STOCKTON-DELTA A.R.C.’S 2006 FIELD DAY NOTES

By Dave Hardwick, N6LHL 
 

Bright and early Field Day Saturday morning a bunch of us piled out of our vehicles in the middle of Charlie WB6NVB’s wheat field northwest of Stockton, and energetically started to put up our station for the 24 hour annual Field Day exercise.  What was really on our minds was the weatherman’s prediction of 106 degree afternoon.  And by 11am start it was already hot.  We quickly raised a tribander up to 45 feet using WB6NVB’s portable mast. Then we raised two more masts at about 30 or so feet to support an 80 meter dipole fed by open wire. Paul N6KZW’s 40 meter vertical went up with 6 radials in a few minutes. Setting up in a cow shed, (thanks for cleaning the floor, Charlie) we got 2 radios and a GOTA station on line, dropped 3-4volt Lucent 125 amp hour batteries in line, (did that give us 375 amp/hours?) fired up a generator and charger, and now we were good to go!  VVK set up his solar cells, and started charging his 2 -17amp gel cell batteries.  
 

Things seemed to start out slow as the whole world was yelling “CQ Field Day” at once, but soon the first contacts were made.  All participants began to rotate between working as operators, then loggers, then took a break, then began the rotation all over again.  Around noon, Bev KG6EFD and daughter Jennifer, showed up with lunch fixin’s , and filled all our empty bellies.  
 

The day wore on, and the temperature rose to 101 degrees in the cow shed’s tin roofed shade, but the membership was determined to place higher than last year, and the contact count was rising.  About 3 in the afternoon, Paul N6KZW installed a “mister” in the shed doorway so that when a small breeze came up it cooled the operators down nicely.  And our contact count was steadily rising.  The GOTA station got busy with non-hams and Tech’s getting a taste of HF bands.   
 

In mid-afternoon we were pleased to see that in response to our invitation,  Bill Koch W6WEK from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services stopped by to see how we were doing and how hams can set up quickly and get on the air when  power mains are inoperable. Next, Lt. Dennis Smallie from the Stockton Police Department came in with his family to observe our operation.  Again, he was there to see how hams can operate on an emergency basis.   
 

About 6pm, out came the BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, salads, and our now traditional strawberry short cake with whipped cream, courtesy again of Bev KG6EFD, and daughter Jennifer.  With full stomachs and dropping temperatures, our contacts began to pick up. 80 meters came on strong, and our contacts continued into the evening.          
 

Despite the crowded airwaves, Charlie Wb6NVB copied the ARRL Field Day message, and we also made a contact with our Division Representative.

While a number of us left the Field Day site for the comfort of our own homes in the evening, there were several truly dedicated folks who continued to operate all night long.   
 

Sunday morning, Ray N6VVK’s batteries were sufficiently charged to put them in line with Bill N6UTI’s radio. Bill set to work getting 5 CW contacts via solar charged battery.  Within half an hour he had them!   
 

As the 11am finish approached, and the number of duplicate contacts rose, some of us were convinced that we had worked everyone!  There was no one else to talk to! But operators and loggers dug in and scratched out a few more contacts right up until the 11am finish line.   
 
 
 

Many thanks to the participants in this years Field Day exercise: Dan KI6CEH, Bill WB6DNG, Bev KG6EFD, John KD6FVA, Jennifer Kester, John WB6FVG, Jon N1ILZ, Eric W6INP, Shirl AA6K, Paul N6KZW, Mike W6MRM, Dave N6LHL,  Josh KD6NIG, Charlie WB6NVB, Jim KB6QIT, Dave KG6SVF, Bill N6UTI, Dick KG6UTX, Ray N6VVK, and Chas KG6ZWZ.

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