John Moyle Field Day 2007 Main Page

The NERG John Moyle Field Day 2007

The NERG are once again are planning to participate in the John Moyle Field Day weekend contest, operating from Mount Macedon (located about 50KM N/E of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).

The contest will run from 01:00 UTC 17-18^th March 2007. The rules for the 2007 contest are available here (JMFD 2007 rules)

Last year we were successful so congratulations to all involved in NERG's VK3CNE entry winning 1st place in the 24-hour Portable Multi-operator All-mode division and achieving the highest overall score with 6,186 points for 762 contacts. Special thanks go to all the stations that took the time to QSL and we look forward to working you again in 2007.

The 2006 results can be found at the WIA web site: JMFD 2006 results

	*The VK3CNE station:* The station is set up in various camper vans, tents, and a caravan. We don't believe in doing it too tough, and insist on having a full time chef (VK3VT) to provide good food and drink throughout the event !
	Tent 1: This is the HF/VHF/UHF tent housing the 2m, 70cm, and 23cm stations. Brand new Foundation licence holder, Kimberly VK3FHQT, can be seen in the forground operating the 2m station, and Mark XB hidding in the shade working digital modes on 23cm.
	Tower 1: Pairs of 23cm and 70cm beams atop portable one of the two wind up towers. There is also a dual band vertical for 2m & 70cm up there. It's the only way to get above the trees!
	20m Operator: Peter VK3DU operating one of the HF stations - this one for the 20m, 15m, and 10m bands. The 80m station was located in the caravan.
	Antennas: Tri-band HF beam in forground with UHF tower and station in the background. Wire antennas were used for the lower HF band - a G5RV for 40 metres, and a 1/2 wave dipole for 80 metres.
	More Antennas: 6 metre Yagi beam on telemast and 2 metre Yagi beam on the second portable crank up tower. The 6 metre J-pole is just visible between these antennas.
	Fog: At this time of year the top of Mount Macedon is usually covered in cloud during the mornings. The fog usually rises by 10am and settles back down again after nightfall, making navigation between tents interesting!

Location

Our location is at the Northern end of Mount Macedon, at the end of Lions Head Road, past Saniterium Lake.

LATITUDE: 37° 22’ 6”S; LONGITUDE: 144° 36’ 42”E; Maindenhead Grid: QF22hp

Bands operated

VK3CNE plans to operate on all bands 160 Metres through to 1296 MHz, using SSB, FM, CW and Digital modes.

Catering

As usual all meals will be provided by NERG Chef-in chief Greg, VK3VT, who can whip up a tasty and filling meal even under contest conditions!

The team

The team is expected to consist of Greg VK3VT, John VK3ZRV; Ernie VK3FM, Kimberly VK3FHQT, Ewen VK3OW; Mark VK3BYY; Mark VK3XB, Don VK3KDT; Peter VK3DU and Stephen VK3SN (with sub-harmonics), Mat, Nick, and other visitors - everyone is welcome!!.

Please is you are not coming up the mountain contact VK3CNE and other stations on a regular basis to help keep the score ticking over and make the event a success .

Planning and Operations

Several NERGs plan on making the trip to the Mountain on Friday and have the main tower, camper-trailer, and caravan setup by nightfall. The rest of the team expect to make their way through the fog on Saturday morning and have most bands running by the start of the contest.

Shelter: large tent, camper van, caravan.
Masts: Two (2!) crank up 60 metre Nally towers with rotators, a Hills Telemast, timber mast.
Antennas: Dipole (80m), G5RV (40m), TH3 (20/15/10m), 3-el Yagi (6m), Vertical J-pole (6m), long Yagi (2m), twin yagi (70cm), Dual band vertical (2m/70cm), Dual loop yagi's (23cm).
Radios: Various including ICOM 706 Mk-IIG, Kenwood TS-2000, Yaesu Dual band FM,.....
Cables: many!
Power: Two generators plus a spare; Batteries and 13.8 V power supplies.
Misc: More Coax and adapters; Porta-potty toilet, firefighting gear.

Operators: It was good to see a few new faces last year - Kimberly has just gained her foundation licence VK3FHQT and ran the 2 meter station like a seasoned contester. Mat (VK3HFI) and Nick (yet to go for licence) had a go at several bands and made some good contacts. If you would like to come up and have a go please let Ernie VK3FM know.

Logging: We used a great logging program names VKCL developed by Mike VK3AVV. It's design specifically for the John Moyle field day the rarer VK contests as well as all the common international contests. Have a look at it on the VKCL web site.

Weather: We can't guarantee anything but typically something like this - Cold overnight with mist and fog, rising mid morning with light clouds and warm temperatures for the remainder of the day; Still to light winds; the Milky Way can be seen between the clouds on odd occasions! Just in case bring some warm clothes!!!

Last updated 14 Sept 2008 VT