Field Day 2025

FARA's Field Day (FD) began on Friday, 27 June.  The setup group met at the club storage container, which holds the club's FD materials.  The group loaded up and transported the towers, beams, coils of coax cables, dipoles, tools, tables and related items to the FD location at the Morse Pond School.

Once at the FD location, the primary tasks were to setup the communications trailer and generators, assemble and test three beams, setup three towers with beams and dipole halyards, and run coaxial cable between the towers and the trailer.   The goal was to have the towers ready to raise on Saturday.  Setup went smoothly and was quickly done.

On Saturday morning, the SSB and CW stations were setup in the communications trailer.  The towers were raised.  The generators were started early to allow for testing. The GOTA station was setup under the fixed shelter to be more publicly accessible.  A VHF station, primarily for use for Winlink message traffic, was also setup under the fixed shelter.  In addition, a VHF/UHF station for satellite operation was setup when satellite passes were available.

Operations commenced at 1400 local time and continued until 1400 on Sunday, 29 June.  The SSB station operators made 839 contacts and the CW station operators made 1,439 contacts.  Contacts were made with all US ARRL sections and nine of the fourteen Canadian sections.  Two DX contacts were made via CW.

The GOTA station had one youth operator who made eleven contacts.  Messages were sent via Winlink to the EMA section manager and to ten local and state officials.  Two satellite contacts were also made during FD.

FARA's total contact points, which include a 2X multiplier for CW contacts and another 2X power multiplier for all contacts, are 7,434 points.  We also qualified for bonus points totaling 1,625 points.  FARA's total claimed score is 9,059--a great score.

We had a nice cookout on Saturday with hot dogs, burgers, and sausages.  A sausage, hash browns, and egg breakfast was served on Sunday morning for the overnight crew and anyone else that attended.  Mike, KC1HKW, kept us all well fed and hydrated throughout the FD weekend.

Sunday afternoon, the teardown crew took everything down, packed it into vehicles and transported the equipment to the storage container.  The container was loaded and locked by approximately 1600--a very quick and efficient disassembly operation!

A gallery of photo's taken by Ralph, N1YHS and Larry, W1IZZ can be viewed at this link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rbASMK1z3iH2Eaxx8

Falmouth ARA Field Day 2025 -- All Are Invited to Attend

Amateur Radio Field Day June 28 and 29, 2025 - Will Focus on Training, Public Service, Science and Technology

 
WHO/WHAT: Members of the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association (FARA) will participate in the national amateur radio Field Day exercise, June 28–29 at Morse Pond School in Falmouth, MA.  Since 1933, amateur radio operators across North America have established temporary amateur radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the capabilities of amateur radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.

WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29. On Saturday, June 28, from 2PM through Sunday, June 29, at 2PM.

WHERE: Morse Pond School, 323 Jones Road, Falmouth, MA  02540

WHY: Field Day demonstrates how amateur radio creates a reliable, independent communications network. Amateur radio functions independently from the conventional communications or power infrastructure, and can be set up almost anywhere in minutes.   Amateur radio remains one of the best ways for people to learn about electronics, physics, meteorology, and related scientific disciplines.  

For more information about Field Day or amateur radio, contact Lawrence Gray, w1izz@mcphersondigital.com, or visit www.falara.org, FARA’s website.

Soldier Ride Cape Cod 2025

The 14th Falmouth Soldier Ride took place on Friday, June 6th, 2025.  Fifty Wounded Warriors from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan rode from the start of the Shining Sea Bikeway in North Falmouth down to Woods Hole and back. The twenty mile round trip on the bike path allowed lots of room to find a spot to cheer the Warriors on as they rode. 

Three FARA members (Ralph-N1YHS, Mel-K1ELB, and Matt-KB1MLP) manned net control, which was located in the FARA Communications Trailer at North Famouth.  

Eight FARA members (Barry-KB1TLR, Jeremy-WA1JRC, Jay-WB4KYW, Steve-KC1TMJ, Harold-N1ZTV, Phil-KB1DOS. Henry-K1WCC, and Larry-W1IZZ) manned stations located along the Bikeway, providing rider location and status updates.  Henry was assisted by his grandson Sterling acting as scribe.

Community groups were present at the various Bikeway street crossings and at the Woods Hole end of the Bikeway.  Members of Coast Guard Group Woods Hole were also on hand in Woods Hole.  The groups put together colorful displays and cheered the riders as they passed.

West Falmouth	Coast Guard group	Riders arrive in Woods Hole
Riders in Woods Hole

Coming Very Soon - Falmouth ARA Field Day 2025

 

SAVE THE DAY

Falmouth Amateur Radio Association invites the public to attend

2 PM Saturday, 28 June through 2 PM Sunday, 29 June

Morse Pond School, 323 Jones Rd, Falmouth, MA

Rain or Shine

"Get On The Air" radio station available for the public

Excellent STEAM event for students
 

See https://www.falara.org/activities/field-day for details

Falmouth ARA in ARES Exercise

Falmouth ARA (FARA) vounteers participated in the May 10, 2025 Cape and Islands ARES Exercise #83.  Charlie, K1CB and crew manned the Falmouth Hospital site.  Henry, K1WCC and crew manned the Upper Cape Field Site.  A failure of the tower winch at the Mid-Cape Field Site resulted in Henry acting as net control for the VHF portion of the exercise. 

FARA members, many from home stations, participated in the various portions of the exercise, consisting of an 80m SSB check-in net, a VHF-FM check-in net, NTS message traffic, and three opportunities to send Winlink traffic via either VHF or HF.

The exercise demonstrated the ability of amateur radio operators to quickly setup effective emergency communications with voice and digital messaging capabilities.

The first five photo's below were submitted by Henry, K1WCC.  They show various aspects of the Upper Cape Field Site.  The second five photos were taken by Frank, WQ1O, and show aspects of the Mid-Cape Field Site.  Click on the photo to view a larger image.

Technician License Class for Public Safety Personnel

Falmouth Amateur Radio Association (FARA) recently conducted a Technician level amateur radio license class for Public Safety personnel.  The class was held in the training room at Falmouth Fire Headquarters from February 28th through March 2nd. There were 7 students in attendance. 

FARA instructors were Ralph Swenson (N1YHS) and Charlie Bresnahan (K1CB). Five of the students earned their Technician license.  Two students will be retested at a later date.  

License testing was done by members of the FARA VE Team, led by Lee Thomas, NQ1L.  

FARA's VE Team conducts amateur radio license testing on the 2nd Saturday of each month.  See https://www.falara.org/exams-classes/license-exams for complete details.

Congratulations to the new hams!

FARA First Day Breakfast 2025

A good crowd attended the annual FARA First Day Breakfast, which was held at Persey's in Falmouth.  Photo's courtesy of Charlie, K1CB.

Put it on your calendar for next year and join the fun.