Gear Up for Field Day 2021, Part 2 Posted by Wayne KE8JFW

 As Field Day 2021, June 26-27, inches closer, why not take care of the details now instead of waiting until the last minute? After all, the event is still very much about honing emergency operating skills, so in this spirit, be prepared for whatever’s thrown your way.

Part 1 of our Field Day preparedness guide covered the DX Engineering Field Day Quadplexer and Triplexer Packages, coaxial cable, tool kits for prepping cable, and ARRL 2021 Field Day shirts, mugs, and more. Here are a few more items to put on your list:

Field Day Combo Packages
If you’re new to Field Day or just getting your feet wet in Ham Radio, assembling all the pieces and parts you need for your temporary station can be daunting. With this in mind, DX Engineering has made things a bit easier by offering two Field Day combo packages which provide some of the basics—and a couple of cool extras—that will help you get started.

The ICOM Portable Field Day Combo Package includes:

• Generac GP Series Portable Generator
• ICOM IC-7300 HF Plus 50 MHz Transceiver
• ICOM Transceiver Carrying Handles
• Samlex Desktop Switching Power Supply
• Heil Sound PRO 7 Headset
• NANUK Equipment Case
• DX Engineering Folding Chair
• DX Engineering Coffee Mug

The Yaesu Portable Field Day Combo Package comes with all of the above and the Yaesu FT-991A HF/VHF/UHF Multi-Mode Transceiver instead of the ICOM rig and handles.

Wire Antennas

Not sure which type of wire antenna to build on Field Day? That’s not a problem with the DX Engineering EZ-BUILD® UWA Center-T and End Insulator Kit, which contains the pieces you need to create a range of wire antennas, including single-band, multi-band, multi-frequency, folded dipole, doublet and inverted-V, off-center fed, Windom, Zepp, long wires, rhombic, V-beam, or loop antennas. There’s no need for looping, wrapping or soldering, so adjusting wire lengths in the field is fast and simple.

Designed for building wire antennas for high-power operations, this model mounts to any DX Engineering balun for a balanced and isolated wire antenna, or this insulator kit may be used directly with DX Engineering 300-ohm Ladder Line for a non-resonant multi-band dipole. Read more about resonant versus non-resonant antennas here.

Use the DX Engineering EZ-BUILD® UWA213-KIT for the construction of an RG-213 or RG-8U coax-fed wire antenna, without a balun, that will be operated at high power and high duty cycle modes of operation, such as AM, RTTY, or FM.

The UWA8X-KIT is designed to handle low and medium power levels and tolerate low SWR levels.

DX Engineering baluns, antenna wire, 300-ohm ladder line, and support rope are sold separately.

DX Engineering also has Ladder Line Fed Multi-Band Dipole Antenna Kits for 160M and up, 80M and up, and 40M and up.

Get advice and find many more options at DX Engineering.com from leadings brands, including Alpha Delta, Buckmaster, Bushcom, Chameleon, Diamond, EAntenna, MFJ, and SOTABeams.

Complete Fiberglass Telescoping Tubing and Cam Lock Clamp Kits These four kits are designed for fast deployment, easy transport, and reliable performance of temporary and portable antenna masts.

Perfect for operating on Field Day, the kits come with finely finished, high-quality pultruded fiberglass tubing featuring nominal 0.120 inch wall thicknesses, offering strength, durability, and smooth telescoping. Depending on the kit, tubing is collapsible to either 4 or 7.5 feet for easy storage, convenient loading in a vehicle, and reduced shipping costs. Choose from these tubing options:

• Four 48 inch telescoped sections extending to 15 feet
• Seven 48 inch telescoped sections extending to 25 feet
• Seven 90 inch telescoped sections extending to 46 feet, with standard 2 inch O.D. base section
• Seven 90 inch telescoped sections extending to 46 feet, with heavy-duty 3 inch O.D. base section

Headsets and Headphones

DX Engineering carries a great selection of hands-free headsets and state-of-the-art headphones from bhi, Heil, INRAD and other top brands. Don’t accept anything less than clear, intelligible speech fidelity whether you’re doing the speaking or listening.

Analyzer and NANUK Case Combos

In the field, an antenna analyzer is especially at risk for weather and shock damage. DX Engineering has paired select RigExpert Antenna Analyzers with perfectly sized NANUK equipment cases. Each case is filled with cubed, sectioned foam for custom configuration. Available separately or in combos.

Also visit DXEngineering.com for power supplies, wattmeters, DX Engineering logo canopy shelter, batteries, portable generators, and all your Field Day needs.