March 20, 2010 by Tad Miura, NH7YS

Dawn broke peacefully over the waters of Wailua Beach, Kauai, Hawaii, when members of the Kauai Amateur Radio Club rolled into the parking lot of Lydgate Park on Saturday, March 20, 2010. Bob, KH6AS, John, WB9SMM, and Tad, NH7YS, were the first to arrive and excitedly exited their vehicles to begin the setup of the club’s Mini Field Day event.

Bob, the gear guy, brought along a trailer filled to the brim with a large water-cooled Honda generator, heavy gauge power cables, several different masts, antennas, coax, flags, first aid kit and a number of transceivers. John and Tad watched in awe as Bob unloaded his stuff and then abruptly shouted, "I forgot something!" When the concerned hams inquired into what was missing, Bob exclaimed, "The Kitchen Sink!"

Shortly after, Dick, KH6DO, pulled in with his HF rig, in its original box looking brand spanking new, and 20 meter dipole. Wasting no time, Dick threw a weighted line into a nearby coconut tree to string up his wire antenna, setup his radio and scoured the band for a contact.

About this time, Ken, NH6O, was heard on the repeater asking where everyone was. Evidently, he had taken a wrong turn in the sprawling park but was soon headed to the correct location. Ken also mentioned that although he had brought along his gas generator, it wasn’t working. Field days present good opportunities to test equipment before a real emergency occurs. Ken’s situation with faulty equipment is something we have all experienced.

With his loaded SUV, John, KH6JMM, and XYL Ruth, backed into a parking stall and brought out the real goodies; the coffee pot and cinnamon buns! John graciously volunteered to bring the coffee equipment when the club president, Jane, NH7TZ, and club barista, came down with the flu and had to cancel. Although John offered to bring the breakfast stuff, it was Ruth that did all the work. John called Ruth his "assistant" but no one saw John assisting the assistant that day!

The club banner, fresh from the printers (and I mean fresh) was hauled to the park by David, WH7SI. It seems David had to rouse the owners of print shop out of bed to get the banner. The good news was that David managed to bring the banner to the field day site without breaking it. The bad news was what had happened to Dave’s new iPhone.

Elaine, AH6TA, drove in soon after, which was quite a feat given she had to make the traverse all the way from Waimea, on the west side of the island, to get to the park. Just as quickly as Elaine arrived, she disappeared. Given that Elaine is the response coordinator for the American Red Cross, she was probably called to an emergency.

More hams soon arrived and Milt, AF6MY, came by with camera in hand to record the day’s event with his photo images. Milt, along with John, WB9SMM, contributed the fine photos seen here.

Jerry, KH6HU, came up on the repeater and offered his best wishes to the group as he could not attend due to another commitment. Even Jane, NH7TZ, the club president called in expressing her disappointment that she could not participate. Everyone missed her warm presence but knew rest was the best thing for Jane at the time.

The Blakes, Michelle, WH7XA, and OM Randy, WH7ZI, strolled in with their crock pot filled with some delicious homemade chili. Randy spent a lot of time securing both the special use permit and banner permit from the county for the event. He even had to track the mayor down for a signature the day before the event before the county would issue the permit. Putting on a field day event requires a lot of legwork and in this case Randy sure had a workout.

Bob, W7KWS, brought along his remote HF kit in a small case. With a Kenwood transceiver head unit and laptop computer with wireless internet, Bob communicated via the internet to his HF station in Washington State. Is it just a coincidence that the hams with the coolest gear are named Bob?

Darrel, WH7UY, and XYL, Elaine, stopped by bringing with them a lot of food which made everyone smile. Darrel is with AT&T Wireless and has a lot of technical knowledge. No wonder he aced his ham test recently.

Having the greatest distance to drive, Sandy, WH7PV, the safety officer for the event, was understandably the last of the club members to arrive. Luckily, there were no safety incidents prior to his arrival and everyone gave a sigh of relief when he showed up with his small fire extinguisher in hand. Sandy must know that being a safety officer is not about equipment but centers around the knowledge of what to do in an emergency!

What is a field day without making contacts and this day, there were many. Bob, KH6AS, made several contacts on both VHF and UHF, some all across the Ka'ie'iewaho Channel to Oahu. Dick, KH6DO, Michelle, WH7XA, Randy, WH7ZI, and John, KH6JMM, all snagged HF contacts with John making a JA one to boot!

Food as well, is something field days are known for. In this case, the axiom was certainly true as food was plentiful and so ono too! Bob, W7KWS, XYL Sandie, came by with more scrumptious dishes as well as Dick’s XYL, Liz, and Tad’s XYL, Caroline, NH7ZS. Caroline is a ham, but for some reason, no one has ever heard her on the air.

The members were delighted that a number of visitors showed up to the mini field day after seeing the event notice on the Kauai Amateur Radio Club’s website at www.kauaiarc.org.

The Marlattes, Don KC7TDG and XYL from Washington State came by along with the Rountrees from Valdez, Alaska. Bob KL1BS and Lydia Rountree, KL1DR and daughters Sarah, KL1ZY and Gina, KL2NA are all hams. It is quite an accomplishment and inspiring to see a family where every member holds an amateur license. David, VE6DXX and Rosemary Evans, G0NDB, both hams, from Alberta, Canada, stopped by to chat as well as Jens Jorgensen, KE7VQQ and XYL from Oregon. The day was certainly made special by the interaction the club members had with these fine folks.

After lunch the tired but happy group broke down the stations and carted the equipment to their vehicles. Not a stubbed toe befell the group and Sandy, the safety officer, was ecstatic to know that his still fully pressurized fire extinguisher would live to see another day of exemplary service to humanity.

Many hands took part in bringing about this successful and fun mini field day event. Without these gracious volunteers who brought their families, equipment, and food, this event would not be possible. It is truly amazing what an organization brimming with folks with open hearts can do!

As the group began departing, some wondered what the next club event would be; a hamfest, a fox hunt or a full field day event? Whatever the event, they had the sense that like the mini field day that just concluded, it would be outstanding. Roger that!