Field Day 2022

We want YOU to join the GSARA for Field Day 2022!

Field Day 2022 will be 3A

GSARA will be operating with 3 radios and an efficient set of antennas.  There will be lots of opportunities to operate, log and eat!

Never operated before?

You don’t have to worry.  There will be people there to show you how to operate, give you ample opportunities to operate and give you all the support you need

VE session, too!

Always wanted to get your ham radio licence?  Great!  Have we got an offer for you!  There will be a VE test (Volunteer Examination) and you can get your license that day, even upgrade if you want, and get on the radio!  Watch the club website homepage for full details.

Be a part of Field Day 2022

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Field Day is rapidly approaching. Set aside June 25-26, 2022 for the annual “event”!

The GSARA Field Day Committee has been hard at work for the last couple of months and planning is full-steam-ahead! And we have some surprises planned for this year…

Once again we will be setting up at Joe Palaia Park in Ocean Township, near the corner of Deal Road and Whalepond Road. The park will be ours from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon.

Our plan is to return to a similar setup as our 2019 operation… pre-pandemic! We will field 3 transmitters so we will be entering the fray as a 3A entry (three transmitter, club, portable on emergency power). We are also planning on a GOTA station (Get On The Air)… so anyone who is a bit apprehensive about making Field Day contacts can do so at that station with no pressure.

We’ll be running an 8 KW generator to power the stations. Mike, N2MN, is planning a nice antenna farm for us including some dipoles, a beam, and various other configurations. Along with Solar Cycle 25 coming along, signals should be pounding into our headphones!

We’re also planning a Bar-B-Q!! Cy, K2CYS, has procured the donation of a commercial grill. Details are still to be worked out on how food will work- but plan on some good eats! No one goes hungry (least of all, me!).

What’s your favorite mode? Phone, CW, digital? We got it all! We may even have a satellite station and do some message handling. Are you into homebrewing and being a “maker?” We need you for station assembly, minor on-the-spot repairs, etc. so bring your tools.

And do you have a friend who has been sitting on the fence about getting their amateur radio license? Or maybe you know a ham who has been mulling around about upgrading their ticket? Well this year’s Field Day operation will also sport a VE session on Saturday morning, right on site! They can pass their test, come help out with setup, and sit down and operate, all at one site!! Talk about the full ham radio experience! Nowhere else can you get all this in one day!!

So what do we need from you? First- mark your calendars now, before you forget! Field Day is less than 16 weeks away- that will go very quickly. We’re going to need folks for all parts of the weekend, including set up and take down, operating (day AND overnight!!), cooking, cleanup, publicity, etc. At some point in the next weeks we’ll get a sign up sheet on the club web site.

Do you like camping? Bring your sleeping bag and make it an overnight!

We’re also going to ask for a few items to borrow for the weekend. Those of you who go camping on a regular basis are asked to think of what you may have that would make the whole weekend a bit more comfortable for everyone, including us apartment dwellers and city folk, that you would be willing to bring out for the weekend. For example… bug lights! Anything that can reduce the number of flying pests at night would be great. Stuff like that would be much appreciated and would save the club having to purchase them. We will gladly return it at the end of the weekend.

So we’re planning quite the ambitious event this June… and anyone who has ever been on a Field Day operation knows it is a lot of fun! If you’ve never done one, it is an experience… so don’t be intimidated. Experienced club members will be there the whole time to guide you and make sure your first Field Day is a fun and successful experience. Before you know it, you’ll be barking “CQ FIELD DAY” into a mic on 20-meter phone and working your first pileup. It doesn’t get any better.

And for those of you that are old hats at Field Day, or have been doing them since you lugged the high voltage supply and 200 pound tube rig into a tent… we need you! We’re not asking you to climb towers, but we need you to show up and lend your experience. In fact, we need that from all of our club members that are able.

Come on out June 25th and 26th, hang out with your fellow GSARA members, socialize, eat, operate ham radio, and have a great time!

Marlo, KA2IRQ, FD Chair