Section Manager Bob Wilson, W3BIG
The weekend we planned for a year is in the books. Field Day 2023 is now history. It was an interesting event for those of us in the 34 counties of Eastern Pennsylvania. We had severe weather in both the troposphere and the ionosphere. Intermittent thunderstorms, and showers made the atmosphere dicey and damp. The Philmont Mobile Radio Club Field Day crew at Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County experienced a nearby lightning strike that caused a few overnighters to rethink coming to Field Day with just a single pair of underwear. If that wasn’t bad enough, a solar storm with a K-Index of 5 caused miserable band conditions Saturday evening. Luckily, both of those negative conditions improved by Sunday morning.
Despite the challenges, I can report that the event was a resounding success. As EPA Section Manager, I toured as many Field Day sites that I could drive to in the short 24-hour operating window. While it is frustrating to visit Field Day sites rather than operating, the rewarding benefit of being a visitor was meeting so many fantastic amateur Radio operators engaged in our wonderful hobby. Though I am a proponent of using Field Day as an emcomm exercise, I firmly believe the social aspects of Field Day are equally, if not more important, than the technical part. Years from now, you won’t remember much about the contacts you made or how many points your club or unit earned. You will recall, however, the corny jokes your friends told and the great breakfast you ate that tasted so incredible after a long night battling static crashes. The camaraderie enjoyed during Field Day is something to cherish.
Before I get into the Field Day report, which is largely a visual record of some really talented operators, I would like to apologize for not being able to visit every site in the EPA. It’s just too much real estate to cover in 24 short hours. Back in 2012, EPA Section Manager Bob Famiglio-K3RF, who is now our ARRL Atlantic Division Director, enlisted the support of Jim Goldman-W3JG, who flew Bob , a pilot himself, over quite a few EPA Field Day sites in his Cessna 182 Skylane. You can read that report in a June 2013 QST article here.
I am sorry to report the only transportation at my disposal was my modest 2015 Jeep Patriot that I used to visit 6 Field Day sites in 6 different counties. The visitation took 19 hours of the 24 allotted to Field Day to visit the sites in which I logged over 280 miles. The counties covered were Berks, Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery. Again, I apologize that these were the only counties I could visit starting from my home in Delaware County. Okay, enough excuses for not being able to visit your Field Day site. Let’s begin the tour.
This is a report with more than 20 photos, so if you receive only text in the email notification of the post, please follow the link to the EPA webpage here for the complete report with media.
Reading Radio Club – Sinking Spring Railroad Station – Class 3A
Berks County, Callsign W3BN
Located at a heritage park in Berks County at the Sinking Spring historic railroad station, the Reading Radio club has been in existence for over 100 years. That is not a typo. The club was formed in 1922 and is one of the oldest clubs with an ARRL charter. Its members are a diverse group with a myriad of talents. The operating site for Field Day was set up in the freight depot, a uniquely attractive yellow wooden structure right next to the old railroad station that serves as a museum. The freight depot is now a community center and is equipped with a full kitchen and restrooms. This was one of the swankiest sites I visited.
Red Rose Repeater Association – Lancaster Community Park – Class 5A
Lancaster County, Callsign W3RRR
Located at a community park in Lancaster, the Red Rose Repeater Association had the distinction of being equipped with the most impressive antenna system I have witnessed at a Field Day site. Ralph Hess, KC3KMT, provided his personal fire engine sporting a 55-foot hydraulic mast topped with a Mosley triband Yagi. When I pulled up to the site, I was blown away by this true aerial. When I string up my modest G5RV at future Field Days, my puny little wire just won’t seem adequate. Meeting so many great fellow hams during Field Day is just the best experience. At the Red Rose Repeater site I had the pleasure of meeting a former Navy Radioman who served on the same ship I did, albeit at different times. Julius Tyner, AK9IT and I both served on the USS John F Kennedy, CV-67. The ship was the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier built for the U.S. Navy. You’re probably wondering how this topic came up at Field Day… Hey, we’re ham radio operators. We know how to talk!
ARES / RACES – Chester County EOC , West Chester – Class 3F
Chester County, Callsign W3EOC
Chester County ARES/RACES is a superb emcomm unit that serves the EMA in Chester County. The EOC is located in West Chester in the Government Services building. CCAR, as it is known, is a crackerjack unit of seasoned emergency communicators. They may call themselves amateurs, but this team of radio operators is truly professional in scope and ability. The team at Field Day included the Metz brothers, Gary Senior and Barry. There aren’t too many ARES teams that are blessed to have a pair of brothers serving. That’s quite a distinction. The Field Day site included operations inside the ARES/RACES radio room, located adjacent to the EOC , as well as an outdoor station at a large RV with a meet and greet table for public contact.
Marple Newtown ARC – Drexel Lodge Park, Newtown Square – Class 3A
Delaware County, Callsign K3MN
Marple Newtown Amateur Radio Club is the largest and most active club in Delaware County. The Field Day site is located at Drexel Lodge Park off busy West Chester Pike in Newtown Square. Quite a few members of the club also serve in Delaware County ARES/RACES, so operating Field Day is a natural for these folks experienced in portable field operations.
Warminster ARC – Our Lady of Czestochowa – Doylestown – Class 3A
Bucks County, Callsign K3DN
Warminster ARC is a large, active club in Bucks County. The members sponsor one of the best-attended hamfests in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The Field Day site is located on the sprawling campus of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa near Doylestown. A beautiful venue, it is also one of the highest points in Bucks County.
Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club – Fort Washington State Park – Class 6A
Montgomery County, Callsign W3EM
Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club is a large and very active organization with members from all over the Philadelphia region. The group is extremely experienced in all aspects of amateur radio and they are well known for their technical expertise. The Field Day site is located at a group camping lot deep within the lush environs of Fort Washington State Park in Montgomery County. The overnight crew had a teeth-rattling experience Saturday night when lightning struck very nearby. One of the neatest setups at the site was a portable RTTY station operated by Jeffrey Golas, KC3GJX. This was not a laptop running RTTY software. It was a surplus military unit with a dedicated modulator/demodulator. It was pretty neat to see one of these units set up in the field.
