The Tennessee Valley DX Association conducted its annual ARRL Field Day operation — for the seventh year — at the Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department's Training Facility on Snow Hill Road at Mahan Gap, near Ooltewah.
Ken K3JWI got an early start putting ropes in trees on the Friday afternoon before Field Day, later joined by several members, so all the antennas were installed Friday — leaving only the generator and inside setup for Saturday morning. After a stimulating breakfast at the local Cracker Barrel, everyone met at the site for final preparations before the 2:00 PM start.
This year we were honored to activate our new club call sign, N4LT, in memory of Dick Wilson, who became a silent key in February. Dick was always an enthusiastic supporter of our Field Day events, and his presence is truly missed.
We had 20 visitors, including Chief Harris from the Highway 58 VFD — the department happened to be holding an open house that Saturday morning, giving us the chance to talk with many visitors about amateur radio's role in emergency communications. We operated ARRL Class 3A.
Stations & Antennas
| Station | Provided By | Transceiver | Antenna |
|---|---|---|---|
| Station 1 | W4NZ | FlexRadio 6600M | 80m dipole w/ ladder line & Johnson Matchbox |
| Station 2 | K3JWI | Elecraft K3S | 40m Extended Double Zepp w/ ladder line & tuner |
| Station 3 | W4XK | Icom IC-7300 | 80m dipole w/ ladder line & tuners |
The antennas were suspended from ropes over and through the trees along the property boundaries, generally 50 to 60 feet in the air.
Each station was computer-controlled with N1MM Logger+, networked through a local wireless router. All radios and computers ran on emergency power from a 6,500-watt gasoline generator provided by Ken K3JWI.
Band & Mode Summary
| Band | Mode | QSOs | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80m | CW | 209 | 418 |
| 80m | FT4 | 81 | 162 |
| 80m | FT8 | 21 | 42 |
| 40m | CW | 326 | 652 |
| 40m | FT4 | 135 | 270 |
| 40m | FT8 | 60 | 120 |
| 40m | LSB | 293 | 293 |
| 20m | CW | 221 | 442 |
| 20m | FT4 | 111 | 222 |
| 20m | FT8 | 26 | 52 |
| 20m | USB | 179 | 179 |
| 15m | CW | 205 | 410 |
| 15m | FT8 | 14 | 28 |
| 15m | USB | 27 | 27 |
| 10m | CW | 10 | 20 |
| 10m | FT8 | 2 | 4 |
| 2m | FM | 1 | 1 |
| Satellite | SSB | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 1,922 | 3,343 |
1,922 QSOs · Class 3A · 3,343 QSO points (×2 power) + 850 bonus
We worked all 50 states and 7 DXCC entities, catching 81 of the 84 ARRL/RAC sections (missing only Northern Territories, Newfoundland, and East Bay). ARRL estimated we would be awarded 850 bonus points.
Peter KX4BE made one satellite QSO, with Michigan.
| U.S. & DX | All 50 states, 7 DXCC entities |
| ARRL/RAC sections | 81 of 84 — missed NT, NL, East Bay (CA) |
| Satellite | 1 QSO (Peter KX4BE — MI) |
K4VIG · W4XK · KE4CMA · K3JWI · KE0L · WB4ZBI · W4NZ · KB4RTM · KX4BE
A light-hearted photo essay followed the report — from "it all starts with a good antenna" to "the bottom line… this was a lot of fun!" See the full photo gallery →
TVDXA Field Day Scores
- 2022N4LT · 7,536 pts · Class 3A · 1,922 QSOs
- 2021KM4EA · 7,044 pts · Class 3A · 1,653 QSOs
- 2020KM4EA · 6,494 pts · Class 3A · 1,630 QSOs
- 2019N4T · 6,512 pts · Class 3A · 1,792 QSOs
- 2018W4PL · 6,642 pts · Class 3A · 1,718 QSOs
- 2017W4PL · 5,890 pts · Class 2A · 1,671 QSOs
- 2016W4PL · 4,852 pts · Class 2A · 1,085 QSOs
- 2015W4PL · 5,326 pts · Class 2A · 1,457 QSOs
- 2014W4PL · 4,456 pts · Class 2A · 1,100 QSOs
All scores include bonus points.
About ARRL Field Day
Field Day is held the 4th full weekend of June each year. For rules, exchange, and scoring details, see the ARRL Field Day event page or visit arrl.org/field-day.