Field Day Plans Coming Together

Thanks to the due diligence and the yeoman efforts of Dave KD2FSI, our Field Day location has been secured. We are returning to Spring Lake Park, which is in South Plainfield, but is part of the Middlesex County Park System.

This was our Field Day home from 2014 to 2019. Of course in 2020, there wasn't much of a Field Day because of the pandemic - we all participated from home and submitted our aggregate scores. We had planned to return to Spring Lake in 2021, but we did not receive our approval of request from the County until the day before Field Day! We had secured a Boro park, Putnam Park in the meantime and had pre-planted all our Field Day logistics there beforehand. 

We occupied Putnam Park with the Boro's blessing in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and it was a great location! A lot of public "traffic", but at the same time, quiet enough that we weren't getting in the public's way. But all good things must come to an end. In the Autumn of 2023, Putnam Park was closed for major renovations and improvements. The space we had occupied is now pickle ball courts. There is still space at the opposite end of the park that would be a perfect Field Day site, but members of the club felt it was too long of a walk to the "facilities", especially in the middle of the night. So to Spring Lake Park we return.

In the past, we've set up to the left of those three red markers in the photo. That's one of the corners of the park and we should have ample room. I'm a little concerned or "worried" about antenna placement as Dave and I each need about 135 feet of free space at right angles to each other in order to set up our MFJ-1982's. There's a lot more pedestrian traffic in this park compared to Putnam and I worry about setting up the antennas in a manner so that will not be disturbed by someone walking through the park while not paying attention to where they are going. It seems no one pays attention anymore as they're too busy looking at their screens. I think there's going to have to be a lot of Caution Tape and traffic cones deployed this year. Also, for each leg of my MFJ-1982LP, I'm going to get some wooden stakes and paint them fluorescent day-glo orange so no one accidentally walks into an antenna support.

I've added our location to the ARRL's Field Day Locator - do a search on Zip Code 07080 and you'll find NJ2SP and the South Plainfield Amateur Radio Club. If you're in the area, please come and join us if you can - ESPECIALLY if you're a CW operator, because we all know that this is what the CW operators look like on Field Day!

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!