Field Day 2024 - VE3TWM's 10th Annual Field Day Video

[@dgervais57]

We were in Pennsylvania, on the other side of the lake from you. Worked phone on 20 meters all weekend on my Yaesu FT-891 into a Wolf River Coil (More-or-less, a screwdriver vertical). 20 was jumpin' all night long for me! On top of the Chautauqua Ridge, looking down on the lake, surrounded by Amish farms: Absolutely NO noise! 234 contacts. I've only had my ticket 5 years. Best Field Day yet. Already excited for next year! Thanks for the excellent videos!

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Awesome job! and thank you!

[@charlieb.4273]

Field day isn’t over until I watch your video. I was 1B VA with a 13m vertical and 7.5m counter poise. Ran CW on 20m and 40m with 5w FT-817nd. Very hot 100 degrees F with high humidity that made the heat index about 110. Made 50 QSOs before pulling the plug. Thanks again. 73.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Look forward to hearing from you every year, Charlie! Well done in that heat. 73 from VE3TWM.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

I was unable to do Field Day, but to caring for the family, but I enjoyed yours. Camping and radio. Wow!

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Sorry to hear about that, maybe next year! And maybe CQ WW SSB in October?

[@adamny5e591]

Tracey, our club, Silver Springs Radio Club of Ocala, worked 4A from NFL. Using all modes on 10, 15, 20 and 40 meters, we were able to rack up 851 Q’s ! We logged all 50 states and each division of every state that had multiple “zones”, as well as all but 2 Canadian provinces. With nearly 50% member participation, new and longtime members worked around the clock. It was a great exercise and a real morale maker for the club!

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Fantastic!

[@danhamilton2829]

Field Day 2024! What a success from last year where I wasn't prepared. This year I re-joined with our club, East Kootenay Amateur Radio Club, VE7IP is our call. I ran my Yaesu Ft-897D with FC-30 auto tuner and an 84' wire and my homebrew 9:1 unun in an inverted L NVIS configuration 20-25' off the ground, no counterpoise, it seemed to throw off the SWR. East/West orientation, North/South contacts in the upper Northwestern States, BC and Alberta. SSB on 40m running 20 & 80w. Fantastic time even tho I only managed 28 contacts...I had my 6 year old daughter along for the event who made her first contact with me as the control operator. So proud of her and always super fun with her along. Heat wasn't too bad with highs around 27C, however very windy Sunday morning. Big thanks to you, Tracy, for your videos and encouragement to get out of the shack and get on the air! 73's from VA7HCW

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Great effort! 73 from VE3TWM.

[@DeonMitton]

thanks for sharing - was fun to follow along - that SGC2020 looks awesome !

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thanks for your comment! I love that SG-2020 😀

[@don_n5skt]

Great video Tracy. Always look forward to these summaries. We operated 3F in North Texas which meant we were operating out of our EOC (Emergency Operations Center) with the city. So we had air conditioning but the Antennas were outdoors. We operated until 9:00 with the club and then I went home and operated 1E. I had the same issue you did with distorted audio but on the FTDX-10. Switched to the 101D and had a much better time. I was on 15m until nearly midnight. Then I went to 40m.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Nice operation!

[@pacificparts]

We ran 3A BC in a park with 100foot cedar trees. Used a drone to drop pull strings for flat top dipoles for 40 and 80. Hentenna's for 20, 15 and 10 hanging from the 40 meter rope. 1212 QSO's. 15 meters was our most successful with 455.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Wow! That sounds awesome. Congratulations.

[@ralphnunn3]

Tracy, I always enjoy your Field Day videos. There's just something about gettng out in nature, and playing radio! I guess that's why we're all hams, isn't it? A couple of thoughts: 1) Our Field Day was fantastic! Of course, anytime you can get out, and go camping in the mountains of Utah, you just simply can't go wrong! It rained, and was windy on Friday while trying to setup. That also made it 'fun' to try and sleep in a tent that night. But, it eventually cleared up, and we had sunny skies Sat and Sun. We had three stations (3A) - one doing SSB, one doing digital, and the one that I spent the most time at, the CW station. At my station, we setup a 1) Portable Hexbeam; 2) a CrankIR for 40 Meters; 3) a Rhombic loop to try to do some QRP contacting; 4) Random wire; 4) and a linked dipole. The first two antennas were for the club station, and the second two were for our individual calls (2B). The other two club stations antennas were either an OCF at 40', or an G5RV at 30'. We also had a GOTA (Get On The Air) station, where anyone who wasn't licensed could participate, and mentored by a licensed member of the club. That was a hit with all the kids! 40 Meters was dead during the day for the SSB station. 20 meters was hopping for us at the CW station. We ended the night with 300+ contacts. Fortunately, 40 picked up for the SSB station at night, and they started hopping. The club ended with 1500+ contacts for Field Day. Not the best we've ever done, but much more CW contacts than in the past. All in all, a fun time. 2) I'm afraid I have to agree with you on the audio on the IC-705. I think it's more than just the speaker. I think that the front-end struggles to handle big signals. I think the selectivity is lacking in it. The DSP helps, but not enough. All the tech in it is absolutely amazing. The problem with that radio is that it's an amazing computer, with a radio strapped onto the side. So, you feel like a technology operator when you're using it, as opposed to a radio operator. All these things are the reasons why I eventually sold mine, and got a Yaesu FTdx10. Much happier with it. Stay cool out there...

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you for your informative comment! What an amazing FD you had. Appreciate hearing your thoughts on the 705.

[@davidnelson6889]

Great Field Day. Thanks for sharing. I only operated for a few hours with the goal of sending some Winlink messages and get some digital contacts with my IC-705, a 20/40 meter linked dipole and only 5 watts. It worked great and was a fun day.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Sounds like you did well!

[@rodneystevens741]

Hi Tracy, Great video as always! Did look a little warm... it was a cool -4°C start to the day here in Tasmania, Australia. I also use an Icom IC-705 for some of our field work each week. Audio through the ext mic/speaker is not good but the audio from the radio itself is very good so not sure if you have an incorrect setting on the rig or perhaps a fault with radio itself. Thanks again for taking the time to film in that heat and also edit etc and post these great video's. Ps. a group of us Tassie Hams get.out in the field every Wednesday weekly 😉👍

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thanks for sharing your 705 experience! It's a work in progress for me to get that figured out. Love that you guys get out every week 👍🍻

[@barrykery1175]

Part two: You said you were not impressed with the audio on the IC705? I see you had the (NR) noise reduction on as well as the (AN) notch on. Those features greatly effect the quality of the audio. I like the audio of my IC705 expecting nothing better out of a small size radio. For me, I rarely ever use the noise reduction and only turn on the notch when there's a carrier interfering with my receive audio. Barry, KU3X

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Hi Barry, I'll try turning those off next time. Thanks for the tips!

[@MikeN2MAK]

Looks like a great time! I didn’t make it out for Field Day but hoping to do a POTA camping trip with some other hams soon.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Looking forward to that video, Mike!

[@VA3HES]

An external speaker with the 705 (or a good pair of headphones)is a must! The internal speaker is the only disappointments. The 705 paired with a Xiegu XPA125 has made for a great POTA and Field Day kit.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you for letting me know how you are using your 705!

[@radioastronomy2001]

Thank you for another great video. I love the telescopic whip kit, fantastic job. I think that to effectively work QRP you need a full size antenna. I am sure you can get a good external, active speaker for your 705. The speaker on my KX2 is not impressive either. I think the assumption was that you would use a headset and the speaker is there just for emergency/demo. For the iPad you can use a car charger since you have a massive battery just next to it. This way it can be powered all the time. My 2 cents... Anyway, great video.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thanks, Tom! I agree with your take on the telescopic whip and I don't know why I didn't think of the iPad car charger.

[@vladtepes481]

I operated 1b QRP from NW PA. I used a IC705 and made about 250 CW QSOs. On Saturday 40 was the money band on Sunday 20 was in better shape and I made a a number of contacts in 15 m including HI. 10m was dead. I have no trouble with the IC-705 speaker but for contests and Field Day I always use a Heil Headset. My antenna was a Rybakov antenna with about 12 radials.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Awesome job!

[@johnpawlicki1184]

Thanks, Tracy - Family event generally preempts FD however I am planning to work next year /VE3 ONX 1B as we have a new ham in the family. 73, JP, K8AG

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Hope to work you next year then! 73 from VE3TWM.

[@Scorpster]

My first field day and first phone contact on HF, pulled the graveyard shift for the club. Had more fun than I expected. Doing a one day demo for Canada Day next.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Congrats on your first HF contact and good luck on Canada Day!

[@kc8opv]

For what it's worth, my IC-705 doesn't have the audio issues that you mentioned. Makes me wonder if it's an audio or other setting or something defective. Might want to perform a total reset and see if that changes anything. Excellent video! My field day was spent at home, avoiding the 95 degree Virginia heat.

[@Locksnut]

We hit 99⁰ at Laurel Park in Henrico. 73

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

That's a good idea! Thank you for your comment.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

YIKES!

[@blomidon]

No heat problem here but I worked from inside the cabin with the IC 7300. Used a Doublet and a Chameleon whip looking out over theGulf of St Lawrence. We were in Little Port. 40 m is no good here with very few hams within 500 km. I did contact the same NS station as you did. Not a lot of strong signals on 20. But early Sunday morning Hawaii was booming in on 20. Like you I had problems as you did with ONS with operators not understanding NL. And we’re expected to know where Orange is! As far as the IC 705, I have to use a headset to get clear audio. It’s still not as good as the KX3. VO1OK

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thanks for the report, sounds like you did well!

[@ve3pcp]

Our FD went well. Set up portable at Kincardine EOC, Saturday only, 4 hours on the air, 89 total contacts, 61 phone, 28 digital, 69 on 40 and 20 on 20M. Also used an NVIS Linked dipole for 40 and 20.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Hi Rob, terrific results you had!

[@ve3pcp]

Thanks. We had fun too and dodged severe thunderstorms and a tornado warning.

[@N4GW]

I like the audio out of the 2020 the best

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

me too!

[@barrykery1175]

Great video. Paper log? That's work. Barry

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

I was using HAMRS on my iPad.

[@dc5723]

I got off work late and started late but I was at home since it was raining. Made 53 qsos as 1E PAC using my 100AH backup battery and Honda generator since I forgot to charge my battery from the last time. Was on my Icom 7300 and band condx was excellent.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

nice work!

[@TrevPagesPlace]

Now there's a voice I haven't heard in almost 30 years. Hello Tracy, fellow Light Computer Centre Alumni ;) Gimme a shout sometime

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Hey Trev, hope you are doing well! Very nice to hear from you.

[@tomki6asp]

The audio from 705 is harsh. The SGC sounds great.

[@WTx1971]

Get a Xiegu G90!!! That little SGC radio sure in nice!!

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

We've tried (N9SAB and I) to convince Tracy to try one. Both of us own G90s.

[@WTx1971]

@@Philip-KA4KOE The G90 is an incredible radio. Very underrated IMO!

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

People keep telling me that! and yes that 2020 is a beauty.

[@ve3pcp]

I think both would do well with an external speaker.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Good point!

[@mohamedmakhaldi1836]

I liked the place and enjoyed the video And I liked it sg 2020 rig 7x4MW 73

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you, Mohamed! 73 from VE3TWM.

[@YO2DA]

Hello,please,please try the 23m version of the efhw with the loading coil of 110 uH. You will be surprised .I am using this like inv V and it is a bomb antenna

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

All that being said...the 2020 is a nice piece of kit.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Yes sir :)

[@jackkelley890]

How hot was it, and what was the %humidity? You suffered, sir. Great video as away, and thanks for sharing.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you! I was out of cell range so I couldn't check the temperature or humidity (maybe that was for the best). Fortunately the radio activity took my mind off the conditions 😀

[@JosephVE3GKT]

Tracy... how did you possibly get this shot, edited, and posted less than 22 hours after the end of the event?!? Wow! Good to catch you on 40m SSB from the VE3MIS operation! We ended up around 1800 QSOs after dedupe as 6A, with two transmitters per mode. I have found that any wire dipole works well on 80m - even if it's around 30' apex inverted V That site looks awesome! 73 VE3GKT

[@VE3RGO]

Nice work @josephVE3GKT. Saw pics from VE3HG of your Easy button FT8 🎉. We did about 1918 Qs from VE3IC in K-W … we ran 6A also. Ran on 20m SSB operator for 20.5 hrs and just over 1016 Qs on my station. A nice tall beam (20-15-10) works amazingly.

[@JosephVE3GKT]

@@VE3RGO Amazing results Stuart! Hopefully we'll have some beams next year! I think our raw count before dedupe is 2037 QSOs

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Great to make a contact with you, Joseph! You guys did a tremendous job. 73 from VE3TWM.

[@rocklover28]

Hi I also have an iCOM 705. I am curious if the MX P50M amp is plug and play right out of the box or did you have to make any mods for it to work?

[@forgetyourlife]

He mentioned the Radio Dan buffer which is mandatory to keep the 705 safe and happy. Search Radio Dan for more info etc.

[@rocklover28]

@@forgetyourlife Thanks : )

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

@forgetyourlife nailed it. You really want to either do the mod (cheap but a lot of work for a soldering iron-challenged guy like me) or buy the buffer (expensive but plug and play).

[@rocklover28]

@@OutdoorsOnTheAir Thanks : )

[@blomidon]

BTW what’s the name of the amp? VO1OK

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

MX-P50M, there is no brand name. Google it and you'll find more info.

[@robzelnick9341]

Weather was brutal, I participated with the club this year, good time, but a lot of work setting up and breaking down; 5A station. I have to say I kind of like the one or two person operations more

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

me too! I'm sure the others appreciated your help.

[@norbertomontalvo]

great video and nice setup. thanks for sharing --- Kp4GR

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you!

[@Iron_Shepherd]

Hi Tracy, I was wondering if the 2020 has a built in keyer. I was the only cw op at VE3LON but unfortunately went home sick with heat stroke on Saturday afternoon. 6A ONS became 5A. Hope for better wx next year. Cheers, VE3XDM

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Sorry to hear about your heatstroke! Hope you are doing better. I suffered for a few days after getting home.

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

Tracy...open the 705 and put some foam behind the speaker. That may stop the rattling.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

I respect you Philip and value your input, but there's no way I am opening and modifying the 705 while it has a valid warranty.

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

Hey Tracy! Too bad that field has high grass. I'd be afraid of venomous snakes.

[@CharlesTersteeg]

Them flies, I have memories of the blood running down from behind the ears.

[@Philip-KA4KOE]

Oh wow. Be blessed we don't have bot flies here.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

that's one thing we don't have to worry about here in the Great White North.

[@CharlesTersteeg]

MN had a thunderstorm coming in. I just canx my portable op for another day.

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Makes sense to me!

[@jfrtwo]

Tracy- I think there’s something wrong with your 705. I can crank my audio. Yours def sounds bad .

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you for your feedback! I need to get to the bottom of this issue.

[@ingo423]

Thanks for another great video! I was hoping to make some FD contacts from my porch in Germany, but that was a bit too optimistic, I guess :-) I hope you recovered from the heat, vy 73 de DL1NGO

[@OutdoorsOnTheAir]

Thank you for your comment! 73 from VE3TWM.