Field Day 2009

Field Day 2009 Information

JUNE 26 - 28, 2009
Always The 4th Full Weekend in June

DCARC's 2009 Field Day will be held at our traditional Monte Cristo location. KR7APR will be there too! On this page you can see the Schedule or find Driving Directions. See Photos from previous years. You can get more information about Field Day from the ARRL's Field Day page.

So what in blazes is "Field Day"? Some of you are key contributors to the clubs annual field day event. Others know what it is but have chosen not to participate. Others, maybe haven't ever attended one or don't even have a clue as to what it is really all about. Well, in short, the annual ARRL Field Day event combines emergency in the field setup of communications equipment with heavy duty contesting and a lot of FUN! The idea is to create an exercise that gets amateurs to take their grab-n-go kits, antennas, generators, rigs, camping equipment, etc., to either local or remote locations for worldwide operations. Some people do field day in their own homes or backyards, some go to local parks or EOC facilities and others head for remote areas in the mountains. The DCARC has chose to go to a remote but not too far location of the mountain tops of Monte Cristo. It takes less than 2 hours and is easily accessible by any type of vehicle. The good part is that you end up on the top of a beautiful mountain away from home, work and the hustle and bustle of our society.

So who says we have to rough it? We have generator power, many bring motor homes, trailers (trawlers), tents, etc. You are on your own for food except for Saturday dinner and Sunday morning breakfast. Here is the deal. We ask you bring something potluck, such as, chips, a salad, beans, a dessert) and a good breakfast on Sunday morning. You can't beat that deal. It doesn't stop there. We have Roy's world famous popcorn on Saturday night. And talk about high tech. We have an outdoor movie, digital (DVD) projected on screen with a large sound system. There is plenty of assignments to go around, so come on get off your soft sofa and volunteer to help out. If if you don't plan on camping the entire weekend, we can still use lots of people to help on any of the days, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Type of help needed includes: transportation of equipment, setup, operating, take-down, help with meals and entertainment for kids and other non-ham adults. We look forward to your participation. The following is the itinerary and directions to Monte Cristo.

Thursday - Optional - Early arrivals - You are on your own.
June 25^th - Meals on your own.

Friday - Arrive on-site - setup camp on your own.
June 26^th - 12:00 noon

• start antenna project (exclusive 15 meter V-Beam)
• setup tower with beam
• setup PSK31 station/antennas
• by evening Davis County Sheriffs Department generator should arrive.
• Meals own your own.

Saturday - Breakfast/Lunch on your own.
June 27^th - 8:00 - 12:00 - Finish final preparations

• test power source
• logging computers on-line and ready
• final calibration of antennas all stations
• final coordination of operating schedules
• 10:00 - 11:30 - Kid's Activities
• 12:00 noon - start contesting.
• 6:00 - 7:00 pm - potluck/everyone's famous Dutch Oven barbeque .
• 7:00 - 8:00 pm - special projects for points (video/satelites, etc.)
• 7:00 - 8:30 pm - kids movie on TV.
• 9:00 or when dark enough outdoor movie

Sunday - 8:00 - 9:00 am - breakfast - provided by club - contribution required.
June 28^th - contesting continues

• 12:00 - cleanup - take down project
• take down tower with beam
• take down PSK31 and other stations.
• Police camp for trash, etc.
• Depart in convoy.

DCARC's Field Day Site: Monte Cristo

If you want to get full directions from you location, click on the GPS coordinate for the comm trailer site then click on the "To here" and enter your address. Google maps will then map it out for you.