Field Day 2023 Wrap Up

By Chip Coker KD4C

Thanks to everyone that came out for RWK’s 2023 Field Day. We had a record crowd (at least in recent years) of 55 members and 15 guests. We had three stations (plus the free VHF station), lots of QSOs, lots of pizza, and lots of fun – what more is there to Field Day?

Once again, the Richardson EOC was a great backdrop to our Field Day. It’s a great facility, and on a 100+ degree day in June, the air conditioning was very welcome. Setup went smoothly, and due to the earlier start (to avoid the heat) we were ready well in advance. We even got in a few GOTA QSOs before the 1pm start. We managed to get central logging working this year and we had high-tech screens that showed QSOs logged in real-time from all the stations.

We had lots of antennas outside to look at (double the number from 2021), including Don’s BuddiHex and some rogue News Van! We had a decent 6M opening and overall OK (not great) band conditions. Even lots of people on the CW station, which was good for NN5T. Inside, there was always something going on, including a Choke Balun Build led by KG5WRY and KI5PXG. Field Day should always be a learning experience!

We have a few pics in the gallery below and the full set will be in our NextCloud slideshow. If you took any pics at RWK Field Day, we would love to have them. Please send me an email and we will work out how to get them from you.

It wouldn’t be Field Day if we didn’t have some problems, both operational and technical. Operationally, we had a couple of station hogs that weren’t encouraging or helping hew hams get on the air. Field Day is an excellent opportunity for new hams and we should be doing everything we can to make that happen. Technically, we had some new inter-station desense type interference that we haven’t seen before. One of the technical challenges for Field Day is how to operate efficiently in close proximity to other stations. All things that we need to work on for next year!

We hope that you operated Field Day from home after you left (or if you couldn’t attend). As a reminder, you can help RWK out by submitting your Field Day log entry and tagging “Richardson Wireless Klub” in your submission. Every little bit helps, so even if you only made a few QSOs, you can still submit your logs.

For full details on how to submit your log, check the ARRL Field Day website: http://www.arrl.org/field-day

Click for the Full Field Day 2023 Picture Gallery