West Georgia Amateur Radio Society

Preparing For Winter Field Day

Winter Field Day [January 25^th & 26^th, 2025] is just around the corner. It is always on the last full weekend of January, beginning at 16:00 UTC on Saturday and running through 21:59 on Sunday. If you have participated in several Field Day club events, you may think there is no reason to prepare. Well, you are wrong!

There are so many different facets to a Field Day event, which means that whether you are just joining in on the fun or are one of the many coordinators of a Field Day event, there is a lot of preparation that goes into preparing for Field Day, especially when the event spans over two days. Let’s focus on preparing for an over-night Field Day event – the part of the event where you are ready to shut down and get a little rest before sunrise creeps in.

What are some of the must have items and items you should consider bringing along to ensure you are prepared for this part of the event? And, which items will make your overnight experience safe, restful, and practical? What is in your Winter Field Day bag? Do you have a Field Day bag? If you do not have a Field Day overnight bag, you will need one and it can possibly be the same bag you use as your “Operator to go or bug out bag”. Some of the items listed below will have multi-purposes and those items should be considered a high priority item to have in your bag or to bring along. Some of the items need no explanation and therefore, will not be commented on.

 Safety & Emergency Items

When in doubt, use duck tape! There are numerous ways duct tape can be used in an emergency – patch up a temporary leak in your tent, and it is really good at holding to items together when you have no screws. Have you ever used duct tape in a pinch?

Your Field Day Coordinator should know who to contact in case you experience a medical emergency or have an unforeseen mishap. Club Coordinators will have a list of all Club Members and should have a list of emergency contacts. If you are joining in on the fun for the first time, make sure the Field Day Coordinator knows you are there participating and make them aware of who to contact in case of an emergency.

Good To Know – Now, Put It To Practice!

Every Thursday evening, the West Georgia Amateur Radio Society (WGARS) repeater hosts the Carroll County ARES training Net at 8:00 p.m. EST on the W4FWD repeater, on a 146.640 Mhz frequency, with a negative offset and a 131.8 Hz sub-audible tone. These nets provide our club with an abundance of information, operating techniques, and ways to improve our radio skills when operating over the repeater or as a participant in a net. During the net, those participating are able to ask questions, bring up issues related to ARES and EMCOMM, or ask questions related to the Amateur Radio world.

On this past ARES Net, December 26, 2024 ARES Emergency Coordinator (EC), WX4BK, went over several important communication skills, radio communication techniques, and common errors made when communicating. His training was inspired by “Seven Tips For Better Repeater Operating”, which was published in AARL’s On The Air magazine. This was an excellent presentation that focused on better radio communication, common radio communication errors most Operators make, and mis-conceptions most Operators have. If put into practice, all of these communication tips and corrections will no doubt greatly improve your radio communication skills. Every Amateur Radio Operator should want to improve their communication skills. Why not? It can only help the receiving Operator to understand you better and help them to get the message correctly. Below, are just a few of the highlights given during our recent presentation training session.

• The Repeater is not as quick as your PTT finger. So, pause after keying and delay speaking a moment. This will allow the Repeater to catch up and retransmit what you are saying. Many times, the first letter or two of a call sign is lost when checking into a net or identifying on the repeater, due to the Operator not allowing this delay.

• WGARS is a formal net. There is no need to indicate to Net Control that you have No Comment or have No Traffic. In other words, it is assumed you have no traffic or comment unless you say you do. On a Rag-Chew net, where each station will be called back for comment (Monday night nets), then the use of No Comment should be used to tell Net Control not to call on you.

• Traffic is meant to mean a formal message for the National Traffic System (NTS).

• Comment is not typically ever used on a formal net.

• “Break” is only used for emergencies.

• Speed Speaking is not communicating and there is no reward for being able to say your call sign the fastest. Net Control has an important job to do – listen to what you are saying, understand what you are saying, recall what you are saying, and then record the correct call sign for a correct check-in. Communication is a big part of Amateur Radio and speaking so fast that no one understands what you are saying or keep up logging it is not communicating.

• Using proper Amateur Radio phonetics is a must! C is not Carat/Karet, K is not Knot/Not or Kilowatt and J is not Jim/Gym. Remember, Amateur Radio is about communication. In any situation, why make the other station stop and try to figure out what you mean? In an emergency situation, valuable time will be wasted if the Receiver has to stop and struggle to try and figure out what you are saying or what you mean to say. Knowing the lingo goes hand in hand with your radio. Yes, it is easy to forget some of the correct phonetics and call out “Larry” instead of “Lima” but do your best to hone your radio communication skills, learn proper Amateur Radio phonetics and then show off your radio communication skills during field day.

If you missed this ARES Net, you missed a lot. Again, these were just a few of the many radio communication tips, recommendations and corrections WX4BK spoke on during our ARES Net. Don’t miss our next net. Lock in our WGARS frequency and offset in your radio and program your iPhone or Android to tone every Thursday evening at 7:55 p.m. est. We would love to have you check-in with us at the top of the hour, 8:00 p.m est., and be a part of our ARES Net and training session.

Until next time,

K4SBE

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