Field Day Antenna

[X-Rated]

This is a great antenna and all IMO for DX and stuff, but field day is a lot of local contacts on lots of frequencies. For many years there was a club near here who ruled the top 1 or 2 slots on 1A, W9TY. The club ended up stopping most of their FD stuff due to politics and the availability of land to operate.

What they used for an antenna was a pair of flat top doublets up about 35 or 40 feet at right angles to each other and a quick switch between the 2. This allows for a relatively good high angle of radiation for the more local contacts.

Next, they implemented top CW contesters who could peak out at 3-4 contacts per minute. With the score doubled on CW over SSB, the score was very good.

SSB operators were pissed that the bulk of the operating was on CW. So the enthusiasm for the club FD station waned and they really all do their own thing now.

But that is neither here nor there. A great FD antenna is a simple setup that can be agile in frequency, band switching, and some directivity.

If you are like me, I am just there for the fun of it and I put together what I damned well please. But if you are serious about optimizing your score, you might consider this pathway for FD. It is a proven solution.

[NQ6U]

While a Moxon might not be the best choice in most places, it is an ideal FD solution for my location down here in the extreme southwestern corner of the country. Since I'll be interested only in stations in the US and Canada, the Moxon's wide forward lobe lets me cover almost the entire area without needing a rotator. Keep in mind that from here, US stations in the northeast are at what would almost be DX range to you. And since I will be operating strictly PSK-31, my radio will be on one frequency the entire time so bandwidth and frequency agility is not an issue. There will be five other stations operating phone on other bands but none of them are interested in working 15m, which is why I settled on it.

All that said, I am there mostly for the fun of it. My club isn't a serious contender, we just like to have a good time operating outdoors in each other's company. Since the facility we use every year requires that we shut down our generator between 24:00 and 06:00, our ability to compete is limited in any case. It does give us a chance to catch some shuteye, though.

[X-Rated]

That should work well for you. I tried PSK and I have had little luck with it in the contest. I must be doing something wrong.

Good luck in the contest.

[NQ6U]

That should work well for you. I tried PSK and I have had little luck with it in the contest. I must be doing something wrong.

Good luck in the contest.

Last Field Day, I easily outscored everyone else in my club. Digital has the same scoring advantage as CW in that each QSO counts as two points.

[NQ6U]

Bump.

Due to circumstances beyond my control (namely, the usual FD site burned up in a wildfire and my ARC bought a tri-band yagi), my 15m Moxon was not and never will be needed at any future Field Day. Since I hated the idea of all that work going to waste, I just set it up in my backyard this morning and aimed it at Asia. I guess it works because a few minutes later, I made a PSK-31 contact with YD0PPQ in Indonesia--a new country for me.

ON EDIT: Add XU7TZG in Cambodia, another new country.