Field Day 2024

Field Day takes place each year on the fourth full weekend in June. This year the event will be held on June 22-23.

CMRA will meet at Rock Bridge State Park.

Start time for the event on Saturday is 1 PM local time.

Talk in will be on the 146.76 repeater.

Find general Field Day info from the ARRL when you click here.

Field Day 2022

Field Day takes place each year on the fourth full weekend in June. This year the event will be held on June 25-26.

CMRA will meet at Rock Bridge State Park. Activity will take place at or near the shelter west of the log cabin. Home station operations are permitted again this year.

Watch this space for more details.

Click here for a local news item from KOMU TV 8 about this year’s Field Day.

Click here to view an article in the Columbia Missourian.

ARRL’s On the Air podcast #30 is a 20 minute Field Day primer. Click here for a brief description and to listen.

You can also find general Field Day info from the ARRL when you click here.

Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – 2021

On Saturday, November 6, 2021, Boone County Missouri ARES (BCARES) held their Simulated Emergency Test (SET) in cooperation with the Boone County Missouri Office of Emergency Management (BCOEM), the University of Missouri office of Emergency Management and the University Health Care Emergency Response trailer, located at the hospital on the Columbia campus.

This exercise involved a dual approach, processing 12 points in the county and 8 points around the campus simultaneously in our 2-hour window.

The exercise scenario consisted of Boone County’s response to a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the vicinity of Marston, MO. BCOEM was interested in local assessment, and response and coordination with the state response. There are likely damaged roads, bridges, cracked foundations, downed trees, toppled power lines, and much more in the area.

Click here to view the full report. (Right click to save.)

Field Day 2020

Field Day takes place each year on the fourth full weekend in June. This year the event was held on June 27-28.

Field Day was different due to COVID-19 considerations. Our club held a smaller event than normal at RockBridge State Park on Saturday, June 27th. Several hams also operated individually per ARRL’s special rules for 2020.

Click here to see a larger view of the report below or right click to download it.

 

 

Click here to view a feature story from KOMU-TV 8.

You can find general Field Day info from the ARRL when you click here.

Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – 2019

At 9:00 AM, Saturday November 9, 2019, BCARES deployed 19 amateur radio operators in pursuit of the Information Packets that had been created and distributed to 29 Red Cross designated shelters throughout the county by the Boone County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) on the day before.

The Information Packets contained instructions and data for the creation of an ICS213 message to be sent from each of these shelters to the ECC. These shelters are located in the communities of Hartsburg, Ashland, Hallsville, Centralia, Sturgeon, Columbia, and the Red Cross office in Jefferson City.

The SET concluded at 12:00 PM with all stations being cleared off net by 12:15 PM. The SET was designed to strain the capabilities of BCARES to pass ICS213s from all ends of the county back to the ECC.

Click here to view the full report. (Right click to save.)

Field Day 2019

Field Day takes place each year on the fourth full weekend in June. This year the event took place on June 22nd and 23rd.

Bill (N0AXZ) compiled an excellent K0SI Field Day 2019 Summary. Click its title to view or save.

Click here to view CMRA’s Field Day 2019 results.

You can find general Field Day info from the ARRL when you click here.

This year’s local event received publicity from several sources.

Before the event…

After the event…

 

Here’s a glimps of Field Day.

 

Photo of communications trailer and antennas.

 

Photo of digital and GOTA stations.

 

Photo of satellite station and antenna.

 

Simulated Emergency Test (SET) – 2018

Boone County ARES (BCARES) in conjunction with Boone County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) held the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) on November 3, 2018. A number of our CMRA members participated in this event.

Seventeen operators participated in the exercise–thirteen Rovers, two Monitor Relay stations, and two at the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) as Net control operators.

OEM identified eighteen points across the 685 square mile county for the communication exercise. OEM placed surveyor’s flags and data packages at each drop point the day before the exercise.

Radio operators, after a roll-call check-in net, were assigned Tactical call signs and deployed to their assigned drop points. Instructions in each data package directed the radio operators to create and deliver test messages that had been created by OEM as a simulated natural disaster event.

Click here to view the full report. (Right click to save.)

CMRA Takes Ham Radio to the Homeschool Fair

 

 

 

Gary Vaught, W9TIG, invited CMRA to attend the local homeschool cooperative fair on August 23 at the Columbia American Legion Post facility. Attending for CMRA were Myron Kern, W0ZH; Roy Parker, AA0B; and John Beatty, NO0I.

The fair is held each year at this time as homeschool parents and students begin the school year. Its purpose is to invite individuals and organizations that may be of interest to homeschool participants, such as STEM, Sports, and Educational providers. Our goal was to provide information about ham radio as an enrichment subject for homeschooled students.

A table was setup with introductory hand-out material about Amateur Radio, license requirements, HF, QRP and VHF equipment, and CMRA info. Dee BERGSTRAND, KC0DEO, provided sample adventure books on our table to read about Amateur Radio and encourage and inspire the hobby.

Roy provided a portable long wire antenna, which was connected to the club’s HF radio and setup by Myron for live copy over the air. Roy also brought his QRP radio and his $100 HF transceiver. Kids were attracted to the CW paddle and amplifier and enjoyed trying it out.

We also demoed a UHF simplex contact with John’s HTs.

We collected a list of parents that would like further information and will contact them to see how we can help them. The upcoming fall Tech class was mentioned frequently, and hopefully there will be some kids and parents attending.