Athens County ARA

The Athens County Amateur Radio Association (ACARA) participated in the 2023 ARRL Field Day as W8MHV with 100-watt stations at the Athens County Fairgrounds.

Under the direction of Field Day Chairman Paul Schulz, WD8SCV, the club participated as W8MHV in class 2A, meaning two transmitters, club or non-club group, power output of 100 watts or less. A total of 716 QSOs and 1,150 of bonus points resulted in a score of 3,518 points. A breakdown of QSOs per band can be found below. The ACARA earned bonus points for the following:

• 100% Emergency Power
• Media Publicity
• Public Location
• Public Information Table
• Natural Power QSOs Completed
• Site Visit by Invited Elected Official
• Site Visit by Invited Served Agency
• Educational Activity
• Safety Officer
• Social Media
• Entry Submitted via Web

Athens County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Center again provided their 50′ crank-up, trailer-mounted tower which was used to support an 80/40m fan-dipole and a 10-40m trap-dipole. An end-fed halfwave antenna was supported by a line thrown through a tree.

The HF CW/SSB station located inside the fairground’s brick building featured the club’s ICOM IC-7610 transceiver and power was provided by a 2kW Honda inverter-generator. The HF digital-mode station located in a camping-trailer featured an ICOM IC-7300 and power was provided by a battery bank and a portable solar array; the camper, the IC-7300, the batteries, and the solar array were all provided by Paul Schulz, WD8SCV.

Operators:

• Bob Curtis, KD8FRQ
• Drew McDaniel, W8MHV
• Tony Peric, KE8VFA
• John Schulz, KD9OSV
• Paul Schulz, WD8SCV
• Robert Schulz, KD9ONG
• Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ

QSOs by Mode and Band: