that as far as years go, 2020 has been a real kill-joy, a real "Debbie Downer".
The latest casualty has been Field Day. No, not Field Day in and of itself, but Field Day as far as the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club is concerned. We just completed our meeting for May (on Zoom, of course), and it was decided that we will not put together a Field Day effort for 2020.
There were several reasons, add all of them together and the decision makes sense. It doesn't make any of us happy, but it makes sense.
1) The park where we normally set up is a county park. While it is open to the public, there will be no scheduled gatherings or events until further notice.
2) Several of our members are older and some others have conditions that classify them as "immune system compromised". Thus, that would cut down on the number of people who would participate.
3) If the social distancing and "in public" mask policies don't change, nobody thinks it will be a fun thing to be wearing a mask on a hot, muggy Summer weekend for 24 hours.
Personally, I'm not a die hard contest person. I don't mind participating in contests for a limited amount of time, and I love the QRP Sprints, but an endeavor like Field Day is more than what I would normally engage in. To be honest, if Field Day was strictly a solitary event, I probably wouldn't bother. The camaraderie, the fellowship, the concept of doing it "for the club" and not for myself is what keeps me seated behind the key for the good part of 24 hours.
So MAYBE I'll go to a local boro park for a couple of hours to participate as a 1B Battery station; but I'm sure as heck not planning to put in a whole hog effort. The weather conditions that weekend will be a major factor in whatever I eventually end up doing.
72 de Larry W2LLJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I was sad, then read this article: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/temporary-rule-waivers-announced-for-2020-arrl-field-day . While it's defeating the purpose of Field Day, at least its a reason to get on the air. Like you, I like the occasional contest, but not I'm really dedicated. Field Day is/was a way to get my contesting energies out. Further, it is a good club bonder: throwing support lines, raising antennas, eating bad food, etc. Given these temporary changes, at least we are all part of a team. I could imagine a club member WebMeeting running in the background while working DX. Now I am exited for Field Day!
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