WINTER FIELD DAY

[VE3WI Dave]

WFD 2022 is just around the corner, 29-30 January. 

Same as last year, we can all identify as GBARC members and the WFD group will publish our aggregate score. Everyone has to identify the club the exact same way for this to work.  Last year we used GEORGIAN BAY ARC.

There have been a few rule changes. The official website is https://www.winterfieldday.com/

I downloaded the rules doc but found the fonts and layout very hard to read, so I washed it through a word processor (obviously I have too much time on my hands!)
I attached the laundered version, you may find it easier to follow.

I will be operating 1H again, on a generator.

73
Dave, VE3WI

  WFD2022RULES_edit.pdf (Size: 246.01 KB / Downloads: 3)

[VE3WI Dave]

Ran 1H with generator.  Got 98 QSOs (80m: 15, 40m: 58, 20m: 25)  Many were a struggle, without a kilowatt & big fancy antenna your sig. is always down in the weeds.  I expected more on 80m, but heard no one calling CQ WFD after about 9PM (ham demographics?)

My ears are still ringing with callsigns :-)

73
Dave, VE3WI

[Adam_VE3FP]

Good work Dave!. Conditions were not the best. We had much better conditions during RAC Winter Contest. I did not make any contacts on 15 or 10 and 160 was out of the question due to the big contest there, so I didn't try all too hard. 8 hours in total operating time was enough. I'll save my energy for ARRL FD, hi hi.  This was a good practice for ARRL FD in June. 

You are correct about not hearing many calling CQ after 9, only made 18 Qs from 9 -11 pm then packed it in for the night. Worked a dozen VEs to add to my GBARC Challenge. 

I operated 1H ONS using commercial power. Submitted my results to WFD, LoTW and posted on https://3830scores.com/. 
All good for another year.

[VE3WI Dave]

Not great but better than last year :-)

I heard no one on 10.  There were a few on 15 but no one working WFD.  Didn't try 160, not sure if my tuner/ant will load on 160.

I worked all the VEs I heard: ON, QC, PE, AB.

I usually hear calls that I recognize from reading about them somewhere.  This time I worked VE3PTA, who advertises all the time on KWARC.

Noticed a weird phenomenon: every now & then a set of small, evenly-spaced pulses would race across the 7300 spectrum display.  I saw it on all bands.  A while ago there was a discussion about something like this on one of the ham forums, where people said it looked like an ionosonde.  The closest ionosonde I know of is at Alpena, MI. (https://www.digisonde.com/stationlist.php)

73
Dave, VE3WI