FIELD DAYS

This Page is Extoling the Virtues of Field Days. The purpose of field days is multipurpose but the first is always to have fun with your amateur radio friends.

A second purpose is to introduce friends to the hobby who have been on the sidelines thinking about it, get them more interested, encourage them to take the necessary training..

A third purpose is to learn how to work  in small groups to quickly install antennas and connect radios to portable power sources. This is especially iomportant if members of the groups want to make themselves available to provide communications after disasters. I always encourage newly certified  members to amateur radio to join their local municipal EOC's (Emergency Operations Centres) as volunteer communicators. There are never enough so the demand is high. You generally get the opportunity to be mentored by other hams who have years of experience.

Magrath Alberta Field Day - June 25 2011 - At the Fish Pond

VA6GSM

VE6CW

Note the Flex 3000 digitally configured radio (blue package)  -  state of the art.

VE6GWI

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The people in the above photos are seasoned amateurs, they know their stuff and are equipped to manage emergency communications if called upon. All have emergency power in the form of batteries and or generators. They all have multiple antennas to choose from, dipoles and vertical mobile antennas. We also have a variety of younger hams but they were too busy to come out. The youngest certified ham I have seen so far was 8 years old and has a childs voice. It's startling for some older hams to hear one of these young people behind a mic. The first reaction is to want to tell them to get off the radio and go play in the dirt. The ones I have seen who have earned the right to communicate are pretty serious and so deserve respect. I guess what I'm trying to say is never too old to learn and apparently never too young.  It just needs the desire and the patience to work through the material.

Redmond Washington Field Day 2009

Album #1 Redmond Field

Album #2 Redmond Field

If anyone has photos of their field days that they'd care to share then send me your best shots and I will put them up here. I'm particularly looking for images of field days with LDS groups from Eastern Canada. I know that there must be activities out east but am getting almost zero feedback. I would love to have some images from up north as well.

Donn / VA7DH