Lake Area Radio Klub (WØWTN) Pictures

2009 Field Day

Field Day 2009 was a record-setting event for LARK. The event was headed up by Joe (KKØSD).

Weather during setup wasn't as bad as last year, but we still had quite a bit of wind and some rain. The wind continued throughout the weekend, forcing us to lower our antenna tower once. We setup 3 stations (2 phone, 1 CW), our newly-acquired triband beam (courtesy of Tom KAØUEH), KKØSD's 40-meter vertical, and 4 dipoles (80 & 40 for the phone station, and 80 & 40 for the CW station).

We had two shelters to operate from, both being brought from Hamlin County. The phone stations were located in Hamlin County EOC's trailer courtesy of Dave Schaeffer (32-EM1). The CW Station was located inside a camper provided by Chuck (KBØVXD) and Lynn (KDØHWM).

LARK operated 3A (club, three stations, alternate power). We made CW and SSB contacts on 80/40/20/15/10 meters. Because of the weather we decided not to setup the VHF/UHF station for satellite operation. Instead, KKØSD used his Arrow antenna and handheld to complete a satellite QSO.

As usual we operated from Stokes-Thomas City Park on Lake Kapeska. Power was provided by two generators supplied again by Hamlin County, along with two large light towers which lit up the park at night. THANKS AGAIN DAVE!!!

Once again we used networked computers so that all contacts were logged to one central server and statistics could be viewed at any station. This year, however, we connected the two shelters using an 802.11G wireless bridge provided by Kevin (KBØLCR) instead of hardwiring. This eliminated the long flimsy CAT-5 cable that was necessary last year. And just for fun, the computer network was tied to Internet service provided by Data Truck.

834 contacts were logged this year, 111 more than last year! A new record for LARK. Our official score hasn't been tallied yet, but a preliminary calculation from KKØSD approximates our score at 4000. GOOD JOB LARK!!!

Clark, KBØRBG, and Jim Sutton, Codington County Emergency Management Director, also made an appearance on KWAT AM 950's "What's Up" program shortly before setup Saturday morning. Click Here to listen to the broadcast.

click an image to enlarge

Overview of the site during...	The triband beam and severa...	Dipoles for the CW station	Hay bales were provided by ...
The CW station	Organizing cables during setup	KBØKBJ, WD4RDR, and WBØWI...	KBØKBJ, WD4RDR (sitting), ...
KBØKBJ	Triband beam, donated to LA...	Our information table and s...	KFØHL and KDØHWM
KBØVXD and KBØLCR	The CW station was located ...	KKØSD operating the CW sta...	We lit up the park at night...
KBØLCR helping one of the ...	Future ham in training	He looks like a natural at ...	KFØHL taking some pictures
KDØHWM getting her feet we...	fd09_022.jpg	fd09_023.jpg	During the night, these san...
The 2.5 GHz antenna that pr...	KFØHL probably working a p...	WBØWIH
"Was that an A or a K"	These lights really do the job	fd09_031.jpg	fd09_032.jpg
fd09_033.jpg	fd09_034.jpg	fd09_035.jpg	NØDL burning up the CW air...
At the beginning of setup. ...	fd09_038.jpg	fd09_039.jpg	fd09_040.jpg
You can see the whitecaps o...	fd09_042.jpg	Dave NØDL getting the CW s...	KB8HMR, KBØLCR, WBØWIH, K...
fd09_045.jpg	fd09_046.jpg	fd09_047.jpg	fd09_048.jpg
WBØWIH with Dave Schaeffer...	NØDL operating natural pow...	The natural power station. ...	The natural power station c...

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