KK4DIV Report on N4Y Winter Field Day 2020

As many know, Winter Field Day was last weekend Jan 25-26, 2020.  I was invited by Greg, N4KGL to participate with his N4Y group.  My wife and I joined Greg, Greg's wife, Dennis WA6QKN, Chris VA3ECO, George W4GHG.  The weather was cool at night, but honestly, could not have asked for better weather.

The first night the rest of the group went to nearby Chipley, FL for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  My wife and I opted to stay at the campsite and cook steaks and vegetables.  

We had a great evening eating and chatting by the propane campfire.

We were set up inside the popup canopy with a wall kit that provided overhead shelter as well as wind shelter.  The wall kit provides a front zip-up door as well as a window.  My station included the following:

 Yaesu FT-891

LDG Z100 autotuner

SignalinkUSB, SOTABeams 20,30,40 bandhopper linked dipole antenna

Acer Windows 10 laptop

Bioenno 20AH battery in a Powerwerx battery box

Bioenno 120W solar panel with their 20amp MPPT solar charge controller

Greg and I also set up packet communications between the 2 campsites.  I used a Kenwood TH-D72 with the laptop for packet communications.  

My mode of choice (as it usually is for these kinds of events) was PSK31 using FLDigi.  I was socializing more than operating and only logged 20 contacts.  But, hey...its better than none. Overall, the group racked up over 9000 points.  

Here is the video:

You can check it out my videos early and see other private videos by visiting my Patreon page and becoming a patron.  http://patreon.com/bobplank 

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Also consider checking out the Amazon listings below of some of the gear used.  Buying from these links also helps fund the channel and allows me to keep bringing new content to my readers and viewers.

Thanks to all who read my blogs and view my channel.  With a special thanks to those that support me one way or another.

73! de Bob KK4DIV

Setting up FT-891/Signalink and Winter Field Day 2020 prep

Winter Field Day Plans 2020

Winter is coming. A line immortalized in Game of Thrones, one of my favorite shows. Winter Field Day is coming. A line from my favorite hobby. Many of us know what Winter Field Day is all about, while others may think that field day only happens in the summer. Yes, the ARRL Field Day is in June during the heat of the summer here. But winter field day is a nice change from those hot days. On the 25th and 26th of January, the weather should be nice and cool here in Florida. The plan will be to camp at Falling Waters State Park near Chipley, FL (https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/falling-waters-state-park). I will be operating at the park along with N4KGL.  I waited longer than I should have to get my reservation, but I was able to get the last reservation at the other end of the campground.

The fact that we are on opposite ends of the campground will allow us to utilize another aspect of this wonderful hobby, packet radio.  Greg and I plan to set up packet communications between us so that we can coordinate band usage.  At such a close range, we could just throw a rock with a note attached, we could even use a handheld 2m radio, but where is the fun in that.  I should be able to use my portable packet station and a laptop with a simple terminal program such as Tera Term or PuTTY.  Perhaps, I will try to set up a packet station with my Kenwood TH-D72 since it has a built-in TNC and we will be short range. With all of the radios at my disposal, I have plenty of options.

So, looking at my HF station for actual Winter Field Day ops, I am planning on bringing along my large HF go-kit.  This consists of a Yaesu FT-891, LDG Z-100plus auto tuner, bioenno 20AH LiFePO4 battery, bioenno charge controller and 120 watt solar panel.  This kit also includes a Wolf River coil Silver bullet 1000, but I plan on using my Sotabeams 20, 30, 40 linked dipole supported by a fiberglass pole.

I have been looking forward to Winter Field Day 2020 for months, and I hope to catch y'all on the air. Check out some of the equipment I will be using on Amazon below.

73!

Short Winlink Packet test

I've said it before, it is good to get out and test/exercise your equipment every once in a while.  In this short video I take my portable packet station out and send a winlink email to our ARES E.C.

It was about 5-7 miles from my location to my home winlink gateway.  Once I solved a com port issue, sending the email was a piece of cake.

Amazon links for items seen in this video: Beach Umbrella Stand -- https://amzn.to/2SSuS8D Powerwerx Battery box -- https://amzn.to/2QJzmMe Bioenno 20AH LiFePO4 -- https://amzn.to/2QnFcnB



Until next time,
73
Bob
KK4DIV

Weekend Satellite Fun

I've been itching to get out and start having some portable radio excursions all summer. I've been sitting on this Kenwood TH-D72 for a few months. I got it so I could work the amateur satellites in full duplex. Now that we have some cooler weather, its time to take this gear out and scratch that portable radio itch.

This past Sunday, I biked a couple of miles down to the park with my satellite gear. I use ISS Detector for Android and could see there we a couple of satellites I wanted to attempt. The AO92 was up first. There were lots of folks on there, but at some point, I think there can be too many people on a sat. And, that point may have been reached. It was pretty chaotic, and I had a hard time getting in.

The second satellite pass was the AO91 at about 23° starting SSE and ending NE. One of the first stations I heard was HP2VX in Panama. I made the call, and he came back to me on my second attempt. I heard WE4B and gave him a call. I eventually got him after a short pileup. I actually had several stations calling me. Within just a couple of minutes, I logged 5 QSOs on the satellite. As more people got on the satellite, I decided to just stand by and listen.  I could have kept going, but I let others have a chance.

It was a good day, and I really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be getting back in the satellites soon.

Here's the video:
https://youtu.be/oPVtwUur3YY

A QSO on AO-91 10/25/2019

Trying to make a QSO on the FM satellites can be difficult. There are so many users, it can become chaotic. I could barely hear HP2VX, but we made the QSO. Thanks to HP2VX for sticking with me.  

73! Bob KK4DIV

Some new satellite equipment

I've been wanting to get back into working the FM birds and wanted to tweak my equipment setup. My last time I tried to use my kenwood HT in duplex mode, it did not work well. So, I got a headset and a bunch of wires. Lots of wires.  And a few more wires. You'll see...

https://youtu.be/BYdJUcTKEOY