Helping Hands (CARS ARRL Field Day, 2025) – Charleston Amateur Radio Society

Contributed by Steve AA2BB

The phrase which best captures the spirit of the CARS Field Day in 2025 is “Helping Hands” and I have chosen that as the title for this article. There are no other words for it! At every turn there was someone ready and willing to help. From carrying heavy materials to repairing minor glitches, there was absolutely no hesitation from anyone to step up and help. And because of that we had one of the best field days ever.

We gathered about 12:30pm on Friday afternoon, 6/27/25, and began setup precisely at 1400, 24 hours before going on the air, as per Field Day rules. The Old Guard, Bryce Myers, K4LXF, Club President Rick Valentine, N8BKN, Lee Miller, KI4LLJ, David Fleischman, KB9UJF, Greg Keys, KG4GEK, Mike Whisnant, KY4BO, and myself, AA2BB (nice to be in that category!) had antennas up and tuned for SSB and CW, transmission lines in place, and generators ready to go in about 2 ½ hours. Age was no obstacle, and everyone worked like young sailors despite the heat (90F) and humidity! The only hiccup was the loss of the all-thread metal rod we used to roll out the transmission line. I was holding it vertically over the catwalk and went to lean it on the deck. It went through one of the drainage holes without a sound, like an arrow, and will spend the rest of earth’s existence impaled in the pluff mud below the ship, a testament to FD, 2025!

The next morning we met again at 9:30am and were joined by Avery Hill, FD Co-Captain, W4QYV, Tom Glaab, Club Vice President, AJ4UQ, Warren Richey, KK4EVI, Bill Olendorf, K4KOA, Kraig Keyes, AA4SD, Mike Maheu, KQ4KOV, and others. Bill brought pizza and snacks which made a good pre-work breakfast. We set up the generators, laid the power cables, carried tables and chairs to the operating stations, and set up tarps to protect the stations from sun and rain. Michelle Mantooth, KK4WQO, obtained all our food and refreshments (including several trays of her own homemade brownies,) trucked them to the pier and we helped her move all supplies to the clubroom. Greg and Avery set up the GOTA (Get On The Air) station and put up signs including a special ARRL FD poster we received from SC Section Manager, Matthew R Crook, W1MRC. Greg brought his own equipment, a self-contained HF station including power supply and a computer interface with powerful software. Tom set up a local network for our logging computers and cabled everything together. Bryce and Rick installed an EFLW antenna for the GOTA station.

The FD stations on the USS Yorktown went on the air right at 1400 using call sign WA4USN. The GOTA station activated with NT4HI, the call sign for the USS Laffey. Kraig started us off on CW and Avery on SSB. Jonathan Eernisse, N4AKV, (fortunately for us he was able to get away from his Neurology clinical rotation) operated 6 meters and satellite. He forgot his 6m beam in the car, but in true amateur radio fashion, Rick replaced it with a small dipole which Jonathan installed and tuned. Kraig was way too humble about his CW skills – he worked solo for several hours at 26 or 27 WPM racking up contacts! Jonathan, Vic Morawski, WA3CHM, and I also spent time on the key. Tom, Vic and others did the logging. Glenn Little, WB4UIV, lent us his solar panels and a lithium battery charged by them with which we made about 20 CW contacts for 100 points. Dr. Mary Greiner, KF8AYR, a Primary Care physician from Michigan who is just beginning practice at the VA Hospital in Sumter, joined us (despite a flat tire on the way to Patriots Point) and did a yeoman’s job at the sideband station.

We were honored by visits from three elected officials, US Congresswoman, Nancy Mace, Mount Pleasant Town Councilman, Gary Santos, and SC House Representative, Sylleste Davis (District 100.) Councilman Gary Santos provided enthusiastic support for CARS and Ham Radio on behalf of himself and the Town of Mount Pleasant. We had a very pleasant visit and talked about how Field Day brings hams together and serves as an exercise in disaster communications. As Councilman Santos and I were walking down the pier, we met Congresswoman Nancy Mace and her team. She visited the GOTA station on the hangar deck, the clubroom, and both our operating positions on the catwalk with her dog, Liberty, Security Officers, Woody and Dan, and her photographer. Upon meeting Bryce Myers, she said he was her favorite “OM”! She had an excellent understanding of Ham Radio, listened patiently to our ideas, was extremely supportive of our club and positive about our efforts. We showed her the Letter of Support she provided for last year’s FD which is hanging on our clubroom wall. Representative Sylleste Davis joined us on Sunday morning. She was with us last year and was so impressed that she brought her husband, Mike, and son, John, to introduce them to Ham Radio. She sat with us in the clubroom and learned about current issues in Ham Radio from our President, Rick Valentine. All three offered to help in any way they can. Their presence was a boon to our operation and put a shine on our Field Day. We can’t thank them enough for taking time out of their busy schedules to acknowledge us. Not to mention that they are worth 100 points to the club’s FD score!

Overnight operations went smoothly. Jim Comfort, KW4UL, came in as always to carry us through the night on CW and SSB. Jim left about 8am to teach a SCUBA class and returned about noon to help with the final stretch and takedown. As always, we heard some stories about the world from folks who have been in situations which most of us never encounter (and might not have survived!) that you’d have to have been there to hear. We had hot coffee made the Navy way to get us through the wee hours. Jim took the spectacular picture below of Renata Sierzega, KQ4ASH, at the CW station at dawn. With her permission, I’m planning to submit it to QST. Tom copied the ARRL Bulletin on RTTY and PSK31 and I was able to copy it in CW. The first time I missed a paragraph due to QSB (signal fading) and some signal processing issues (in my head!) but was able to fill in the blanks during a re-transmission the following morning. Tom successfully transmitted the FD Message to the Section Manager W1MRC via Winlink email:

“8 R AJ4UQ ARL 26 USS YORKTOWN 0816L JUN 29
W1MRC SC SM

BT
GOOD MORNING FROM THE CHARLESTON
ARS FIELD DAY SITE X
THERE ARE ABOUT 35 PARTICIPANTS
COMMA WITH ABOUT HALF IN
ARES DOT SENT BY HF
WINLINK
BT

AR”

The weather was perfect throughout and we had a wonderful summer night with a cool breeze. The proverbial thunderstorm never materialized. CARS member Sargeant Delmer Powell, KW4XQ, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, was with us in uniform which gave us another 100 points for recognition by law enforcement. He also spent time logging at the CW station. We had a visit from ARRL SC Section Technical Coordinator, Brad Humphries, AE4VJ. Of special note is that we were honored to be joined by Ken Bible, AF4ZV, club member for over 30 years and former Club President for 6 years who made several contacts. He’s also been a key participant in the Charleston running community and a leader for the Cooper River Bridge Run. Also deserving mention is Brian Smith, KN4EXJ, who, though not on the ship this year, provided invaluable coaching which helped me organize this year’s event.

Field Day ended serendipitously with our Honda generator running out of fuel at 1352, almost exactly on schedule! Our last contact was a CW exchange that we really had to work for because the signal was down in the mud. I just had time to say “We really had to work for that one!” when the generator cut out. Takedown went as smoothly as setup. Bryce stood up, pulled out a screwdriver, and we all went to work. Doug Clark, KU4OC, joined us for takedown and everything happened seamlessly from start to finish.

One thing more to mention about Field Day on the USS Yorktown is the opportunity to see the ship. Mary, Vic and I took a break from operating at 3am and went on a memorable tour of the lower decks. The window into history provided by the Yorktown makes the importance of Ham Radio to military service almost palpable, especially knowing how MARS (Military Amateur Radio Service) was the only link with home for so many in harm’s way for so many years before the internet. It continues to be active to this day. We saw some excellent exhibits including one of a special Life Member of CARS (see pic below.).

In short, we had a Field Day that was hard to beat but we’ll do it again next year. Please see the pictures for the rest of the story. The list of those who signed the roster or with whom I recall working directly follows. Please forgive me if I missed you or made an error!

CARS FIELD DAY, June 28-29, 2025, Roster:

Steve Saef, AA2BB, FD Captain, 2025

Avery Hill, W4QYV, FD Co-Captain

Bryce Myers, K4LXF, Life Member, Past President

Rick Valentine, N8BKN, President

Tom Glaab, AJ4UQ, Vice President

Lee Miller, KI4LLJ, Membership

David Fleischman, KB9UJF

Warren Richey, KK4EVI

Chad Barrera

Kraig Keyes, AA4SD

Mike Maheu, KQ4KOV