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VHF Field Day ?
Here is a blasphemous Perspective on FD... No complaint, just a totally new perspective (at least I never thought of it this way before...) <grin>
I showed up at FD with nothing but VHF/UHF rigs, a laptop, handhelds and lots of enthusiasm, determined to communicate with the "world". I had a great time and got the Satellite contact special points.
But after the sound and the fury and the 100 points, I was secretly and quietly embarrassed at the fact that the total number of contacts numbered less than fifty. Yet, I know that there are thousands of hams locally. My satellite tracking program shows 14 satellites to choose from and a total of 56 pass opportunities... yet only scored one "countable" full exchange.
Not only were my contacts low, but it was HARD, DARNED HARD to get them. I had pretty fair equipment (ICOM IC-211, IC-706, kenwood TS-811) and
antennas (Cushcraft 6, 2, 70 cm beams) and had some elevation in the local metropolitan area. You'd think that I could make hundreds of exchanges, not just three dozen...
POINT: My point is, VHF communications in-the-field is NOT trivial and easy. Murphy's law thrives. It is HARD. Every dB counts. What I just realized by comparison is that HF is EASY! I never thought of it that way before, but anyone" with an HF radio and a wet noodle lying on the ground can make a contact with "someone". In fact many contacts! Yes, that is why we often justify our "emergency prepared
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ness" on HF... because we can "always get through". HF really works! IT'S EASY. ANYONE CAN DO IT! IT'S GREAT!
But is the EASY way, the way to test our ability to communicate in times of emergency? How many local emergencies will HF be the saving link between the field and the County EOC? Conversely, how much do we depend on VHF and UHF for our local preparedness exercises and how badly do we suffer when the "repeater" goes down..
WOW, What if everyone at all Field Days were required to operate like we are with VHF? No repeaters, no relays. Then I bet we would really see the difference between the men and the boys..
Don't get me wrong, I love our field days and this is NOT the usual complaint about the Field Day rules. In the past, we viewed the Field Day rules as justifiably penalizing VHF, FM, Packet and digipeaters, because we viewed VHF, FM, PACKET and RELAYS as TOO EASY. WHAT I JUST WOKE UP TO IS THAT IT IS THE OPPOSITE! VHF, FM, PACKET and RELAYS ARE HARD! It is a *** CHALLENGE ***. Yes, it is trivial to make the first dozen contacts with
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