Ham Radio – A contact sport

I didn’t know if I’d get a chance to play in the local ARRL Field Day effort this year – but somehow was able to find 4 or so hours to stop by and operate 40M CW as WØISU. I had a blast despite the poor band conditions. The Story County ARC has had an excellent relationship with the local Red Cross. The past few years the combined efforts of the Story County Amateur Radio Club (SCARC) and the Iowa State University Cyclone Amateur Radio Club (CARC) has operated as 2F from the local Red Cross office.

When the location was proposed a few years ago, I was skeptical – to me, Field Day always had meant noisy generators in very remote locations with wire dipole antennas strung between trees, homebrew verticals with ground radials acting as walking hazards at 3 am.

The location and efforts of these combined clubs has been great. Why? Field Day is not just about “disaster preparedness”. 

• Publicity: The location at the Red Cross has exposed our club to the public in ways that remote sites simply cannot. 
• Elmering (mentoring): Field Day has a spirit of problem solving in the heat of battle – all while providing guidance to new hams. Our local effort accomplishes that as we have experienced hams and local college kids tackling problems together.
• Operating skills and on-the-air etiquette. I suspect that with the internet age and society in general, we’ve gone from the golden age of ham radio and into an era in which some folks feel as though they can hide behind the anonymity of the mic (or keyboard) and flame away. Watching hams operate properly, even in crowded conditions, should provide a role model for future HF ham radio operators.

I’m thankful for the leadership of our local club and the location they’ve secured.