Spring VHF-UHF Field Day

It's springtime in Australia, and 24-25 November 2012 is the time for the Spring VHF-UHF Field Day.

The VHF-UHF Field Days provide VHF-UHF operators with the opportunity to "head for the hills" and see how far they can work.

The Field Days have separate sections for single and multiple operator stations. The duration of the Field Day is 24 hours, but there are also 8 hour sections for operators who may not be able to camp overnight.

Most club stations prefer to operate for the full 24 hours.

The Field Days also generate plenty of activity from home stations, so there is also a separate Home Station section.

The scoring is based on grid locator squares. Each new square worked gives quite a boost to the score, and this encourages the entrants to operate from locations in grid squares that normally don't have a great amount of amateur activity.

There are no mode restrictions, except that all contacts must be simplex<br />so contacts through repeaters or satellites are not allowed.

It is possible to do very well with only modest antennas if you pick a good hilltop. Another option, if your station is easily transportable, is to operate from more than one grid square during the contest period.

The overriding aim is to get away for the weekend and have fun!

But next after that, the aims are:

• to encourage more activity on VHF and microwave bands;
• to encourage people to work greater distances than usual by operating portable and to provide opportunities for people to activate or work into new grid squares.