It's time to start preparations for Field Day 2008! Check back here for more information as it develops! The 2008 field day information packet is already out, and you can download your copy from our webite.

Field Day 2007

Field day 2007 Was a blast! Special thanks to long time field day coordinator J.R. Osborne KB9HSE, for putting this year's event together. We really appreciated all of those that took the time to show up and experience the best of amateur radio with your fellow hams. And for those of you who stopped by and didn't have a license, we hope you liked what you saw enough to consider joining one of the most exciting and diverse hobbies out there! We'll see everyone next year!

The Field Day 2007 information packet, for reference.

Field Day 2006

Dallas, W9CDC and Pam, K9CDC operate from the Johnson County EMA Command Van.

Members of the Mid-State Amateur Radio Club met on the third Saturday of June for the annual ARRL sponsored field day. This year, the event was held in Greenwood, and cooresponded with the city's semi-annual fine arts festival. This year's event was truly a test of our emergency communications capability, as we operated out of the newly purchased command van owned and operated by the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency. The command van is capable of running off of generator, AC, or DC power sources, and can be operated as a stationary command facility or mobile support system. Our station, located in the front, offers amateurs independent access to the vehicle. Our primary VHF/UHF station is the Kenwood D-700 radio, and the signal is radiated from an antenna located on the expandable camera mast; giving our station excellent simplex and repeater capability. The D-700 also has integrated data and crossband capabilities which could prove invaluably if conventional modes of communication became unoperational or not otherwise feasible.

Contacts were made worldwide with other amateur radio stations throughout the event, and the vehicles prominent location and high visibility served as a good platform from which to promote our club and the service we provide to the community.

Talk in was on the 146.835 WA9RDF/R repeater, and backup communication was provided on the club simplex frequency of 146.550 and through the AA9YP/R 443.525/448.525 repeater.

Special thanks to Jack Parker, W8ISH for providing the pictures. You can see more below!
Dave, KB9LOT and Brenda, KC9EBL keeping cool at FD 2006.

Field Day, 2006. Click on photos for more detail....

Bob LaGrange, N9SIU checks out the MARC promotional display in front of the Communications Van.
Photo by Steve Carmean, K9DY Dallas Peak, W9CDC and Jack Parker, W8ISH make a contact on the HF radio.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH

Dallas Peak, W9CDC prepares to make another field day contact.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH Dallas Peak, W9CDC helps steady the antenna mast during field day setup.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH

Bob LaGrange, N9SIU and Dave Daily, KB9LOT take a break during all of the field day frenzy.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH Johnson County ARES Director Bob LaGrange, N9SIU lays down the law during the event.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH

Relaxing outside the command trailer during the day-long event. It's not ALL hard work....
Photo by Steve Carmean, K9DY The public had ample opportunity to learn about amateur radio. For some, this was their first exposure.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH

Ernest Clark, KB9SKI takes the operation outside, taking advantage of the beautiful day! (Check out the neat hat!)
Photo by Steve Carmean, K9DY Jack Parker, W8ISH, operating APRS and Voice during the event.
Photo by Steve Carmean, K9DY

Wire antennas are kind of like Christmas lights, in that no matter how well you put them away, they always seem tangled later.
Photo by Jack Parker, W8ISH