From the Desk of AB9ZI - July 2026 Message
Field Day 2026 was held on June 27-28th. To top it off, we had perfect weather which does not happen often. Our radio stations operated for 24 hours on SSB, CW, and FT8. As an added bonus our Technical Director Greg Karlove, W9GAK made satellite contacts! We made many more contacts Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning at the GOTA (Get On The Air) station.
Although we will not know how well we did in this “not a contest” for several months, I would consider this event a victory. As you might know we get extra points for having first responders, elected officials, and medical personnel visit our site. This year we had them all.
While thinking it over, I asked myself “What were the reasons that everything went so very well?”
To begin with our success started with the advanced planning by our new Field Day leaders, Alwin Brunner W9APB, Udo Koch N0LSR, Jay Williams W8JAY, and Brian Nolan KD9RFW. However, without our many volunteer who participated in the setup of our multiple antennas, radios, generators, banners and signage, we could not have had the success we had. It took us about 10 hours on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to set all of it up. We also had plenty of participation in the tear down, which took a whole 50 minutes.
I would like to take this opportunity to say “THANK YOU” to our leaders and to our club members who participated to make this event not only enjoyable for us but also to the community. One of the stated objectives of Field Day is to demonstrate to the community our ability to provide communications when all else fails. Based on the large numbers of visitors asking about our event I am convinced we fulfilled that objective as well. As always, we are hoping for new members who would like to join in the Field Day fun.
But wait, there’s more:
Our club’s annual Fox Hunt will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, July 14, at The Glen in Glenview. Check out the website, www.ns9rc.org for the all details. I will be bringing five “tape measure” Yagi antennas for members to use. These were made by the students in the Amateur Radio Club at Central School in Glencoe. All you need is a hand held radio. The first person to find the Fox will be given the honor of hiding the Fox next year. Did I mention there are two Foxes? You only find out the frequency of the second Fox when you find the first, so plenty of opportunity to show off your signal locating skills. Always a great evening!
I look forward to seeing you all at our next in person club meeting will be at Heller Nature Center on Tuesday, August 11th. Check out the website for the meeting’s guest speaker.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 8th when we have our QRP night at Emily Oaks Nature Center in Skokie. String up your antenna and make low power contacts, while enjoying a bon fire and s’mores. Details on those three meetings and all club news and events are always available on the club website. www.ns9rc.org
The North Shore radio club is an all-volunteer organization. Just as there were volunteers making Field Day a success, there are many opportunities to assist your club. Contact me or any board member to offer your participation.
“See” you on the bands,
73.
Brian AB9ZI
President