Ham Radio Field Day
Annapolis City Dock 27-28 June 2009

Amateur Radio Field-Day at Annapolis City Dock by the USNA and ARINC radio clubs and other volunteers was an outstanding success for our second year. Our FD score was inversely proportional to our high score in talking to the public as we met with many boaters and interested kids and adults taking literature to find clubs and information. Boaters were particularly interested in HF. Field Day is an annual National event where Ham radio operators throughout the USA set up communications in the field under simulated emergency conditions.

HF OPERATIONS: Bruce Becker and Mike Gough from ARINC lead the HF team making working all HF bands.

APRS CQSRVR: For APRS we used the global CQ SERVER that lets users send global CQ messages. This makes it possible for individuals to send CQ's and group messages. See CQSRVR.

Click for larger left image. Click for larger right image

We had to move over one row in the parking lot from our 2008 position (see page) to make room for the Race Across America event which was the finish line for the amazing cross country 3000 mile bike race. If we get this spot next year, we plan on offering coin change for a small profit (see sign)... The left photo is APRS Bob's comm shelter and the photo on the right is the ARINC portable station with Mike and Bruce. The next two photos from 2008 show how we can use Ham boats or one-table portables just about anywhere at city dock!

2010 Plan: shown below, this plan puts us in the parking lot ($50 per space for the weekend) and close to the boat slips for maritime mobile stations (boats). Other slips to the west are slightly smaller. You can see on the right how we raised our dipole up over the lamp poles. This year we dispensed with the push-up poles and just threw lines over the poles and pulled up the wire antennas.

PLENTY OF ROOM for 2010! In 2010 we want to flood City Dock with as many individual portable Ham Radio stations as possible. Lets go for the biggest public Field Day in the country! Imagine card-table/umbrella and other operating stations from as many volunteers we can find scattered all over the City Dock area. This view of City Dock below contains the 1000 foot circle limit for Field Day. Dozens of sites have been located where individual operators can set up their card-table portable COMMS equipment and show the public as they walk by on the sidewalk. Each major area has several numbered sites.

Individual Sites for 2010: . Photos of each possible site are linked below. We encourage individuals to scout out their favorite operating position early. These sites are small islands that are out of the way, yet immediately adjacent to where the public and visitors walk by all day long. If you want to reserve a parking spot in the formal plan we give to the city, then it must be approved in advance and the city will charge $25/day for 2 days per space. Or you can come as you are and try to just grab a space and then feed the meter. There may be a few hour maximum that you might have to move your car periodically too. But you can watch as spaces come and go from your portable card-table. Feeding the meter will only cost $12 per day. Boat slips are $50 to $80 per night and you need to arrive Friday mid-day to get one.