BARC will be holding Field Day this year at the Hale Educational Center in Westwood. For those who have not attended Field Day before, this is one of the biggest amateur radio events of the year, a cross between an emergency exercise, contest, party, and public relations event. Participants (including clubs like BARC) set up in a temporary location using emergency power and make contacts for 24 hours. If you attend you will learn a great deal—especially if you can help with setup and/or teardown—whether you’re still studying for your Technician or have been an Extra for years.
This will be our first year at Hale Education. You can find directions and a map here. The site is in Norfolk County, grid FN42jf. The one problem with the site is a lack of public transportation options, so we will be organizing carpools to and from nearby MBTA commuter stations. If you will need a ride or are willing to volunteer to make a few trips to the T to shuttle people back and forth, please contact Brendan, NW1S, at nw1s.brendan@gmail.com.
We will be operating in class 3A, which is a club running three HF transceivers at once, and using wire antennas for the HF bands between 80 and 10 meters. The rules allow one VHF/UHF station transmitting at any one time and that will be used on six and two meters using stacked beam antennas. Modes will be SSB, CW, and digital. We will also attempt a satellite contact again this year. If you have a Technician license or none at all, we can arrange for you to operate under the supervision of a control operator if you wish.
If you want to stay overnight, you will need to bring your own tent, sleeping bag, and anything else you need for spending the night. There are some hotels along Route 128 in the area if you don’t want to sleep on the ground but also don’t want to drive back and forth from home more than once. We will provide food, including a cookout on Saturday night. If you have special dietary requirements, please let either NW1S or NV1W know.
Setup will start around 9:00 am on Saturday. Operating time runs from 2:00 pm on Saturday to 2:00 pm on Sunday, after which we will tear things down and pack up. If you want to volunteer to help or just want to say you’re coming, send a note to Brendan, NW1S, at nw1s.brendan@gmail.com. If you need more information, contact Joe, NV1W, at nv1w@arrl.net.
Today is the eve of the most atypical Field Day in the history of the League! Field Day was first done in 1933 and the only pandemic event that can rival what we are going through today was the Spanish Flu in 1917, years before.