (too much to cover in detail – just a chart of types, capacity, and preferred use is 5% rate of capacity) UPS – use to avoid generator transients – need power to get them started Filtering of transients – filters used at field day Power distribution ir voltage loss in long cables, AWG rating Radio bands and propagation Mike N6MDV Frequency – skip zones – time of day – time of year Solar conditions – Modeling Types of radios and how to operate use of basic controls RF gain, filter bandwidth Modes of operation FM, digital, CW, SSB Personal and community safety, shelter, food, sun protection Bob AD6RW Logging of messages and traffic – Betty N6VZF National Traffic System NTS Messaging – Steve KI6GUY Nets – Forms – scheduling a time and frequency – Steve KI6GUY Winlink – Mike N6MDV Field radio station setup and organization – equipment list and why Transceiver Antenna – band pass filters – cables – switches Multi station set up and physical orientation CW keys/paddles, microphone, headsets Display/keyboard Transporting equipment – safely

  3. What is Field Day Hams setting up radio stations to develop skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness Acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio W6HA Goals: To have fun - keep it light and enjoyable for all Train, learn, share knowledge To make many radio contacts - more each year To test new equipment, antennas, and methods To engage with the public and explain how we are preparing for emergency communication operations Method: Set up temporary radio stations Transceivers Antennas Emergency power Work as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20,15 and 10 Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above Learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. W6HA Approach: Wilderness Park – Redondo Beach Family camping weekend Setup on Friday Around the clock operation 3 to 4 HF stations 1 Get On The Air (GOTA) station 1 VHF station

  4. 15’ lower than pad Band Pass filters minimize Inter station interference N 40M dipole A amphitheater 308d 100’ HF3 22d 185’ TH3JR TH3MK4 + inverted V VHF cluster 64d 175’ A R A HF1&2 25d 150’ 40d 175’ 326d 65’ TH3JR GOTA TH3JR 230d 130’ pine R A HF4 A – Antenna R – Radio g - generator Info – Public Information Table GOTA – Get on the Air Station info 30’ Wilderness Park – Redondo Beach pond Antenna Placement Magnetic Headings Distances between stations 70 degrees beam orientation Optimum for East Coast and midwest Northern states & midwest 30 deg East coast late afternoon 15M 50 deg Hawaii 260 deg Alaska 330 deg Park Entrance

  5. W6HA 2019 Field Day Stations Plus 2 Honda power generators Solar Information table Logging computers 20 Meter Station with 3 element yagi on 55’ crank up tower 10 & 15 Meter Station on yagi on 55’ tower with duplexer Plus 80 Meter 80M inverted V from tower 40 Meter Station with North South Dipole GOTA HF/VHF Atation with 3 element yagi on 20’ pushup & VHF/UHF vertical VHF Station with 5 element 6M yagi, TBD other antennas on 20’ pushup poles 15/20/40M Digital / CW StationTriband yagi on pushup plus NVIS dipole

  6. Field Day PowerClass A – No Commercial MainsGenerators, fuelSolar, Batteries – UPSPower cables and Filters WB6MMQ Dale

  7. Non-Commercial Power – Class A – Multiplier: 2 x 4 Pole Filter Rated 30 Amps Aux. Fuel Tanks – 6 Gal. and 4 Gal. Honda 2000i Generator Line A (Black) Honda 2000i Generator Line B (Red) Backup Generator – Older Honda Day Use Only Photo Credit: Steve Sakai

  8. Non-Commercial Power – Class A – Multiplier: 2 x • Honda 2000i (inverter) 4 – 6 Gallon Aux Fuel Tanks • 2 @ 1800 W ea, Total 3600 Watts – Runs 24 hours W/O Refueling • Line filter – 4 @ 30 Amps (just in case) • Power Cord – 130 ft. - 30 AWG – 4 conductors • Safety-Green, Shared Neutral-white, 2 Hots – Black & Red • Distribution / Breaker Box – 2-20 & 2-30 Amp Breakers • 2 - Duplex @ 20 Amp; 2 - 30A Twist Lock • Various 100 ft. #10 & #12 Extension cords • Quad Box Cords 25 to 50 ft. (box w/ 2 – Duplex Receptacles) • Lights ~6 w/6 ft. cords & 40W – 60 W bulbs (incandescent) • Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) (desktop Logging CPUs) Note: Generator Wiring is different than building wiring. In buildings, Both the Neutral and the Green wire safety wire are grounded at the service entrance. In generators, the Green Wire is connected to the generator chassis and earth ground by the user (presumably) – The Neutral is NOT connected to the chassis or earth ground. Some UPSs complain about this.

  9. Non-Commercial Power – Class A – Multiplier: 2 x 30 AWG-4 Conductor Power Cord and Distribution Breaker Panel

  10. Non-Commercial Power – Class A – Multiplier: 2 x Throwing or pulling the cables over branches and through crotches is: 1.  More dangerous than you might expect. (We did have a close call.) 2. A lot more work 3. You can get a light line over a higher Branch easier too, so that the sag in the middle of the cable is higher. 4.Take down is faster, easier and also safer, if you can just loosen the line and lower the cable. Installation Requirements & Goals Safety First ! • Air-Line Power and Internet Cables • No trip hazards – No Clothes line hazards • Minimum Height: 8ft, Goal: 10ft. • Use Ropes to pull cables up • Do NOT try to throw heavy cable over branches etc. • GOAL: • Put up power and internet Cables 1stbefore other things get in the way. • Complete before 3 PM Friday afternoon inspection • Needs Two Teams of 2 people each. – 4 people Plus an occasional helper

  11. Alternative Power - Solar - 100 Points Photo Credit: Steve Sakai

  12. Non-Commercial Power – Class A – Multiplier: 2 x Alternative Power – 100 Bonus Points • Solar Panel – 100 Watts (12 volts @ ~ 8 Amps) • Charge Controller – 30 Amp • Power Pole Connectors • Batteries – 12 volt - 100 Ahr Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) • Power Pole Connectors • Usually used at the VHF station. • Qualifies for Alternative Power Bonus 100 points • Must make a minimum of 5 contacts for the bonus

  13. Radio Bands and PropagationFrequencies, skip zones, time of daySolar conditionsModelingi.e., how do we get our signal to them? N6MDV

  14. Simplified High Frequency PropagationWhy Antennas, Frequency and Time of Day Matter • During day use higher frequencies • Use Near Vertical Incident Skywave (NVIS) for close access • Vertical antennas have lower take off angles – but may be have more noise • High yagi’s have even lower take off angle • 55’ tower with 20 meter frequency antenna is 0.8 of a wavelength high • Same tower at 10 meter frequency is 1.6 wavelengths high and will have lower takeoff angle Ionosphere ionized layers D, E, F1, F2 – stronger and lower during day Mid anglee.g. yagi closer to ground High take off angle e.g. NVIS dipole close to ground Lower take off angle e.g. yagi higher above ground CA during day Western US at night Texas for yagi .75 wavelength high Atlantic states for yagi 1 wavelength high

  15. Modeling Background • Using VOAAREA modeling tool • Smoothed sunspot numbers for June 2019 with 10 SSN (lowest we’ve used) • Model our antennas on EZNEC • Model receiving antenna at 8dBi • Consistent with dipole at other end (2db higher than last year modeling to reflect observations) • Modeling presumes 100W out • Suitable for SSB and CW, but high for digital • 90 percent reliability based on SNR • 45 dB for SSB (blue on following charts) • 27 dB for CW/digital (grey on following charts plus near by green) • Plots at 6am, 9am, 11AM (18Z), 1PM, 3PM, 5PM, 7PM, 9PM, and 11PM pacific • Antenna models – Pattern and gain determined from EZNEC • 20M and 15M tri element yagi at ¾ lambda above ground • 70 deg orientation from North • 40M NVIS North South dipole • 80M NVIS not updated from last year, pattern is about the same

  16. How to Read Chart Time Band SKIP ZONE SSB CW/Digital in green, grey, and near by white S9+ 02 UTC = 7PM 14.1MHz = 20 meter band June with smoothed sunspot of only 10 *****Good time of day for midwest and east coast SKIP ZONE Antenna Direction One Hop and Two Hop Signals

  17. 20M 3 Element Yagi on 55’ tower, 15M 3 Element Yagi on 25 ft pole, 40M NS NVIS, 80M NVIS 3PM Use digital or CW Maybe Phone 15 Meter 20 Meter 80 Meter 40 Meter

  18. Best QSO Periods By Band o o o o o X 5PM o o o o midnight o o NEEDS UPDATING FOR 2019 THIS IS OLD DATA o o o

  19. Types of RadiosBasic ControlsModes of OperationatW6HA Field Day N6MDV

  20. Transceivers We will have a mix of radios Mobile HF/VHF – compact: buttons for key items, menus for rest Base station – bigger: buttons for nearly everything Radio owner will set up the basic configuration Items you need to check or change are: Turn radio on – power switch Mode: single side band, FM, or data Power output: set to 100W except digital modes use 20W Select antenna: Some stations will have multiple antennas: Set antenna switch and ensure that appropriate band pass filter is in place Change band and frequency on transceiver suitable for that antenna Tune Frequency: Using VFO knob – check SWR SWR – Antenna tuner: activate tuner, confirm SWR is good (<2 prefer <1.5) Change listening volume level: AF knob Change RF gain to reduce unneeded noise: RF gain knob Attenuator on/off if strong signals are causing distortion Select receive filters (bandwidth) to reduce noise Push to talk button: when transmitting voice VOX or other control for digital transmissions

  21. All Radios at our Field Day Get instructions from band captain or radio owner If uncertain about how to use: Don’t Always check that antenna is attached and SWR is <2 before transmitting Set volume control as you need it Too loud can be tiring If radio has RF control, turning down RF gain can reduce noise and distortion – lower it until signal is still audible and noise is reduced If radio has receive filters, select narrower bandwidth to reduce noise and adjacent station interference SSB suggest 2KHz, CW suggest 1KHz while tuning and 100Hz on a signal

  22. Many Radios Most will have a VFO A and a VFO B Stores two frequencies Buttons normally swap A and B frequencies and copy A into B Convenient way to monitor a frequency occasionally while searching for other stations – just swap A and B occasionally Most of our stations will have band pass filters between the transceiver and the antenna Reduces cross band interference – significantly! (80dB) Know what filter you have, only transmit on the same band as the filter – otherwise will damage the transceiver Our filters are limited to 200W – transmitting with higher power will burn out the filter (smoke) Most radios have RIT knob – for quick field day contacts normally not used, but use it if you are “running” and other guy calling you is too hard to understand RIT = Receiver Incremental Tuning: changes receive frequency without changing transmit frequency

  23. Triplexer Triplexer Allows three radios to use the one highest antenna -Connects to Tri-Band antenna -Separates each band to a connector -Saves work – Don’t need separate pushup masts and antennas for each station. Connecting cables 2018 1 - Shorter Cable for the tower ~ 65 ft 2 – 20M cable ~ 25 ft 3 – 15M cable ~ 100 ft. 4 – 10M cable ~ 100 ft (if used) Photo Credit: Steve Sakai

  24. Yaesu FT1000MPwith power Amp Buttons for everything Focus on main VFO – A May have a power amplifier – see additional instructions SWR Check Antenna Tuner On/Off switch Filters Band select Attenuator Frequency select Volume control RF gain control

  25. ICOM 7300 Combination of button and menu plus touch screen with soft buttons Pan adaptor and waterfall display shows where signals are On/Off switch Band selecttouch screen Filters Antenna Tuner Frequency select Preamp & Attenuator Volume control RF gain control SWR Checktouch screen select SWR meter

  26. Elecraft KX-2KX-3 similar but with more buttons for filter control Few buttons & each has multiple functions Tap for the white function Hold for 1s for the yellow function Swapping between A and B VFOs easy Return to a frequency for search and pounce Band select SWR Check Volume control Pre amp & Attenuator Filters Tap and then use knobs Antenna Tuner coarse VFO A/B save and swap RF gain control Menu item Frequency select On/Off switchpress both at once

  27. Safe Operating If SWR is too high (>2) Check proper band pass filter for this frequency band Check antenna is attached Check all coax connectors – be sure fully engaged Some have been bent in past Check cable with dummy load and analyzer Check tuner is engaged and set correctly Ensure no one is in your antenna area: RF exposure Be sure radio is set to appropriate frequency Band plan mode restrictions Within your license privileges Not too close to band edges or “special frequencies” Such as 14.230 slow scan TV <50.1 for weak signal ops Not on 2 meter call 146.520 – QSY up once initial contact or announce

  28. Field Day SafetyAntennasPowerPersonal AD6RW

  29. Field Day Safety Considerations • ARRL Requirements for Safety Officer (SO) • RF Safety Considerations • Environmental/Venue Concerns • Common Sense Safety Considerations • Field Day is to be fun - Injuries are prohibited! • All participants are deputized as SO's • Stay Safe - Have fun!

  30. Other Safety Considerations • Antenna installation - dangers here! • Ladder safety (team effort) • Proper Tools for the job (gloves, spin tights) • Know your limitations (none of us are getting younger) • Wire/Coax routing - overhead, out of reach • RF Safety Considerations - exposure limits, overloads • Environmental/Venue Concerns - Civilians, Fire, Bees! • Liberal use of safety/barrier tape • Common Sense Safety Considerations • Walk, don't run. Think before you act • Sunscreen – sun hat • Field Day is to be fun - Injuries are prohibited! • (and might get us uninvited next year) • All participants are deputized as SO's • Stay Safe - Have fun!

  31. Supporting Documentation and Signage

  32. NO SMOKING / NO OPEN FLAMES GASOLINE STORAGE AND USE AREA Make as many copies as need to be posted

  33. SAFETY EQUIPMENT HERE HARD HATS WORK GLOVES SAFETY GOGGLES CAUTION TAPE SUN SCREEN FLASH LIGHTS SIGNAGE MATERIALS PLEASE RETURN AFTER USE

  34. FIRST AID KIT HERE SERIOUS INJURIES – CALL 911

  35. FIRE EXTINGUISHER HERE Make as many copies as need to be posted

  36. HOT WEATHER SAFETY • STAY HYDRATED - DRINK WATER • AVOID SUN - STAY IN SHADE • WEAR APPROPRIATE CLOTHING • AVOID WORK DURING HIGH HEAT • USE SUNSCREEN • MONITOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS • FOR HEAT RELATED SYMPTOMS

  37. MINIMIZE RISKS / CONTROL HAZARDS • ALL OVERHEAD CABLES ABOVE EASY REACH • ALL EQUIPMENT PROPERLY GROUNDED • CAUTION TAPE AROUND ALL HAZARDS • CAUTION TAPE ON GUY LINES / CABLE DROPS • TENT STAKES MARKED / OUT OF TRAFFIC AREAS • MARK OR ELIMINATE ALL TRIP HAZARDS • NO RUNNING / USE FLASHLIGHTS WHEN NEEDED • NO COOKING/STOVES OTHER THAN PARK FURNISHED • NO OPEN FLAMES – GASOLINE IN USE • KNOW WHERE FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS LOCATED • PROTECT PUBLIC ACCESS TO REST ROOMS • SAFETY OFFICER / DESIGNEE ON SITE AT ALL TIMES

  38. THINK SAFETY FIRST Make as many copies as need to be posted

  39. SAFETY LOG LOG ALL SAFETY ACTIONS / INCIDENTS / INJURIES

  40. DESIGNATED SAFETY OFFICERS

  41. SAFETY ACTIONS / INCIDENTS / INJURIES

  42. LoggingMessagesTraffic – ContactsServer, Software, Logging station N6VZF

  43. Field Day Logging Each contact recorded with this information Frequency Band 160M, 80M, … 440MHz Mode CW, Digital, Phone Time in Universal Time Coordinate UTC Starts at 1800Z and goes to 1759Z on Sunday Call sign Other stations call e.g., W6TRW ARRL section Most are the state, some states have multiple sections like North Florida NFL Class of station: examples 7A or 1B Number of transmitters and type of station A – club of 3 or more people B – 1 or 2 people C – Mobile D – Home station E – Home station emergency power F – Emergency Operations Center Each station can be recorded once per band and mode Thus each station call sign could be recorded up to 30 times if they used all bands and all modes (extremely unlikely)

  44. Why Log? Provides excellent practice for getting an accurate message through Requires careful listening to what the other station says Requires recording that information accurately Akin to what one might do in an emergency operation to pass information accurately and keep track of what was sent / received. It’s required for computing our score

  45. How we do it Laptop or desk top computer at each radio station Server computer Fast enough to keep up with workload With graphic display of logging results All computers networked together with Ethernet cable and switch Local network – NOT WiFi N3FJP logging software Preloaded on each logging computer Stores contacts on the local computer & copies onto the server All logging computers can see the contacts that have been made so far

  46. The bottom of the screen will display the current: Band; Mode; Field Day Station Call, Class and Section; Time in local and UTC formats

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