I see a lot of people doing a lot of good things to make field day a really nice event that new hams will want to go to. People will have tents, trailers, food, drinks, advertising, etc.. This is really nice for those of us that are new to the hobby. It makes Field Day seem like going to the county fair. We get to see neat radios and antennas. We get to watch some of the best in their field do what they do. We get to ask all sorts of questions and maybe even help operate or log. Form that perspective - BRAVO and thanks for those that do all that.

But what is the reason for field day? To be prepared to operate in a field if needed. Or at least that’s one reason. And from that perspective, we should NOT prepare for field day. Why? Will we be given a month’s advanced notice that we will need to operate in a field should a disaster strike? I suspect not. Will we have all sorts of food and drinks and such when we get the call to activate? Probably not.

I argue that, for field day, we should grab our go kits and go operate. Nothing more. This is a great chance to check those kits in near real situations and find out what we don’t have in them and / or what could be included or improved. As Vince Lombardi believed - practice makes perfect. How many people will sign-up for a couple of hours here and there or simply visit in a real disaster situation? I think we should have an activation list for field day. A great way to check the accuracy of the phone numbers and e-mails on the list.

That’s my rant for the day! Thanks for reading this… Please click around www.HamRadioResources.com and enjoy!

Jon Kreski, AB9NN HamRadioResources.com

This week we had a tornado siren go off in Appleton and there were sightings of spin-ups in several counties near us. During this time I had a chance to listen to SkyWarn operations. I heard some wonderful work. Very valuable work. But I also heard some very bad work. One thing you are taught in emergency communications classes is that if you don’t have something that IS an emergency message - SHUT UP! I heard a number of people calling net control and spending valuable air time saying things like, “I have a good view of the horizon and there’s nothing to report from here!”.

Maybe it’s just me - but I don’t see the need to report - that there is nothing to report…

If you haven’t been trainend in emergency communications, I suggest the ARRL training courses. They are pretty good. I think they are well worth the time.

73’s!

Jon Kreski, AB9NN www.HamRadioResources.com

Being a brand new ham I ran out and plunked down a bunch of money for a shiney new multi-band HF/VHF/UHF mobile antenna. All shiney and new! Stainless steel set screws and all. After a few weeks on the highways the set screws loosened up and fell out. No problem. Went to the local hardware store and got some replacements. Also got some Lock Titie to make sure they didn’t come out. One problem was that the replacements weren’t stainless steel. Sure enough, after a long hard Wisconsin winter the ham radio antenna showed signs of rust. And road salt, etc.. And grime… The gunk was all over the whip and coils.

I used a product that impressed me. I am not easily impressed. The product was MAAS Fine Polishing Creme. You can find it by searching GOOGLE for MAAS polishng creme. Most of the corrosion and rust came off when the creme touched the gunk. Some took a bit of work with a toothbrush. But MAN! You should see that antenna sparkle now! Does it work better? I don’t know. But I want my car to look nice and it does now.

Thought I would pass along the tip.

Have a great day!

Jon Kreski, AB9NN
HamRadioResources.com