(note: work in progress)
Members of the Society once again headed south to Culburra Beach NSW to participate in the annual John Moyle Memorial Field Day Contest on 16-17 March.
The JMFD team comprised:
- VK2FS Nick
- VK2JNA Dom
- VK2MDP Mike
- VK2MZZ Jeff and son Oscar
- VK2XE Greg and son Declan
- VK2ZYP Zara
- Cara the dog (filling in for VK2SCOUT?)
- …others expected
A Lesson Learned…
One of the first rule of portable operation is: before you leave home, thoroughly check that all gears is in good working order; the second lesson (for when you forget the first rule) is: bring spares, just in case.
The 80-40-20-15-10m Off Centre Fed Dipole’s 6:1 balun turned out to be unserviceable, rendering the (what band?) dipole untunable! Fortunately the team had a spare 4:1 balun, which was taped to the cactus one. Not perfect, but it sufficed!
Note on the Balun: Was acquired in Dec 2009 from BuxComm. It is an MM61 6 to 1 Dual, ferrite cores, current type, BALUN 6:1, BALUN 1.5>35 mHz. SSB Rated at 1500 watts. Price was $26.99 USD + $25.40 USD shipping, total $52.39 USD, which at the time converted into $59.06 AUD including transaction charges. BuxComm closed in Oct 2018.
Note on the OCF: This OCF Dipole was built in 2010 as per Ron Bertrand VK2DQ 2005 design, first using a marine stainless steel wire, then replaced by 42m of HDL wire from DX-wire in June 2011. The cost of the DX-wire from Germany at the time was $80 AUD shipped.
This OCF setup was built by Yves VK2AUJ and jointly donated to the club by Yves and Greg VK2XE. It has been used at most portable events since 2010. Now … someone needs to open the balun to see if it can be repaired.
Once the balun was sorted, the antenna had to be raised (again). A gum tree in the back yard and an arborist’s throw line got the job done.
The second antenna, a 160m to 10m vertical, made from an 10m squid pole, an SG-237 autotuner, and a coax feeder line long enough to reach the impromptu shack at the back of the house.
Making Some Noise
(Hoping to get some info back from the team… watch this space!)
We got a brief mention in this video clip from VK2FRE (club station of the Taree & District Amateur Radio Club).
Greg VK2XE supplied the following log submission:
John Moyle Field Day Contest 2024
Contest Log
Callsign: VK2MB
Name: Manly Warringah Radio Society
Address: PO Box 3192
Allambie Heights NSW 2100
e-Mail: vk2mb@mwrs.org.au
Portable Loctn: Culburra Beach
Activtd Locatr: QF55JB07
Category: Six Hour Portable Operation - Multiple Operator
Operators: Greg Lee- VK2XE
Mike Du Plessis- VK2MDP
Zara Perrott- VK2ZYP
Dom Bragge- VK2JNA
Nick Perrott- VK2FS
Declan and Kara
Section: H F/Phone
No.of Contacts: Scoring: 74 (Made: 74)
Score: Claimed: 148 (Avlb: 148)
Declaration: I Hereby certify that this station was
operated in accordance with the rules and
spirit of the contest and that the contest
manager's decision will be accepted as final.
Signed: _____ Manly Warringah Radio Society ____ 19/03/2024
Log Created By: VK3AVV VK Contest Log (Ver 4.15)
John Moyle Field Day Contest 2024 Callsign: VK2MB
Section: Six Hour Portable Operation - Multiple Operator ( 40 m )
Time Band Mode Call Sign Nmbr Nmbr Points Dist WLctr
(UTC) (MHz) Sent Rcvd
01:04 7 SSB VK2AMW 59001 59004P 2
01:05 7 SSB VK2DG 59002 59006 2
01:08 7 SSB VK2RT 59003 59011P 2
01:09 7 SSB VK3ANE 59004 59016P 2
01:14 7 SSB VK2ATZ 59005 59005 2
01:15 7 SSB VK2SS 59006 59006P 2
01:16 7 SSB VK3UP 59007 59010 2
01:18 7 SSB VK2FRE 59008 59003P 2
01:26 7 SSB VJ3L 59009 59014P 2
02:05 7 SSB VK2LAG 59010 59015P 2
02:12 7 SSB VK4JPS 59011 59002P 2
02:13 7 SSB VK2SNO 59012 59026P 2
02:15 7 SSB VK3ZS 59013 59011 2
02:16 7 SSB VK2LDW 59014 59008 2
02:18 7 SSB VK2SRA 59015 59009P 2
02:19 7 SSB VK2YE 59016 59009 2
03:05 7 SSB VK2WG 59017 59014P 2
03:07 7 SSB VK2WW 59018 59032 2
03:10 7 SSB VK2DEK 59019 59026P 2
03:12 7 SSB VK3BLD 59020 59031P 2
03:31 7 SSB VK3SCM 59021 59025P 2
04:12 7 SSB VK4IZ 59023 59042P 2
04:18 7 SSB VK2HZ 59024 59016P 2
04:20 7 SSB VK3ANE 59025 59087P 2
04:23 7 SSB VJ3L 59026 59043P 2
04:27 7 SSB VK2RT 59027 59138P 2
04:32 7 SSB VK1PAR 59028 59024P 2
04:35 7 SSB VK2FRE 59029 59049P 2
04:38 7 SSB VK2SNO 59030 59074P 2
04:40 7 SSB VK2SRA 59031 59027P 2
04:42 7 SSB VK2AMW 59032 59122P 2
04:52 7 SSB VK2DG 59033 59134 2
04:54 7 SSB VK3TZT 59034 59067 2
05:13 7 SSB VK4B 59035 59068P 2
05:17 7 SSB VK2VRJ 59036 59015 2
06:10 7 SSB VK2TOT 59037 59044 2
06:13 7 SSB VK2WG 59038 59147P 2
06:15 7 SSB VK4M 59039 59088P 2
06:20 7 SSB VK7DW 59040 59076P 2
06:34 7 SSB VK4HL 59041 59039 2
06:37 7 SSB VL4CH 59042 59092P 2
06:43 7 SSB VK2TTL 59043 59111P 2
06:49 7 SSB VK2YI 59044 59154 2
Band Totals: Contacts: 43 Points: 86 Page: 2
John Moyle Field Day Contest 2024 Callsign: VK2MB
Section: Six Hour Portable Operation - Multiple Operator ( 20 m )
Time Band Mode Call Sign Nmbr Nmbr Points Dist WLctr
(UTC) (MHz) Sent Rcvd
01:30 14 SSB VK4IZ 59001 59005P 2
01:32 14 SSB VK4XQA 59002 59007P 2
01:35 14 SSB VK4VCO 59003 59001 2
01:36 14 SSB VK2TTL 59004 59008P 2
01:47 14 SSB VK4WIT 59005 59006P 2
01:55 14 SSB VK4DI 59006 59035P 2
01:56 14 SSB VK5ARA 59007 59011P 2
02:25 14 SSB VK5KBJ 59008 59025 2
02:29 14 SSB VK7JON 59009 59005 2
02:30 14 SSB VK4BA 59010 59024P 2
02:33 14 SSB VK4B 59011 59001P 2
02:39 14 SSB VK7HH 59012 59021P 2
02:44 14 SSB VK5T 59013 59030P 2
02:48 14 SSB VK4CNS 59014 59011P 2
02:51 14 SSB VK4TDI 59015 59010P 2
02:53 14 SSB VK4WID 59016 59017P 2
03:16 14 SSB VL5L 59017 59045 2
03:17 14 SSB VK7ZA 59018 59014P 2
03:19 14 SSB VL4C 59019 59008P 2
03:23 14 SSB VK5ZKT 59020 59012 2
03:27 14 SSB VK7CMS 59021 59014P 2
04:06 14 SSB VJ5W 59022 59004 2
05:08 14 SSB VK5ZKT 59023 59031 2
05:46 14 SSB VK4B 59024 59066P 2
05:52 14 SSB VK6N 59025 59037P 2
06:00 14 SSB VK4WIT 59026 59046P 2
06:57 14 SSB VK4CNS 59027 59054 2
Band Totals: Contacts: 27 Points: 54 Page: 3
John Moyle Field Day Contest 2024 Callsign: VK2MB
Section: Six Hour Portable Operation - Multiple Operator ( 15 m )
Time Band Mode Call Sign Nmbr Nmbr Points Dist WLctr
(UTC) (MHz) Sent Rcvd
05:34 21 SSB VK4CNS 59001 59016P 2
05:38 21 SSB VK6N 59002 59046P 2
Band Totals: Contacts: 2 Points: 4 Page: 4
John Moyle Field Day Contest 2024 Callsign: VK2MB
Section: Six Hour Portable Operation - Multiple Operator ( 10 m )
Time Band Mode Call Sign Nmbr Nmbr Points Dist WLctr
(UTC) (MHz) Sent Rcvd
03:34 28 SSB VK8DA 59001 59030 2
03:35 28 SSB VK6N 59002 59016P 2
Band Totals: Contacts: 2 Points: 4 Page: 5
The OCF does 80-4-20-15-10m
The 6:1 balun seems dead.
Temp fix with 4:1 balun but could do with a new 6:1
Thanks Dom, I’ve updated the OCF and balun details.