W1TKZ ARRL Field Day 2025
Dan Brown W1DAN
Figure 1. K5IQ flyer artwork
With Jabus KC1SMY’s effective planning and many folks contributing, we had a banner ARRL Field Day! The weather on Saturday promised to clear up but remained misty and rainy all day and into the evening. This did not hamper our enthusiasm and efforts though. We did a few things differently this year, such as running fully on battery and solar, added site radio grounding and we sent our first Winlink message. We also largely dedicated radios to certain bands. Many things were traditional, such as having the Zola club gang operating the GOTA station, tasty sandwiches managed by Barb and Elaine, and the usual coffee and donuts on Sunday morning. And our antenna farm was largely the same conveniently situated near the free equipment area.
All this took lots of advanced preparation from the Field Day committee of Jabus, Charlie WA3ITR and myself. Jabus wrote a press release and sent them to many journalistic groups and my elmer Bob K5IQ created our Field Day flyer for this year. We had a few Zoom meetings during June to figure out the many details, modified Charlie’s planning document from last year and Jabus created an equipment spreadsheet.
In advance of Field Day this year Steve K1STK purchased two high-power VA6AM band-pass filters (https://va6am.com/) for the club, one for 40m and one for 20m, to help prevent a station on one band from interfering with another station on a different band.
Over a couple of previous weekends, I gathered the club’s radios, signs and my surplus items to give away. On the Friday before Field Day, I filled my SUV to the brim with the signs, a solar panel, card tables, chairs, the club’s radios and the give-away items.
Figure 2. Jabus’s meeting
Folks started to arrive around 10:30AM on Saturday and tables were immediately set up. Jabus kicked off our Saturday setup with an organizational meeting so that we all knew our roles in the setup effort and Charlie and I used his antenna plot to have the crew install the antennas in the same locations as last year. I discussed site safety, lightning plans and first-aid capabilities. Jabus started an inventory of the club’s Field Day gear, as he is trying to get a handle of both what we have and what we use each year. This effort continues.
Figure 3. Charlie discusses antenna placement
Before the beginning of Field Day radio operations, Derek AK1WI arrived after a long absence, and we performed some RF cross-coupling signal level tests between our Cobra-Lite and the 20M dipole and compared his receive filters with our new high-power filters. We logged the data, and Derek is analyzing the test results.
Figure 4. Derek AK1WI with one of his filters
Jabus donated a 10-foot ground rod that he, Greg WA1VIL, myself and Bill N1WEN temporarily hammered it into the ground under a nearby bush. Later Jonathan W5GI used his hammer drill to get it in a few more inches. I provided enough ground braid to connect all stations as well as the gazebo’s power ground together. I am not sure, but this may have reduced our noise floor as it was below S1 on 20m, 40m, and 80m. In past years the noise level was higher.
Figure 5. Greg and Bill installing the ground rod
Figure 6. The ground strap connects to all radios and electrical ground
The previous week Leandra set up four Windows laptops with N3FJP’s Field Day logger program (https://www.n3fjp.com/fieldday.html) with a site license that Scott WA1TEW purchased. I installed the program on the club’s Zoom laptop that Don KB1OTQ built for us, and I visited Leandra’s QTH in Needham Thursday where she put the computer on a local network and finished setup. Saturday Leandra set the computers up with a wired Ethernet switch and pointed them to a single laptop that held the database for our W1TKZ logging. All this logging worked quite well, see our score later in this article.
Many folks filled their car with gear, such as batteries, radios and solar panels before arriving. Leandra picked up rental tables and chairs from Taylor Rental, Scott brought the club’s R5 vertical and other items, and I bounced in with my full car. Tom brought his valued pneumatic masts for our Cobra-Lite dipole.
Frank and Nina came out with their Kenwood TS-590. We set them up on 20M SSB with our band-pass filter. As we misplaced Frank’s MFJ 20m dipole, we need to buy or build another one for them.
Figure 7. Nina and Frank make contacts in the mist
Once operations started at 2PM, Chris AC1IZ worked some digital stations, including PSK-31 and sent a Winlink ICS-213 Field Day participation message to our Section Manager Jon N1ILZ, who visited us Sunday morning with the governor’s proclamation of Field Day. We operated 3A with 100-watts power with our radios that included the club’s FT847, IC-7100, Chris’s IC-7300. Jonathan W5GI brought his band-pass filters but one operator who tried his 10m filter said it had high SWR. I later tested the filters using a VNA and provided him with a report.
Figure 8. Leandra explaining our operation to nearby students
Figure 9. Guest Fred K1IO makes contacts
Figure 10. Don KB1OTQ and Bon WA1SZY make contacts
Figure 11. Tom N1CPE and Scott WA1TEW knock ’em dead!
Figure 12. Leandra checks a logging computer
Figure 13. Our main FT847, Johnson Matchbox, filter and Brown Brothers CW paddle
Figure 14. A guest examines our antennas
Figure 15. A logging computer display
Figure 16. Marc sends our Winlink message
From the give-away area, folks took home two of my Kenwood TS440 transceivers and a dual-trace oscilloscope, and I snatched a couple of BBC mugs donated by David WA1QGC. Later Saturday afternoon I brought what was left (sadly, most of it), and stuff others did not take home where I will have them recycled. One heavy item someone left was a large 1940s tube high-voltage power supply. I had to later take it home and make arrangements for it to be recycled. Remember you must bring home your items Saturday evening.
Figure 17. An abandoned power supply
Figure 18. Give away area and our gazebo operation
On Saturday afternoon we had many visitors stopping by, and I guess we may have had 35 folks on site at that time. The gazebo was packed!
Steve noted that he put his mesh node up on a telescoping mast at about 15 feet and picked up at least 130 new LoRa nodes. He says there was activity on the default Primary Channel, but none of it was ham related. He also tested out a Diamond RH205 antenna. It’s a 5/8 wave 2m telescoping antenna used on his HT with a Mobilinkd TNC4 (https://store.mobilinkd.com/products/mobilinkd-tnc4) to connect to radio mail stations in the area via Stu’s digipeater located at NEST. The next week Steve and Joe W1HAI did some mesh testing and could work him simplex 2m with 1 Watt from South Natick to Pond Street with the Diamond RH205.
Figure 19. Steve gets digital
For lunch, Elaine KB1IBF and Barb N1ICQ ordered subs, and boy they were tasty! After a day of operating, moving filters, changing bands and modes, Saturday evening we packed up the expensive gear and headed home for the night. Sunday morning, I arrived at 7:30 with coffee and donuts and proceeded to work some CW on 40M and 20M as folks started trickling in.
Figure 20. Elaine and Barb
Scott brought his LilyGo LoRa radio (it’s about the size of a Raspberry Pi Zero, https://lilygo.cc/products/lora3), its two-inch rubber duck antenna, and a USB power bank for it. Steve Kondo also brought his LoRa setup and sent a message to it.
ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Manager Jon N1ILZ visited with the governor’s proclamation.
Figure 21. Scott’s LilyGo LoRa radio
All good things must come to an end, or we’d have to start paying property tax and utilities at the gazebo. Tear-down went like clockwork with many hands making little work of it all. After tear-down Jabus had a quick review meeting. We left the area by 2PM.
Here is our score as submitted by Leandra:
Band/Mode QSO Breakdown, all with a 100w power rating:
BAND CW Digital Phone
40m 10 40
20m 22
15m 25 27
GOTA 32
TOTAL 32 25 99
GOTA Bonus: No GOTA Coach
Name/Call QSOs Bonus Points
Frank, N1FMV 16 80
Nina, N1NGK 16 80
Other bonus points were gained from things such as emergency power, safety officer, ARRL official visiting, public relations, etc.
100% Emergency Power: 300
Media Publicity: 100
Bonus Points:
Public Location: 100
Public Information Table: 100
Message to ARRL SM: 100
W1AW Field Day Message: 100
Natural Power QSO’s: 100
Safety Officer: 100
GOTA Station: 160
Entry Submission via Web: 50
Total Bonus Points: 1,210
This fall Jabus will go through the tubs of cables, line and other items and we will discuss what was successful and what may be improved. I later tested Jonathan’s filters and chatted with Derek about filter ideas.
We had a large number of attendees, nobody got hurt, there was not much radio interference as the filters worked, and the logging worked. Some things to think about for next year are how to get late arrivals with gear on the air and how can we make more digital contacts? We will update the firmware on our ICOM IC-7100 and may use it as the main radio next year.
Field Day is our ultimate event each year where we gather to enjoy our fellow club members, our hobby, test our capability to respond to a communications challenge, operate radios, experiment with antennas and be together to enjoy our hobby.
With about 31 members attending and a high effort, we have a winning combination: great club members, comprehensive planning, the gazebo being a nearby public location (thanks to Jack N1TPU SK), and folks who just want to enjoy radio.
Figure 22. EMA SM Jon N1ILZ with the Governor’s Proclamation
73,
Dan
W1DAN