Sunday, September 14, 2025 was a special day for new radio operators recently trained by the Youlou Amateur Radio Association – YARA, as they converged on the Chatoyer National Park at Rabacca for a ‘field day’ exercise.
The field day took the form of antenna orientation and erection for HF (High Frequency) radio using a multi-band broad band antenna donated by Barrett Communications as well as deploying a VHF/UHF antenna and radio from the temporary base set up at the park. The field day operation gave the new radio operators ‘hands on’ experience in communicating with both local and regional radio operators. These skills are important and especially useful in disaster scenarios.
The idea for a ‘field day’ was suggested by James Codrington J88NCJ who needed to get some practical experience having recently passed the theoretical test. Also making use of this experience were several recently trained radio operators from the Gems Progressive organization, who like J88NCJ needed to get practical experience with radio, knowing how and where to erect wire antennas as well as putting theory to practice in radio operations.
During field day and in the absence of electrical power other than the batteries used for powering the HF and VHF radios, a pyropen was used to teach radio operators how to make a coaxial jumper cable. A pyropen is a butane operated soldering iron that does not require electricity to work, thereby making emergency electrical connections secure.
The field day operations began from 10 AM and concluded at 5:30PM. The main regional contacts were from Trinidad and Grenada, giving the ‘newbees’ ample opportunity to perfect their communication skills. Stations located in Bequia J88DT Sylvester, Biabou J88NMB Monte and Campden Park J88EA Ronald, were also received with clarity from the portable station set up at Rabacca which was operated by battery only and recharged with a solar panel.
Besides the service aspect of amateur radio, there is also the technical and fun/hobby part which includes treasure hunts, fox hunting in which radio operators use directional antennas to find hidden low power transmitters and other fun activities including parks on the air (POTA) and summits on the air (SOTA) where radio enthusiasts try to make as many international contacts using portable equipment from parks or mountain tops. About five years ago, local radio operators conducted a field exercise where radio amateurs operated portable stations from the highest points in St. Vincent and the three largest Grenadine islands.
During that outing, radio operators were stationed from the summit of La Soufriere, with a base camp at Bamboo range, ‘Ma Peggy’ which is the highest point in Bequia, ‘Mount Royal’ the highest peak in Canouan and ‘Mt. Taboi’, the highest point in Union Island. That ‘field day’ exercise proved to be immensely successful as all stations were able to communicate with each other, on battery power only, using both portable HF and VHF radios.
The next outing is expected to be a maritime simulation before year end, pending sponsorship. Corporate society can reach out to YARA via email: [email protected]. We thank you for your interest and support.
