Field Day is a weekend in June when the Amateur Radio community takes to the field and sets up their equipment for what is essentially an emergency preparedness practice drill. It is training, adventure, a test of equipment and skills, and a fun weekend. This group began doing this in 1976 and has had a good Field Day turnout every year since. Over the years we have developed two major software packages to facilitate keeping the contact database, one of which was ported to three different operating systems. We have developed several different systems for getting antennas over a hundred feet off the ground in the tall firs and redwoods. We have developed generator fuel feed systems to keep power on continuously for the 27 hour contest period. We have tried many, many antennas, radios, matching systems, feedlines, baluns, and gained a lot of experience and met many good friends.
We've used many systems over the years - from slingshots to compound bows - to get our Emergency Field Antennas up high in the trees - But the best so far is - Pneumatic Antenna Launching - using compressed air and a tennis ball to put lines waay up without our feet leaving the ground.
