Greetings!

All of the scoring has been calculated, documented, and submitted for the Decatur Amateur Radio Club’s 70th Field Day in June. It’s nowhere near what we had hoped to accomplish this year (is it ever?), but it’s an improvement over the past year. Here’s how it looks:

Number of participants: 32

Contacts:

• CW contacts: 101
• Digital contacts: 4
• Phone contacts: 265 + 47 GOTA = 312

QSO points:

• 101 x 2 = 202 (CW)
• 4 X 2 = 8 (DIG)
• 265 x 1 = 265 (PH)
• 47 x 5 = 235 (GOTA PH)
• Total QSO points = 710
• Power multiplier: 100 watts or less = QSO’s x 2
• Claimed QSO score = 1,420

Bonus points:

• 200 points – 100% Emergency power
• 100 points – Media Publicity
• 100 points – Set-up in Public Place
• 100 points – Information Table
• 100 points – Natural Power QSO’s Completed
• 100 points – Site Visit by Invited Elected Official
• 100 points – Site Visit by Invited Agency Official
• 100 points – Social media (Facebook)
• 50 points – Online entry form submission
• Total bonus points = 950

** Total submitted score: 2,370 points **
(752 points MORE than last year’s 1,618)

We had more contacts this year, and the same bonus points as last year. But the QSO score is higher than the bonus score this time! That’s how it should be done! The location at Flint City Park was actually better than anticipated and provided many options for stringing antennas and operating quietly while still having the openness of a publicly-accessible location. We had a lot of visitors and talking on other methods than radio, but we all had a good time.

Thanks are in order to the following hams:

• Byron N4AX for the 101 CW contacts (NICE!!)
• Craig KJ4LAA for the solar equipment
• Bob WA4ZZW and Ronny W4RAL for running digital modes on 6 meters
• Lou K4HNH for the GOTA setup and Bob KB4ACP for the 47 contacts
• All those who manned the radios to make contacts
• Bob KB4ACP for the great food and snacks that were available during the event
• And those others who brought refreshments and good company to the site

Thanks also to Decatur City Council member Billy Jackson and Morgan County EMA representative Hilary Granbois for visiting the FD site and bringing us the bonus points. And thanks to ARRL Alabama Section Manager Roger Parsons KK4UDU for stopping in on Saturday evening.

The December issue of QST, the ARRL magazine, will list the scores for the event, and then we’ll find out just how well (or badly) we actually did.

Go ahead and mark your calendar for next year! Field Day 2024 will be on June 22nd and 23rd, 2024. Make plans to come help us. We need to improve the score even more!

One request: if you took any photos during setup, operation, or teardown, would you please share them with the club by emailing them to the club secretary address? Thanks!