Foundations of Amateur Radio

The other day I came across a post on mastodon.radio by Keith W6KME announcing the resumption of the Micro Field Day, spelled using the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet, Mu.

This was news to me, since I didn't know they'd stopped, let alone existed at all. Being the curious type, I stopped to investigate and discovered an initiative that could, and in my not so humble opinion, should, be replicated all over the planet.

Essentially an informal monthly gathering of amateurs with their portable set-up, ranging from hand-held radios through lightweight backpack gear suitable for SOTA or POTA, or Summits or Parks on the Air, to car portable stations where your vehicle acts as the carry mule and perhaps the base of your antenna.

In other words, it's for anyone who brings along their radio to play or if you're not yet ready to do that, come and participate as you feel inclined.

So, what of the resumption, you ask. It turns out that the activity became so popular locally that some parks required paid bookings and insurance, which is somewhat challenging if you're not actually an organisation.

The closest I've ever come to a Micro Field Day is when we celebrated a milestone anniversary for the weekly F-troop net that has now been running for over 15 years.

The Bored Net Group website has plenty of information about what they get up to during a Micro Field Day, Random Metal Objects On The Air, shared club activities, picnic lunches, and activations at local lakes, landmarks and other places of interest. I'd also like to make a point here about documenting your activities so the rest of the community can learn from your experience and the Micro Field Day isn't the only, or even the first activity that the group organised.

Special mention to Zak N6PK who started hosting the BORED net four times a day during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in March 2020. You'll find the full story when you check out their site at theborednet.net for that and oodles more inspiration.

While I'm perfectly happy sitting at home behind a computer reading research on the resource comparison between half a dozen algorithms for calculating a Fast Fourier Transform, that's not the only thing that amateur radio represents.

When I started running F-troop there was no place for new and returning amateurs to gather and ask questions and share their experiences. Today the log shows at least one new callsign for each week we've been on-air, representing nearly a thousand amateurs who activated their transmitter and shared their experience.

There is no organisation behind F-troop, it's a couple of amateurs who regularly turn up and participate to act as a welcoming voice into the diverse community that represents amateur radio.

In other words, it started because I felt like it and it continues because people keep coming back.

The Micro Field Day is exactly the same in that it was started to scratch an itch. I'm making this explicit because some amateurs appear to be under the impression that they'll need a local club or organisation to organise activities for them. I'm here to tell you that you can start such an activity with your friends. Ultimately, where do you think clubs come from?

So .. what are you waiting for?

Get on-air and make some noise!

I'm Onno VK6FLAB