N7DLV's 2019 Field Day Activities!

Last year for Field Day 2018, the Field Day site had been cleaned by a Boy Scout Troop. When I returned for Field Day 2019 the area was repurposed and the old primitive camp ground was radically changed. Before, you could drive your vehicle into the camping area. Now you have to park your vehicle along the Forest Service Road and walk in for about 50 yards or so before you reached the first camping area. I did not like parking my vehicle more than 50 yards away where I could not keep a watchful eye on it. Additionally, my favorite antenna tree had been cut down and the trunk was cut into sections and used for benches, barricades, and borders between camping areas. Not being able to find a new location, I decided to operate mobile for Fiels Day 2019.

This is my story for Field Day 2019!

The four images below show what the National Forest Service did to the original Primitive Camping area.

This image shows the entrance to the new camping area. As you can see with the tree trunks and boulders, it is walk in only now.

This image shows the path towards the Primitive camping areas,

This image shows the Primitive Camping Site furthest from the road. If you look to the right you will see the stump of the tree I used to use for my antennas.

A closer view of the stump of my old antenna hanging tree

After viewing the site, I went back to the Ranger Station in Enumclaw and asked why the camping area was changed. The Ranger told me that it was decided to change the area to deter target shooting. I visit that Ranger Station fairly regularly and I asked why there were not any notices of the proposed changes. I was told that there was ONE notice posted and the Ranger pointed to a small table far removed from the area visitors normally go when inside the Ranger Station viewing maps or getting brochures. To make things fair, the notice should have been posted facing outside on the entrance door, an adjacent window, or the main counter where it could be easily seen. In my opinion, the National Forest Service wanted to make the changed to the Camping Area with little or no user input.

So I decided to operate Mobile in Morrill Meadows Community Park in Kent, WA



For participating in Field Day 2019 as a Mobile Operator in Washington State, I think I did very well. My final claimed score was 884 points.

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Copyright (c) 2019 by Eric A. Snyder. All rights reserved