cwops: FD musings

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David Tanks

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Jun 24, 2024, 8:52:27 AM (6 days ago) Jun 24
to valleyhams

Ok, this is actually the link I wanted to send to the group. It is the actual info about Field Day in 1934.

David AD4TJ

----- Forwarded Message -----
Cc: Ed Tobias <edto...@comcast.net>; Harv K2PI <gadge...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, June 24, 2024 at 12:13:45 AM EDT
Subject: Re: [cwops] FD musings

Hi Fred,

ARRL wasn't shy about referring to early Field Days as contests,
for example see page 8:


73
Frank
W3LPL

From: "w2aab" <fbel...@gmail.com>
To: "Ed Tobias" <edto...@comcast.net>
Cc: "Harv K2PI" <gadge...@gmail.com>, "CWOPS" <ma...@cwops.groups.io>
Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2024 7:39:46 PM
Subject: Re: [cwops] FD musings

Harv and Ed.....

I'm another EARA Field Day alumnus.  I went on at least 2 of these in the early 1970's, when we used the call W2RJ/2 at
one of the parks in Englewood.  I think the 2nd one was in the 22A class.  Those were major operations, more like an 
Allied invasion than a Field Day.  

I remember WB2PRU and WA2VKK from the old days, as well.  I worked you, Harv on 2 meters, but I never worked VKK.
I just remember hearing you on the air, Ed, I think 15 meters when you were still in Manhattan.  A local ham friend also had
a QSL from you that I still remember.

Dave Popkin passed away a few years ago, and the Fair Lawn ARC (FLARC) received most of his ham radio equipment as
a donation.

As far as the theme of Field Day, the current League insists that it's "not a contest," but it clearly is one, and always was.
In fact, there is a thread currently on qrz.com about this very subject, in which a page from QST  announcing the
First FD in 1933, clearly states that it is a contest, just one operated from the field.  SEE:


When an ARRL activity involves making contacts, scoring points and bonus points, requires logs to be sent to HQ, 
and when those scores are published in QST,, they are listed by Class and ranked in descending order from highest 
to lowest, it IS a contest, whether people wish to acknowledge that or not.

In fact, I believe Field Day is the most popular operating event of all in the U.S. and Canada, so that also makes it
the most popular contest of all.

"If it looks like a horse, runs like a horse and whinnies like a horse...."

73,

Fred, KR2H

On Sun, Jun 23, 2024 at 9:50 PM Ed, KR3E #133 via groups.io <edtobias=comca...@groups.io> wrote:
Ah, Field Day with the Englewood ARA and the legendary Dave Popkin. My first was as a Novice, WV2VKK (not a great cw call).

It was in 1962 and Dave was WA2CCF, before becoming “Charlie..Charlie.” It was also before he became an FCC field engineer. 

The Englewood Field Day group might not have had the top score but it always seemed to put the most stations on the air. As I remember, it was 13 that year…pretty amazing considering the size of the rigs they were hauling into the woods somewhere along the Palisades. 

This year my Field Day was quite different from that one, as I sat in an air conditioned apartment remotely operating a station about 400 miles away, and using a keyboard, rather than a key. 

But I was sure thinking of Dave and Englewood. 

Ed, KR3E 
#133


On Jun 23, 2024, at 9:28 PM, Harv K2PI <gadge...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have to admit to being in the minority of Hams who doesn't really enjoy Field Day.  Ever since my first, with the Englewood, NJ ARA back in 1977 with the famous Dave Popkin, W2CC, I've been unable to reconcile the reality with the story behind it.  I think I would be more comfortable if we dropped the "Emergency Preparedness" fiction and just accepted that it is a chance to go out in a field somewhere and operate, eat, and talk to other Hams.  Also, to be honest with ourselves that it is a contest, because otherwise, why does my club and many others boast about scores and standings every year, and usually devote a meeting to it?

Instead, we have clubs, like my local club and many others (one in MD was sending more than 30A!) building up virtual "Burning Man" sites which don't strike me as what we'd be able to do out of the gate in a real disaster.  Could we bring multiple towers and RV's to a site?  It's hard to believe it would be that easy.  I lived and worked overseas for 20 years in some very difficult places in Africa and South East Asia, and when things went bad, as they did in many of these developing nations, mobility was extremely limited, and infrastructure either failed or was outright shut off.  You made do with what you had, and I had the resources of an Embassy behind me, and that sometimes wasn't enough.  Oh, and don't forget, in this imaginary scenario, you would be leaving everyone you love at the mercies of whatever event is ongoing to go do this.  They would not be bringing the potato salad at lunch time.  That's a very tough choice to make.

I recommended a few years ago to our local club that we do a true field expedient field day.  Pack and plan nothing in advance.  Day of, give everyone 1 hour to grab essentials and get to a site kept secret until that moment.  Get on the air with what we had ready at hand, and if we ended up with no PL-259 to N adapters, make do on site.  I'm sure no one will be surprised that it was an unpopular idea, even with the surety that most would cheat and set up their go-bags in advance :)

Most love FD, and for them, I say enjoy!   I should not have had to explain so much, but not loving FD is one of the last true Ham Radio heresy's you'll get beat up for (the other being that the youth are our future).
--
73
Harv
K2PI


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