Our 2023 field day operation revealed a number of areas where we could improve our operation. This report reflects only my (Aaron, N5GAH’s) observations of the operation. First is Trailer Operations, Second is Coordinating Operation, and the third is radio and antenna operations. Finally is that we need to get better at planning and delegating. Overall ARRL Field Day 2023 was a success for the Seminole Texas Amateur Radio Club.
Trailer operations, We need to better ground our equipment in the trailer to avoid RFI with equipment. We also need to plan generator operation with a little more detail. From there our planned trailer upgrades are all the only thing we need to finish to correct any trailer issues.
Coordinating Operation, this is an area where we need to improve more than anything. We were often checking to see who was operating on what band, and trying to figure out what band was active enough to warrant our attention. To correct this we will need to come up with a club plan in a meeting.
Radio and Antenna operations, this was an area where we encountered the most trouble. In the future we will want to have a vertical and horizontal option for each operator except for station 3, and possibly even for it. We will also want a plan for assigning who will operate what mode on each station.
Planning and delegating was an area where we had issues. When multiple people are involved in setting up the trailer we need a plan for that. When ideas are discussed we need to clearly determine if a decision was made or needs to be addressed later. We also need to come up with a way to determine who is responsible for what.
Overall the Seminole Texas Amateur Radio Club’s first Field day was a success in that it showed us where we need to improve. While this document addresses just that, it doesn’t touch on what we got right which if you need to know was almost everything else. Everyone brought what they needed, equipment was in good working order, no one needed something that wasn’t available. For a first attempt at a complex and resource intensive operation our effort was a complete success.
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