alt text

Field Day 2024 After Action Report

New/Upgrades for FD 2023:

Upgrade Digipeater Startup Script and Enclosure.

Added a GPS to digipeater https://amzn.to/4ccr3AZ

Digipeater runs Digirig interface - https://amzn.to/3XsPwLK

Evolve Laptop added to truck - https://amzn.to/3zhYJPj

Propane upgraded to 30lb tanks - https://amzn.to/3KU8MN3

Weather:

Weather was clear and hot on Saturday. The recorded high temp was 93F. Overnight low was 72F. No rain on either day.

General Notes:

This was the first summer Field Day at the new location (Barfield Park Shelter 3&4) Overall, everything went well excluding one digipeater fail. (See Failures). The Icom 705 was the only other radio used this year in conjunction with the Evolve laptop. The generator was not used this year. (See Generator)

Like last year, I elected to be the tech support person for all things digital. Mike, KG4VDK, and I ran the challenge course for a few folks during the day and help one of our visitors get Winlink running on their phone using a Mobilinkd TNC and their HT. Around 2330 I was able to sit down at my station and reply to everyone that participated in the 2024 FD Challenge.

Internet:

I have always considered use of the internet at the Field Day site as a failure. Field Day is about practicing our craft in an offgrid scenario reference. Should something need to be downloaded from or looked up on the internet, it should and would be noted in the failure section of this AAR. The same applies to using your mobile phone.

APRS:

I ran YAAC on the Evolve and connected it through the WiFi router in the RV to the digipeater. There was no internet but the router is utilized to build a local network. YAAC was used for displaying all of the APRS in our area and sending/recieving APRS messages. This is an ideal setup as I can monitor APRS from the primary station while utilizing the digipeater to handle the RF. This keeps the primary station available for other voice/digital comms.

APRS Digipeater:

The APRS digipeater was the same hardware as last year including the Pi Zero 2, FT65 HT , Digirig, GPS

The start up script was updated and the digi was put into a new case. A GPS was also added to the digipeater so it wasn't dependent on another system with GPS running on the network. We might could have gotten away without the digi since there is another one close by at the new FD location. However, it was decided to run it anyway as a test since this is the system that will be used at the Christmas Parade in December. This was a good field test and proved that everything functioned as expected with the exception of one shutdown. (See Failures)

Solar & Battery

Consumption Notes

These notes are from 2023 AAR but left for reference.

RV TV - 2A
Each RV light - .5A
RV 12V Fridge - ~2.5A when compressor is running
Digipeater - ~200mA
Pi Display - 700mA
705 & Evolve - 600mA on receive

Generator:

The generator was available but not used this year. This year I chose to setup by the pavilion and utilized the 110 outlet in the pavilion to run the AC in the camper. Since it was proven in the past that the propane generator will run everything, there's no need to waste propane and this system is tested regularly during RV trips.

Propane:

Detailed notes of propane consumption can be found in the 2022 AAR. Propane tanks have been upgraded to 30lb giving a total of 60lb on board. From past experience, the generator will use ~20lb per 12 hours with the AC running. This would give roughly 36 hours of run time.

Go-Bag:

The modular go bag proved once again to be a winner. When combined with the Checklist Generator, nothing critical was forgotten.

Antennas:

I use the EFHW kit antenna for HF. A rollup J-pole was used for the digipeater and a second was used for the Icom 705. The EFHW and J-pole antenna were on the same mast for the 705 and a second mast was used for the digipeater.

A TN07 mast was used to get the HF and one VHF/UHF antenna in the air utilizing the mount on the RV ladder. A second mast was used for the JPole antenna connected to the digipeater.

Failures:

The only real failure this year was the Pi Zero digipeater shutting down due to excessive heat. The digipeater is in a new enclosure this year and intentionally left outside in direct sun. Around 1400 I noticed no response from the digipeater. Upon checking, I realized it had shutdown and the case was very hot to the touch. After a few minutes in the AC and a reboot, the pi was revived. Afterwards, it was place in the shade and no other issues were observed. The 10000mAh battery battery pack powered the Pi for 24 hours and had 28% remaining according to the indicator on the battery pack. The HT battery lasted for ~10 hours before being depleted. (See General Notes)

Final Conclusions

In addition to testing different radio setups, FD provides me with an opportunity to test other systems such as the RV, solar, battery, and generator collecting real world data. This gives me a fairly accurate account of how the overall system will perform in an offgrid scenario which is valuable knowledge to have.

The scaled back systems from prior Field Days proved to be enough. While the Pi-Display wasn't tested this time around, it is still available and will more than likely be used during the Christmas Parade to display an APRS map.

I also played with generating different POS files that could be loaded into YAAC as needed. This included an offline repeater database, VARA gateway list, and plotting Winlink position reports that contained certain keywords. This space needs to be explored more for other information that might be helpful when offline.

Ideas/To-Do List:

Test SDR dongle with main laptop
Explore more POS data for YAAC

END OF REPORT

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Published with Simplenote

Report abuse