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