It’s almost here! Field Day is the event that our club really looks forward to every year.
This year we plan to do better than last year. Of course, looking at last year’s dismal score, that should be pretty easy!
We will operate from Point Mallard Park again, as we have in recent years. We will have the usual 2 HF stations, plus a dedicated 6-meter radio and a GOTA station.
What we really need are PEOPLE! If you are in the Decatur area on June 27th or 28th, please stop by. Call on 2-meters on 147.00. Hopefully someone will be monitoring the repeater and can direct you to the site.
We’d love to meet new people and make new contacts in person and on the radio. Come out to Field Day!
We have taken a survey of our members about the interests for programs for our club meetings. We have received some excellent responses and are trying to figure out how to best meet the interests and needs of the club.
Come join us at our meetings on the first Tuesday of each month and learn more about our great hobby!
It’s more than a hobby!! This is tornado season in North Alabama, and we are ready to provide storm spotter service to the National Weather service. If you are a trained spotter, call in on 147.00+ during storms and help us keep our families and neighborhoods safe in severe weather.
It’s the end of January and 2009 is already 1/12th over! We have already started a few plans for Field Day in June.
If you want to be a member of the club, annual dues need to be paid immediately! Dues are only $15, and each additional family member is only $5 more. What a bargain!
Come out to a club meeting on the first Tuesday night of the month at the Morgan County Courthouse! We’d love to have some fresh ideas to keep our club active and growing!
The club is having its Christmas dinner at Ryan’s in Decatur on Tuesday evening, December 2nd, at 6:00. This takes the place of the regular monthly business meeting.
All are invited to attend, whether a ham or not! Come eat with us and enjoy some time together at the beginning of the holiday season!
See you there!
The club has reelected the same officers for 2009. They are:
President - Carl Spanyer KD4BXF
Vice-President - Jerry Montgomery K4SAV
Secretary - Richard Matthews KB4CAY
Treasurer - Ray Frederick KD4VCW
Because the Morgan County Courthouse will be the place where votes will be counted, the club has agreed to change the location of the November 4th business meeting, which will include the election of officers for 2009.
We will assemble at Mama Blue’s restaurant on the Beltline in Decatur. It was formerly Barnhill’s Buffet, and is located near the mall. We will, of course, be enjoying the food, beginning at 6:00pm on Tuesday.
So come to the meeting, get full of good food, and get elected to an office! What a great way to spend a Tuesday evening!
We knew that our Field Day “effort” this year was not going to get us anywhere on the 1st or 2nd page of the scores.
Boy, were we right this time.
Here is the breakdown of how we did. W4ATD was:
- ◊ #1,375 of 2,410 total entries in all classes.
- ◊ #108 of 179 entries from the Southeastern Division.
- ◊ #20 of 29 entries from Alabama.
- ◊ #54 of 79 in class 2F overall.
- ◊ #9 of 10 (next-to-last) in class 2F in the Southeastern Division.
- ◊ #3 of 3 (yes, dead last) in class 2F in Alabama.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
There’s no place to go but UP!
Wait till next year!
It’s over, as of a week ago. The Decatur Amateur Radio Club had a “3-D” effort.
What do I mean, “3-D”?
- Disappointing - we only had 10 people total who helped out. Only 1 ham operated CW. I did most of the phone work on Saturday, and K4MLR finished out on Sunday. There was no overnight effort.
- Dismal - Last year we had well over 1,000 contacts each on both CW and phone. This year we had 158 CW contacts and 79 phone. Total. Last year we finished with over 9,000 points. This year we almost made it to 1,100. Total.
- Determined - we knew going in that the people were not going to be available, that the facilities would not be optimal, and that the operating time would be limited. But our club has made the effort in each of the last 54 years, and we were NOT going to let this year be the one that broke the string. We did the best we could under the circumstances (which is the point of emergency operations anyway, isn’t it?) and proved that we can make contacts with broken or temporary equipment. We also proved that there are some problems with the setup in the EOC that we need to address, so it was still a positive experience for all involved.
Thanks to those who worked, before, after, and during Field Day.
As those Cubs fans always say, “Wait ’til next year!”
Tomorrow, June 28th, Field Day begins. The Decatur Amateur Radio Club will be participating for the 55th time.
Our operation this year will be class 2F, from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the Morgan County Courthouse. This was a difficult decision to abandon the shelter at Point Mallard, but since several of our best operators and helpers will be unavailable this year, we had to do something to protect the equipment through the early morning hours when no one will be operating. You can see the place on the ARRL Field Day Locator web page. Search for W4ATD.
There will be 2 stations. One will be in the basement EOC radio room, and the other will be in the upstairs lobby area. We will have a G5RV antenna between 2 towers on the roof, and another G5RV strung from the edge of the roof to the top of a nearby tree.
We could certainly use some operators! If you are in Decatur on Saturday (and you don’t mind missing the air show in Huntsville) then come on out. Evening hours are when things begin to slow down as far as people, so anytime you come or anything you may wish to help out with will be appreciated!
Field Day 2008 will be here in just 3 weeks! Last night’s club meeting was preparatory to our effort.
Unfortunately, some of the regulars who give us considerable help are not available for part or all of the weekend. We will need additional support. If you can help out, contact me (secretary (at) darc-w4atd.org) and we can find something for you to do!
Last year was a great Field Day effort. Here’s the rundown:
- W4ATD placed 52nd overall out of 2,334 entries. Our total score was 9,284.
- We placed 2nd overall in the state of Alabama out of 24 stations.
- We placed 4th overall in the Southeastern Division out of 173 stations.
- In class 2A, we placed 10th overall out of 477 stations.
- In class 2A, we were #1 of 7 stations in Alabama.
- We were #2 of 32 in class 2A in the Southeastern Division.
June 28th and 29th are the dates. We want to improve our score this year. Come join us! It will be a blast as usual!
