Field Day 2018
June 23, 2018 @ 12:00 pm – June 24, 2018 @ 10:00 am
South Seattle College
6000 16th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
June 23, 2018 @ 12:00 pm – June 24, 2018 @ 10:00 am
South Seattle College
6000 16th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
Members of the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club are building a temporary “radio city” at South Seattle College the weekend of June 23, 24. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.
The public is encouraged to visit us anytime between noon on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. Kids are welcome with their parents and are encouraged to try talking on our radios. Find us at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave SW, near Olympic Hall and near the south parking lot on campus. Look for the tents and antennas!
Again this year all our radios will be powered with solar panels. We would like to again thank Northwest Solar Rover for supporting us (http://www.nwsolarrover.com/). Joining with members of the Auxiliary Communications Service (amateurs who work with Seattle Department of Emergency Management) and the Puget Sound Repeater Group, West Seattle Amateur Radio Club members will operate radios and communicate with other hams around the world from West Seattle.
We encourage the public to think about how they will communicate, “when all else fails.” We will have information on emergency preparedness so you can be ready for major storms, pandemic disease or the major earthquake which is overdue for our region. Seattle is one of the most vulnerable places you could choose to live. It is also bursting with groups ready to help you prepare for the next event. Check out: The West Seattle Amateur Radio Club (www.westseattlearc.org), West Seattle BePrepared (http://westseattlebeprepared.org/), Seattle Emergency Management (www.seattle.gov/emergency/prepare/personal/). For general information on amateur radio visit American Radio Relay League – ARRL at www.arrl.org, the organizer of Field Day.
After superstorm Sandy on the East Coast or Harvey last year on the Gulf Coast, it became clear to many that self reliance, preparation and training should move to the top of our TO DO lists. Your local ham radio community exists to help in times of emergency. However, we probably won’t be feeding you, clothing you or helping you light your shelter at night. The West Seattle Amateur Radio Club teaches classes for amateur radio FCC licenses . The initial license is often earned after just a weekend of work with our instruction team. These licenses open up a lifetime of learning about communication and technology. Local hams also provide communication support for events like the West Seattle Grand Parade and many Seafair events.
The public is encouraged to visit our installation.
Just to move past some common misconceptions: There are more hams now than any time in history. This is not your grandfather’s amateur radio service. As a group, some of us build our own software defined radios. The only analog part of these radios is the antenna connection. We are deploying a wide area microwave network to offer services across our own internet. Knowledge like that will make hooking you printer up a snap next time. We routinely use digital modes that allow effective communication using 1/1000th the power needed just a decade ago. While some of us still employ large antenna arrays for daily worldwide communication, it is now possible to work the world with a very modest station.
Google map to South Seattle College & WSARC Field Day Radios & Tents.
W7ACS/W7AW
Puget Sound Rpt Grp/Seattle ACS/ West Seattle ARC
South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106
Seattle, WA
GOTA: YES (Get On The Air station)
Talk-in: PSRG 146.96 -600kHz t 103.5 WSARC 441.800+5MHz t141.3
Contact: Curt Black
206 755-4541
[email protected]
https://web.psrg.org/calendar/events/field-day/
Puget Sound Rpt Grp/Seattle ACS/ West Seattle ARC
South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106
Seattle, WA
GOTA: YES (Get On The Air station)
Talk-in: PSRG 146.96 -600kHz t 103.5 WSARC 441.800+5MHz t141.3
Contact: Curt Black
206 755-4541
[email protected]
https://web.psrg.org/calendar/events/field-day/
Puget Sound Repeater Group
Going back several years, Seattle ACS and Puget Sound Repeater Group (PSRG) have co-hosted an station for ARRL Field Day.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular amateur radio event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Operations include HF SSB phone and CW; VHF-UHF; digital; a GOTA station (Get On The Air) to allow non-licensed visitors to transmit.
ACS, Puget and Sound Repeater Group will again be hosting a joint Field Day Event at South Seattle College (location). This year, we are joined by the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club. We will be on the field at the south end of the campus, adjacent to Olympic Hall.
The rough schedule of activity:
Friday June 22rd:
– 9am: Site preparation commences with arrival of trailers and other equipment. We assemble city-provided tents and other infrastructure, start setting up solar, etc.
– 5pm: Site preparation completed – testing and informal radio operation
Saturday June 23rd:
– 8am: Final site and equipment preparation
– 11am: Field day contest operations commence (for 24 hours)
– 7pm-ish: some sort of dinner break to be determined. Will probably include some potluck, some pizza, maybe a BBQ depending on volunteers
Sunday June 24th:
– 7am: Coffee, croissants, and danish run. Possibly other breakfast if organized.
– 11am: Contest operations cease. A brief rest while we organize teardown operations
– 11:30: Tear down operations commence
– 3pm-ish (possibly later) we finish teardown and retire to a local eatery for refreshing beverages and food.
If you would like to participate in Field Day, there are many roles over the 3 day period and we would love to see many of you join us, even if its only for a couple of hours. Please follow this link for the 2018 signup form: Signup Form
You should also subscribe to our mailing list at: Field Day Mailing List
Youth and non-Amateur Involvement
A major goal of Field Day is to expose the public to amateur radio and some of the many roles it can play. We are especially interested in getting youth and other interested people on the air at Field Day and will be operating a GOTA (Get On The Air) station with a mentor to let unlicensed (or recently licensed hams) get on HF (or VHF) and get a great exposure to ham radio. Please take this as an opportunity to expose your friends and family to our hobby in a welcoming and supportive environment.
We are very aware that the Pride Parade this same weekend. Luckily for us and you, this is a daytime event that occurs after the vast majority of setup has been completed. You can participate in both of these activities if you want to. We will need a core of support on site for Field Day on Saturday, but once the parade is complete, you will be free to come join the Field Day activities at SSC. Remember we will be fully active on the air until 11 am on Sunday, and we’ll need fresh operators in the night and early morning. So if you are supporting the parade, consider going home, eating, resting and joining use sometime later in the operating cycle. You’ll be able to indicate this in the survey form. Just remember, you can do both activities.
Reminders:
Check the weather and bring appropriate clothes, outerwear, hats, shoes etc. It will get quite cool at night. If you have safety vests and hard hats, please bring them.
Bring a flashlight if you will be there overnight.
You may want to bring a folding chair, but there will be some with the trailers.
Additional information on the ARRL Field Day page.
PSRG coordinator of our Field Day activities is Doug, KD7DK.
Going back several years, Seattle ACS and Puget Sound Repeater Group (PSRG) have co-hosted an station for ARRL Field Day.
ARRL Field Day is the most popular amateur radio event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June, more than 35,000 radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations. Operations include HF SSB phone and CW; VHF-UHF; digital; a GOTA station (Get On The Air) to allow non-licensed visitors to transmit.
ACS, Puget and Sound Repeater Group will again be hosting a joint Field Day Event at South Seattle College (location). This year, we are joined by the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club. We will be on the field at the south end of the campus, adjacent to Olympic Hall.
The rough schedule of activity:
Friday June 22rd:
– 9am: Site preparation commences with arrival of trailers and other equipment. We assemble city-provided tents and other infrastructure, start setting up solar, etc.
– 5pm: Site preparation completed – testing and informal radio operation
Saturday June 23rd:
– 8am: Final site and equipment preparation
– 11am: Field day contest operations commence (for 24 hours)
– 7pm-ish: some sort of dinner break to be determined. Will probably include some potluck, some pizza, maybe a BBQ depending on volunteers
Sunday June 24th:
– 7am: Coffee, croissants, and danish run. Possibly other breakfast if organized.
– 11am: Contest operations cease. A brief rest while we organize teardown operations
– 11:30: Tear down operations commence
– 3pm-ish (possibly later) we finish teardown and retire to a local eatery for refreshing beverages and food.
If you would like to participate in Field Day, there are many roles over the 3 day period and we would love to see many of you join us, even if its only for a couple of hours. Please follow this link for the 2018 signup form: Signup Form
You should also subscribe to our mailing list at: Field Day Mailing List
Youth and non-Amateur Involvement
A major goal of Field Day is to expose the public to amateur radio and some of the many roles it can play. We are especially interested in getting youth and other interested people on the air at Field Day and will be operating a GOTA (Get On The Air) station with a mentor to let unlicensed (or recently licensed hams) get on HF (or VHF) and get a great exposure to ham radio. Please take this as an opportunity to expose your friends and family to our hobby in a welcoming and supportive environment.
We are very aware that the Pride Parade this same weekend. Luckily for us and you, this is a daytime event that occurs after the vast majority of setup has been completed. You can participate in both of these activities if you want to. We will need a core of support on site for Field Day on Saturday, but once the parade is complete, you will be free to come join the Field Day activities at SSC. Remember we will be fully active on the air until 11 am on Sunday, and we’ll need fresh operators in the night and early morning. So if you are supporting the parade, consider going home, eating, resting and joining use sometime later in the operating cycle. You’ll be able to indicate this in the survey form. Just remember, you can do both activities.
Reminders:
Check the weather and bring appropriate clothes, outerwear, hats, shoes etc. It will get quite cool at night. If you have safety vests and hard hats, please bring them.
Bring a flashlight if you will be there overnight.
You may want to bring a folding chair, but there will be some with the trailers.
Additional information on the ARRL Field Day page.
PSRG coordinator of our Field Day activities is Doug, KD7DK.
Here is the ARRL Field Day checklist for Safety Officer affirmation .
- Safety Officer or qualified designated assistant(s) on site for the duration of the event.
- Fuel for generator properly stored.
- Fire extinguisher on hand and appropriately located.
- First aid kit on hand.
- First aid/CPR/AED-trained participant/s on site for full Field Day period.
- Access to NWS alerts to monitor for inclement weather.
- Tent stakes properly installed and marked.
- Temporary antenna structures properly secured and marked.
- Site secured from tripping hazards.
- Site set up in a neat, orderly manner to reduce hazards.
- Stations and equipment properly grounded.
- Access to a means to contact police/fire/rescue if needed.
- Safety Officer is designated point of contact for public safety officials.
- Minimize risks and control hazards to ensure no injuries to the public.
- As necessary, monitor participants for hydration and ensure an adequate water supply.
-- Thanks to the ARES E-Letter and Rick Palm, K1CE
From: Doug Kingston <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Field Day Update #9 - Site signin/signout process
To: Field Day Participants <[email protected]>
To everyone signed up to participate in the ACS/PSRG/WSARC Field Day event this weekend,
We appreciate your interest and look forward to a fun and safe weekend. Because this event is registered with the State of Washington and has a training mission number (under the provisions of WAC118-04), we will again be keeping a sign in/out roster for everyone attending/participating as we have in the past. This year the actual process will be a bit different in that we will be using a King County registration and tracking system that will create identification badges for everyone participating (including visitors).
If you have a King County issued Emergency Worker Card (for example King County SAR, Public Health Reserve Corps, etc.) all we will need to do is scan your card as you come and go. ACS members who are pre-registered either with ACS or PSRG to attend will be issued compatible ID cards which can then be scanned (and those you will keep after Field Day). All ACS members should also bring their current ACS ID cards (and will wear those if you are not issued one of the new cards).
Everyone else who is planning to actually participate/work the event will be registered as a temporary emergency worker, and will have a temporary ID badge issued. That ID can then be used to scan in/out of the event. To obtain a temporary emergency worker card we will scan your Washington Driver’s License, and have you print and sign your name on an associated form.
Visitors will also be credentialed following a procedure very similar to the temporary emergency worker – scan of Driver’s License, but visitors will not be registered as temporary workers.
We ask that you please be sure to check in and out each time you come or go, it is very important that we have an accurate accounting of everyone on the field at all times. That will be a very simple process of simply scanning your ID badge. When you leave for the last time, please turn in your temporary ID card as you scan out the last time.
We believe this will be both an efficient, and accurate, system for tracking Field Day participation. We welcome feedback on the process after the weekend, which can be sent to [email protected]. This is also a learning exercise for using this system so we thank you for your patience and support.
Thank you.
-Doug-, KD7DK
Field Day Chairperson
Date: Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Field Day Update #9 - Site signin/signout process
To: Field Day Participants <[email protected]>
To everyone signed up to participate in the ACS/PSRG/WSARC Field Day event this weekend,
We appreciate your interest and look forward to a fun and safe weekend. Because this event is registered with the State of Washington and has a training mission number (under the provisions of WAC118-04), we will again be keeping a sign in/out roster for everyone attending/participating as we have in the past. This year the actual process will be a bit different in that we will be using a King County registration and tracking system that will create identification badges for everyone participating (including visitors).
If you have a King County issued Emergency Worker Card (for example King County SAR, Public Health Reserve Corps, etc.) all we will need to do is scan your card as you come and go. ACS members who are pre-registered either with ACS or PSRG to attend will be issued compatible ID cards which can then be scanned (and those you will keep after Field Day). All ACS members should also bring their current ACS ID cards (and will wear those if you are not issued one of the new cards).
Everyone else who is planning to actually participate/work the event will be registered as a temporary emergency worker, and will have a temporary ID badge issued. That ID can then be used to scan in/out of the event. To obtain a temporary emergency worker card we will scan your Washington Driver’s License, and have you print and sign your name on an associated form.
Visitors will also be credentialed following a procedure very similar to the temporary emergency worker – scan of Driver’s License, but visitors will not be registered as temporary workers.
We ask that you please be sure to check in and out each time you come or go, it is very important that we have an accurate accounting of everyone on the field at all times. That will be a very simple process of simply scanning your ID badge. When you leave for the last time, please turn in your temporary ID card as you scan out the last time.
We believe this will be both an efficient, and accurate, system for tracking Field Day participation. We welcome feedback on the process after the weekend, which can be sent to [email protected]. This is also a learning exercise for using this system so we thank you for your patience and support.
Thank you.
-Doug-, KD7DK
Field Day Chairperson
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