Field Day 2010

UPDATE:  The Sinks Road is still closed and the Forest Service indicated that it would not be open by June 26.  The BARC Field Day will be at the alternate location on the Swan Flat road.  The map has the Swan Flat location noted.

It’s June and BARC will have its annual Field Day event at the end of the month.  Our club will be participating in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) 2010 Field Day event on Saturday June 26th and Sunday June 27th.  Field Day is an annual amateur radio exercise, encouraging emergency communications preparedness among amateur radio operators.  It is typically the largest single emergency preparedness exercise in the country, with over 30,000 operators participating each year.  Field Day is part educational event, part operating event, part public relations event.  But most of all, we have a fun and enjoyable time operating the radios. Anyone can attend and participate, licensed or not, club member or not.  You can operate a radio (with a control operator present) in making contacts to other amateur radio operators.  If you want to listen and not operate, you can help with logging the radio contacts on a computer.  We use this opportunity to let everyone try HF.   We will have several radios setup, including one radio for digital mode, (PSK, RTTY, etc.) and one for Morse Code (CW).

Our location for Field Day will be at the Cheney Creek area on the Sinks Road which is at the top of Logan Canyon.  This is the same area where we had Field Day last year.  The road to Cheney Creek is suitable for automobile travel.  The Cheney Creek area is open camping so there will be a few of us that will go up early in the week to claim a spot.  Others are welcome who would like to arrive early for some radio camping.  We should have a radio set up to use so we can enjoy the airwaves with less man made interference that in the valley.

So here is the Field Day schedule:

Friday
Noon  -  Those that can, arrive at site to help set up antennas until about 6 PM.  It takes about 4 to 6 people to set up the antennas.

Saturday
Morning  -  Setup remaining antennas and radios.  Check everything; radios, antennas, computers, etc.
Noon  -  Contest starts.  Anybody who wants to can get on the air or help with logging contacts.  Contest lasts for 24 hours.
Noon until 4 PM  -  The BARC Ladies' J-Pole Antenna build.
3 PM  -  Bunny Hunt.  We will have a short class.  The bunny will be hidden and anyone who would like to can try to find it.  Hunters don’t even need a license to participate.
6 to 7 PM  -   Pot Luck Dinner.  The Club will provide Dutch Oven Ribs and drinks.  Please bring a large pot luck food item to share and your own plates/cups/utensils (make sure to bring plenty to share -- there are lots of mouths to feed).

Sunday
Noon  -  Contest ends.  Start taking down antennas, put stuff away, and clean up the camp site.

Come on up, bring your camp chair, your camping gear, mosquito repellant, stay as long as you can, and enjoy the good food on Saturday evening and the fun of Field Day.

Due to the late spring we have had we don't know if the snow will be gone to access Cheney Creek, so we have an alternate location just in case.  We will check the road to Cheney Creek in about a week and let everyone know.

See the attached topographical map that shows the top area of Logan Canyon with directions to Cheney Creek and the alternate location.