Last-Minute Rescue: ARRL Field Day 2024 Adventure!

[@daytonagregory3781]

That looks like a blast! Camping with buddies and the goal to get contacts throughout 🤤

[@larryjohnson7591]

At least you were out there trying. Beats a whole lot of other radio guys. Thanks for taking me with you.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

It's surprising of how many people 'talk' about ham radio but don't really 'do' ham radio.

[@45auto]

Glad you boys had a good time. U-rah-rah

[@unclemikeyplays]

Subaru transmission are great right up until the very moment they're not! Ouch! Glad you made it anyway!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

That's like most things Subaru. It will run great up until the moment it craters.

[@sphexes]

Great to see the 3 Stooges at Field Day. I'm glad you and Joe made it. 73 W8XDX

[@Dennis35793]

Nice looking food.

[@toddhowell2299]

My Subaru almost threw a brake assembly on my way to FD. Must have been something in the air for Subarus. I was halfway there and had to turn back. I fixed it up, calmed down, and headed back a few hours late. I had a great time. I gotta fire my mechanic ;) I had similar results to you guys. 10 and 15 were pretty bad in VT. 20 and 40 were my money makers, with maybe a handful on 80. We had wicked storms Sunday afternoon that wiped out the bands. Glad to see you guys had a good time.

[@natep121]

Had a blast with the club down in Mosinee. Nobody tried super hard, but we ended up with around 120 contacts.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Many times, the club makes more points on the bonus than over the air contacts.

[@CliffN9BLE]

Awesome shirt Joe!

[@ralphnunn3]

Looks like fun, gentlemen. Field day is ALWAYS a good time, even if you have radio (or transmission) problems. I echo what you guys saw on the bands. 15 meters was a little weak. I heard GA, and the Floridas a lot there from Utah, but not a whole lot else. 20 meters was hopping most of the time. 40 meters was good at night. 'Park and Bark'. Nice. I'll have to remember that one...

[@klutch545]

15m was the same for me, either west central Florida or California. At 5 watts in south east Wisconsin, I was very surprised to get California. Anyways, great video as always, happy (belated) field day, and 73!

[@BrokenSignal]

Gorgeous countryside! Also nice choice of antennas.

[@madmoe1]

Haha! I also had car troubles on Field Day. I made it to our location with about 10 minutes to set up. I suppose this helps with Emergency Communication preparation practice. Lemons = Lemonade 🤷‍♂️

[@Niteskate1]

We found similar issues here on the West Coast on 20 meters, made a few contacts by hunting for strong signals, band seemed very crowded and a lot of fading in and out. It was still a fun weekend. 73 de VE7WNO

[@antonstegen1737]

Your having too much fun. Im jealous. Thanks for sharing.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Getting the three of us together is a bad idea, sometimes.

[@travisaugustine7264]

😇

[@KE4NAB]

20 was packed and I found 15 to be awesome for field day this year

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

Nice work guys! Sorry to hear about the transmission. 73!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

No worries, the Subie is all healed. It just took longer than expected.

[@DaveW6OOD]

A lousy day playing radio out in nature is better than a good day at work. Of course , by the evening, the bands got a lot better and was beautifully full and active.

[@kevin_wb0poh]

I started late (8 AM EDT), but 15m was crazy on CW starting at 11 AM EDT.

[@hamradiobasics]

Sorry to hear about your Subaru Michael. Glad you were able to make it !

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Thanks, the Subie is all healed, it just took longer than expected.

[@vladtepes481]

I had a good time running QRP field day (1B) with a Rybakov antenna and made about 250 CW contacts. On Saturday 40m was the money band with 20 being only so so. On Sunday 20 m was pretty good. 15m was not in great shape but I made about 40 QSOs there. 10m was pretty much dead. QTH is NW PA. Propagation was certainly unusual but I did not check the solar weather for info.

[@toddhowell2299]

Wow, good for you. I ran QRP one Winter Field Day and said never again.

[@vladtepes481]

@@toddhowell2299 I have done winter field QRP also . Good success in Winter. An antenna with good efficiency helps a lot.

[@toddhowell2299]

You know, I wasn't doing CW then. I imagine that would have made a world of difference. As it was I still worked to WWA from VT. It was hard to compete on SSB when you're starting off 2 S-units down. Didn't help that I was in a cabin in the mountains of VT with no heat all weekend ;) I gotta try that Rybakov some time.

[@unclemikeyplays]

My team for field day wound up going to 40m (because I had the WRC with me) and found a surprising number of regional FT8 contacts that way!

[@hamradiowithkevin]

I also used a 43 foot vertical with the URT1. It was a smoking setup. I will check my logs and see if made contact with you guys.

[@wfstack]

What type of counterpoise/radial system did you folks use with your 43-foot vertical? I'm thinking about implementing one. Thanks.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I had the radial kit that I carry for my Wolf River Coil, 8 16 foot ground wires. It worked well for a temporary deployment. If I was going to do something permanent, I'd lay out at least 16 and maybe 32 radials, varying in length between 16 and 33 feet.

[@thomashardy9994]

I’ll have to do that next year.

[@nu3qamateurradio930]

Several clubs in my area cancelled Field Day due to the excessive heat wave.

[@fm71450]

Michael, thank you for this. In S.E.Tenn, from 14:00 to 16:00 (Eastern time) on 40m we just STRUGGLED. Everyone who was on from 20:30 on - on all bands, found GREAT conditions, and LOTS of people looking to make contacts. Our group had 2/3 of contacts from CW & FT8. ARRL rewarding Digital and CW points-wise, pushed our group in that direction. All the best, KQ4IXD

[@johnbarney2739]

I participated in my first field day and what a blast. Spent time call / and logging, we were a 3A. It was cool that the more experienced guys were great and let the new guys run 20 meters. I was great that one of the Extras from the club had me team up with him. We used his gear then switched to mine. We had a ARRL sectional rep stopped in and was giving me some pointers. over all it was a very educational and awesome experience.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I'm glad you had a great time. That's a lot like how my first field day went 25 years ago. Someone put me in front of a radio, gave me about five minutes of instruction, and said go at it. Before I knew it, it was 11pm and I had to get home.

[@marilyn9501]

Glad you made it! I have a 10 yr old Forester and it's been great. What happened to the transmission? Is there anything you could have done to prevent the problem? Just looking for advice or wondering if it's time for a new one. I have a little less than 90K miles on it. Love your videos!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I've got the 6 speed manual transmission, so my experience may be a little different than yours. The best I can trace back the problem is that I started hearing a binding or clunking noise when turning sharp at slow speeds. My regular shop had a hard time diagnosing it until the problem got so bad in that it degraded the input shaft bearing. Unfortunately you can't just rebuild that one part, so the whole thing got replaced. Fortunately they were able to find a used transmission. That's what took so long for the repair to be completed.

[@marilyn9501]

@@KB9VBRAntennas So sorry to hear that & thanks for responding. Yes mine is automatic AWD. Glad you found a used one!

[@W6LND]

your numbers match our clubs results very closely.

[@samforbes5270]

You mentioned the intra station interference. Were you guys using band pass filters? I'm looking at the morgan filters that you recommend in an older video and trying to decide if the models with 20db attenuation would be sufficient for two (or more) 100 watt stations or to go ahead and get the 40db models.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

We were running with band pass filters. I have a set of the Morgan filters (the cheaper 20db ones) and everyone used one. They are good, but not perfect. With the antennas in such close proximity, you will still get some noise.

[@full_metal2452]

Do you like the single ear or dual ear headset from Heil?

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I prefer dual, it feels more balanced to me. The phones are still light enough that I can hear outside noises and I can always pull an earpiece away if I need to hear something.

[@travisaugustine7264]

Big thanks to "Seal Team Wives" for kidnapping and delivering Michael!

[@rcfliertube]

20m will stay active till we go to bed. Go to bed!! ?? What'sup with that??

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

When I was younger I was the designated 'control operator' for our club station during Field Day. I'd stay up the whole time. Now, as I am older, I enjoy my sleep.

[@daveengstrom9250]

Why do guys make so many contacts, but no "conversations"? Seems kind of odd to me.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Field Day has always been like that, ever since the beginning. It's the world's largest amateur radio event, everyone is out to make contact, not spend time in conversation.

[@flatlandermirrors]

Saturday night we had 3 inches of rain down here in Northern Illinois. Was able to get over 300 contacts. DX we worked Kazakhstan Puerto Rico Hungary Federal Republic of Germany European Russia

[@turtlecreek4633]

73, w3rrm

[@LensForgotten]

Another fine video from KB9VBR. Good times with good friends. Field day isn’t just contesting. 73 de K7LZZ

[@larryboekeloo5514]

No CW? LOL de KN8N

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Careful, we'll invite you to join us. We need a CW powerhouse on the team.

[@larryboekeloo5514]

@@KB9VBRAntennas That would give the K2 a workout!