After Action Report
06/26/04, District 15

Submitted by:

Bill Ewing
WA0KAQ
E-mail
District 15

1. Date of activity:
   • Saturday & Sunday, June 26 & 27, 2004

2. Description of activity
   • ARES D-15 members held their first annual ARRL Field Day at the Search And Rescue Building in Westcliffe to test their operating skills and equipment.

3. Duration of activity
   • 27 Hours

4. Serving amateur radio groups participating
   • ARES D-15, Fremont and Custer Counties

5. Served agencies participating
   • Custer County Office of Emergency Management 6. Other Agencies Participating: Custer County Search And Rescue

6. Describe served agency participation
   • The Custer County Office of Emergency Management and Custer County Search And Rescue provided a site for the event. Their building was made available for restrooms throughout the event and for sleeping quarters Saturday night.
   • The OEM director visited our Field Day site to learn more about the capabilities ham radio, as did the Radio Operations officer of the Custer County Sheriff's Department.

7. Number of amateurs participating
   • 6

8. List of amateurs participating
   • Bill Ewing (EC), WA0KAQ
   • Ron Seats (AEC Custer County), K0LZD
   • Jim Myers (AEC, Liaison to S.O. & OEM), W0NZ
   • Stan Dorris (Liaison to Custer Co. SAR), KC0OYO
   • Jane Ewing (Member), KE6DCE
   • Derrick Houska (Member), N0TQ

9. Person-hours of amateur service
   • 75

10. Describe goals of activity, both for served agency and serving group
    • Test the over-all planning for the exercise
    • Determine what field equipment is actually available
    • Upgrade our existing capabilities by preparation for the event
    • Test our equipment under field conditions
    • Determine what field equipment individuals need to add
    • Test our operators' abilities in different modes
    • Give new operators experience in setting up a station and antennas for a field exercise
    • Sharpen skills of experienced operators
    • Give Technician Class licensees a chance to work HF bands through the GOTA station
    • Set up HF/VHF/UHF operations from Mobile Command Center for the first time
    • Contest competition
    • Try computer logging for the first time
    • Show agencies and elected officials some of our capabilities (OEM, SAR, SO, etc.)
    • Give the public a chance to learn about Amateur Radio

11. Did the event fulfill the goals?
    • Yes.

    • Explain:
      The Public Relations goals were fulfilled, but the contest aspect was not. Members did learn much about what it takes to set up for field operations also.

12. What went well
    • The exercise was held at the Custer County Search & Rescue Building in Westcliffe on the same weekend SAR was having a drill. This gave us the opportunity to talk with some of their personnel about the capabilities of ham radio and find out what they were doing with their communications.
    • We operated in conjunction with the Custer County OEM.
    • We received good publicity from the Wet Mountain Tribune newspaper.
    • Both elected and appointed officials from Custer County visited the site.
    • Two non-ham visitors expressed interest in becoming hams.
    • A ham visiting from Douglas County said he plans to come back next year to operate with the group.
    • While not finished, the SCAT (Specialized Communications And Tactics) trailer and its antenna systems fulfilled its purpose very well, providing UHF/VHF/HF capabilities.
    • Members learned about erecting portable antennas and set up 4 portable stations before the power supplies blew.
    • The director of Custer County OEM was very pleased with our participation.
    • We could have used more member participation at this particular site, although overall we had a turnout of about 50% of the district's members participating at some site during Field Day.
    • Logging by laptop in the SCAT trailer was very efficient.

13. Areas needing improvement
    • We were an hour late starting the on-the-air operation.
    • Our generator was running at 130 volts and blew three power supplies at the beginning of the contest. After the power supplies blew, all planning went out the window. The SCAT trailer went on commercial power with a back-up power supply and was used for contesting.
    • The shades were not adequate for protection during a 4-hour rain delay on Saturday afternoon.
    • We needed more laptop computers for logging. One borrowed laptop wasn't compatible with our main laptop computer. A desktop computer which was brought was never set up.
    • We used the location because it would let us interact better with OEM, SAR and other agencies, but as a practical location for the summertime, it is not the best. We lucked out and had cool weather this year.
    • Future operations should use a location with trees for shade, whether or not it is in a public location.
    • We needed more operators, especially those with HF privileges. N0TQ stopped by the SCAT trailer and helped with about 30 contacts, then WA0KAQ operated by himself throughout the night for the rest of the contact points that were gathered. KE6DCE assisted for a while with logging.
    • The event was over-planned for the abilities of the members. I failed in this responsibility. I should have only set up one station for the event and simplified all processes.
    • A new, untested windom antenna failed to perform on any bands except 40 meters, even with a tuner.
    • SCAT trailer needs an all-band antenna rather than several single-band dipole antennas.

14. Lessons learned
    • Generators are not always reliable. Have the governor checked to see that the correct voltage is being delivered and have a meter at the site to check it before hooking up electrical cords.
    • Headphones and a foot switch are invaluable for contest work.
    • Don't overestimate members' knowledge or abilities.
    • Have back-up power supplies on hand.

15. Additional training needed
    • Digital communications - (Packet, RTTY, CW)
    • Message handling
    • How to "improvise, adapt, overcome"
    • HF communications in general
    • Contesting skills

16. General comments
    • This was the first time for all but two of the members to participate in a Field Day exercise. We tore down early due to lack of contest participation.

17. Ideas for future exercises
    • Make the exercise much simpler for participants! If necessary, use only one rig and train participants how to use it in a contest.