Field Day, or a sleepless night w/o kids

our antenna

The last Saturday in June is a special day around here, and in many other homes.  "Special" is the key word, it's the ARRL field day, where all of us dorky "hams" head outside for some emergency radio practice.  In a real emergency you wouldn't be able to run your rig (radios) off of standard household current, so knowing how to use a generator or battery powered, and how to set up a mobile antennae is crucial.

the boys getting the antenna set up

Eric has always wanted to go and "do field day" properly, and preferable where it was cooler.  He talked with a friend of ours (Maddie's pseudo uncle) at fathers and son's about doing it this year.  And because our friend wanted to learn the radio better (we taught him the prep class for his license), Eric decided to do it this year.  And I, not wanting to be left at home with our children in the heat, went too. 

the station, minus the computer

This is a pitiful as it sounds, but after 13 years (almost) of marriage, this radio-related camping trip was our first EVER overnighter without our children.  I wish it went better than it did.  It might have been better if the tent had been remembered, or the sleeping bags.  So Eric and I slept in the van using the three blankets I brought for padding (we did have pillows at least).  Unfortunately, I had a case of insomnia that night.  And, yes, insomnia can be made much worse when your camping, in a van, without a sleeping bag, or sufficient pads.

testing the signal

The next morning came, eventually.  And after breakfast we got the station all set up and then I took a nap while the boys went for a hike to the repeater tower.  I was more than a little intimidated at first by the radio, but eventually I got the hang of it.  Eric let Kent and I take turns talking and we all took turns recording the contacts.  After a few hours of regular voice operation, the boys wanted to try some digital modes.  And then finally, we had the most fun of the entire time: we called for contacts instead of answering them.  I got to be the "star of radio day" because a woman's voice is easier to hear than a man's.  I called CQ (radio term) for about 45 minutes, and in that time we had 40-50 contacts.  It was fun and crazy when there were pile-ups 5 or more deep.  I know, were nerds, but it was fun!

All in all, the radio day was fantastic, and I'm looking forward to next year.  With a tent of course.